What would you do if you were part of an ancient prophecy that would change history? Xavier, a normal high school student, is thrown into a strange world seemingly in the past. But, not is all as it seems. Join our friend as he delves into a world of magic and impending war, a part of something he never could have expected. There are those who are born to be heroes and those who are thrust into the role. Which will Xavier prove to be? Finding Myself in Fantasy is a series in the works for awhile. A graphic novel will be on the way sometime soon.

A raw, vulnerable account of the trauma inherent in caring for an addict, Finding Myself in a Nightmare: A mother’s healing journey through her daughter’s addiction is the story of one mother’s experience as she woke to the truth, learned to navigate the pain, and realized she had to heal herself from years of self-loathing in order to positively affect her daughter's recovery. Over a period of five years, Judi Turkheimer rode a roller coaster of strong emotion as she breathed in the very real possibility of losing her daughter. There were many days fraught with fear, hopelessness, and anguish. As Judi began to do the hard work of healing, feelings of joy and hope started to come out from the shadows. Through lies and loss, denial and disgust, rehab and relapse, and finally awareness and acceptance, Judi learned that unconditionally loving her daughter necessitated not only tough love, but also self-love. Without loving herself, she knew she was of no use to anyone else. Intended to validate, support, and encourage, Finding Myself in a Nightmare is a story of triumphs, mistakes, pain, discovery, and trust. As Judi takes us into her home and heart, we learn about her biases, her resistance, and her ignorance. Willing to do what was needed to help her child, Judi invites us to accompany her on the journey. Eventually concluding she would be alright, whatever the outcome for her daughter, Judi offers the tips and tools that kept her from going insane. Reminding herself to be grateful, set boundaries, take small steps, and be present in the moment became a full-time job. Finding Myself in a Nightmare is a book about loving an addict, helping an addict, and the search for strength and unconditional love at a soul level. If you love an addict, this book is for you. If you struggle to find love of self, this book is for you. If you want to learn to love unconditionally, this book is for you.

In a world where “Save yourself for marriage,” “You dress to impress,” “Don't date this guy,” “Don't date this girl,” “Don't drink too much,” “Focus on your studies,”and“Put your career first” are the rules, Olivia Manu, a Romanian student in Barcelona, and Polo García, a Spanish actor, are about to challenge everything. Olivia, bound by her father's strict guidelines, and Polo, a talented Spanish actor who's lost touch with living, cross paths and ignite a thrilling adventure of self-discovery. Join them on an extraordinary journey as they challenge societal norms, grapple with love, search for their true selves and find the courage to live authentically. Olivia and Polo's story will leave you captivated, reminding us all that sometimes, the only way to find ourselves is to defy expectations. Warning: This book contains sensitive topics, including abuse and LGBTQ+ themes.

A single mom of newborn twins seeks a path through post-natal depression—while also trying to keep her beauty salon afloat—in this powerful, emotional novel. Kat’s life has become a blur of dirty nappies and sleepless nights. She has moved into the flat above the salon she owns—without Max, the father of her children. To make matters worse, Max has revealed he plans to remarry. With her twin babies taking up all of her time and Max never around to help, Kat feels constantly on edge—and when she’s diagnosed with post-natal depression, she feels more alone than ever . . .This conclusion to the trilogy that began with Holding Myself and Losing Myself is an emotional, uplifting novel about a woman searching for the light at the end of the tunnel and the strength she finds in the people in her life—and in herself. “An amazing character.” —Gemma’s Book Reviews

Daydreaming, our ability to give ‘to airy nothing a local habitation and a name’, remains one of the least understood aspects of human behaviour. As children we explore beyond the boundaries of our experience by projecting ourselves into the mysterious worlds outside our reach. As adolescents and adults we transcend frustration by dreams of achievement or escape, and use daydreaming as a way out of intolerable situations and to help survive boredom, drudgery or routine. In old age we turn back to happier memories as a relief from loneliness or frailty, or wistfully daydream about what we would do if we had our time over again. Why is it that we have the ability to alternate between fantasy and reality? Is it possible to have ambition or the ability to experiment, create or invent without the catalyst of fantasy? Are sexual fantasies an inherent part of human behaviour? Are they universal, healthy, destructive? Is daydreaming itself destructive? Or is it a force which facilitates change and which can even be harnessed to positive advantage? In this provocative book, originally published in 1975, the product of the previous twenty-five years of research, the author debates the nature and function of daydreaming in the light of his own experiments. As well as investigating what is a normal ‘fantasy-life’ and outlining patterns and types of daydreaming, he describes the role of daydreaming in schizophrenia and paranoia, examines the fantasies and hallucinations induced by drugs and also the nature of altered states of consciousness in Zen and Transcendental Meditation. Among the many topics covered, he explains how it is possible to help children enlarge their capacity for fantasy, how adults can make positive use of daydreaming and how people on the verge of disturbed behaviour are often unconscious of their own fantasies. Advances in scientific methods and new experimental techniques had made it possible at this time to monitor both conscious daydreaming and sub-conscious fantasies in a way not possible before. Professor Singer is one of the few scientists who have conducted substantial research in this area and it is his belief that the study of daydreaming and fantasy is of great importance if we are to understand the workings of the human mind.

From former football player and star of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette comes a fascinating and eye-opening behind-the-scenes look at his drama-filled season on the hit reality show. Before Colton Underwood captured the hearts of millions on The Bachelor, he was a goofy, socially awkward, overweight adolescent who succeeded on the football field while struggling with personal insecurities off it. An All American gridiron hero, he was also a complex, sometimes confused, soft-hearted romantic wondering how these contradictions fit together. Old-fashioned and out of step with the swipe right dating culture of today, he was saving the most intimate part of life for the love of his life. If only he could find her… Now, in The First Time, Colton opens up about how he came to find himself and true love at the same time via the Bachelor franchise. Unencumbered by cameras and commercial breaks, he delivers a surprisingly raw, endearing, and seriously juicy account of his journey through The Bachelorette, Bachelor in Paradise, and The Bachelor, along with what has happened with him and Cassie Randolph since his season wrapped. He opens up about being dumped by Becca, his secret dalliance with Tia, what it was like to be the world’s most famous virgin, his behind-the-scenes conflicts with production, and how his on-camera responsibilities as the Bachelor nearly destroyed him after he knew he had already fallen in love with Cassie. A memoir for Bachelor Nation and anyone who believes in the magic of love, The First Time carries a simple but powerful message: It’s okay to laugh and cry and occasionally jump over a fence, if it means coming one step closer to the right person.

A Hugo Award-winning author and music journalist explores the weird and wild story of when rock ’n’ roll met the sci-fi world of the 1970s As the 1960s drew to a close, and mankind trained its telescopes on other worlds, old conventions gave way to a new kind of hedonistic freedom that celebrated sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll. Derided as nerdy or dismissed as fluff, science fiction rarely gets credit for its catalyzing effect on this revolution. In Strange Stars, Jason Heller recasts sci-fi and pop music as parallel cultural forces that depended on one another to expand the horizons of books, music, and out-of-this-world imagery. In doing so, he presents a whole generation of revered musicians as the sci-fi-obsessed conjurers they really were: from Sun Ra lecturing on the black man in the cosmos, to Pink Floyd jamming live over the broadcast of the Apollo 11 moon landing; from a wave of Star Wars disco chart toppers and synthesiser-wielding post-punks, to Jimi Hendrix distilling the “purplish haze” he discovered in a pulp novel into psychedelic song. Of course, the whole scene was led by David Bowie, who hid in the balcony of a movie theater to watch 2001: A Space Odyssey, and came out a changed man… If today’s culture of Comic Con fanatics, superhero blockbusters, and classic sci-fi reboots has us thinking that the nerds have won at last, Strange Stars brings to life an era of unparalleled and unearthly creativity—in magazines, novels, films, records, and concerts—to point out that the nerds have been winning all along.

In 18th-century Germany philosophers were occupied with questions of who we are and what we should be. Can the individual fulfill its vocation or is this possible only for humanity as a whole? Is significant progress towards perfection in any way possible for me or just for me as part of humanity? By following the origin and nature of these debates, this collection sheds light on the vocation of humanity in early German philosophy. Featuring translations of Spalding's Contemplation on the Vocation of the Human Being in its first version from 1748 and an extended translation of Abbt's and Mendelssohn's epistolary discussion around the Doubts and the Oracle from 1767, newly-commissioned chapters cover Johann Gottfried Herder's inherently cultural concept of the human being, Immanuel Kant's transformative interplay of moral and natural aspects, and the notion of metempsychosis in Fichte's work inspired by two neglected philosophers, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing and Johann Georg Schlosser. Opening further lines of inquiry, contributors address questions about the adaptations of Spalding's work that focus on the vocation of women as wife, mother or citizen. Exploring the multitude of ways 18th-century German thinkers understand our position in the world, this volume captures major changes in metaphysics and anthropology and enriches current debates within modern philosophy.