Yet Being Someone Other is the most revealing book that Laurens van der Post wrote about his extraordinary and eventful life, and the most far-reaching; it is a distillation of the experiences that have moved him at the deepest level of the imagination and made him the exceptional person and writer he was.

A captivating book about the emotional and literary power of the lives we might have lived had our chances or choices been different. We each live one life, formed by paths taken and untaken. Choosing a job, getting married, deciding on a place to live or whether to have children—every decision precludes another. But what if you’d gone the other way? It can be a seductive thought, even a haunting one. Andrew H. Miller illuminates this theme of modern culture: the allure of the alternate self. From Robert Frost to Sharon Olds, Virginia Woolf to Ian McEwan, Jane Hirshfield to Carl Dennis, storytellers of every stripe write of the lives we didn’t have. What forces encourage us to think this way about ourselves, and to identify with fictional and poetic voices speaking from the shadows of what might have been? Not only poets and novelists, but psychologists and philosophers have much to say on this question. Miller finds wisdom in all these sources, revealing the beauty, the power, and the struggle of our unled lives. In an elegant and provocative rumination, he lingers with other selves, listening to what they say. Peering down the path not taken can be frightening, but it has its rewards. On Not Being Someone Else offers the balm that when we confront our imaginary selves, we discover who we are.

This book continues the discussions in "What a piece of work: on being human" (Imprint Academic 2006) and may be considered its sequel. Among all the creatures in the physical universe, humans seem to be more than simply physical, because they are aware of being creatures in the universe. Human beings essentially belong to the world of nature, yet stand out as the most complex and fascinating of all living beings. Like and also unlike other animals, they respond to what happens to them; they make plans and carry them out; they recognize one another, sometimes lovingly; they make friends and enjoy their company; they shape the world around them for convenience and for delight; they ask questions both practical and theoretical; and many of them try to praise God. In What a Piece of Work, Helen Oppenheimer considered humankind as part of the natural universe which Christians believe God set in motion, asking how human beings stand among other creatures and how they are to be valued. In this volume she leaves aside comparisons with our fellow creatures in order to attend to our own experience. It makes a good start to think of oneself as a human animal, but then we need to go further and ask what does it mean to be a person, to be counted as someone?

Some believe violence foreign to our nature. Dan 'Sticks' Hetrick, retired chief and now consultant to the Swatara Creek police department, knows better. We put a lid on our natural tendency to violence when we started living in groups, devising moral codes to hold it in check and allow us to live in harmony with others. But, deep down in the id—the site of instinct—there's always that tendency to violence. When an out-of-state reporter is found murdered at a disreputable bar the tendency to violence spirals in the rural Pennsylvania community, and the investigative trail keeps bringing Hetrick and his team back to the family of a wealthy doctor who has come home to retire. Hetrick and his protégé Officer Flora Vastine are joined by an old friend from his State Police days as they unravel old secrets and mysteries in a tale with as many shocking twists as a country road.

A lonely man falls in love and will do anything to maintain that feeling, in this tale of romance, self-discovery and the eternal search for happiness. James has fallen through life, plotting a course of least resistance, taking each day as it comes and waiting for something to turn up, to give his existence meaning. His journey lacks one vital element: a fellow traveller. Then he meets Lainey, an American working in London. She’s confident, beautiful, and captivating. When James set out to win her heart, Lainey gives James a reason to grow, and promises the happy ending he has sought so keenly. But is sharing life with another everything he hoped?

WINNER OF THE SCHNEIDER FAMILY BOOK AWARD FOR TEENS! A beautifully realistic, relatable story about mental health—anxiety, perfectionism, depression—and the healing powers of art—perfect for fans of Girl in Pieces and How it Feels to Float. Whatever you struggle with, you are not alone and you are already enough—just the way you are. It's been three months since The Night on the Bathroom Floor--when Lily found her older sister Alice hurting herself. Ever since then, Lily has been desperately trying to keep things together, for herself and for her family. But now Alice is coming home from her treatment program and it is becoming harder for Lily to ignore all of the feelings she's been trying to outrun. Enter Micah, a new student at school with a past of his own. He was in treatment with Alice and seems determined to get Lily to process not only Alice's experience, but her own. Because Lily has secrets, too. Compulsions she can't seem to let go of and thoughts she can't drown out. When Lily and Micah embark on an art project for school involving finding poetry in unexpected places, she realizes that it's the words she's been swallowing that desperately want to break through. "A tender, heartfelt, and realistic look at mental illness, familial love, and finding your voice."—Kathleen Glasgow, New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Pieces

Combining the simple wisdom of Epicurus and Eckhart Tolle, and written in the mind-bending style of Alan Watts, this visual thinking manual will help you transform your inner world. Discover how the shapes of empathy can help you think with care and live with purpose. Through awareness of motivations and multiple perspectives, you will learn to connect to the human spirit that lies beyond mere appearance. Begin your journey inward to sharpen your imagination and craft a life of meaning.

The setting for my novel occurs in Canada, in a small town called Kingsville, nestled along Lake Erie. Mari is in the kitchen enjoying the pleasant sounds outside her window, and she brings in the folded newspaper. She unfolds it and is shocked to see the picture of a young woman who has been murdered! In their town! She stumbles to sit down at the table to read the article. Little does she know how she, and others, will be affected by the killing of this young, blond woman.