Life isn't fair. We do our best; we will fail and find pain along the way, but we will never give up. A Brick Wall is a story of how a little boy's diagnosis set his parents on a journey seeking answers and changes to the world he lives in. This honest account takes us through their approach in raising their three children, two of whom were diagnosed with autism. The Gallaghers crafted their parenting skills, retained their patience, and met their challenges with love, determination, and fierceness. Believing a cluster of children with autism lived in their hometown, the Gallagher's journey led them to their congressman's office. Alongside Congressman Chris Smith, their efforts led to national legislation, and awareness of the disability. As the reader follows their story, through tragedy of illness, and battles with an unfair system, they will become attached to the Gallagher family, and cheer them on in hopes of a victory. This is not a fairy tale of how autism was defeated, or any miraculous breakthrough. Discover a very personal account of how a family coped from diagnosis to adulthood, through tragedy of illness and their battle with an unfair system. A Brick Wall is a story of how a family has learned that each and every life has value, and you never truly know the part you have played in making the world a better place. Through many of the struggles and often unfair cards dealt, the Gallagher's have persevered to ensure that their children have happy lives, regardless of the severity of their autism. Bobbie and Bill Gallagher's journey led them to their congressman's office. Believing a cluster of children with autism lived in their hometown. With Congressman Chris Smith, their efforts led to national legislation and awareness of the disability. That was just the beginning of the Gallaghers' fight for the treatment and understanding they knew their children deserved. At the core this book is a love story, a love story of a remarkable family set upon the battlefield of a system that was trying to destroy them. This book allows us an intimate insiders view of the Gallagher's epic fight to give their children a life worth living. Their struggles and triumph has impacted the entire Autism community. This simply is a must read for every parent, for every educator and everyone with a heart. What an incredible book, what an incredible journey! ~ Gary Weitzen, Executive Director, POAC Autism Services Written in an intimate, honest, and compassionate way, the Gallagher family's story is captivating, filled with the painful realities and hard-won joys of life with severe autism. As we witness Alanna and Austin's daily and lifelong challenges, I stand in awe of them and their parents' determination and resilience. Much like the untold stories of so many families, this must-read book is both heartbreaking and inspiring! ~ Suzanne Buchanan, Psy.D., BCBA-D, Autism New Jersey From the first sentence Gallagher draws you into the often difficult yet rewarding world of raising two children on the autism spectrum, and she does so with grace, humor, and candor. Her writing spans two decades, taking readers from the early days of diagnosis to how she is creating fulfilling lives for both of her adult children. Amidst the challenges and celebrations outlined in this book she offers hope to parents; it is a must-read for anyone raising an autistic child." ~ Kimberlee Rutan McCafferty, author of Raising Autism: Surviving the Early Years

The first incendiary collection of stencils and graffiti from Banksy, presented and bound in a handy pocket sized high quality format. Rarely have art and politics been put to such fine, and overtly public, use. Mix the irony and juxtaposition of John Yates with the beauty of the finest aerosol art, and you'll have some idea of how good this really is. The reproductions are interspersed with an excellent array of quotes, statements, letters and a beginners guide to painting with stencils. Very, very good.

“A lively popular history of an oft-overlooked element in the development of human society” (Library Journal)—walls—and a haunting and eye-opening saga that reveals a startling link between what we build and how we live. With esteemed historian David Frye as our raconteur-guide in Walls, which Publishers Weekly praises as “informative, relevant, and thought-provoking,” we journey back to a time before barriers of brick and stone even existed—to an era in which nomadic tribes vied for scarce resources, and each man was bred to a life of struggle. Ultimately, those same men would create edifices of mud, brick, and stone, and with them effectively divide humanity: on one side were those the walls protected; on the other, those the walls kept out. The stars of this narrative are the walls themselves—rising up in places as ancient and exotic as Mesopotamia, Babylon, Greece, China, Rome, Mongolia, Afghanistan, the lower Mississippi, and even Central America. As we journey across time and place, we discover a hidden, thousand-mile-long wall in Asia's steppes; learn of bizarre Spartan rituals; watch Mongol chieftains lead their miles-long hordes; witness the epic siege of Constantinople; chill at the fate of French explorers; marvel at the folly of the Maginot Line; tense at the gathering crisis in Cold War Berlin; gape at Hollywood’s gated royalty; and contemplate the wall mania of our own era. Hailed by Kirkus Reviews as “provocative, well-written, and—with walls rising everywhere on the planet—timely,” Walls gradually reveals the startling ways that barriers have affected our psyches. The questions this book summons are both intriguing and profound: Did walls make civilization possible? And can we live without them? Find out in this masterpiece of historical recovery and preeminent storytelling.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “No human relationship is without betrayal, irritation and annoyance, but Kushner makes clear that it’s what we do about such obstacles that matter” (Los Angeles Times Book Review) in this best-selling guide to being your best self, even when things don’t turn out as you’d hoped. The beloved author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People, Rabbi Harold S. Kushner here turns to the experience of Moses to find the requisite lessons of strength and faith—the lessons that teach us how to overcome the disappointments that life inherently brings. We can learn how to meet all disappointments with faith in ourselves and the future, and how to respond to heartbreak—how to weather the disillusionment of dreams unfulfilled, the pain of a lost job, divorce or abandonment, illness, and more—with understanding rather than bitterness and despair. With Kushner’s signature warmth, Overcoming Life’s Disappointments is a book of spiritual wisdom—as practical as it is inspiring.

Here is a unique, business-oriented approach to job hunting which provides the reader with step-by-step instructions in finding a new and/or improved position. Wendleton explains why the "tried and true" techniques no longer work and includes up-to-the-minute job-hunting techniques and astute lessons on how to turn interviews into offers.

With a foreword by Michael Portillo. Deborah Mattinson had a unique perspective on the New Labour project. As Britain's leading political pollster, she has been monitoring public opinion since the mid-1980s, and helped transform Labour into Europe's greatest election-winning machine of the modern era. Most recently as chief pollster to Gordon Brown as Prime Minister, she has been on the frontline of electoral politics, consistently representing the voter's side of the story to the politicans. Sometimes, she has encountered scepticism - a belligerent John Smith made an unappreciative witness to one of Deborah's focus groups - and she has often had to convey unwelcome results - telling a grumpy Gordon Brown he needed to spruce up his appearance cannot have been easy. With a stellar cast, including Neil Kinnock, Peter Mandelson, John Smith, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, Talking to A Brick Wall reviews the New Labour years from the voter's point of view. It tracks the ups and downs of the Blair/Brown era as seen from beyond Westminster, showing how closely political reputation correlates with voter connection. It profiles the swing voter, shows the importance of women's votes, and what gives a politician popular appeal, and maps the voters' views through the 2010 campaign and its immediate aftermath, showing how the electorate has been left out of political decision making and revealing the public's recipe for rehabilitating the Labour Party and rebuilding trust in democracy. A champion of democratic renewal through citizen engagement, Deborah Mattinson believes that we must move to new grown up partnership politics if democracy is to thrive.

Over 400 pages of interesting and useful stories from people who have encountered problems in their genealogical research, and the solutions they employed. F0006HB - $25.00

The whole world has fallen in love with this international bestseller - hundreds of thousands of copies have been sold across 25 countries. Now it's Australia's turn to rediscover this jewel of a book on mindfulness. In times of uncertainty, words of comfort are essential, and the stunning overseas sales of this title are testament to its universal appeal. These modern tales of hope, forgiveness, freedom from fear and overcoming pain cleverly relate the timeless wisdom of the Buddha's teachings and the path to true happiness in a warm and accessible way. Ajahn Brahm was born and raised in the West and in his more than thirty years as a Buddhist monk he has gathered many poignant, funny and profound stories. He has tremendous ability to filter these stories through the Buddha's teaching so that they can have meaning for all sorts of readers. There are many thousands of Australians who don't even know that they need this book yet, but who will no doubt embrace it just as overseas readers have. It is the perfect gift book as there is truly something in it for everyone. 'Ajahn Brahm is the Seinfeld of Buddhism' - Sumi Loundon, editor of Blue Jean Buddha: Voices of Young Buddhists and The Buddha's Apprentices