Exhilarating, heartbreaking and ultimately inspiring, The Day That Changed My Life is a remarkable collection of stories of Ireland's women and the extraordinary moments which transformed their lives. There are stories of the marvels of motherhood and coming out, leaps of faith and determined entrepreneurship. Stories of crazy highs, such as Oscar nominations and being elected into office. And stories of brave fights against illness and triumphs against all odds. All are united by a strength in adversity, courage and resilience, and an ability to find humour in the darkest places. Our lives change, but some days change our lives forever.

Christopher Zyda confronts the long-buried and painful memories of his harrowing fifteen-year journey in The Storm: One Voice from the AIDS Generation, a heart-wrenching love story and coming-of-age tale during the early years of the AIDS crisis in Los Angeles. It all begins in early 1984, when Chris, a twenty-one year old UCLA English Literature major, risks ostracism when he comes out of the closet to his fraternity brothers just as the AIDS pandemic is beginning to explode in gay communities across the United States. Soon afterward, Chris meets and falls in love with Stephen, a graduate of Yale University and Law School, and the two of them build a life together as their friends start to fall sick and die from the spreading storm of AIDS. Stephen begins showing symptoms of AIDS in early 1986, and Chris faces a difficult choice as he is certain that he, too, eventually will be stricken by the disease. He abandons his writing career and attends the UCLA business school so that he can earn enough money to pay for healthcare during Stephen's illness. The Storm is filled with heart, optimism, and love, interspersed with Los Angeles history, gay and lesbian history, AIDS history, and the backdrop of the 1980s and 1990s. It is an unflinching and, at times, raw memoir of perseverance, integrity, forgiveness, the power of love, spiritual growth, Carpe Diem, dreams, and, most of all: survival and ultimate triumph.

"A dramatic story, ably and convincingly told . . . A chilling look at the precarious line between success and tragedy."--"Kirkus Reviews"

On May 15, 2006, a young British climber named David Sharp lay dying near the top of Mount Everest while forty other climbers walked past him on their way to the summit. A week later, Lincoln Hall, a seasoned Australian climber, was left for dead near the same spot. Hall's death was reported around the world, but the next day he was found alive after spending the night on the upper mountain with no food and no shelter.

If David Sharp's death was shocking, it was hardly singular: ten others died attempting to reach the summit that year. In this meticulous inquiry into what went wrong, Nick Heil tells the full story of the deadliest year on Everest since the infamous season of 1996. As more climbers attempt the summit each year, Heil shows how increasingly risky expeditions and unscrupulous outfitters threaten to turn Everest into a deadly circus.

Written by an experienced climber, "Dark Summit" is both a riveting account of a notorious climbing season and a troubling investigation into whether the pursuit of the ultimate mountaineering prize has spiraled out of control.

From award-winning ABC News Chief National Correspondent Matt Gutman, and written using exclusive interviews and information comes the definitive account of the dramatic story that gripped the world: the miracle rescue of twelve boys and their soccer coach trapped in a flooded cave miles underground for nearly three weeks-a pulse-pounding page-turner by a reporter who was there every step of their journey out. After a practice in June 2018, a Thai soccer coach took a dozen of his young players to explore a famous but flood-prone cave. It was one of the boys' birthday, but neither he nor the dozen resurfaced. Worried parents and rescuers flocked to the mouth of a cave that seemed to have swallowed the boys without a trace. Ranging in age from eleven to sixteen, the boys were all members of the Wild Boars soccer team. When water unexpectedly inundated the cave, blocking their escape, they retreated deeper inside, taking shelter in a side cavern. While the world feared them dead, the thirteen young souls survived by licking the condensation off the cave's walls, meditating, and huddling together for warmth. In this thrilling account, ABC News Chief National Correspondent Matt Gutman recounts this amazing story in depth and from every angle, exploring their time in the cave, the failed plans and human mistakes that nearly doomed them, and the daring mission that ultimately saved them. Gutman introduces the elite team of volunteer divers who risked death to execute a plan so risky that its American planners admitted, "for us, success would have meant getting just one boy out alive." He takes you inside the meetings where life and death decisions were grimly made and describes how these heroes pulled off an improbable rescue under immense pressure, with the boys' desperate parents and the entire world watching. One of the largest rescues in history was in doubt until the very last moment. Matt Gutman covered the story intensively, went deep inside the caves himself, and interviewed dozens of rescuers, experts and eye-witnessed around the world. The result is this pulse-pounding page-turner that vividly recreates this extraordinary event in all its intensity-and documents the ingenuity and sacrifice it took to succeed.

From the Sunday Times bestselling author of Make Your Bed: ten lessons on overcoming barriers, building confidence and finding new inspiration and motivation. In the course of his distinguished career Admiral William H. McRaven has met some truly exceptional people, from the men and women he served alongside in the Navy SEALS, to inspiring doctors, scientists, politicians and philanthropists. Drawing on stories of their incredible strength, humility and courage, Admiral McRaven has distilled the Hero Code - the ten habits that make ordinary people capable of extraordinary things. This book will show how we can all persevere to rise above our failures, use humour as a source of strength and inspire trust through integrity, as well as offering practical advice on rising to the occasion, coping with setbacks and becoming our best selves. Above all, this book offers simple and practical wisdom that we can all use to find encouragement, inspiration and optimism for the new year.

'Endlessly fascinating. Cram's story sizzles with adventure.' Giles Milton, Sunday Times

A genuinely new Second World War story, The 21 Escapes of Lt Alastair Cram is a riveting account of the wartime exploits of Alastair Cram, brilliantly told by the American author, David Guss. Cram was taken prisoner in North Africa in November 1941, which began a long odyssey through twelve different POW camps, three Gestapo prisons and one asylum. He became a serial escapee – fleeing his captors no fewer than twenty-one times, including his final, and finally successful, escape from a POW column in April 1945.

Perhaps the most dramatic of his attempts was from Gavi, the ‘Italian Colditz’. Gavi was a maximum-security prison near Genoa for the pericolosi, the ‘most dangerous’ inmates because of their perpetual hunger to escape. It was here that Alastair met David Stirling, the legendary founder of the SAS, and cooked up the plan for what would become the ‘Cistern Tunnel’ escape, one of the most audacious but hitherto little-known mass escape attempts of the entire war.

A story of courage in the face of extraordinary odds, it is a testament to one man's dogged determination never to give up.

THE SUNDAY TIMES AND INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER 'The ultimate Holocaust testimony.' HEATHER MORRIS, author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz and Cilka's Journey Afterword by JOHN BOYNE, author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas _______________ Eddy de Wind, a Dutch doctor and psychiatrist, was shipped to Auschwitz with his wife Friedel, whom he had met and married at the Westerbork labour camp in the Netherlands. At Auschwitz, they made it through the brutal selection process and were put to work. Each day, each hour became a battle for survival. For Eddy, this meant negotiating with the volatile guards in the medical barracks. For Friedel, it meant avoiding the Nazis' barbaric medical experiments. As the end of the war approached and the Russian Army drew closer, the last Nazis fled, taking many prisoners with them, including Friedel. Eddy hid under a pile of old clothes and stayed behind. Finding a notebook and pencil, he began to write with furious energy about his experiences. Last Stop Auschwitz is an extraordinary account of life as a prisoner, a near real-time record of the daily struggle to survive but also of the flickering moments of joy Eddy and Friedel found in each other. Documenting the best and the worst of humanity, it is a unique and timeless story that reminds us of what we as humans are capable of, but that there is hope, even in Hell. _______________ WHAT READERS ARE SAYING: 'It's heart-wrenching, but there are pockets of resistance, rays of hope that shine through.' 'Powerful and ultimately uplifting... with courage and strength you can survive anything.' 'This is an important work. We must never forget.'

________________________________________ The only book on 9/11 to focus solely on the remarkable testimony of those inside the Twin Towers during the attacks. At 8.46 am on September 11, 2001, 14,000 people were inside the Twin Towers in New York - reading emails, making calls, eating croissants... over the next 102 minutes each would become part of the most infamous and deadly terrorist attack in history, one truly witnessed only by the people who lived through it - until now. Of the millions of words written about that unforgettable day when Al Qaeda attacked the western world, most have been from outsiders. New York Times reporters Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn have taken the more revealing approach - using real-life testimonies to report solely from the perspective of those inside the towers. 102 Minutes is the epic account of ordinary men and women whose lives were changed forever in this kamikaze act of terrorism. This unique book about unique people, includes incredible stories of bravery, courage and overcoming unbelievable odds. Immortalised in this non-fiction masterpiece are the construction manager and his colleagues who pried open the doors and saved dozens of people in the north tower; the police officer who was a few blocks away, filing his retirement papers, but grabbed his badge and sprinted to the buildings; the window washer stuck in a lift fifty floors up who used a squeegee to escape; and the secretaries who led an elderly man down eighty-nine flights of stairs. Chance encounters, moments of grace, a shout across an office shaped these minutes, marking the border between fear and solace, staking the boundary between life and death. Crossing a bridge of voices to go inside the infernos, seeing cataclysm and herosim one person at a time, Dwyer and Flynn tell the affecting, authoritative saga of the men and women - the 12,000 who escaped and the 2,749 who perished at Ground Zero on September 11th 2001 - as they made 102 minutes count as never before.

'Captivating, a John le Carre-esque yarn' Telegraph 'A thoroughly good read' Michael Portillo, author of Portillo's Hidden History of Britain and presenter of Great British Railway Journeys 'A compelling story of courage, determination and skill' Terry Waite CBE, author of Taken on Trust The true story of a retired British army officer's private Somali-hostage rescue mission During the peak of the Somali piracy crisis, three ships - from Malaysia, Thailand and Taiwan - were hijacked and then abandoned to their fate by their employers, who lacked the money to pay ransoms. All would still be there, were it not for Colonel John Steed, a retired British military attache, who launched his own private mission to free them. At 65, Colonel Steed was hardly an ideal saviour. With no experience in hostage negotiations and no money behind him, he had to raise the ransom cash from scratch, running the operation from his spare room and ferrying million-dollar ransom payments around in the boot of his car. Drawing on first-hand interviews, former chief foreign correspondent of The Sunday Telegraph, Colin Freeman, who has himself spent time held hostage by Somali pirates, takes readers on an inside track into the world of hostage negotiation and one man's heroic rescue mission.

Princess, poet, pacifist ... and World War II spy. The enigmatic, indefinable Noor Inayat Khan was an unlikely recruit to the SOE as an undercover wireless operator. How did she face off fascism with such courage and resilience and evade capture longer than any of her counterparts? Noor's moving and inspirational story takes us across borders and time into a shadowy world of espionage, as British officer Vera Atkins and Gestapo Major Hans Kieffer trade secrets to uncover the woman behind the code names. From her Sufi mysticism to her astonishing creativity, Noor's individuality was ultimately her greatest strength. Reviews of previous work: "... an incredible new voice; witty and wise." - Adele Parks "...some of the best, cutting edge Asian theatre." - The Herald, Scotland

'A raw, honest rollercoaster that touches the heart' ***** 'Kate and her family's courageous battle over the last year is told with such candour' ***** 'Written from the heart with the will never to give up hope' ***** ........................ In March 2020, Kate Garraway's husband, Derek Draper, contracted Covid-19 and was placed in a medically-induced coma. Initially, Kate was told that he would not survive. A year later he was still in hospital. Now at home but requiring round-the-clock care, he is thought to be the UK's longest-fighting Covid-19 patient. In this intimate book, Kate shares her deeply personal story. As well as recounting how the illness took hold of their lives, she writes about how she is coping with the uncertainty of their future, how she's supporting her children through this traumatic time, how she has found strength in community and how she strives to hold on to hope even at the darkest of times. Covid-19 has affected everyone across the country in so many ways and Kate hopes that by revealing her own personal experience, it will give comfort to others. By sharing the lessons she has learnt along the way, it will help us all begin to try to re-build our lives. Kate's exceptional courage, positivity and warmth shine through on every page, making The Power of Hope a truly inspiring read that will resonate with all of us whose lives continue to be touched by the virus. THIS EDITION IS UPDATED, WITH NEW MATERIAL ABOUT CARING FOR DEREK AT HOME.

The hilarious, heartwarming and - unbelievably - true story of Maurice Flitcroft, the World's Worst Golfer 'The story of its greatest anti-hero is just what the game needs' Spectator When 46-year-old crane driver Maurice Flitcroft chanced his way into the Open - having never before played a round of golf in his life - he ran up a record-worst score of 121. The sport's ruling classes banned him for life. Maurice didn't take it lying down. In a hilarious game of cat-and-mouse with The Man, he entered tournaments again - and again, and again - using increasingly ludicrous pseudonyms such as Gene Pacecki, Arnold Palmtree and Count Manfred von Hoffmanstel (more often than not disguised by a fake moustache). In doing so, he sent the authorities into apoplexy, and won the hearts of fans from Muirfield to Michigan, becoming arguably the most popular - and certainly the bravest - sporting underdog the world has ever known 'Hilarious' Esquire

The courageous, inspiring story of Sarbjit Kaur Athwal, who bravely fought for justice, risking her own life, after her sister-in-law was murdered in an honor killing by her husband's familyIn 1998, Sarbjit Athwal was called by her husband to attend a family meeting. It looked like just another family gathering. An attractive house in west London, a large dining room, two brothers, their mother, one wife. But the subject they were discussing was anything but ordinary. At the head of the group sat the elderly mother. She stared proudly around, smiling at her children, then raised her hand for silence. "It's decided then," the old lady announced. "We have to get rid of her." "Her" was Surjit Athwal, Sarbjit's sister-in-law. Within three weeks of that meeting, Surjit was dead: lured from London to India, drugged, strangled, and her body dumped in the Ravi River, never to be seen again."""After the killing, risking her own life, Sarbjit fought secretly for justice for nine long, scared years. Eventually, with immense bravery, she became the first person within a murderer's family ever to go into open court in an honor killing trial as the prosecution's key witness, and the first to waive her anonymity in such a trial. As a result of her testimony, the trial led to the first successful prosecution of an honor killing without the body ever being found. But her story doesn't end there. Since the trial, her life has been threatened; her own husband arrested after an allegation of intimidation. This is a story of fear and of horror--but also of immense courage, and a woman who risked everything to see that justice was done.

Maria Krehbiel-Darmstadter (1892-1943), who was killed at Auschwitz, was a highly gifted pupil of Rudolf Steiner and a member of The Christian Community. Born into a Jewish family in Mannheim, she was deported to Gurs camp in the Pyrenees on October 22, 1940, where she survived harsh conditions and helped many of her fellow inmates. Following temporary sick-leave (under police supervision) in Limonest near Lyon, and a failed attempt to flee to Switzerland, she was brought to Drancy transit camp near Paris before being taken to Auschwitz. This book offers unique testimony of an individual rooted in esoteric Christianity and Spiritual Science who found sources of inner resistance during one of history's darkest periods. As the portrait of a highly ethical and sorely tried woman amid catastrophic conditions, it describes her existential efforts to summon powers of concentration, meditation, and dedication to others, showing how these continued to inform her outlook and actions to the very end. Polish Jews in Drancy referred to Maria Krehbiel-Darmstadter as Mere Maria. They experienced her distinctive spirituality and personal qualities and a profound religiosity that retained an inner connection with the Christian sacramental world, even in the most desolate circumstances. From Gurs to Auschwitwitz adds an important voice to literature on the Holocost and shines a light on the nature of spiritual, inner resistance during the dark years of World War II in Europe.

'Poetically written, absorbing, harrowing' The Times 'The raw and emotional account of an optician whose family fishing trip suddenly placed him amid the human tragedy of hundreds of drowning migrants is a story that needed to be told' Fiona Wilson, The Times 'An important book ... I cried all the way through' Tracy Chevalier From an award-winning BBC journalist, this moving book turns the testimony of an accidental hero into a timeless story about human fellowship and the awakening of courage and conscience. 'I can hardly begin to describe to you what I saw as our boat approached the source of that terrible noise. I hardly want to. You won't understand because you weren't there. You can't understand. You see, I thought I'd heard seagulls screeching. Seagulls fighting over a lucky catch. Birds. Just birds.' Emma-Jane Kirby has reported extensively on the reality of mass migration today. In The Optician of Lampedusa she brings to life the moving testimony of an ordinary man whose late summer boat trip off a Sicilian island unexpectedly turns into a tragic rescue mission.

"I Am Nobody is an honest, tragic account of child sexual abuse and a powerful resource for individuals struggling with recovery. Gilhooly clearly highlights the shortcomings of the Canadian justice system's approach; hopefully, one day, the punishment will fit the crime." &#8212Sheldon Kennedy, former NHL player and author of Why I Didn't Say Anything In this raw, unflinching look at how his dream of playing hockey was stolen from him by charismatic hockey coach and sexual predator Graham James, Greg Gilhooly describes in anguishing detail the mental torment he suffered both during and long after the abuse and the terrible reality behind the sanitized term "sexual assault." Although James has been convicted of sexually assaulting some of his victims, including Sheldon Kennedy and Theo Fleury, he neither confessed in court nor was convicted of sexually assaulting many of his other victims, including Gilhooly, depriving him of the judicial closure he craved. Gilhooly also provides a valuable legal perspective-as both a victim and a lawyer-missing from other such memoirs, and he delivers a powerful indictment of a legal system that, he argues, does not adequately deal with serial sexual child abuse or allocate enough resources to the rehabilitation of the victim. Most important, Gilhooly offers hope, affirmation, and inspiration for those who have suffered abuse and for their loved ones.

Fran Stiff is a silicone gel survivor. Implanted with silicone gel-filled breast implants in November 1981 she was told it was a 'one off' and that the implants would last a lifetime. It was the beginning of a 22-year nightmare. Intended to enhance her beauty, the procedure had the opposite result. By 1983 her right breast had become hard and deformed. The implant had ruptured and loose silicone gel had been broadcast into her breast and other bodily tissues. This was surgically removed and the implant replaced. By May 1989 her right breast had re-hardened, but this time she was unable to find a plastic surgeon willing to deal with it. They were only prepared to explant the implants, because they said the hardening would only reoccur. This would have left her with a grossly deformed chest and no breasts. She refused, deciding it was preferable to live with the deformity. She found herself progressively afflicted with major allergies and rheumatism. It was only in 1997 – 16 years after the first implantations – that she found a plastic surgeon who was prepared to tackle her problems. After a string of operations to remove the remnants of silicone gel that remained in her body and the replacement of both her implants with saline-filled ones, Fran is at last at the stage she had thought she had reached in 1981. Even her silicone gel-inspired allergies and rheumatism has begun to diminish. While silicone gel implants have been banned in the USA since 1992, their virtually unregulated use has continued in the European Union, South Africa and elsewhere. Effectively, women there have been used as lab rats by manufacturers of silicone gel breast implants to gather data for the FDA so that their products might be allowed back on the lucrative US market.

In this riveting first-person account, former Olympian and professional hockey player Eric LeMarque tells a harrowing tale of survival-of how, with only a lightweight jacket and thin wool hat, he survived eight days stranded in the frozen wilderness after a snowboarding trip gone horribly wrong. Known by his National Guard rescuers as "the Miracle Man," Eric recounts his rise to success and fame as a hockey player and Olympian, his long and painful fall due to crystal meth addiction, and his unbelievable ordeal in the wilderness. In the end, a man whose life had been based on athleticism would lose both his legs to frostbite and had to learn to walk-and snowboard-again with prosthetics. He realized that he couldn't come to terms with his drug addiction or learn to walk again by himself. He had to depend on God for his strength. Now an inspirational speaker committed to raising awareness for the dangers of drugs and crystal meth, Eric, in 6 Below, confronts the ultimate test of survival: what it takes to find your way out of darkness, and-after so many lies-to tell the truth and, by the grace and guidance of God, begin to live again.