Mark Doty's prose has been hailed as "tempered and tough, sorrowing and serene" (The New York Times Book Review) and "achingly beautiful" (The Boston Globe). In Still Life with Oysters and Lemon he offers a stunning exploration of our attachment to ordinary things-how we invest objects with human store, and why.

One single moment changes everythingIn one breath, you can have it allA split-second later, it can all disappearVanished foreverThat was meI had it allThen in a cruel twist of fate, it was taken from meA beautiful life gone in a flashBut he was thereHe was there to pick me up when I fellTo protect meMy savior. My rock. He was just a strangerJust a selfless stranger with a face I'll never forgetCan't forgetWon't forgetAnd like everything else, he just disappearedAs if he never existed I have to find himI need to find him He has to know that he saved meHe has to know that in that one fleeting moment, he was all I could see

Little is known about the Tamil liberation cause and struggle, as it has been widely dismissed by global powers of all persuasions-the USA, Russia, China and India-each driven by their own realpolitik concerns and self- interests. This book, written by a Diaspora Tamil engaged in human rights work in the Tamil-controlled area of Vanni up until it was overrun by Sri Lankan forces, provides a compelling insider’s look at the motivations, issues and complexities of this largely secret civil war; the entire text is based on first hand observation and includes sociological insights based on these first hand observations. Isolatd in their struggle and condemned by world opinion, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) nonetheless proved capable of withstanding all external forces for a period of decades, drawing large numbers of Tamils, both inside Sri Lanka and outside in the Tamil Diaspora, to support tits cause. The LTTE created a progressive internal movement that succeeded in breaking down ancient caste barriers that had resisted the political inducements and leadership of figures such as Gandhi, and inculcated a climate of social justice and equality. This book describes what life was like on the ground inside Tamil- controlled territory where the forces of war were held at bay-what the author has referred to in the title of this book as "The Fleeting Moment...". What followed was a process of the destruction of everything that she described when it was overrun by the Sri Lankan army and the Tamil genocide began.

Winner of the 2014 CLASS Reunion Kudos Book Award, fiction category. After the tragic death of Butch Browning’s wife, Jenny, four families begin to realize how precious—and fleeting—their time together is. Each is at a different stage in life: Butch is facing single parenthood. The O’Reillys are expecting their first child. The Andersons are approaching an empty nest, and the Buckleys are so focused on providing their children with everything that they’ve forgotten what they truly need. With just eighteen summers before their children are grown, how do they make the most of that time when life so often gets in the way? As summer flies by, each of these parents must learn about guilt and grace . . . and when to hold on to their kids and when to let go.

If you are in love, afraid of being in love or in love but don’t quite know with what, then this is the book for you. If you are unhappily married, happily unmarried, or vice versa, then this book is the distraction you need. If you have children, don’t have children, or ever plan to be a child yourself, then hang on to the monkey bars this book is. If you have one life, infinite loves and time management issues, then you are holding the essential field guide to sorting out the clutter. Or wreckage. Or whatever it is you call yourself.