Self Biography

On February 22, 2013, Kathy Izard’s world was shattered when her healthy husband, Charlie, suffered a catastrophic heart attack. Although he was miraculously still alive, there could be no return to normal living after doctors diagnosed the cause to be an incurable disease: spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD). Living with an exceedingly rare condition and facing the unfathomable prospect of life as a young widow, Kathy had to learn to accept the radical uncertainty that life often brings completely without warning.

Wir müssen uns selbst ausreichend lieben, um uns in unserem tiefsten Kern zu akzeptieren, um unsere Fehler zu akzeptieren - aber nicht zuzulassen, dass sie uns bestimmen. Um unsere Emotionen zu erleben - aber nicht zuzulassen, dass sie uns zerstören. Die Wahrheit ist, unsere Fehler schränken uns nicht ein. Lediglich unsere Ängste tun es. Sofia musste diese wertvolle Lektion auf die harte Tour lernen, und nun führt sie uns auf eine Reise zu unserer eigenen Wiederentdeckung.

Shattered Together is the remarkable tale of how Elle chose to become whole by learning to heal through the pain of her son’s death. From finding meaning in life to finding forgiveness, Elle opens up about the hard-won lessons she’s learned on her more-than-10-year odyssey and reveals the practices and tools she’s used to release her pain and experience love and joy once more.

To an outsider, Anthony Hanna lives a charmed life. He’s a firefighter - every boy’s dream job. Even better, he regularly features in the Australian Firefighters Calendar. He’s a former police negotiator who worked on the frontline of critical operations. And as a teenager, he was a champion pole vaulter with Olympic potential. In this frank, honest memoir Anthony talks about the reality of living with mental illness.

Follow the unique story of a young woman who suffered through five uncontrollable brain hemorrhages and brain surgery that left her paralyzed. Gain insight and perspective from her and her family as she chose to embark on the fight of her life to regain independence. Hard times are inevitable, but you have control over how you react to them. Learn how to change your perspective and feel empowered amid your toughest battles. Learn how to control an uncontrollable situation. Learn how to be Head Strong.

Johnnie Calloway is a gifted story teller, and has written a superb personal account of his harrowing childhood, and adult life. Although he retells his experiences of emotional and physical abuse, neglect, heartache, and betrayal, and later his own addictions and struggles with mental illness, he manages to keep the listener thoroughly engaged and inspired by his strength and wisdom throughout this pause resister.

Rhonda Hayes promised to give her 35-year-old dying daughter, Sherry, anything she wanted. When Sherry requested that her mother sign up for a dating site, Rhonda was panic-struck. What would people think? Only nine months earlier, Rhonda’s devoted husband, Greg, had died from cancer. Keeping her promise, Rhonda acquiesced to Sherry’s wish. Together they completed a dating profile; moments before hitting "Submit", Rhonda added these words: My daughter has terminal cancer and she is my life right now. Why would I be on a dating site?

This book allows listeners to dive into a captivating exploration of resilience and personal growth. Through compelling stories and personal insights, you’ll join the author’s parents on a journey through the trials of WWII, the Great Leap Forward, and China’s Reopening to the World. You’ll also join the author on her path from childhood in China to adulthood in the US. These intriguing stories span three generations, two countries, and more than eighty years.

As first responders and military, we are the heroes for everyone else. We are first on the scene to emergencies at home and abroad. So what then do we do when we are drowning and searching for breath? What do we do when we can't escape the shadow that follows us in the sun and the darkness? What do we do when our world is spinning out of control and our world is falling apart? I know this world. I lived under the rough seas and the shadow of PTS(D) for 10 years. As a Navy Rescue Swimmer with service in the special operations community and as a firefighter, I embraced the suck!

Every Step Is a Gift: Caregiving, Endurance, and the Path to Gratitude explores Josh Lasky’s 11-year journey as a caregiver to his father who battled Parkinson’s disease. Josh was just 21 when he took on this Herculean responsibility, and although his story is unique, it is also universal. In his uplifting and life-affirming journey, Josh’s service to his father turns into a personal source of strength for him after deciding to ride his bike, alone, from Washington, DC, to Portland.

In 2011, Jessica Buchanan found herself in the middle of a nightmare she could never have prepared for; she was a hostage in the desert, captured by Somali pirates, who held a 45 million dollar ransom demand on her head. Taken at gunpoint while on a routine field mission for her non-governmental organization, Jessica was forced to live in deplorable conditions, regularly tortured, and kept on a starvation diet for 93 days. On January 25, 2012, Jessica was successfully rescued by SEAL Team VI, upon order of President Obama, and finally brought home.

The Umbrella Picker tells the true story of a woman who was lost for 45 years until she learned that she is Autistic. After a long and relentless journey of searching for answers, the hand of fate finally revealed to her what she had waited a lifetime for. Learning she was Autistic was life changing. She is no longer lost, and having found her own, unique way, Jane has written the (brutally honest!) book she wished was available to her years earlier.

After witnessing the brutal, fatal stabbing of her mother and surviving being stabbed herself during the same attack at the age of nine, a young African-American woman’s struggle to live continues. Diamond shares the mental, physical, and emotional effects she has suffered and the challenges she has faced, including alcohol abuse, emotional detachment, suicidal thoughts and panic attacks stemming from post-traumatic stress disorders.

By day he made deals with giants that made headlines everywhere. By night he felt his family, who he loved so much, slipping away. From the first ventures in the 1980s that started things out to massive contracts with some of the most respected companies in America, here, in Joshua Wallack’s own words, is a 40-year adventure no one could invent: the true love that forged the meaning of his life, startups, partnerships, and battles for the soul of the family.

Gigorou (jig-goo-roo) means ‘beauty’ or ‘beautiful’ in Jirrbal, the language of Sasha Kutabah Sarago’s grandmother. Growing up, Sarago didn’t feel gigorou. At a young age, she was told, ‘You’re too pretty to be Aboriginal’. Since then, she’s been on a journey to reconcile her conflict with beauty. In this intimately fierce, funny and reflective audiobook, Sarago retraces her footsteps as a beauty assistant, model and magazine editor to find the answers she’s searching for.

America knew George Zimmer for one of the most famous slogans in television advertising history: “I guarantee it.” Zimmer rode his promise to lead the Men’s Wearhouse to unimagined success as a retail giant. Now, years removed from his stunning dismissal as leader of the company he founded, I Guarantee It recounts the journey of Zimmer’s rise, the fall of the Men’s Wearhouse, and his personal renewal.

Wie werde ich erfolgreich und finanziell unabhängig? Wie nutze ich Hindernisse, um an ihnen zu wachsen? Wie treffe ich die richtigen Entscheidungen? Als Kind nach Deutschland eingewandert, aufgewachsen in einem »sozialen Brennpunkt«, schon im Studium die erste eigene Firma gegründet und heute Millionär: Unterhaltsam und temporeich erzählt Dawid Przybylski seine persönliche Lebens- und Erfolgsgeschichte.

The worst day of your life might be just around the corner. Are you ready? Mine came on June 10, 2017. We were on vacation in Michigan when my husband suffered a sudden cardiac arrest after a morning run. When he didn’t show up for breakfast at our inn, I called the police, and soon two squad cars roared into the driveway revealing what I feared. He had died, a witness had performed CPR, an ambulance had come quickly and a pulse had been restored after five shocks from an AED.

The Magic of Life explores how he overcame tragedy, grief, and depression throughout his life. Even though he lost his mother, he and his brother were raised by his father and an incredible Jamaican woman who stepped in to fill the mother’s role. Michael shares his unique life about loss and how he finally addressed his grief with a blend of humor and inspiration that will have you crying and laughing throughout the book.

Nattanya Andersen's cherished career as a flight-attendant for one of the world's largest airlines careened to a halt, when a jet-engine-explosion five feet away from her at 6,000 feet altitude shortly after take-off left her with post-traumatic-stress-disorder (PTSD). The mental health professions' apparent lack of knowledge concerning the treatment of PTSD-sufferers and Nattanya's desire to help herself lead her to search for empirical studies on PTSD and other health-issues and dangers facing air-crew - and by extension their passengers - on a daily basis.