Parenting Memoir

The true, inspiring tales in Random Acts of Kindness spotlight ordinary people from ages nine to 100 who have found unique ways to show compassion and make a difference. Some of these stories will warm your heart and make you laugh; others will make you smile; and a few might make you cry—in a good way—with the joy of knowing there is so much goodness and generosity in the world.

Disillusioned with overly competitive organized sports and concerned about her lively daughter’s growing shyness, author Angie Abdou sets herself a challenge: to hike a peak a week over the summer holidays with Katie. They will bond in nature and discover the glories of outdoor activity. What could go wrong? Well, among other things, it turns out that Angie loves hiking but Katie doesn’t. Hilarious, poignant, and deeply felt, This One Wild Life explores parenting and marriage in a summer of unexpected outcomes and growth for both mother and daughter.

Bo and Brooklyn’s relationship is tested while Bo’s soon-to-be ex-wife tries to hold on for dear life. Bo’s ongoing divorce battle seems never-ending. Brooklyn acquires many valuable lessons about herself, not without making many costly mistakes along the way. Now that she has found what she considered her “soul mate” in Bo, she would have to defend herself against even her closest of friends, family members, and Bo’s soon-to-be ex-wife, Ruth.

Gloria Norris grew up in the projects of Manchester, New Hampshire, with her parents; her sister, Virginia; and her cat, Sylvester. A snapshot might show a happy young family, but only a dummkopf would buy that. Nine-year-old Gloria is gutsy and wisecracking. Her father, Jimmy, all dazzle and danger, is often on the far side of the law and makes his own rules - which everyone else better follow. Gloria's mom, Shirley, tries not to rock the boat, Virginia unwisely defies Jimmy, and Gloria fashions herself into his sidekick - the son he never had.

Known for her sharp, witty and surreal view on everyday life, Lucy shares the unpredictable craziness of being a mum in this brilliant and laugh-out-loud 'mumoir'. Mums everywhere will recognise the madness of it all. Like when Lucy was hospitalised during her third trimester with chest pains but it turned out to be a burrito. Or when she was so tired at the park she forgot her own child's name.

To seek, pursue, and fall in love with Jesus with radical abandon. Single Woman Mandy Hale shares with readers what can happen in their lives by praying this powerful prayer. She has shown women how important it is to be secure in singleness by being smart, strong, and independent. In this all...

Are you thinking about school counseling as a profession or just starting as a school counselor? Okay, maybe you're already an established school counselor; congratulations! However, are you feeling stuck, lost, or frustrated in your present position? If you answer "yes" to either question, this book is definitely for you. Enjoy your journey toward a personal and professional reawakening!

Growing up an only child of a cop and secretary in Las Vegas, life started out pretty uneventful, however, the events of her upbringing brought fear and uncertainty into Deborah's life and caused her to make choices that were fraught with risk and danger. Coming into her own at a time when organized crime dominated Las Vegas, she began to experience growing pains, and her life became dangerous. Deborah fled her persecutors and moved to Los Angeles to start again where the allure of the ocean and her lifelong love of horses brought her joy and comfort.

This "funny, dark, and true" (Caitlin Moran) memoir is Bridget Jones's Diary for the Fleabag generation: What happens when you have an unplanned baby on your own in your mid-thirties before you've worked out how to look after yourself, let alone a child? This is the story of one woman's...

Solitude is the inspirational core for many writers, artists, and thinkers. Alone with our thoughts, we can make discoveries that matter not only to us but to others. To be solitary is not only to draw sustenance from being alone, but to know that our ultimate responsibility is not only to our partner or our own offspring, but to a larger community. Fenton Johnson's lyrical prose and searching sensibility explores what it means to choose to be solitary and celebrates the notion that solitude is a legitimate and dignified calling.

A harrowing memoir about a woman's struggle with postpartum depression. Nine days after the birth of her daughter, Amanda was involuntarily admitted to a Toronto psychiatric ward for postpartum depression (PPD). The typical hold-and-release process in Ontario is seventy-two hours. She stayed eighteen days.

Drawing on lessons from his remarkable life, former child soldier turned activist, author, entrepreneur, and international recording artist Emmanuel Jal provides his eleven pillars for overcoming adversity and living a life of purpose. "Who owns your mind?" Beginning with this provocative question, Emmanuel Jal invites listeners to claim ownership over the narratives that define their lives in order to become a force for good in the world.

Despite the sadness, Peggy’s book offers hope, humor, inspiration, and a poignant love story that will lift your spirits with promise, helping you believe there is more to this life than you can see and that love never dies.

A woman unexpectedly finds her best self through a sleepy bundle handed over at the airport in this heartfelt and surprising memoir. In Make Me a Mother, acclaimed memoirist Susanne Antonetta adopts an infant from Seoul, South Korea. After meeting their six-month-old son, Jin, at the airport - an incident made memorable when Susanne, so eager to meet her son, is chased down by security - Susanne and her husband learn lessons common to all parents, such as the lack of sleep and the worry and joy of loving a child.

Remembering Satan is a lucid, measured, yet absolutely riveting inquest into a case that destroyed a family, engulfed a small town, and captivated an America obsessed by rumors of a satanic underground. It follows the increasingly bizarre accusations and confessions, as well as the claims and counterclaims of police, FBI investigators, and mental-health professionals.

In Store Bought Baby, Laura Melane unravels the complex emotions of growing up adopted, feeling different, and battling a deep sense of insecurity. Raised alongside her parents’ biological daughter in a well-meaning but dysfunctional family, Laura always felt like something was missing.

At the young age of three, while I was at school, my mother was murdered by her abusive new boyfriend. What would happen to her five unintentionally abandoned children? The heartbreak of the devastating loss of my mother was just the beginning of a series of tragic events that shaped my childhood. Lost in the chaos of abuse, I was the unseen collateral damage of domestic violence. I was forced to take on the role of the invisible child for self-preservation. I figured you can't hurt what you can't see.

Charismatic, beautiful Sally Flynn was the center of her daughters' imaginations, particularly Laura's. Without warning, life as they knew it changed as paranoid schizophrenia overtook Sally. Whether it was accusing Laura’s father of trying to win her over to the side of Satan, or buying only certain products that were evil-free, glimmers of her mother’s future paranoia grew brighter as Laura’s early years passed. Once her husband left the family and filed for divorce, Sally’s symptoms bloomed in earnest, and the three girls united in flights of fancy of the sort their mother had taught them in order to deflect danger.

Born in Africa to a Nigerian princess, Precious Williams was less than one year old when her mother put an ad in Nursery World: "Pretty Nigerian baby girl needs new home." Precious's mother had flown to London in search of a new life - a life in which there was no space for a daughter. The first response came rom a 60-year-old white woman, Nan, who prided herself for being "color blind." Correspondence were exchanged, no questions asked, and Precious left her mother for Nan's home in rural England.

Robert Ragland toiled every day on his family’s Appalachian tobacco farm as a young boy. His father, an impoverished and illiterate sharecropper, spent his earnings on alcohol and beat his children and wife constantly. And Robert couldn’t take one more strike. Meanwhile, Mennonite families had moved to town, providing food and comfort when Robert’s mother broke her leg. Witnessing compassion from these people, Robert wondered: What would it feel like to belong to a group where I was wanted, loved, and appreciated?