When you feel like giving up, remember why you held on for so long in the first place. At just eleven years old, author Shelley Tudin was diagnosed with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, a debilitating disease for which there is no cure. As the disease progressed, Shelley struggled and found some things out of her reachsuch as her love of figure skating and her desire to become a nurse. Even so, she never let the disease prevent her from living life to the fullest. In this memoir, she narrates an inspirational story of how she battled the disease and its weakening symptoms to achieve her dreams. Youre Too Cute to Be Disabled recalls her journeygrowing up in Brantford, Ontario, Canada; graduating from high school in 1983; attending college at the University of Guelph; dealing with romantic relationships; coping with the loss of loved ones; and managing an illness. Youre Too Cute to Be Disabled shows that through Shelleys varied experiences, she gained the confidence, the wisdom, and the power of positive thinking to turn dreams into realities. It shares her transition from a young, frightened girl to a self-confident, happy, independent, and incredibly tenacious woman through a lot of love, laughter, and tears.
Giving Thanks I wanted to take the time and thank all of you who stuck by me during my horrendous struggle. There have been so many people that I have come in contact with over the years, and I wanted to say I'm sorry for anything I might have done that offended or hurt you. Shortly after my husband and I met, he made a comment to me that I didn't give much merit to until now: "Don't complain about the things that you have the power to change." And I now follow that advice to my new everyday life! I also remember a wise person once told me, "It's not what you do while you're here on earth but the legacy that you leave behind!" This is the beginning of my legacy! Thank you to all my family and friends for hanging in there with me. I give my utmost apologies for anything I might have ever done to hurt you. I love you all very much! I am grateful to God every day for you and all that you have done for me! Thank you to my church family for trying to keep in touch with me, letting me know you were all still there for me! I appreciate it more than you'll ever know! I think it would be safe to say that all your prayers for me have been answered! I wanted to say thank you to Jim Carrey, Adam Sandler, and Jeff Dunham for giving me many laughs during my long struggle! I'm sure you might think it's silly, but those laughs helped me in more ways than you could ever imagine! I also want to say thank you to Marshall Mathers. You showed me to be proud of where I came from, and even though we may have been involved with some nightmarish ordeals while growing up, we are still important people in God's eyes! I want to give a special thank-you to Pink for helping me realize that surviving our struggles doesn't mean that we are damaged goods, but we are pretty freakin' incredible! For those of you who like to make mean, nasty, hurtful comments about people, please think twice before saying anything else about any one! Thank you, God, for never giving up on me even when I felt you had every right to! I have chosen you to be the first priority in my life! I love you with all my heart and soul for creating your son and sending him to die for me! That type of sacrifice to save the people you love is truly on a level that is completely mind-blowing and can never be fully appreciated as long as there are people out there who continue to deny you! People say fairy tales don't exist, and I guess I would have to agree but not because I don't think they exist but because what you did to save all of us, all your sinful people whom you created, far outweigh the happy endings in any old fairy tale! There were times when both my parents had really hurt me and let me down, but we all have our imperfections, and with that being said, I have completely forgiven them for everything! But you, my heavenly Father, have never let me down, and I know that you never will! Thank you for taking away my lifelong pain and anger, turning it into knowledge, courage, and strength! I only hope to make you proud and truly be that person you had created me to be! Thank you to everyone for reading this book. God had so many opportunities to take me out of this world, but I am praying you all realize that having the chance to read this book is exactly why he didn't!
A dedicated cop in the Special Victims Bureau, Ryan Mercedes has a trusted friend in lawyer-advocate Audrey Lincoln. Her compassion is the perfect counterpoint to his hard-driving fight for justice. And this good relationship only gets better the night they cross the line from friends to lovers. But they're up against seemingly insurmountable obstacles that could divide them for good. Worse— now she and Ryan are on opposite sides of a controversial case. Can they trust enough to resolve their differences and find their way back to each other?
In A Fork in the Road, Ronald E. Bergmann tells the story of his life. Born in late 1937 in Wisconsin, he passed through his early childhood during World War II. His boyhood interests included both music and scouting. He garnered scoutings highest honor and became an Eagle Scout. His college years led him to earn a Bachelor of Science Degree in industrial education and, later, a Master of Education Degree. Like most people, Ronald Bergmann found himself standing at crossroads as he made his way along the journey of his life. The worst of these times of challenge, pain, and sadness marked a fork in the road. As he contemplated what to do, a friend shared with him the joy and healing and strength that poured forth from the light of Jesus Christ. As his friend assured him, You are a Christian, you believe in Jesus, and as long as you have the light of Christ in you, you will never be alone! A Fork in the Road tells the authors story as a work of personal history, a reflection on an era, and a source of inspiration for others who find themselves standing before a fork in the road and wondering which path to take.
50 personal stories from authors around the USA who believe they have received signs fromloved ones who have passed away. There is something life-changingthat happens when you realize that you¿vereceived a sign from someone who has passed. Yourworld opens to the possibility that they are still withyou, even though it¿s just in spirit.The feeling that accompanies an angel bump.
Amy Lyndon is tired of being the Poor Little Rich Girl of Shenandoah Falls. In her prominent family, she's the ordinary one - no Ivy League education and no powerful career. But when her father tries to marry her off, she knows it's finally time to stand up for herself, despite the consequences. Now that she's cut off from the family fortune, her first challenge is to fight her attraction to her handsome new boss. When Amy shows up looking for work with his landscaping crew, Dusty McNeil thinks there's no way such a pampered princess will ever get her hands dirty. But as Amy proves him wrong and gets down to the nitty gritty, Dusty's admiration turns to like, then lust - and then love. But can a high-society woman like Amy ever fall for a man like him?
Winicker Wallace's family has moved to France! But Winicker likes nothing about it. Her neighbor is irritatingly perfect. It rains too much. A mean girl in class makes her want to return to Massachusetts. But when Winicker finds herself in a scary situation she gets help from an unexpected source and finally sees silver linings in the dark Parisian clouds. Calico is an imprint of Magic Wagon, a division of ABDO.
You've waited more than 20 years...finally...at your fingertips...a one-stop source for information about these prestigious awards and books that have been honored as the best This information-packed volume compiles bibliographic information about the books and authors honored by the Alexander, Edwards, and Printz awards given by YALSA-the division of the American Library Association (ALA) that serves the librarians who work with young adults. Essays written by experts in young adult content are included, and there are separate chapters about each award and its criteria. In addition, you'll find complete lists of award-winning books to date, speeches by and interviews with the winning authors, along with brief annotations, publisher information, subject/thematic descriptions and display and programming ideas.
Animals and Their People: Connecting East and West in Cultural Animal Studies, edited by Anna Barcz and Dorota Łagodzka, provides a zoocentric insight into philosophical, artistic, and literary problems in Western, Anglo-American, and Central-Eastern European context. The contributors go beyond treating humans as the sole object of research and comprehension, and focus primarily on non-human animals. This book results from intellectual exchange between Polish and foreign researchers and highlights cultural perspective as an exciting language of animal representation. Animals and Their People aims to bridge the gap between Anglo-American and Central European human-animal studies.
