Higher Life

It is 1985 in a small Irish town. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Bill Furlong, a coal merchant and family man, faces into his busiest season. Early one morning, while delivering an order to the local convent, Bill makes a discovery that forces him to confront both his past and the complicit silences of a town controlled by the church.

It is 1898, and groups of starving Puerto Ricans, los hambrientos, roam the parched countryside and dusty towns begging for food. Under the yoke of Spanish oppression, the Caribbean island is forced to prepare to wage war with the United States. Up in the mountainous coffee region of Utuado, Vicente Vega and Valentina Sanchez labor to keep their small farm from the creditors. When the Spanish-American War and the great San Ciriaco Hurricane of 1899 bring devastating upheaval, the young couple is lured, along with thousands of others, to the sugar plantations of Hawaii.

Matt Pinfield is the ultimate music fan. He's the guy who knows every song, artist, and musical riff ever recorded, down to the most obscure band's B-side single on its vinyl-only EP import. As a child, music helped Pinfield make sense of the world. Later he would approach his music idols after concerts and explain why he loved their music. As an adult, rock music inspired his career, fueled relationships, and, at times, became a life raft.

New York Times reporter John Branch's riveting, humane pieces about ordinary people doing extraordinary things at the edges of the sporting world have won nearly every major journalism prize. Sidecountry gathers the best of Branch's work, featuring 20 of his favorites from the more than 2,000 pieces he has published in the paper.

Worried that old age will inevitably mean losing your libido, your health, and possibly your marbles too? Well, Cicero has some good news for you. In How to Grow Old, the great Roman orator and statesman eloquently describes how you can make the second half of life the best part of all - and why you might discover that reading and gardening are actually far more pleasurable than sex ever was.

In a televised social experiment before millions of viewers, police sergeant Derrick Levasseur demonstrated that techniques used by undercover detectives could help people achieve their goals in everyday social situations. The result: he walked away with more than half a million dollars. In The Undercover Edge, Derrick shares his personal mind-set surrounding human behavior and motivation. Even more than that, he provides easy yet groundbreaking tools acquired while overcoming personal adversity.

When John Rechy's explosive first novel appeared in 1963, it marked a radical departure in fiction, and gave voice to a subculture that had never before been revealed with such acuity. It earned comparisons to Genet and Kerouac, even as Rechy was personally attacked by scandalized reviewers. Nevertheless, the book became an international best seller, and 50 years later, it has become a classic. Bold and inventive in style, Rechy is unflinching in his portrayal of one hustling "youngman" and his search for self-knowledge.

Abandoned by her father and neglected by her self-centered, unstable mother, Sheila McGee cannot wait to escape the drudgery of her mill village life in Northern Ireland. Her classic Irish beauty helps her win the 1941 Linen Queen competition, and the prize money that goes with it finally gives her the opportunity she's been dreaming of. But Sheila does not count on the impact of the Belfast blitz which brings World War II to her doorstep. Now even her good looks are useless in the face of travel restrictions, and her earlier resolve is eroded by her ma's fear of being left alone.

Discover the profound insights and philosophies of legendary bodybuilder and fitness guru, Mike Mentzer, in "Mike Mentzer: In His Own Words." This compelling book compiles transcriptions from Mentzer's talks and interviews, offering readers a direct and unfiltered view into his thoughts on bodybuilding, fitness, and life. Delve into Mentzer's revolutionary approach to training, including his principles of high-intensity training, and gain valuable wisdom on how to achieve optimal physical fitness. Through candid conversations, Mentzer shares his unique perspectives on topics such as steroid...

First came the shocking story of Rainey Paxton being born addicted to heroin and the sacrifices she made to accommodate her parents’ reckless lifestyle. Now comes the terrifying, extraordinary novel that picks up after Rainey’s release from juvenile detention. With no money and lost in a section of North Philadelphia dominated by gangs and violence, Rainey won’t accept that it may be too late to save Ivy. Instead, she pushes all limits to fight for her sister, surrendering herself to keep her vow.

Biofeedback is the process of training your body to control its involuntary actions, such as breathing and heart rate. Minor changes to these actions can significantly improve physical and emotional well-being. In Biofeedback and Mindfulness in Everyday Life, Harvard Medical School faculty member Inna Khazan pairs biofeedback techniques with mindfulness practice to address some of life's most common ailments - from anxiety and fear to stress and insomnia.

Gerald is only three years old when his mama leaves him alone in the house while she visits her drug dealer. He finds the hot thing she uses to light her cigarettes and in no time, the house is ablaze. Mama is sent to prison, and Gerald goes to live with his Aunt Queen. When he turns nine, Gerald unhappily learns that his mama is being released from jail and wants her son back. Suddenly, he must switch from a loving home to a household dominated by his abusive stepfather.

Higher Is Waiting is a spiritual guidebook, a collection of teachings culled from the experiences of a lifetime, meant to inspire listeners to climb higher in their own lives and pull themselves up to a better, more fulfilling place. In this gem of a book, Tyler Perry writes of how his faith has sustained him in hard times, centered him in good times, and enriched his life.

When author Jeff Hobbs arrived at Yale University, he became fast friends with the man who would be his college roommate for four years, Robert Peace. Robert's life was rough from the beginning in the crime-ridden streets of Newark in the 1980s, with his father in jail and his mother earning less than $15,000 a year. But Robert was a brilliant student, and it was supposed to get easier when he was accepted to Yale, where he studied molecular biochemistry and biophysics.

Jean Gilkyson is floundering in a trailer house in Iowa with yet another brutal boyfriend when she realizes this kind of life has got to stop, especially for the sake of her daughter, Griff. But the only place they can run to is Ishawooa, Wyoming, where Jean's loved ones are dead and her father-in-law, the only person who could take them in, wishes that she was, too.

An elegant, original, and compelling novel, set against a gaslit backdrop of social and political turbulence in early 20th-century London, Falling Angels draws a picture of family life that exposes the prejudices and flaws of a changing time. Chevalier ( Girl with a Pearl Earring) "shows imaginative skill in two neatly accomplished surprises, and the denouement packs an emotional wallop," says Publishers Weekly.

In the late 19th century, as humans came to realize that our rapidly industrializing and globalizing societies were driving other animal species to extinction, a movement to protect and conserve them was born. In Beloved Beasts, acclaimed science journalist Michelle Nijhuis traces the movement's history: from early battles to save charismatic species such as the American bison and bald eagle to today's global effort to defend life on a larger scale.

It's 1969, and 16-year-old Lucy is about to run away with a much older man to live off the grid in rural Pennsylvania, a rash act that will have vicious repercussions for both her and her older sister, Charlotte. As Lucy's default caretaker for most of their lives, Charlotte's youth has been marked by the burden of responsibility, but never more so than when Lucy's dream of a rural paradise turns into a nightmare.

From Silk to Silicon tells the story of who these men and women were, what they did, how they did it, and how their achievements continue to shape our world today.

After his daughter, Vera, suffers a psychotic break at a high school party and is diagnosed as bipolar, Lucas decides to take her on a trip to Vilnius, hoping the change of scenery will help rouse her from the fog of her medication and bring them closer together. Lucas and his high school sweetheart, Katya, had Vera when they were only 18, and Lucas was not part of Vera's life for most of her childhood.