You might wonder how an average girl, living a normal life, could find herself in the pits of addiction. I wondered that very thing. How could I have ever allowed myself to be controlled by a pain pill? So I decided to trace my steps, and find out exactly where I went so wrong; that's how this book came into existence. My story was written entirely by me. It's an honest account of my journey from being broken to becoming a far more beautiful version of myself. When I say beautiful, I'm not referring to physical beauty; I am referring to my soul, my spirit, and the essence of who I am. There is much that I am ashamed of, and sincerely wish I could undo. However, I have realized that I cannot change the past; I can only learn from it and make the present and future better than I thought possible. So, I choose to look at my journey as a blessing, for it's made me into the person that I am today, and I'm extremely proud of who I have become. It wasn't easy; it required a lot of hard work and determination, but it was worth every bit of pain that I endured. My sincere hope is that my story can serve as a lesson for others. I want my nightmare to prevent yours. And if, by chance, you're in the middle of your own nightmare, I want you to know that I am living, breathing proof that there is a happy ending waiting for you. Allow me to share with you what I never wanted anyone to know, my addiction and how I overcame it. Freedom and a bright future are waiting for you. Let me help you get there.

Do you remember when you lost your innocence? I do... It was 1969, GRACIE MAE WILLIAMS ran through the sprinklers in her backyard. Today, one week before her sixth birthday, a terrible abuse was born. An abuse which would be called the game, would last for eight years. Creating a world to escape where the skies are pink and yellow, and happy dancing flowers move gingerly in the soft wind, Gracie would hide here in her thoughts. Hoping to hold on to what little innocence she still had remaining, her abuser would continue to follow her to even the safest corners of her dreams. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, a young girl sold peanuts in the streets of Vietnam. An American soldier, JAXTON CARLTON WYATT would offer her a hope of better things to come. Two little girls lived seven thousand miles apart, but one day their lives would come together. Joined by a shared fate, only one would be saved. Unfolding over the course of eight years, with flashbacks that offer insight into the characters' histories, Mending Broken Wings is a work of women's fiction (based on true events) With three generations of compelling drama set in China, Vietnam and the U.S., this novel will appeal to readers of both fiction and non-fiction.

'One of the most unforgettable books I have read in the last few years... What a writer! What a thinker! What a woman!' Fiammetta Rocco From the award-winning author of Dust comes a magical, sea-saturated, coming-of-age novel that transports readers from Kenya to China and Turkey. On an island in the Lamu Archipelago lives a solitary, stubborn child called Ayaana and her mother, Munira. When a sailor, Muhidin, enters their lives, the child finds something she has never had before: a father. But as Ayaana grows into adulthood, forces of nature and history begin to reshape her life, leading her to distant countries and fraught choices. Selected as a descendant of long-ago Chinese shipwrecked sailors Ayaana is sent to study in China. Leaving her resourceful single mother, she is forced to grow up fast. Whether it's the scarred captain of the Chinese shipping container that transports Ayaana or the son of Turkish shipping magnate who trades in refugees, Owuor never loses a profound sense of empathy for her characters. She evokes a fascinating kind of beauty in this dangerous, chaotic world and its ever-shifting oceans and trade. Told with a glorious lyricism, The Dragonfly Sea is a transcendent story of love and adventure, and of the inexorable need for shelter in a dangerous world. 'One of Africa's most exciting voices ... The Dragonfly Sea is a continent-hopping novel of epic proportions.' Refinery29 'In its omnivorous interest in the world, The Dragonfly Sea is a paean to both cultural diffusion and difference . . . as much as [the novel] traces the globe, it also depicts an internal pilgrimage, its heroine in rose attar a broken saint.' New York Times 'Owuor continues to break ground among contemporary African writers.' Vanity Fair

The numerous studies of Maxine Hong Kingston's touchstone work The Woman Warrior fail to take into account the stories in China Men, which were largely written together with those in The Woman Warrior but later published separately. Although Hong Kingston's decision to separate the male and female narratives enabled readers to see the strength of the resulting feminist point of view in The Woman Warrior, the author has steadily maintained that to understand the book fully it was necessary to read its male companion text. Maureen Sabine's ambitious study of The Woman Warrior and China Men aims to bring these divided texts back together with a close reading that looks for the textual traces of the father in The Woman Warrior and shows how the daughter narrator tracks down his history in China Men. She considers theories of intertextuality that open up the possibility of a dynamic interplay between the two books and suggests that the Hong family women and men may be struggling for dialogue with each other even when they appear textually silent or apart.

A 2021 Coretta Scott King Honor Book! Winner of the 2020 National Book Award for Young People's Literature! Winner of the 2020 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction and Poetry! In a small but turbulent Louisiana town, one boy's grief takes him beyond the bayous of his backyard, to learn that there is no right way to be yourself. FOUR STARRED REVIEWS! Booklist School Library Journal Publishers Weekly The Horn Book Twelve-year-old Kingston James is sure his brother Khalid has turned into a dragonfly. When Khalid unexpectedly passed away, he shed what was his first skin for another to live down by the bayou in their small Louisiana town. Khalid still visits in dreams, and King must keep these secrets to himself as he watches grief transform his family. It would be easier if King could talk with his best friend, Sandy Sanders. But just days before he died, Khalid told King to end their friendship, after overhearing a secret about Sandy-that he thinks he might be gay. "You don't want anyone to think you're gay too, do you?" But when Sandy goes missing, sparking a town-wide search, and King finds his former best friend hiding in a tent in his backyard, he agrees to help Sandy escape from his abusive father, and the two begin an adventure as they build their own private paradise down by the bayou and among the dragonflies. As King's friendship with Sandy is reignited, he's forced to confront questions about himself and the reality of his brother's death. The Thing About Jellyfish meets The Stars Beneath Our Feet in this story about loss, grief, and finding the courage to discover one's identity, from the author of Hurricane Child.

A Roadmap to Living an Extraordinary Life from the Bestselling Author of Begin with Yes Be Amazing is a motivational and inspiring call to action for people who want more out of life, guiding them and helping them discover how to be amazing in their everyday work and personal lives. Using the signature gentle, conversational style that made Paul Boynton's Begin with Yes so popular, Paul captivates readers with stories of extraordinary people in everyday circumstances, and then zeroes in on the qualities and habits that make them so amazing. By distilling the universal qualities that yield such amazing results, Paul helps readers understand the simple commitments and actions that they can employ in their own lives that will help them be amazing, too—at home, at work, and the pursuit of their passions. Be Amazing shows readers how they can accelerate into lives that are rich and fulfilling, thanks to simple principles that are both universal and easy to understand and apply day-to-day. Learn how generosity and kindness will propel you toward success. Discover the power of setting intentions. Be inspired to serve your community and reap the surprising rewards of doing so. And perhaps most importantly, be empowered to be you. Simple, direct, and full of hope and practical wisdom, Be Amazing will help lead you to the life you've always wanted, while helping others along the way.

Four and a half months after her boyfriend became a paraplegic in a motorbike accident, he and Emma travelled to Australia, Emma's home country, and embarked upon a 18,000 kilometre backpacking trip. This story takes the reader on a whirlwind trip around Australia. A young woman struggling to accept her boyfriend's paralysis, and a paraplegic man backpacking during a time many spinal injured patients remain in hospital. Written with honesty, insight and dark humour, Emma examines the dynamics of the relationship, impact of the injury, difficulties faced learning to live in a wheelchair in a challenging country, and encountering perceptions of the disabled.Ultimately, this is a compelling love story. I believe not only people experiencing spinal injuries, their family and friends would be interested in my book, but also people interested in travel and memoir. Kev and I were a typical young couple working ski seasons, and my book shows that life can change quickly and dramatically. - Emma White

A Broken Flute is a book of reviews that critically evaluate children's books about Native Americans written between the early 1900s and 2003, accompanied by stories, essays and poems from its contributors. The authors critique some 600 books by more than 500 authors, arranging titles A to Z and covering pre-school, K-12 levels, and evaluations of some adult and teacher materials. This book is a valuable resource for community and educational organizations, and a key reference for public and school libraries, and Native American collections.