When popular, sporty sister, Kristina, is diagnosed with cancer, her younger, brainy sister, Tess, is thrown into new roles as she becomes the center of the popular crowd and must be the strong one in her family.
How do you acknowledge something that you don't give a face to? You can't recognize it if you're constantly acting as if whatever hurt you've been subjected to doesn't exist. Generational curses are being passed down because people are taught not to speak on the "uncomfortable hurt." Many people come from families/communities that sweep everything under the rug like the issue never happened. How do you move on with life if your mind is in bondage due to your unaddressed issues? The moment you acknowledge abuse, molestation, depression, suicidal thoughts, addiction, or abandonment (whatever has given you pain) is the moment you give that thing a face. That's when healing takes place. That's when that thing is real and your identity is no longer associated with your past. That thing is no longer leeching off your existence. You can look in the mirror and actually see a person, versus whatever you've labeled yourself or whatever people have labeled you. You can finally talk about the situation and no longer be embarrassed/ashamed of it. Exposure brings about healing. Healing is the key to accomplishing life and giving it our all. That's all God wants from us. Think of life like a buried diamond. How can God use you, or how can you live life to your fullest potential if you are buried in dirt? The diamond is there. However, the different layers of earth are keeping the diamond in bondage. Therefore, there's no use for it at that point. It is simply being prepared to shine bright. I listen to classical music because it triggers the inner child within myself. It brings back bananas covered in peanut butter and the sticker apples that were put on the plastic tree if you behaved (the apple was removed for bad behavior). Mozart would play through the room as we napped on our mats. It brought back the smell of cinnamon that used to cover my father's studio office. Thinking of these good moments will not take away the hurt that wasn't addressed. Get to the bottom of it so that you can glow and live life to the fullest! You deserve nothing but the best, so go for it.
National Book Award Finalist! Instant New York Times Bestseller! The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian meets Jane the Virgin in this poignant but often laugh-out-loud funny contemporary YA about losing a sister and finding yourself amid the pressures, expectations, and stereotypes of growing up in a Mexican-American home. Perfect Mexican daughters do not go away to college. And they do not move out of their parents’ house after high school graduation. Perfect Mexican daughters never abandon their family. But Julia is not your perfect Mexican daughter. That was Olga’s role. Then a tragic accident on the busiest street in Chicago leaves Olga dead and Julia left behind to reassemble the shattered pieces of her family. And no one seems to acknowledge that Julia is broken, too. Instead, her mother seems to channel her grief into pointing out every possible way Julia has failed. But it’s not long before Julia discovers that Olga might not have been as perfect as everyone thought. With the help of her best friend Lorena, and her first love, first everything boyfriend Connor, Julia is determined to find out. Was Olga really what she seemed? Or was there more to her sister’s story? And either way, how can Julia even attempt to live up to a seemingly impossible ideal? “Alive and crackling—a gritty tale wrapped in a page-turner. ”—The New York Times “Unique and fresh.” —Entertainment Weekly “A standout.” —NPR
From New York Times bestselling author Mariko Tamaki (Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me, Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass) and artist Yoshi Yoshitani (Zatanna and the House of Secrets) comes a story about Mandy, the daughter of super-famous superhero Starfire. Seventeen-year-old Mandy, daughter of Starfire, is not like her mother. Starfire is gorgeous, tall, sparkly, and a hero. Mandy is not a sparkly superhero. Mandy has no powers. She’s a kid who dyes her hair black and hates everyone but her best friend, Lincoln. To Starfire, who is from another planet, Mandy seems like an alien, like some distant, angry, light-years away moon. And ever since she walked out on her SATs, which her mom doesn’t know about, Mandy has been even more distant. Everyone thinks Mandy needs to go to college and become whoever you become at college, but Mandy has other plans. Or she did until she gets partnered with Claire, the person she intensely denies liking but definitely likes a lot, for a school project. When someone from Starfire’s past arrives, Mandy must make a choice: give up before the battle has even begun, or step into the unknown and risk everything to save her mom. I Am Not Starfire is a story about teenagers and/as aliens; about knowing where you come from and where you are going; and about mothers.
At My Fathers Barbers, Mataio (Matt) Faafetai Malietoa Brown offers men a haircut with a difference: a safe space to be seen and heard without judgement. From his barbershop chair, Matt has inspired a new generation of New Zealand men to break free from the cycle of abuse — and those men have in turn inspired him and his wife, Sarah, to create the global anti-violence movement, She Is Not Your Rehab. In this raw and unflinching book Matt shares his own story and those of his clients, of surviving family violence and abuse, and how they were able to find healing and turn their lives around. He introduces the people and concepts that have helped him heal, and gives readers the tools they need to begin their own journeys. She is Not Your Rehab demonstrates the power of vulnerability and honesty in addressing pain and shame, and shows how anyone can empower themselves by taking responsibility for their own healing.
It's about time we made motherhood more diverse... When Candice fell pregnant and stepped into the motherhood playing field, she found her experience bore little resemblance to the glossy magazine photos of women in horizontal stripe tops and the pinned discussions on mumsnet about what pushchair to buy. Leafing through the piles of prenatal paraphernalia, she found herself wondering: "Where are all the black mothers?". Candice started blogging about motherhood in 2016 after making the simple but powerful observation that the way motherhood is portrayed in the British media is wholly unrepresentative of our society at large. The result is this thought-provoking, urgent and inspirational guide to life as a black mother. It explores the various stages in between pregnancy and waving your child off at the gates of primary school, while facing hurdles such as white privilege, racial micro-aggression and unconscious bias at every point. Candice does so with her trademark sense of humour and refreshing straight-talking, and the result is a call-to-arms that will allow mums like her to take control, scrapping the parenting rulebook to mother their own way.
Know this Grace: He loved you by name before all creation. Love this Truth: He’ll know you by name for all eternity. The NIV Grace and Truth Study Bible paints a stunning canvas of the goodness of God’s redemptive plan revealed in the gospel of Jesus. Warmhearted and practical study notes guide your reading as you learn and relearn the good news of Jesus on every page. Whether you are just starting your walk with God or have been studying the Bible for years, you’ll gain fresh insights of grace and truth while you learn to love him more deeply. Some Words of Grace and Truth: Your citizenship is in heaven God is your refuge and strength The Spirit of Jesus lives in you You who mourn will be comforted Features of this NIV Grace and Truth Study Bible, E-Book: Complete text of the accurate, readable, and clear New International Version (NIV) Project leadership by general editor Dr. Al Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Insightful and practical bottom-of-the-page study notes Center-column cross reference system for deeper study Comprehensive NIV concordance Words of Jesus in red 16 pages of full-color maps