This book of dark secrets opens with a blaze. On the morning of her daughter’s wedding, June Reid’s house goes up in flames, destroying her entire family – her present, her past and her future. Fleeing from the carnage, stricken and alone, June finds herself in a motel room by the ocean, hundreds of miles from her Connecticut home, held captive by memories and the mistakes she has made with her only child, Lolly, and her partner, Luke. In the turbulence of grief and gossip left in June’s wake we slowly make sense of the unimaginable. The novel is a gathering of voices, and each testimony has a new revelation about what led to the catastrophe – Luke’s alienated mother Lydia, the watchful motel owners, their cleaner Cissy, the teenage pothead who lives nearby – everyone touched by the tragedy finds themselves caught in the undertow, as their secret histories finally come to light. Lit by the clarity of understanding that true sadness brings, Did You Ever Have a Family is an elegant, unforgettable story that reveals humanity at its worst and best, through loss and love, fracture and forgiveness. At the book’s heart is the idea of family – the ones we are born with and the ones we create – and the desire, in the face of everything, to go on living.

Did you ever see a snail sail? A sheep sleep? Rhymes and pictures of animals are brought together for younger children.

The author, a computer science professor diagnosed with terminal cancer, explores his life, the lessons that he has learned, how he has worked to achieve his childhood dreams, and the effect of his diagnosis on him and his family.

This heartwarming picture book reassures children that a parent’s love never lets go—based on the poignant lyrics of JJ Heller’s beloved lullaby “Hand to Hold.” “May the living light inside you be the compass as you go / May you always know you have my hand to hold.” With delightful illustrations and an engaging rhyme scheme, this book offers the promise of security and love every child’s heart longs to know. From skipping stones and counting stars to climbing trees and telling stories, every moment is wrapped snugly in the certain warmth of a parent’s presence and God’s blessing. With poignancy and joy, this bedtime read captures the unconditional love parents want their children to know but so often fail to express amid the chaos of daily life.

Warning: If youve ever owned a dog, you should enjoy the following book. This book contains 321 cartoons which hopefully will make you smile, chuckle, and perhaps wet yourself (assuming you are older like me!) In my first book Did You Ever Wonder Thinking Outside My Box, my cartoons and their topics were fairly random sort of like stream of conscientiousness writing. This book starts out in a somewhat similar fashion but does eventually develop a couple of story lines. In the early part, youll be introduced to a number of characters but the bulk of the book will focus on Spike, Chico, and Grandpaw. Initially I considered splitting this material into two separate books but didnt think there was enough meat for both books to stand or squat separately. The last thing I wanted to do with a dog story is not have enough meat in it. If I didnt, Id have all the doggie lovers out there howling for my blood not to mention begging for more treats! Regardless, these cartoons were written with the intent of brightening your day! So take off you game face, relax, and let the sunlight enter! JAN PS Dogs like young children enjoy having stories read to them too! Please dont make them beg!

Surviving a disaster that kills everyone else in her family, June relocates West and settles into a directionless existence while other people impacted by the tragedy struggle with new circumstances.

Royalties from the sale of this book are being donated to Autism Speaks And Special Olympics When we’ve gone without something, it’s difficult, if not impossible, to comprehend what impact the void has had. While we can imagine how things might have been different, there’s no true point of reference that enables us to say whether it’s left us better or worse off, richer or poorer as a person. So it was with the absence of author Richard Haviland’s father. Having never really known him, combined with the presence of a caring stepfather, he rarely thought of himself as not having had a father in his life. He didn’t spend his childhood or adolescence feeling deprived or cheated. But a series of conversations at work and home prodded Haviland and forced him to consider what could be, not just for him but for his wife, a new baby daughter, and the other children they planned to have. In Did You Ever Get to Edinburgh?, Haviland shares the story of the search for his birth father. It chronicles a journey of love and loss, pain and joy and, ultimately, reconciliation with the man he needed most to meet, a completion of the circle of life for the father and son.

This book was written for non-native speakers of English and those learning English as a second or foreign language. This book is different from standard grammar books because it looks at grammar points that are easily and often confused either because of translation issues or simple misunderstandings. The points I've included here come from many years of experience helping people learn English and analyzing the most common errors that are made.

Forget the 10,000 hour rule— what if it’s possible to learn the basics of any new skill in 20 hours or less? Take a moment to consider how many things you want to learn to do. What’s on your list? What’s holding you back from getting started? Are you worried about the time and effort it takes to acquire new skills—time you don’t have and effort you can’t spare? Research suggests it takes 10,000 hours to develop a new skill. In this nonstop world when will you ever find that much time and energy? To make matters worse, the early hours of prac­ticing something new are always the most frustrating. That’s why it’s difficult to learn how to speak a new language, play an instrument, hit a golf ball, or shoot great photos. It’s so much easier to watch TV or surf the web . . . In The First 20 Hours, Josh Kaufman offers a systematic approach to rapid skill acquisition— how to learn any new skill as quickly as possible. His method shows you how to deconstruct com­plex skills, maximize productive practice, and remove common learning barriers. By complet­ing just 20 hours of focused, deliberate practice you’ll go from knowing absolutely nothing to performing noticeably well. Kaufman personally field-tested the meth­ods in this book. You’ll have a front row seat as he develops a personal yoga practice, writes his own web-based computer programs, teaches himself to touch type on a nonstandard key­board, explores the oldest and most complex board game in history, picks up the ukulele, and learns how to windsurf. Here are a few of the sim­ple techniques he teaches: Define your target performance level: Fig­ure out what your desired level of skill looks like, what you’re trying to achieve, and what you’ll be able to do when you’re done. The more specific, the better. Deconstruct the skill: Most of the things we think of as skills are actually bundles of smaller subskills. If you break down the subcompo­nents, it’s easier to figure out which ones are most important and practice those first. Eliminate barriers to practice: Removing common distractions and unnecessary effort makes it much easier to sit down and focus on deliberate practice. Create fast feedback loops: Getting accu­rate, real-time information about how well you’re performing during practice makes it much easier to improve. Whether you want to paint a portrait, launch a start-up, fly an airplane, or juggle flaming chain­saws, The First 20 Hours will help you pick up the basics of any skill in record time . . . and have more fun along the way.

An eagle soaring among the clouds or a star twinkling in the night sky . . . a camel in the desert or a boat sailing across the sea—yoga has the power of transformation. Not only does it strengthen bodies and calm minds, but with a little imagination, it can show us that anything is possible. New York Times bestselling illustrator Peter H. Reynolds and author and certified yoga instructor Susan Verde team up again in this book about creativity and the power of self-expression. I Am Yoga encourages children to explore the world of yoga and make room in their hearts for the world beyond it. A kid-friendly guide to 17 yoga poses is included.