Tessa Sanders is a modern-day Calamity Jane. After ten miserable years married to horrid Rupert, Tessa finally decides to leave him. Her exit is made possible following a chance meeting with Major Adam Parker-Hurst, the golf club captain. The major offers her and her five-year-old twin sons, Sam and Freddy, a place to stay at his magnificent country house, Manorbier Estate. Thinking that marriage is eventually on the cards, Tess is miffed to find out that shes not the only lodger at the house. Simon, a corporal in the local Territorial Army is also a guest, or so it seems; the relationship between the senior officer and his subordinate appears to be a bit too friendly for her liking! To make matters worse, Rupert becomes more of a burden now shes left him than he ever was when they were together! Put into the pot, her dithery mother and Tess is slowly being torn apart with everything thats going on! And all this is performed in front of the boys who provided such an innocent background to the entire saga it makes her cry! But when shed finally managed to get herself on an even keel, even the rivers of tears shed shed over the boys didnt compare to what happened in the end. It was the saddest part of her entire life; it was tragic. The reader is taken on a hilarious and very witty roller-coaster ride that exudes a calamity of heartache, agonising sorrow, stupidity, naivety, sleaze, chance, and unbelievable romance; the incredible journey seasoned with large servings of humiliation and disappointment along the way.

Two neuroscientists – Graham (45); an overweight insomniac with hemorrhoids, and Isaac (27); a naïve and neurotic romanticizer of LOVE – are about to embark on groundbreaking research into near death experiences and maybe even proof of God; if, of course, their personal lives don’t explode by then. All Graham really wants is to be some kind of hero to his children whereas Isaac is young and naïve, and hopelessly drunk on the idea of true love. The story follows the two scientists as their trial falls apart along with their personal lives. For Isaac, a string of strange and often hilarious sexual encounters will lead him towards the love of his life while Graham, on a quest to find courage, will find the only thing that ever really mattered – his family. Faraday’s Cage explores the idiosyncrasies of marriage, casual sex, political correctness, consciousness, identity, and what it means to be happy being average.

It's good to take stock from time to time but at forty or fifty-something you can find that you're dissatisfied and bored. The temptation is to take a wrecking ball to your life but that risks alienating your partner and your children – without necessarily ending up any happier. Just gritting your teeth, doesn't work either – anyway, you've already tried that! Fortunately, there's another way to become fulfilled and lead the life that's right for you (rather than what your parents, society or anybody else thinks). If you're fed up with life, questioning whether you should stay married or thinking you might be better off with someone else, marital therapist Andrew G. Marshall has a radical idea to help you move from the first half to the second of your life without messing everything up: it's not a midlife crisis, it's an opportunity. He explains in part one: The three central questions you need to answer (and why everybody else is distracting themselves and avoiding facing them). How to put what's happening now into the context of your whole life journey. How to avoid the tempting short-cuts that cause more heartache in the long term. Why if you pass this midlife test everything is up from here. Why you're not in the wrong. If it's your partner who has turned grumpy, critical and blames you for everything, you will be feeling alone and full of despair. Don't worry, in part two of this compassionate book, Andrew G. Marshall explains: A whole new vocabulary for discussing the midlife crisis without putting your partner's back up. What's really going on in your partner's head. What causes depression and how to help. Five killer replies to the blocks that stops you talking properly about your marriage. Why you're not in the wrong. Together you will learn three new skills that will either change your marriage into the connected, fulfilling and loving relationship of which you've always dreamed or help you separate amicably and be great coparents together.

Told in the alternating voices of Cage, Harper, and their parents, Cages Bend is the story of a family damaged by tragedy and unfulfilled dreams and renewed by the unshakable bonds of love. Cage, Nick, and Harper appear to be the archetypal sons of the ideal American family of the 1960s and 70s. The firstborn, Cage, is the golden boystar athlete and scholar, adventurous, handsome, and preternaturally popular; Nick is the quiet, late-blooming middle son; and Harper, 10 years younger, chases after his older siblings, trying not to be left out. With the tragic death of Nick in the 1980s, the breakdown of the family begins. Cages guilt triggers incipient mental illness and the next two decades find him swinging between mania and depression, between grim institutions and comebacks. Harper, who has achieved early success on Wall Street, is torn between wanting to help his brother and seeking escape from his ghosts in an endless stream of women.

A practical and entertaining volume, Cage-Busting Leadership will be of profound interest and value to school and district leaders—and to everyone with a stake in school improvement. Rick Hess aptly describes his aims at the start of this provocative book: "I believe that two things are true. It is true, as would-be reformers often argue, that statutes, policies, rules, regulations, contracts, and case law make it tougher than it should be for school and system leaders to drive improvement and, well, lead. However, it is also the case that leaders have far more freedom to transform, reimagine, and invigorate teaching, learning, and schooling than is widely believed.” In his travels across the country, Rick Hess has met school and system leaders who have shared stories about evading, blasting through, or reshaping unnecessary and counterproductive constraints. Drawing on these stories, and with his sharp eye, Hess shows current and aspiring leaders how they can cultivate and sustain powerful cultures of teaching and learning.

"When a mixed martial arts (MMA) gym moves in across the street from his office, Jonathan Gottschall sees a challenge, and an opportunity. Pushing forty, out of shape, and disenchanted with his job as an adjunct English professor, part of him yearns to cross the street and join up. The other part is terrified. Gottschall eventually works up his nerve, and starts training for a real cage fight. He's fighting not only as a personal test but also to answer questions that have intrigued him for years: Why do men fight? And why do so many seemingly decent people like to watch?"--Amazon.com.

Unlocking the Cage: Discover what it Takes to Live the Life of an MMA Fighter Are you a fan of MMA? Do you have a favorite fighter? Have you always wondered what is this life like? Mark Tullius, a former cage fighter and boxer, will answer all of your questions. Find out what does it take to become an MMA fighter and how difficult the life of these athletes is. There are so many people who are uneducated about this sport. They believe that fighters are savages who like punching others. But every MMA athlete has his own background story and the reason why they decided to walk down this road. This is not one of those fiction books that tell a story of a poor young man who decides to fight so he could escape poverty. This is a book based on the true experiences of MMA fighters. Mark travels all over the country, looking for fighters he could interview and train with. After visiting 100 gyms and interviewing 340 fighters, Mark was able to show the world what it really means to be an MMA fighter. Here's what you'll discover inside this book: A Collection of True Stories: Read about the greatest achievements and biggest pitfalls of not just one, but 340 MMA fighters. The Beauty of MMA: There are not so many people in the world who have an appetite for getting punched in the face. Discover what makes MMA practitioners take up fighting for a living. The Raw Truth: Find out everything that happens in a life of MMA fighter – from sticking to a strict diet to cultivating mental strength needed to lead a fighter's life. It's time for the world to look past the stigma of violence and finally realize the real foundation of the fighting culture – discipline, resilience, and strength.

William B. Thesing, James Dickey's colleague at the University of South Carolina for twenty years, has a unique and complex perspective on the life and writing of this great twentieth-century American author. Dickey offers readers, students, and teachers a variety of energized and imaginative texts, and Thesing provides original and perceptive readings of his life and his novels as well as his most popular poems about animals in nature, man in nature, social and sexual relationships, women, and civilian and wartime death. This is the only introductory teaching/study guide available on Dickey's poems and novels. Chapters are conveniently organized around essential thematic categories. The author employs various modern critical approaches - from feminist criticism to deconstruction - to the poems and novels. The book will be useful in college or high school courses on Southern literature, American poetry, and twentieth-century literature.

Are you "woo-woo" curious? Feeling restless about the big picture in life? You're not alone. And you can vicariously explore a collection of metaphysical, spiritual, paranormal and New Age events from the comfort of your reading chair. In this humorous, sassy and oh-so-honest memoir, the author brings you along through a string of compelling adventures, ideologies and introspective moments in hot pursuit of magic, miracles, healing, love, and a deeper grasp of the metaphysical nature of reality. In a unique style akin to confessional reporting, she shares with you her revelations and keen insights into human behavior as you meet a plethora of colorful characters and occasional charlatans. She sorts out the wheat from the chaff, both within and without, and emerges clear-headed and empowered… with inspiration to spare. I must say that this is the funniest book ever! It is the book that you and your friends will be passing around and talking about all year long! ---Rita Reviews Never preachy, DeRose gives voice to many of the same concerns other mid-lifers may be too afraid to admit...and quickly diffuses any fear with her wacky humor. ---Reader Views She has exactly the right balance of skepticism and open-mindedness to make the writing have universal appeal, however much the reader personally believes in all that woo. ---Madhouse Reviews

Rattling the Cage explains how the failure to recognize the basic legal rights of chimpanzees and bonobos in light of modern scientific findings creates a glaring contradiction in our law. In this witty, moving, persuasive, and impeccably researched argument, Wise demonstrates that the cognitive, emotional, and social capacities of these apes entitle them to freedom from imprisonment and abuse.