Beautiful Memoir

A possible genius, a smidgen of madness, a twist of science, and an invention that very nearly changed the world - all collide in a giddy, unbelievably true mystery set in turn-of-the-century Paris.

Long before Tameka Foster Raymond was known for her high-profile marriage and drama-fueled divorce, she lived a vibrant life as a self-made success in the fashion world, curating the wardrobes and images of many of today’s award-winning entertainers. In this honest, sincere, witty, and at times gut-wrenching memoir, Tameka opens up about her childhood influences, coming of age in Oakland, and losing her first love without losing her decorum, dignity, or her ability to dream.

Now settled into the sleepy Yorkshire village of Darrowby, and married to Helen the farmer’s daughter, James Herriot thinks he’s finally got himself sorted. But life as a vet in the 1930s was never going to be easy. Quite aside from his unpredictable colleagues, brothers Siegfried and Tristan Farnon, he must contend with new fangled medical techniques, delivering calves after far too much home-made wine, and a grudge holding dog called Magnus who never forgets. And then, with Britain on the verge of war, James faces a decision that could separate him from Darrowby – and Helen – for ever....

Can a band comprised of six very talented but very different musicians make a difference with their music? What made it possible for Diamond Rio to weather the storms inherent in the fickle world of fame and fortune and go more than two decades without a single lineup change?

This small audiobook provides a biographical outline of Plotinus' life and work as described by Porphyry. Also included is an essay by Plotinus on beauty.

In her long-awaited debut memoir, You Could Make This Place Beautiful, award-winning poet Maggie Smith explores in lyrical vignettes the end of her marriage and the beginning of a surprising new life. With the spirit of reflection and empathy she's known for, Smith interweaves snapshots of a life with meditations on secrets, anger, forgiveness and narrative itself.

Dirt is a story about the places where we start. From a single-wide trailer in the mountains of rural West Virginia to the halls of Yale Law School, Mary Marantz's story is one of remembering our roots while turning our faces to the sky. From growing up in that trailer, where it rained just as hard inside as out and the smell of mildew hung thick in the air, Mary has known what it is to feel broken and disqualified because of the muddy scars leaving smudged fingerprints across our lives.

Pastor Amy grew up in a conservative Evangelical family in the diverse culture of the Hawaiian Islands. As she realized she was more inclined to be a pastor than to marry one, she began an unlikely journey, breaking one stained-glass ceiling after another. Holding increasingly high-profile ministry positions in New Orleans, Washington, D.C., and New York City, Amy weathered rigidly unwelcoming congregations and enormous trials, ultimately learning that only the radical love of community could generate healing.

When Rebecca Barry and her husband moved to upstate New York to start their family, they wanted to be surrounded by natural beauty but close to a small urban center, doing work they loved, and plenty of time to spend with their kids. But living their dreams turned out not to be so simple.

She was a beautiful, gifted descendant of Lady Astor. But Elizabeth Haysom was also a spoiled, willful daughter of privilege. He was the brilliant young son of a German diplomat. But his love for Elizabeth would draw Jens Soering into a web of madness and murder. When Elizabeth's parents were found savagely butchered in their elegant Virginia country home, she and Jens fled to Europe - igniting an international manhunt that spanned three continents.

I’m crippled by PTSD after my near murder. I’m an Australian chiropractor being hunted, hiding in a mining town, suffering from panic attacks and endless interior torture. The doctor prescribing insomnia meds urges me to seek help, but I’m broke. He insists I write down what happened as a therapy exercise to connect the dots on how I ended up here—and maybe find recovery. I take the advice and begin to remember there was an extraordinary feeling guiding me.

She was his second wife - to die. Coming off a failed marriage, a beautiful woman named Toni joined an online dating site hoping to find true and lasting love. Harold Henthorn seemed like her dream come true, a handsome man who said he had “[A] heart for others”. Only weeks after meeting, they were wed. But Toni's family began noticing Harold's dark side, especially his controlling nature, which Toni didn't seem to mind. Until she met her end at the bottom of a ravine. Was he a grieving husband - or a black widower?

Through the transformational, real-life journey of a suburban family in Tennessee, we get a view through the eyes of a loving father witnessing his once joyful and carefree daughter enduring a season of destructive rebellion. In the same neighborhood, a Rwandan family, who immigrated to America after escaping the genocide in Rwanda in 1994, seeks answers to questions about their home country. In a search for restoration and reconciliation, the two families find themselves halfway around the world in Murambi, Rwanda.

Patricia Highsmith had more than her fair share of secrets. During her life, she felt uncomfortable about discussing the source of her fiction and refused to answer questions about her private life. Yet after her death in February 1995, Highsmith left behind a vast archive of personal documents which detail the links between her life and her work. Drawing on these intimate papers, together with material gleaned from her closest friends and lovers, Andrew Wilson has written the first biography of an author described by Graham Greene as the “poet of apprehension.”

Renée Marie suffered a life-threatening illness in early adolescence, enduring multiple surgeries and months in the hospital. Doctors told her to expect a life marked by pain and limitation. Unwilling to accept such a fate, Renée devoted herself to improving her health with a series of small lifestyle changes and natural healing strategies that helped her overcome her diagnosis and gave her the strength and resilience she needed to battle a lifelong autoimmune journey and recover from a drunk-driving accident.

Late one night, while Rebecca Fogg was alone in her apartment, her hand was partially amputated in an explosion. Quick thinking saved her life, but the journey to recovery would be a slow one. As the doctors rebuilt her hand, Rebecca (who also survived 9/11) began rebuilding her sense of self by studying the physical and psychological process of recovery.

Roddy Collins is a football man—now in the sixth decade of a career as a player (at 16 clubs), manager (12 clubs) and commentator. And he is a funny man: an unequalled raconteur with a sharp eye for the absurdities of the professional game and spectacular recall. He has made friends wherever he has gone, along with some high-quality enemies. When John Delaney said he could get Roddy a job if he'd just stop criticising him, Roddy replied that he'd 'rather dig holes in the road'.

It is late summer 2013. Ben Ryan, a red-haired, 40-something, spectacle-wearing Englishman, is given 20 minutes to decide whether he wants to coach Fiji's rugby sevens team, with the aim of taking them to the nation's first-ever Olympic medal. He has never been to Fiji. There has been no discussion of contracts or salary. But he knows that no one plays rugby like the men from these isolated Pacific islands, just as no one plays football like the kids from the Brazilian favelas, or no one runs as fast as the boys and girls from Jamaica's boondocks.

He’s a movie star.She’s hired to write his memoir. Is love written into their future? Sadie O’Brien makes a living ghostwriting memoirs for celebrities, but she never expected to be hired to write for Gavin Stone, the mega famous, mega hot Australian movie star. It’s the biggest gig of her life and she’s determined to give it her all—even if her client insists on making it difficult with his unabashed flirting. While flattered, Sadie’s just come out of a bad relationship, and the last thing she needs is more drama in her love life. Gavin is captivated by the ghostwriter hired ...

As compelling as fiction, The Mystery of Beautiful Nell Cropsey tells the dramatic story of the disappearance of nineteen-year-old Nell Cropsey from her riverside home in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, in November 1901. Bloodhounds, detectives, divers, and even a psychic were brought in to search for her, and the case immediately became a national sensation. Bland Simpson, who first heard the tale as an Elizabeth City schoolboy, weaves this true story into a colorful nonfiction account, told in three first-person voices.