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Books > Fiction > True stories > Endurance & survival
Paul Nazaroff was the ringleader of a desperate plot to overthrow the Bolsheviks in Central Asia in 1918. Declared 'the most dangerous counter-revolutionary at large in the Tashkent region' thus began an extraordinary catalogue of adventures with hair-breadth 'scapes and survival against all odds. Forced to live the life of a hunted animal his escape led him right across Central Asia, over the Himalayas to the plains of Hindustan.
Aisling Creegan's childhood was dominated by an abusive, alcoholic
mother, who tortured her at every turn. From insults through
beatings and being threatened with a butcher's knife, Aisling
endured unthinkable suffering at the hands of the woman who should
have loved her unconditionally. Yet in the midst of this trauma,
Aisling was able to rely on the one person she knew she could trust
- herself. Possessed of an incredible imagination and remarkable
resilience, Aisling found escape in the little things in life:
lying in a field on a sunny day; drawing; Matchbox cars; and her
teddy bear, Panda. Aisling's power to imagine an alternative world
enabled her to hold on and make it to adolescence and the freedom
she had longed for since childhood. But the scars of the past take
time to heal, and when Aisling suffered a breakdown it took her on
a surprising path to freedom - and forgiveness. I Am Someone is an
extraordinary memoir about female cruelty, and ultimately female
strength and endurance. 'Searingly honest ... brings you straight
into the inner world of someone pushed to the limits' Lynn Ruane
Just in time for the centennial of the sinking of the Titanic, this
graphic deluxe edition compiles first hand accounts, testimonies,
and letters by notable Titanic survivors, including Archibald
Gracie, Lawrence Beesley, Elizabeth W. Shutes, and the "unsinkable"
Molly Brown. Full of historically accurate details and an afterword
by the grandson of Lawrence Beesley, Titanic Survivors and author
of The Loss of the S.S. Titanic, it will be the gift to give
die-hard Titanic buffs. Authoritative, commemorative and in a
striking, luxurious package with and introduction by Titanic
enthusiast and expert, Tim Maltin, this will be the authoritative
work on the disaster.
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author, an extraordinary
story of redemption in the darkest of places. Jarvis Jay Masters's
early life was a horror story whose outline we know too well. Born
in Long Beach, California, his house was filled with crack,
alcohol, physical abuse, and men who paid his mother for sex. He
and his siblings were split up and sent to foster care when he was
five, and he progressed quickly to juvenile detention, car theft,
armed robbery, and ultimately San Quentin. While in prison, he was
set up for the murder of a guard - a conviction which landed him on
death row, where he's been since 1990. At the time of his murder
trial, he was held in solitary confinement, torn by rage and
anxiety, felled by headaches, seizures, and panic attacks. A
criminal investigator repeatedly offered to teach him breathing
exercises which he repeatedly refused, until desperation moved him.
With uncanny clarity, David Sheff describes Masters's gradual but
profound transformation from a man dedicated to hurting others to
one who has prevented violence on the prison yard, counselled high
school kids by mail, and helped prisoners -and even guards - find
meaning in their lives. Along the way, Masters becomes drawn to the
Buddhist principles - compassion, sacrifice, and living in the
moment -and gains the admiration of Buddhists worldwide. And while
he is still in San Quentin and still on death row, he shows us all
how to ease our everyday suffering, relish the light that surrounds
us, and endure the tragedies that befall us all.
THE LONG-AWAITED, MOVING MEMOIR OF HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR HANNAH
PICK-GOSLAR, WHO SHARES AN INTIMATE LOOK INTO HER LIFE AND
FRIENDSHIP WITH ANNE FRANK. 'As a girl I witnessed the world I
loved crumble and vanish, destroyed by senseless hatred, and with
it, my best friend Anne' Two best friends' lives were about to
change for ever, neither would ever be forgotten... When Hannah's
family flee from the Nazi to Amsterdam, she soon strikes up a
friendship with a girl just like her freshly arrived from Germany.
Precocious and outspoken, the girl's name is Anne Frank and for
seven blissful years the inseparable pair navigate school, boys and
coming of age. Then one day in 1942, as the Nazi occupation
intensifies, they are separated without warning. Hannah calls on
Anne and can't find a trace of her, breakfast dishes still in the
sink, beds unmade. Anne and her family have seemingly vanished.
They are told the Franks have fled to Switzerland. As Hannah is
tormented by the fate of her friend, hoping she is alive and well
elsewhere, her own family's fate unfolds. After attempts to flee
themselves, the SS finally come for them and they are taken to the
transit camp Westerbork. Eventually Hannah, her father and younger
sister Gabi are transported to Bergen-Belsen. Amid horrific
conditions with death all around, it is during Hannah's darkest
point at the concentration camp that she hears astonishing of news
of Anne. Desperate to save her friend who is weak and struggling to
survive, Hannah risks her life to help her. In an incredible memoir
of hope, strength and defiance, Hannah shares the intimate, loving
portrait of her friendship with the young diarist who would go on
to capture the hearts of millions around the world.
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