David Snow and Leon Anderson show us the wretched face of homelessness in late twentieth-century America in countless cities across the nation. Through hundreds of hours of interviews, participant observation, and random tracking of homeless people through social service agencies in Austin, Texas. Snow and Anderson reveal who the homeless are, how they live, and why they have ended up on the streets. Debunking current stereotypes of the homeless. Down on Their Luck sketches a portrait of men and women who are highly adaptive, resourceful, and pragmatic. Their survival is a tale of human resilience and determination, not one of frailty and disability.
David Snow and Leon Anderson show us the wretched face of homelessness in late twentieth-century America in countless cities across the nation. Through hundreds of hours of interviews, participant observation, and random tracking of homeless people through social service agencies in Austin, Texas. Snow and Anderson reveal who the homeless are, how they live, and why they have ended up on the streets. Debunking current stereotypes of the homeless. Down on Their Luck sketches a portrait of men and women who are highly adaptive, resourceful, and pragmatic. Their survival is a tale of human resilience and determination, not one of frailty and disability.
Critically acclaimed author Cammie McGovern's powerful and heartwarming middle grade novel will appeal to readers who loved R. J. Palacio's Wonder, Holly Sloan's Counting by 7s, and Lynda Mullaly Hunt's Fish in a Tree. "This brave story, told with wry humor, is inspirational," raved Ann M. Martin, New York Times bestselling author of Rain Reign. Fourth grade is not going at all how Benny Barrows hoped. He hasn't found a new best friend. He's still not a great bike rider—even though his brother George, who's autistic, can do tricks. And worst of all, he worries his dad's recent accident might be all his fault. Benny tries to take his mom's advice and focus on helping others, and to take things one step at a time. But when his dad ends up in the hospital again, Benny doesn't know how he and his family will overcome all the bad luck that life seems to have thrown their way. Just My Luck is a deeply moving and rewarding novel about a down-on-his-luck boy whose caring heart ultimately helps him find the strength to cope with tragedy and realize how much he truly has to offer his friends and family.
Have you ever noticed that you talk about luck every day of your life? Luck is your silent companion, sometimes bringing awesome parking spaces, a chance meeting with a new love interest, or a small windfall. Most of the time you probably don’t even pay attention to luck. Chances are, you only really think about luck when you buy a lottery ticket or participate in a contest. Luck is so much more than that. If you take steps to live longer by eating right and exercising, why wouldn’t you also take similar steps to improve your good fortune? Barrie Dolnick and Anthony Davidson asked themselves this very question, and set out to study luck and decipher how it works. In this insightful and engaging book, they share the secrets they’ve uncovered so you can use luck more effectively in your day-to-day life. Where does luck originate? Does one need to be “born lucky” in order to be lucky? Answering these and many other pressing questions, Dolnick and Davidson investigate both ancient and scientific approaches to luck. From early man to famous rationalists, luck has been prayed for, played with, and courted. You’ll learn how ancient practices such as the I Ching, astrology, tarot, and numerology have been used to understand luck, and how great mathematicians studied luck–some guided by their own interest in gambling. Every- one wants to be lucky. Once you know the fundamentals of luck, the authors take you through your own Personal Luck Profile so that you can use this wisdom and try your luck. People do a lot of weird things to improve their luck–and now you can make smart choices and informed decisions about how to play with yours.
From the author of Words on Bathroom Walls—now a major motion picture—comes a romance in the spirit of Dear Evan Hansen about overcoming anxiety—and about finding love and friendship in unlikely places. ★ "A masterpiece" —Kirkus, starred review "Bad luck follows lies." That was the first rule for life that Leo's Greek grandmother, Yia Yia, gave him before she died. But Leo's anxiety just caused a fight at school, and though he didn't lie, he wasn't exactly honest about how it all went down . . . how he went down. Now Leo's father thinks a self-defense class is exactly what his son needs to "man up." "Leave the Paros family alone." That was Yia Yia's second rule for life. But who does Leo see sitting at the front desk of the local gym? Evey Paros, whose family supposedly cursed Leo's with bad luck. Seeing that Leo is desperate to enroll in anything but self-defense class, Evey cuts him a deal: she'll secretly enroll him in hot yoga instead—for a price. But what could the brilliant, ruthless, forbidden Evey Paros want from Leo? Sharp, honest, and compulsively readable, Just Our Luck is as funny as it is heartwarming. "A feel-good story, with shades of Holes and The Karate Kid" —Bulletin
What happens when a girl with the worst luck ever meets a guy with all the luck in the world? Risk assessor Charley Claybourne has always known her luck pretty much... well, sucks. Getting soaked in lactose-free chocolate milk thanks to a hunkylicious, blue-eyed stranger is bad enough. But discovering that he’s her new billionaire client, and could make or break her career? Oh hi, it’s me, the icing on top of the world’s most craptastic cake. Now Charley has to decide if Chris Lachlan, Disney prince made flesh, is a good risk to be CEO of his family’s billion-dollar corporation. You know, if a reckless adrenaline junkie—who eats the unhealthiest food known to man and has dated cartel princesses, thieves, and actual spies—could ever qualify as the “good” kind of risk. But Charley isn’t immune to the charms of this hot, trouble-seeking billionaire. And as luck would have it, she’ll have to choose between trashing her career... or falling head-over-broken-heels for the biggest risk of her life. Each book in the Winning the Billionaire series is STANDALONE: * 69 Million Things I Hate About You * The Billionaire's Unexpected Baby * Scotland or Bust * Pushing His Luck
Jim Neat is an unusual and striking memoir, a coalescing of prose, poetry, found documents and photographs. In it Mary J Oliver uncovers the life of her father (b. 1904) and ranges across the history of England and Canada in the twentieth century. Jim left England in his teens, as a seaman. He travelled to South Africa, stowed away to Australia and eventually landed in Canada just before the Great Depression. Here he met his partner Lizbietta in a bookshop in Toronto, but while he was working as a lumberjack she died in childbirth. Ill and destitute, Jim was declared a vagrant and his baby daughter was sent to an orphanage. Admitted to a mental hospital in Ontario Jim was eventually repatriated to England. Jim met and married Mary's mother during the war before serving in North Africa and Italy. Their marriage was a difficult one and although it endured until Jim died in 1983, his life was dominated by the loss of Lizbietta and their child. Driven by the prospect of a half-sister, and the enigma of a father she didn't really know, Oliver set out to discover the truth behind the family stories and to better understand Jim. Researching, gathering documents, following leads, Oliver follows Jim's story full circle to Canada. She presents the case for the extraordinary life lived by an ostensibly ordinary man, his family and the people who knew him witnesses in his defence. The verdict is this remarkable evocation of a fractured life. I am the amazed reader of Jim Neat . I've read it twice, the second time in one sitting. What an incredible work of love, imagination, respect and repair. I was very touched by Jim's difficult, brave endurance, as he is assailed by every test of harsh reality. Here his poet daughter works the scant yet extraordinary facts, & weaves them into a work that gets to the bones & questions what it is to live. I was touched by the flavour of the particular with which Mary J. Oliver imbues the narrative of Jim Neat, his times, her times, our times. It is an epic and beautiful work, leaving me charmed and haunted. – Sophie Herxheimer It's been some while since I have read a book from cover to cover without being able to put it down. In Mary J. Oliver's Jim Neat , I found myself absorbed to the point of pausing all incoming communications. I followed Jim's story - a narrative that seamlessly glides through episodic instalments, confessional poetry, case history, letters, unsent postcards, diary entries, pioneer archives and judicial injustices that contribute to both the man, and a life that is quite extraordinary. The text flows with the ease of a novel, while all the while one is reading fact after heart-wrenching fact as the most uncanny events push Jim into circumstances that the majority of us would not recover from. His enduring ability to bounce back is staggering, and lies in his passion, honesty, and a belief that 'true love' must be protected at all costs. Buy this book, read it, and you will not be disappointed. If anything, you will be left wanting to know more. – Roz Hopkinson
The last thing Harry ?Dit? Sims expects when Emma Walker comes to town is to become friends. Proper -talking, brainy Emma doesn?t play baseball or fi sh too well, but she sure makes Dit think, especially about the differences between black and white. But soon Dit is thinking about a whole lot more when the town barber, who is black, is put on trial for a terrible crime. Together Dit and Emma come up with a daring plan to save him from the unthinkable. Set in 1917 and inspired by the author?s true family history, this is the poignant story of a remarkable friendship and the perils of small-town justice
Most Anticipated Romance of 2022 by Goodreads "A compulsively readable, witty, and humorous novel about the pursuit of a happily ever after...with oneself." - Tif Marcelo Whip-smart, heartfelt and joyful, Alison Rose Greenberg's Bad Luck Bridesmaid is a celebration of complicated women and a power-anthem to live your truth. Happy Ever After. On Her Own Terms. It’s official: Zoey Marks is the cursed bridesmaid that no engagement can survive. Ten years, three empire waist dresses, and ZERO brides have walked down the aisle. After strike three, Zoey is left wondering if her own ambivalence towards marriage has rubbed off on those she loves. And when her building distrust of matrimony culminates in turning down a proposal from her perfect All-American boyfriend, Rylan Harper III, she and Rylan are both left heartbroken, leaving Zoey to wonder: what is it exactly about tying the knot that makes her want to run in the opposite direction? Enter Hannah Green: Zoey’s best friend, who announces that she’s marrying a guy she just met (cue eye roll). At a castle. In gorgeous, romantic Ireland, where Rylan will be in attendance, and Zoey will be a bridesmaid. It’ll be fine. Okay, the woman definition of fine (NOT FINE). Determined to turn her luck around, Zoey accepts her role and vows to get Hannah down the aisle—all the while praying her best friend’s wedded bliss will allow her to embrace marriage and get Rylan back. But as the weekend goes on, Zoey is plagued with more questions than answers. Can you be a free spirit, yet still want a certain future? Can you have love and be loved on your terms? And how DO you wrangle a bossy falcon into doing your bidding? "Laugh-out-loud funny in places and heart-rending serious in others, Greenberg's debut is a unique romance strong on friendships and the importance of being true to oneself that also explores an alternate route to a different happily-ever-after. " —Booklist "An unconventional love story for independent women." —Kirkus Reviews
When life looks radically different than the plan we have for ourselves, it's the lucky few that recognize God's plan is best. That's what adoptive mom Heather Avis learned, and that's the invitation of this book. As the mother of three adopted children - two with Down syndrome - Heather Avis has learned that it's truly the lucky few who get to live a life like hers, who actually recognize that God's plans are best, even when they seem so radically different from the plans we have for ourselves. When Heather started her journey into parenthood she never thought it would look like this, never planned to have three adopted children, and certainly never imagined that two of them would have Down syndrome. But like most things God does, once she stepped into the craziness and confusion that comes with the unknown and the unplanned, she realized that they were indeed among the lucky few. Discover in this book what 70,000+ followers of Heather's hit Instagram account @macymakesmyday already know: the power of faith and family can help us stay strong in the toughest times. This book will also be especially touching to those with adopted family members or children with Down syndrome in their lives.
