Drawn from interviews with more than one hundred women, the author explores the debate between traditional birthing options and alternative choices, providing valuable information on today's childbirth options and creative solutions that bridge seemingly conflicting goals. Original.

This book is an essential read for those wishing to develop their leadership skills.

His name was Joshua Carter. Now it's whatever she wants it to be. She is a Deliverer. She lures young men and delivers them to be sold. She delivers the strikes that enforce their obedience. She delivers the training that determines their purchase price. As long as she delivers, the arrangement that protects her family will hold. Delivering is all she knows. The one thing she can't deliver is a captive from slavery. Until him. And her stubborn slave thinks he can deliver her...from herself. DELIVER series (HEAs with no cliffhangers - must be read in order): Deliver #1 Vanquish #2 Disclaim #3 Devastate #4Take #5More to come!

On the night of Alex Carmody's sixteenth birthday, she and her best friend, Cass, are victims of a terrible car accident. Alex survives; Cass doesn't. Consumed by grief, Alex starts cutting school and partying, growing increasingly detached. The future she'd planned with her friend is now meaningless to her. Meg Carmody is heartbroken for her daughter, even as she's desperate to get Alex's life back on track. The Birches, a boarding school in New Hampshire, promises to do just that, yet Alex refuses to go. But when Meg finds a bag of pills hidden in the house, she makes a fateful call to a transporter whose company specializes in shuttling troubled teens to places like The Birches, under strict supervision. Meg knows Alex will feel betrayed--as will her estranged husband, who knows nothing of Meg's plans for their daughter. When the transport goes wrong--and Alex goes missing--Meg must face the consequences of her decision and her deception. But the hunt for Alex reveals that Meg is not the only one keeping secrets.

Deliver. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, it means “to produce the promised, desired, or expected result.” In business, there is no better honor than to be relied upon to consistently deliver. The ability to deliver matters for all levels, from a new graduate to a seasoned executive. The core competencies required to deliver build on top of each other, rooted in the foundational skills to be a great individual contributor. Surprisingly, most skills are not directly taught in formal education or at the workplace. This book introduces and teaches proven, easy-to-follow techniques for a person to deliver as an individual contributor, a collaborator, and a leader. Techniques that I picked up over a 20+ year career filled with epic failures and heart-pumping successes. After losing millions of dollars in my own venture in China, I was forced to reset my career with no tangible assets (e.g., I was near broke), with no job leads (e.g., I moved to a new country to be with my family), and with no proven corporate record (e.g., I only had entry level roles to that point). Yet, what I did have were untaught lessons on how to deliver. Lessons that were never articulated to me in school or the self-help books that I read so much of. When an entry level opportunity at Uber came along, these simple techniques allowed me to “growth hack” my career at a mind boggling pace. I went from sitting in a tiny rented office to managing thousands of people in less than a few years. Deliver. is a structured set of learnings told through engaging stories from my experiences and from the voices of others. The lessons follow the concept of inside-out. The focus is on how to develop the self into a great individual contributor at work, through lessons on how to think in a structured manner, how to communicate, and how to manage one’s emotions. The lessons then expand outwards to teach a person how to build and manage relationships, both as a stakeholder and as a manager. It ends with insights on how to become a great leader. Using relatable topics such as Marie Kondo’s methods of tidying-up to business lessons from an entrepreneur selling contact lenses for chickens to leadership lessons from the Navy SEALS, Deliver. draws examples from various disciplines to weave together a practical, memorable lesson plan. While the theory is important, the aim is to offer practical techniques to learn the underlying business and leadership principles. There is even a new term I coined for a technique that has been used for years at Uber. My dream for this book is to impart actionable advice for millions that can help growth hack a person’s career, regardless if they are new to the corporate world or if they are well seasoned.

Praise for Deliver the Unexpected "Richard's insights are exactly what entrepreneurs need to read to transform their business in today's new reality." Margaret Kelly, CEO of RE/MAX International "Deliver the Unexpected is an absolute must-read for any entrepreneur serious about changing the game." Robin Sharma, bestselling author of The Leader Who Had No Title and The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari "Much more than just a fascinating story and much more than just a book on success. Be ready to come away with knowledge of the principles that will help you take your career and income to a whole new level." Bob Burg, coauthor of The Go-Giver and author of Endless Referrals "Anyone can beat up on common wisdom. The trick is building something better in its place, and Robbins has done it big time. Highly recommended." Michael Port, coauthor of The Contrarian Effect: Why It Pays (BIG) to Take Typical Sales Advice and Do the Opposite "Good news: spending time with Richard Robbins's new book, Deliver the Unexpected, isn't work. This fictional parable makes ingesting a dose of well-thought-out career advice no work at all." Phil Soper, President & CEO, Brookfield Real Estate Services/Royal LePage "This is a terrific book entertaining, insightful, and fast-moving. You learn a series of proven, practical methods and techniques to help you build and run a more profitable business." Brian Tracy, Chairman & CEO, Brian Tracy International

One People. One Union. One Future. Wynne's entire life is dictated by the Union: the clothes she wears, the books she reads, even the genes she inherited. And like every other girl in the Union, Wynne dreams of being chosen as a Carrier on her 16th birthday-one of the elite selected to carry the future generation within her womb. Wynne and her best friend Odessa are certain they will both make the cut, but when Odessa is chosen and whisked off to a life of privilege, Wynne is left behind to work as an assistant, delivering perfectly planned babies for the Union. As Odessa slips deeper and deeper into the role of Carrier, Wynne begins to see the Union for what it really is: a society that criminalizes the notion of love, and forbids words like mother and family. For the first time in her life, Wynne is faced with a choice: submit to the will of the Union, or find a way to escape and save Odessa before she is lost forever.

Managing projects and solving difficult situations within organizations can be devilishly difficult. Complexity and uncertainty can provoke inappropriate, even counterproductive, judgments and actions. In such circumstances, you need special tools and processes to help you sort out your strategy and make better choices. Co-authors Pollyanna Pixton, Niel Nickolaisen, Todd Little and Kent McDonald provide effective mechanisms for managing projects and solving problems. They approach business decision making with careful deliberation, analytical precision and sound reasoning. Their book provides the support systems you need to weigh your options and address your business dilemmas. getAbstract finds that leaders at all levels will benefit from knowing this book's hands-on tools.