Americans wrote fiercely during the Civil War. War surprised, devastated, and opened up imagination, taking hold of Americans' words as well as their homes and families. The personal diary—wildly ragged yet rooted in day following day—was one place Americans wrote their war. Diaries, then, have become one of the best-known, most-used sources for exploring the life of the mind in a war-torn place and time. Delving into several familiar wartime diaries kept by women of the southern slave-owning class, Steven Stowe recaptures their motivations to keep the days close even as war tore apart the brutal system of slavery that had benefited them. Whether the diarists recorded thoughts about themselves, their opinions about men, or their observations about slavery, race, and warfare, Stowe shows how these women, by writing the immediate moment, found meaning in a changing world. In studying the inner lives of these unsympathetic characters, Stowe also explores the importance—and the limits—of historical empathy as a condition for knowing the past, demonstrating how these plain, first-draft texts can offer new ways to make sense of the world in which these Confederate women lived.

Winner of the PEN Oakland–Josephine Miles Award “A stunning portrayal of a tragedy endured and survived by women.” —David W. Blight, author of Frederick Douglass “Readers expecting hoop-skirted ladies soothing fevered soldiers’ brows will not find them here...Explodes the fiction that men fight wars while women idle on the sidelines.” —Washington Post The idea that women are outside of war is a powerful myth, one that shaped the Civil War and still determines how we write about it today. Through three dramatic stories that span the war, Stephanie McCurry invites us to see America’s bloodiest conflict for what it was: not just a brothers’ war but a women’s war. When Union soldiers faced the unexpected threat of female partisans, saboteurs, and spies, long held assumptions about the innocence of enemy women were suddenly thrown into question. McCurry shows how the case of Clara Judd, imprisoned for treason, transformed the writing of Lieber’s Code, leading to lasting changes in the laws of war. Black women’s fight for freedom had no place in the Union military’s emancipation plans. Facing a massive problem of governance as former slaves fled to their ranks, officers reclassified black women as “soldiers’ wives”—placing new obstacles on their path to freedom. Finally, McCurry offers a new perspective on the epic human drama of Reconstruction through the story of one slaveholding woman, whose losses went well beyond the material to intimate matters of family, love, and belonging, mixing grief with rage and recasting white supremacy in new, still relevant terms. “As McCurry points out in this gem of a book, many historians who view the American Civil War as a ‘people’s war’ nevertheless neglect the actions of half the people.” —James M. McPherson, author of Battle Cry of Freedom “In this brilliant exposition of the politics of the seemingly personal, McCurry illuminates previously unrecognized dimensions of the war’s elemental impact.” —Drew Gilpin Faust, author of This Republic of Suffering

A day-by-day plan designed with checklists and visual charts to guide the reader through every room, cupboard and closet of their home to clean and get rid of clutter. Includes recipes for natural cleaning products.

More than 150 years after its end, we still struggle to understand the full extent of the human toll of the Civil War and the psychological crisis it created. In Aberration of Mind, Diane Miller Sommerville offers the first book-length treatment of suicide in the South during the Civil War era, giving us insight into both white and black communities, Confederate soldiers and their families, as well as the enslaved and newly freed. With a thorough examination of the dynamics of both racial and gendered dimensions of psychological distress, Sommerville reveals how the suffering experienced by Southerners living in a war zone generated trauma that, in extreme cases, led some Southerners to contemplate or act on suicidal thoughts. Sommerville recovers previously hidden stories of individuals exhibiting suicidal activity or aberrant psychological behavior she links to the war and its aftermath. This work adds crucial nuance to our understanding of how personal suffering shaped the way southerners viewed themselves in the Civil War era and underscores the full human costs of war.

We are living in a day when countless multitudes have lost their way both morally and spiritually. Like a ship without anchor, this last day's generation is being tossed to and fro by a flood of deception and wrong influences that is tragically causing people to lose their moorings. What should we do to make sure we don't get...

Discover the essential thinking tools you’ve been missing with The Great Mental Models series by Shane Parrish, New York Times bestselling author and the mind behind the acclaimed Farnam Street blog and “The Knowledge Project” podcast. This first book in the series is your guide to learning the crucial thinking tools nobody ever taught you. Time and time again, great thinkers such as Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett have credited their success to mental models–representations of how something works that can scale onto other fields. Mastering a small number of mental models enables you to rapidly grasp new information, identify patterns others miss, and avoid the common mistakes that hold people back. The Great Mental Models: Volume 1, General Thinking Concepts shows you how making a few tiny changes in the way you think can deliver big results. Drawing on examples from history, business, art, and science, this book details nine of the most versatile, all-purpose mental models you can use right away to improve your decision making and productivity. This book will teach you how to: Avoid blind spots when looking at problems. Find non-obvious solutions. Anticipate and achieve desired outcomes. Play to your strengths, avoid your weaknesses, … and more. The Great Mental Models series demystifies once elusive concepts and illuminates rich knowledge that traditional education overlooks. This series is the most comprehensive and accessible guide on using mental models to better understand our world, solve problems, and gain an advantage.

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER. Sometimes you have to make your own sunshine. When Janice Dean debuted on Imus in the Morning, she was bubbly, clever, and charismatic. When Imus mocked her intelligence and looks, she gave as good as she got. She had achieved the dream she’d had since kindergarten: being a reporter on TV. So why wasn’t she happy? She had just moved to New York from Canada with no family, no friends, and no boyfriend. Her boss was a notorious jerk, and the gap between her on-air persona and real life had never been bigger. In the decade that followed, how did she turn it all around? Now she is the beloved full-time meteorologist on Fox and Friends, surrounded by wonderful people, and has a line of children’s books and a beautiful family. When she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, she was ready. She survived attacks, adversity, and a business controlled by ruthless men. She knows how love, counting your blessings, and having a good therapist can get you through more than you would expect. In this honest yet optimistic book, Janice reveals obstacles she’s faced that could have severely impacted any professional woman’s career, from online trolls to health issues to abusive and sexist bosses. In Mostly Sunny she talks about it all, including the fateful meeting with her firefighting husband after he lost his colleagues on 9/11 and how the pressure on women in television led her to a cosmetic procedure that could have ended her career. But no matter what storms blow her way, Janice refuses to let setbacks and challenges rain on her parade or cloud her outlook. Thanks to supportive coworkers and an upbeat attitude, she’s mastered turning countless would-be losses into victories. The funny, sweet, and wise Janice Dean you see on TV is now the real Janice Dean, and she’s on every page of her book, sharing her secrets and making your own forecast a little brighter.

Start waking up to your full potential every single day with the updated and expanded edition of the groundbreaking book that has sold more than two million copies. “So much more than a book. It is a proven methodology that will help you fulfil your potential and create the life you’ve always wanted.” —Mel Robbins, New York Times bestselling author of The High 5 Habit and The 5 Second Rule Getting everything you want out of life isn’t about doing more. It’s about becoming more. Hal Elrod and The Miracle Morning have helped millions of people become the person they need to be to create the life they’ve always wanted. Now, it’s your turn. Hal’s revolutionary SAVERS method is a simple, effective step-by-step process to transform your life in as little as six minutes per day: - Silence: Reduce stress and improve mental clarity by beginning each day with peaceful, purposeful quiet - Affirmations: Reprogram your mind to overcome any fears or beliefs that are limiting your potential or causing you to suffer - Visualization: Experience the power of mentally rehearsing yourself showing up at your best each day - Exercise: Boost your mental and physical energy in as little as sixty seconds - Reading: Acquire knowledge and expand your abilities by learning from experts - Scribing: Keep a journal to deepen gratitude, gain insights, track progress, and increase your productivity by getting clear on your top priorities This updated and expanded edition has more than forty pages of new content, including: - The Miracle Evening: Optimize your bedtime and sleep to wake up every day feeling refreshed and energized for your Miracle Morning - The Miracle Life: Begin your path to inner freedom so you can truly be happy and learn to love the life you have while you create the life you want

Why is it so hard for me to stay on top of housework? What's wrong with me?Depression, anxiety, ADHD, parental trauma, chronic illness, postpartum, bereavement, lack of support...Cooking, cleaning, laundry, and sometimes hygiene can become almost impossible during these struggles, yet that's rarely the focus of books about these mental, physical, and social barriers. Until now.How to Keep House While Drowning will introduce you to six life-changing principles that will revolutionize the way you approach home care-without endless to-do lists. Presented in 31 daily thoughts, this compassionate guide will help you begin to get free of the shame and anxiety you feel over home care.How do I know? I'm KC Davis, licensed professional counselor and mother of two. I birthed my second baby in a new city right as the world shut down from COVID-19. Without access to a support network for months on end, I used every tool in my therapy training arsenal and created a self-compassionate way to address my stress, depression, and ever-mounting laundry pile. After sharing this unique approach on social media, I gained hundreds of thousands followers within a few months. I realized the shame over not being able to keep up with housework is universal and that's why I wrote this book. Inside you will learn: - How to shift your perspective of care tasks from moral to functional- How to stop negative self-talk and shame around care tasks- How to give yourself permission to rest, even when things aren't finished- How to motivate yourself to care for your spaceBuy How to Keep House While Drowning now and start feeling better today.

This eBook contains special exercises, diet, and general preparation concepts that you won’t find in other published books on conditioning of game birds. For example, we have modified plyometrics for game birds, with some terms that you may have never heard before, such as the run-a-hurdle pen, unstable rock-a-wire hanging, squat-a-kick jumping, come from behind burst, skid-a-fly landfall, cock-a-barrel fly, and rock-a-bye chase. The introduction of the plyometric exercise to a game bird was once a neglected or ignored idea. It seemed that only a few people in the cockfighting world were interested in this at first, until science proved the effectiveness of this workout in human athletes and many people started to apply the same technique for game birds. Game birds and human athletes have more things in common than we think. But the most striking similarity between the two is that both are competitors. You made a great decision when you chose to follow this 14 Days Keep eBook as a guide. We are happy for this opportunity to help you achieve your goal through this eBook. Your success will also be ours, as this will motivate us to try harder and contribute more to the evolution of the game bird, as it competes in this blood sport that we all love. And for all of these reasons, they are valuable to us.