Introduction Depicted in the early 1990s in Bansfield, NY, this novel explores the controversial attitudes of the school district’s administrative powers and their approach on what to do about the education of pregnant teenage students. The time line spans from the fall semester through the spring semester, approximately eight months in the lives of the principal, students, parents, and the school bus driver at Parker High School, the school dedicated exclusively for pregnant teenage girls in the Alternative School For Educational Advancement program (ASFEA). When the ASFEA comes under severe scrutiny, Mrs. Bernese Thompson, the principal at Parker High, digs in deeply, to fight for the survival of the school and the students she is professionally and personally committed to support. After experiencing the previous year’s mayhem, she thoroughly believed that it prepared her for anything unexpected that could possible come her way. Never could Mrs. Thompson have suspected nor could she have been prepared for what lay ahead. There is much more beneath the surface at Parker High. Secrets have grown in the silence of denial that now propels impending storms. Amy, Hippie, and Mrs. Burrell, the school bus driver, have to let go of their reluctance to deal with the underlying problems beneath the surface, when an unexpected tragedy forces them to act. Even though faced with overwhelming responsibility and obstacles in their young lives, some of the girls never lose sight of their dreams, while others are stripped of their dreams and much more. There was never a dull moment on the school bus in usual circumstances, but the engaging, dramatic and enlightening sequence of events at the core of this story becomes a rite of passage for them all. However, there is a bright lining in the storm clouds when the strong winds have blown and finally cleared the air. Thankfully, something wonderfully transformative occurs, for at least, most of them.

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Times are tough. People are losing their homes, their jobs, and to top it all off, the cost of gasoline is going through the roof. Good news is hard to find these days. It almost makes you want to quit on the game of life. Are you starting to lose your will? Is the fat lady getting ready to sing? Whatever you do-DON'T LET HER! Scream at the top of your lungs, "WHO SAYS THE FAT LADY HAS TO SING?" Make the decision that TODAY will be the day that you stop living in fear, and start living for your dreams! This book will help you conquer the eight fears that make you quit on your lifelong dreams: Fear of the Extraordinary Fear of Rising to New Heights Fear of Our Shadow Fear of Our Spouse Fear of Moving Targets Fear of Failure Fear of Unworthiness Fear of Our Life's Purpose When you're fearless you'll live with passion and excitement. When you're fearless, you won't quit. And when you're fearless you can scream out to the world, "WHO SAYS THE FAT LADY HAS TO SING?"

Fat Girl Fairy Boy is a darkly humorous tale of family, friendship, and personal discovery. Frie, an embittered aging actress, and her fearful, gay makeup artist named Robin, survive a plane crash in the jungles of Central America and are held hostage by El Salvadoran guerrillas. Their usually self-absorbed lives take a backseat to the events of their capture as a bizarre set of circumstances unfold and kindle courage, compassion and forgiveness they never thought possible. Written in masterful prose, and filled with rich characters, Fat Girl Fairy Boy is pure adventure and will entertain you every step of the way. Author McConkie mixes irony, humor, and pathos while weaving a multifaceted storyline into an adventure that doesn't let go.

The Free Photographic Omnibus 1973-2001 In July 1973 21-year-old Daniel Meadows, fresh out of art school, bought a double-decker bus for £360 and set off round England in search of ordinary people to photograph. In the course of a 14-month journey, he offered free portrait sessions in 22 different towns, developing the black and white prints in a darkroom he had contrived inside the bus, in which he also lived. He photographed a total of 958 people, alone or in groups, the majority of whom remained anonymous and collected their free portraits the following day. A quarter of a century later Meadows came across the bus photographs in his archive and was struck by how fresh they were. After they were exhibited and appeared in a magazine, he began to wonder what had happened to the people in the pictures. With the help of the local press in Barrow-in-Furness, Hartlepool and Southampton, he went in search of them. Many could not be found, others had died, but a number of people turned up to be re-photographed. The juxtaposition of their past and present selves in this astonishing adventure in documentary makes for a powerful pictorial history of the changing face of England, the vagaries of fashion, and the ravages of time. Meadows interviews the sitters, ordinary people from varied walks of life, who talk candidly about their lives, their friends, their loves, their families and what they feel the future holds - providing a moving commentary to Meadows's own evocative journey through time.

From the founder of the Fat Girls Hiking community, this inclusive and inspiring guide to the great outdoors will inspire people of all body types, sizes, abilties, and backgrounds.

A “heartwarming, life-affirming” memoir of a relationship with an intellectually disabled sibling: “Read this book. It might just change your life” (Boston Herald). Beth is a spirited woman with an intellectual disability who lives intensely and often joyfully, and spends most of her days riding the buses in Pennsylvania. The drivers, a lively group, are her mentors; her fellow passengers, her community—though some display less patience or kindness than others. Her sister, Rachel, a teacher and writer, camouflages her emotional isolation by leading a hyperbusy life. But one day, Beth asks Rachel to accompany her on public transportation for an entire year—and Rachel accepts. This wise, funny, deeply affecting book is the chronicle of that remarkable time, as Rachel learns how to live in the moment, how to pay attention to what really matters, how to change, how to love—and how to slow down and enjoy the ride. Weaving in anecdotes and memories of terrifying maternal abandonment, fierce sisterly loyalty, and astonishing forgiveness, Rachel Simon brings to light a world that is almost invisible to many people, finds unlikely heroes in everyday life, and, without sentimentality, wrestles with her own limitations and portrays Beth as the endearing, feisty, independent person she is. “With tenderness and fury, heartbreak and acceptance . . . Simon comes to the inescapable conclusion that we are all riders on the bus, and on the bus we are all the same.” —Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of The Deep End of the Ocean

A Fat Girl reaching the end of the pain she could stand, (at the age of fourteen) decides to kill herself. But then, considers that she should give herself "Me Gifts" before she ends it all. She should read every book, see every movie, go to every play, concert and whatever there is, before she goes.

CAIN MCALLISTER’S birth on the bank of the Mississippi River during an earthquake becomes a small-town story of infamy and forever changes the strong, troubled women who love the little boy. Though shunned and bullied throughout his childhood, hope arrives when a new preacher and his family move to town and Cain finds what he has always longed for – a best friend. The fate of the friendship takes a deadly turn when a young girl with a secret comes to visit and the tiny town in the Arkansas Delta ignites into spiritual revival. Lost Cain points a microscope at the political brand of Christianity taking root in the 1960’s and 70’s, illuminating the “Culture Wars” in a way that is poignant and impossible to ignore. All the hot button issues are here, yet they’re explored with such a gentle bluntness that even the most inflammatory events feel natural, justified and believable. Lost Cain will make you laugh, then cry, then laugh again – a hilarious, tender look at a fading town struggling against both the encroaching waters of the Mississippi River and the coming cultural change in small-town America.

Don't Be a Fat Girl Anymore! is a motivating and inspiring narrative about the author's own seven year, weight loss journey. Chen admits what most people won't - She was a FAT Girl. Her story provides realistic and practical strategies for weight loss by giving tips for others to use as they embark on their personal weight loss journey. The author's story will resonate with the typical person struggling to lose weight and keep it off. It is not the story of a starlet who hired a personal trainer and a chef to get ready for her next big movie, but the story of an everyday woman who decided to empower herself by learning how to be healthy. This book is different from other self-help books because it discusses what happens after you lose weight, gain weight, and lose weight again. The author includes reflection questions, a planning tool, recipes, workout schedules, and other helpful tools along with a dose of reality to help readers craft their own road map for a weight loss journey. Pull up a seat and enjoy the ride with a FAT Girl who isn't so fat anymore.