"Written like a bedtime story and illustrated with gentle humour, this book leads the reader to discover what 'family' really means without mystifying the fact of adoption. More, it reaffirms the right of every child to be loved and to have a home."--Page 4 of cover
Once upon a time in the Kingdom of Sonas, the finest kingdom out of all the kingdoms in the land, everyone was so very happy since King Kindely and his wife Queen Caroline were so very, very good. But one day King Kindely lost his wife and very young daughter, Princess Priscilla. Upon returning to the Kingdom of Sonas, the King's finest ship carrying the Queen and the Princess was swallowed up by the biggest fish anyone had ever seen on the Salty Sea. The King was very sad and for years cried and cried. Soon, the Salty Sea began to rise and with it many, many islands that were as big as mountains too. Also, the fish were found no more. On the land the driest drought anyone had ever experience was taking the only fresh water left leaving the people worrying that one day it would all be gone and they would perish. But one day the King cried his last tear and came to his senses. He believed if the fish could be found the Queen and Princess could be rescued from its belly and the Kingdom of Sonas would once again be the happiest kingdom in all the lands. He sent out a plea asking all to help. And the story begins when the plea reaches the hands of a son of a simple farmer. The son reads the plea and decides to help The Lonely King.
Originally published in 1962, The Lonely Life is legendary silver screen actress Bette Davis's lively and riveting account of her life, loves, and marriages--now in ebook for the first time, and updated with an afterword she wrote just before her death. As Davis says in the opening lines of her classic memoir: "I have always been driven by some distant music--a battle hymn, no doubt--for I have been at war from the beginning. I rode into the field with sword gleaming and standard flying. I was going to conquer the world." A bold, unapologetic book by a unique and formidable woman, The Lonely Life details the first fifty-plus years of Davis's life--her Yankee childhood, her rise to stardom in Hollywood, the birth of her beloved children, and the uncompromising choices she made along the way to succeed. The book was updated with new material in the 1980s, bringing the story up to the end of Davis's life--all the heartbreak, all the drama, and all the love she experienced at every stage of her extraordinary life. The Lonely Life proves conclusively that the legendary image of Bette Davis is not a fable but a marvelous reality.
In today's world, it is more acceptable to be depressed than to be lonely-yet loneliness appears to be the inevitable byproduct of our frenetic contemporary lifestyle. According to the 2004 General Social Survey, one out of four Americans talked to no one about something of importance to them during the last six months. Another remarkable fact emerged from the 2000 U.S. Census: more people are living alone today than at any point in the country's history—fully 25 percent of households consist of one person only. In this crucial look at one of America's few remaining taboo subjects—loneliness—Drs. Jacqueline Olds and Richard S. Schwartz set out to understand the cultural imperatives, psychological dynamics, and physical mechanisms underlying social isolation. In The Lonely American, cutting-edge research on the physiological and cognitive effects of social exclusion and emerging work in the neurobiology of attachment uncover startling, sobering ripple effects of loneliness in areas as varied as physical health, children's emotional problems, substance abuse, and even global warming. Surprising new studies tell a grim truth about social isolation: being disconnected diminishes happiness, health, and longevity; increases aggression; and correlates with increasing rates of violent crime. Loneliness doesn't apply simply to single people, either—today's busy parents "cocoon" themselves by devoting most of their non-work hours to children, leaving little time for friends, and other forms of social contact, and unhealthily relying on the marriage to fulfill all social needs. As a core population of socially isolated individuals and families continues to balloon in size, it is more important than ever to understand the effects of a culture that idealizes busyness and self-reliance. It's time to bring loneliness—a very real and little-discussed social epidemic with frightening consequences-out into the open, and find a way to navigate the tension between freedom and connection in our lives.
A glamorous, haunted life unfolds in the mesmerizing biography of the woman behind a classic children's book In 1957, a children's book called The Lonely Doll was published. With its pink-and-white-checked cover and photographs featuring a wide-eyed doll, it captured the imaginations of young girls and made the author, Dare Wright, a household name. Close to forty years after its publication, the book was out of print but not forgotten. When the cover image inexplicably came to journalist Jean Nathan one afternoon, she went in search of the book-and ultimately its author. Nathan found Dare Wright living out her last days in a decrepit public hospital in Queens, New York. Over the next five years, Nathan pieced together a glamorous life. Blond, beautiful Wright had begun her career as an actress and model and then turned to fashion photography before stumbling upon her role as bestselling author. But there was a dark side to the story: a brother lost in childhood, ill-fated marriage plans, a complicated, controlling mother. Edith Stevenson Wright, herself a successful portrait painter, played such a dominant role in her daughter's life that Dare was never able to find her way into the adult world. Only through her work could she speak for herself: in her books she created the happy family she'd always yearned for, while her self-portraits betrayed an unresolved tension between sexuality and innocence, a desire to belong and painful isolation. Illustrated with stunning photographs, The Secret Life of the Lonely Doll tells the unforgettable story of a woman who, imprisoned by her childhood, sought to set herself free through art.
When a wonderful new book arrives at the library, at first it is loved by all, checked out constantly, and rarely spends a night on the library shelf. But over time it grows old and worn, and the children lose interest in its story. The book is sent to the library's basement where the other faded books live. How it eventually finds an honored place on a little girl's bookshelf—and in her heart—makes for an unforgettable story sure to enchant anyone who has ever cherished a book. Kate Bernheimer and Chris Sheban have teamed up to create a picture book that promises to be loved every bit as much as the lonely book itself.
Tessa O'Connell is a girl as ordinary as they come - or so she thinks. Her aim for senior year is to keep her head down yet somehow manage to convince her childhood love Jay Stone to love her back. What she isn't prepared for is for Jay's brother, Cole, to return to town and change the life she's always been seemingly content to live.
Consort to Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria, Elizabeth of Bavaria was a modern woman who fled the confines of Habsburg to roam free--she fancied dangerous riding, sailing, and poetry--but her life ended with her assassination in 1896. "Makes us feel the impact of her beauty as well as the fatal egotism which led to unhappiness, restlessness, and futility."--"Elizabeth Harvey." "Well documented and illustrated...a grand and fascinating tale."--"Brian Aldiss"
The complete A Lying Witch series. Follow Chi and Max on their fight for the truth in this four-book box set. Chi McLane loves lying. A fortuneteller, she’ll happily lie about your future for a fee. She encounters a problem when she inherits her grandmother's house. Shouldn’t be so bad, right? Wrong. The house comes with a book, and the book’s cursed. Soon, Chi’s thrust into the gritty world of a seer. Yeah, because magic exists, and it ain't pretty. Oh, and there's another problem. One with broad shoulders, an even broader Scottish accent, and a killer smile. Turns out he's her magical bodyguard, and he's here to stay. Chi’s pushed into a realm of violent magic, petty lies, and a curse intent to haunt her until she dies. …. A Lying Witch follows a crooked fortuneteller and her dangerous bodyguard fighting to solve crimes and uncover the truth. If you love your urban fantasies with action, heart, and a splash of romance, grab A Lying Witch: The Complete Series today and soar free with an Odette C. Bell boxset.