![]() |
![]() |
Your cart is empty |
||
Books > Fiction > True stories > General
It's time we celebrated women in adventure What does "toughness" mean to you? Perhaps it's being physically fit and mentally resilient. Perhaps it's doing something no one else has done before. Perhaps it's breaking down boundaries and proving what you can do, in spite of the naysayers. Perhaps it's travelling alone, immersing yourself in new cultures and meeting new people. Perhaps it's running ultramarathons in the blistering heat and beating the competition. Perhaps it's conquering your fears. The badass adventurers in this collection are all fearless, intelligent, compassionate and curious about the world - and they all happen to be female. From endurance obstacle races to arctic expeditions, from mountain climbing to wingsuit flying, from horse trekking to swimming the English Channel, they have set the bar high for what women are capable of. Let yourself be inspired by their stories of grit, courage, determination, triumph and heartbreak - you never know, it might lead to something incredible!
"Beautifully written, searingly honest, and deeply affecting ... when the book ended, I only wanted more" - Roxane Gay "Ford is a writer for the ages, and Somebody's Daughter will be a book of the year" - Glennon Doyle, author of Untamed "Truly a classic in the making" - John Green, author of The Fault in Our Stars An Oprah book Throughout her adolescence, Ashley Ford doesn't know how to deal with the worries that keep her up at night. If only she could turn to her father for his advice and support. But he's in prison, and she doesn't know what he did to end up there. After being raped by her ex-boyfriend, Ashley desperately searches for her sense of self. Then, her grandmother reveals the truth about her father's incarceration... and Ashley's world is turned upside down. Ashley embarks on a powerful journey to find the connections between who she is and what she was born into, discovering that, however much we might try to untether ourselves from a painful past, the ties that bind families together are the strongest ones of all. "Sure to be one of the best memoirs of 2021" - Kirkus Reviews "A heart-wrenching coming-of age story" - Time "Her coming-of-age story gets at how to both acknowledge and break away from what we're born into" - Cosmopolitan "A beautiful, delicate memoir... a journey toward true and powerful selfhood" - Elle
In this book for young people who are struggling with substance abuse, Kyle Keegan recounts his own remarkable story of drug abuse and ruthless addiction. Keegan, now an adult who is in recovery from his addiction, discusses his experience as a well adjusted adolescent who fell victim to heroin and whose life was almost destroyed by the devastating drug. Against the backdrop of these experiences, he also provides useful information that young people struggling with substance abuse need, such as how to recognize and accept that there is a problem, how to find professional help, and how to stay happy and healthy in recovery.
Prison, Inc. provides a first-hand account of life behind bars in a controversial new type of prison facility: the private prison. These for-profit prisons are becoming increasingly popular as state budgets get tighter. Yet as privatization is seen as a necessary and cost-saving measure, not much is known about how these facilities are run and whether or not they can effectively watch over this difficult and dangerous population. For the first time, Prison, Inc. provides a look inside one of these private prisons as told through the eyes of an actual inmate, K.C. Carceral who has been in the prison system for over twenty years.
'There's a lot of stigma attached to sex. Particularly with women, you have a big dichotomy between: Do you have sex? Do you not? Do you be a slut? Do you be a virgin? Do you be a prude? Do you be a man-whore? You can't really win.' Women are always being told how to be sexy, but are rarely asked what actually turns them on. Wendy Jones wanted to find out, so she interviewed twenty-four women from all walks of life, including a burlesque dancer, a girl guide leader, a shop assistant, a ninety-four year old who remembers the sexual freedom of the war, a transexual, a nun, a feminist into BDSM, a covered Muslim, a mother, a student, a polyamorist, and a sexual healer. The women talked about their lives, bodies, sexual fantasies and relationships, about what they've learned, how they have been hurt, what they enjoy and what they long for. The interviews are frank, engaging, and surprising. Each woman is unique but together they speak for a majority, and it's time we listened. This honest and inspiring exploration of female desire will change the way we think and talk about sex forever. 'English women have a reputation for being reserved and uptight; actually behind closed doors we're outrageous.'
To Jeanne de Ferranti's business-minded parents, it was dismissed as an irresponsible waste of time, and it quickly became 'the journey that never was'. It didn't enter the record books, and it was never reported in the press. But to Jeanne and her friend and co-driver Jane, it was rather a big adventure. Back in the early 1960s, as two young women in their twenties, they drove one of the first Minis right round the world, and made it home in one piece. The pair survived endless mechanical breakdowns and a major road accident, enduring hunger, thirst, poverty, bureaucratic red tape and food which ranged from the delightful to the disgusting. They frequently had to fight off the attentions of amorous men, even, at one point, escaping from an attempted rape at knifepoint. But along the way they experienced the kindness of many strangers and saw some of the greatest sights the world has to offer, finally making it safely home two years after they had set out. This, half a century on, is Jeanne's enthralling account of the round-the world adventure which at the time was simply swept under the carpet.
'Nobody knew the truth. For all those years while people judged me, I protected those closest to me. Now it's time for the real story to be told. It's time for healing and forgiveness.' Tressa Middleton made UK history when she became Britain's youngest mum in 2006 aged just 12 years and 8 months. Her case provoked shock and outrage - but the truth behind the headlines was far sadder than anyone could ever have imagined. Born into a life of poverty and neglect, Tressa was forced to grow up fast when she taken into care at just four years old. She was returned to her mother's chaotic world but by the age of seven, she was being abused by her own brother and at 11 years old she fell pregnant with his child. For years she kept his dark secret in an attempt to hold her family together until the truth threatened to destroy her completely. In the years since the birth, Tressa has gone through more pain and turmoil than most adults experience in a lifetime - yet today she survives a brave, strong and compassionate young woman. Now, for the first time, Tressa Middleton tells her own harrowing yet poignant story - a story of hope, forgiveness and above all, love.
Parental love was in short supply when Aura Angel was growing up, in a household where there was so little money that her parents would burn the floorboards of their council house to keep warm in winter. Her father would beat her at the slightest excuse, and when he left home her mother took over, using brooms and kitchen implements to make sure the blows hurt. Her mother's conflicts with authority led Aura (not her real name) to eight schools and more than 20 homes before finally, at 12 years old, she marched into the local Social Services offices and asked them to take care of her. Her troubles were far from over; an abortion at 16 followed and two children by fathers who badly let her down. Yet now, in her forties, she is at peace with herself. She has written A Normal Life as "a counselling tool for myself". It is an extraordinary and moving story, candidly and sensitively written.
Page Three model, serially unfaithful, heroin addict. Loving mother, honourable wife, daughter of God. Two lives. One woman. One God. Susie was a rising star of the modelling world. Her image graced TV screens, billboards and magazine covers across the globe. But she was a private failure, addicted to Class A drugs and promiscuously jumping from one broken relationship to another. Then God...A life transformed; a loving Father nurturing and disciplining a wilful, frightened daughter towards healing and reconciliation. A story of God invading the everyday joys and pains of family life. Once a body exposed to shame and lust. Now a life laid bare to tell of the Father's love. 'Joyous and heart-breaking. Shocking but inspirational. The ruthlessly honest, movingly written, self-penned story of Susie, our lifelong friend, and her journey of struggle, redemption and hope.' Steve Chalke, MBE Oasis UK, and Cornelia Chalke 'This is a real story of a real woman with real issues arising from a wounded inner child, but one who is determined to hold on to the Lord and face the issues, one by one, with courage and dedication.' Jennifer Rees Larcombe, Beauty from Ashes 'You will hear elsewhere many tales of a radical change, but this one is told from the hindsight of several decades and offers hope and encouragement to readers who will persevere as she has done.' Anne Coles, New Wine
Through the years and the struggles, when life seemed more about hurt and loss than hope and mercy, God was positioning the Smiths for something extraordinary--the death and resurrection of their son. When Joyce Smith's fourteen-year-old son John fell through an icy Missouri lake one winter morning, she and her family had seemingly lost everything. At the hospital, John lay lifeless for more than sixty minutes. But Joyce was not ready to give up on her son. She mustered all her faith and strength into one force and cried out to God in a loud voice to save him. Miraculously, her son's heart immediately started beating again. In the coming days, John would defy every expert, every case history, and every scientific prediction. Sixteen days after falling through the ice and being clinically dead for an hour, he walked out of the hospital under his own power, completely healed. BREAKTHROUGH is about a profound truth: prayer really does work. God uses it to remind us that He is always with us, and when we combine it with unshakable faith, nothing is impossible. Previously published as The Impossible.
Since Henry James there have been many impressions of an American abroad and we have become used to seeing the world 'under western eyes'. But what about seeing the world from a very different perspective - not from the standpoint of an affluent westerner, or even an anglicised foreigner like Conrad, but through the eyes of an Iranian who has not had the privilege of taking freedom for granted. Iran itself comes under close scrutiny as the author tries to come to terms with daily life in a country where freedom of speech, freedom of movement, and freedom to wear the clothing of one's choice does not exist. Imagine, for instance, visiting a tourist town for a holiday break and being picked up by the police because you are not a local, and then inadvertently finding yourself with a rope around your neck in a public execution? The book is a real page-turner as one follows the author's frequent bids for freedom, finding himself repeatedly in a prison cell, punting across a turbulent river to enter Greece without a visa, finding temporary solace and comfort in the arms of a young prostitute in Bulgaria, suffering the indignity of being treated as a slave by the high-minded bosses in Japan, and running away from the regular police raids in Cyprus. But not all is doom and gloom - by no means, for apart from the author's downright honesty, sharing and confiding his innermost thoughts, there is his irresistible humour that never fails to see the funny side in the events and the people that he describes. With its unique perspective of what it is like to be down and out, and sometimes affluent too, in Iran and the countries the author visits, this book provides an unforgettable experience.
How many times have you seen a woman artist solely referred to as the wife, girlfriend, muse, or 'mistress' of a man in the public eye? Throughout history, the achievements of women working across artistic disciplines - from visual artists to writers to filmmakers - have been largely undervalued, with the title of 'genius' reserved mainly for men. More than a Muse unpacks the complex romantic relationships that left women overshadowed, anonymous or underestimated in their work. Katie McCabe shines a light on the stories of talents like photographer Dora Maar, pioneering film editor and Hitchcock-collaborator Alma Reville, jazz pianist Lil Hardin Armstrong and many more. Exploring a broad scope of art movements and moments from Surrealism to early British silent film, Katie reexamines the contributions of women that have too often been ignored. More than a Muse views our history through the lens of artistic partnership, and positions women solidly in the foreground.
From storytelling phenomenon The Moth: a collection about risk, courage, and facing the unknown, drawn from the best stories ever told on their stages. All These Wonders features voices both familiar and new. Storytellers include writer Jung Chang and comedian Louis C.K, as well as a hip hop 'one hit wonder', an astronomer gazing at the surface of Pluto for the first time, and a young female spy risking everything as part of Churchill's secret army during World War II. They share their ventures into uncharted territory - and how their lives were changed forever by what they found there. These true stories have been carefully selected and adapted to the page by the creative minds at The Moth, and encompass the very best of the 17,000+ stories performed in live Moth shows around the world. It is filled with a variety of humourous, moving, and gripping tales from all walks of life that will leave you speechless.
It began in fine weather, then suddenly became a terrifying ordeal. A Force 10, sixty-knot storm swept across the North Atlantic with a speed that confounded forecasters, slamming into the fleet with epic fury. For twenty hours, 2,500 men and women were smashed by forty-foot breaking waves, while rescue helicopters and lifeboats struggled to save them. By the time the race was over, fifteen people had died, twenty-four crews had abandoned ship, five yachts had sunk, 136 sailors had been rescued, and only 85 boats had finished the race. John Rousmaniere was there, and he tells the tragic story of the greatest disaster in the history of yachting as only one who has sailed through the teeth of a killer storm can. With a new introduction by the author.
This fascinating book recounts the remarkable tale of a career UN official from Indonesia caught in the turmoil of international and domestic politics swirling around Cambodia during the tumultuous period after the fall of the Khmer Rouge. Writing from his experience first as a member of the UN transitional authority and then as a personal envoy to the UN secretary-general, Benny Widyono re-creates the fierce battles for power centering on King Norodom Sihanouk, the Khmer Rouge, and Prime Minister Hun Sen. A simultaneous insider and outsider, he also untangles the competing and conflicting agendas of the key international players, especially the United States, China, and Vietnam. He argues that great-power geopolitics throughout the Cold War and post-Cold War eras triggered and sustained a tragedy of enormous proportions in Cambodia for decades, ultimately leading to a flawed peace process. Widyono tells the inside story of the massive UN operation in Cambodia, the largest and most challenging in the organization's history to that time and long considered a model for UN operations elsewhere. He draws not only on his vantage point as part of the UN bureaucracy, but also as a local UN official in the rural Cambodian province of Siem Reap, the site of Angkor Wat. As a fellow Southeast Asian with no geopolitical axe to grind, Widyono was able to win the respect of Cambodians, including the once and future king, Norodom Sihanouk, whose decline after fifty years as his country's leading figure is vividly portrayed. Putting a human face on international operations, this book will be invaluable reading for anyone interested in Southeast Asia, the role of international peacekeeping, and the international response to genocide.
Dr. Rosenfeld spells out the details on how to prevent, treat, and/or slow down virtually every disorder and complication of aging, including Alzheimer's, cancer, heart disease, impotence, cataracts, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, stroke, and loss of vision.
Also Available as an eBook "LET'S GO TO THE VIDEOTAPE!" Every sports fan in America knows this legendary catchphrase, and it's all thanks to the dynamic commentary of sportscaster Warner Wolf. Here, in a book as colorful and good-humored as he is, Warner presents a sports feast of quirky observations, quotes, memories, debates, and trivia. "C'MON! GIMME A BREAK!" In this fast-break journey through the world of sports broadcasting, Warner Wolf plays back his fabulous career and some of his most memorable meetings with sports superstars. Share an elevator with Shaquille O'Neal and his entourage. Dine with Joltin' Joe DiMaggio. Ride in a Miami taxi cab with Joey Maxim, the man who beat Sugar Ray Robinson in 1952 when Robinson collapsed from the heat. Along the way, take a look at sports through the eyes--and voice--of Warner Wolf: "HERE'S THE "BOO" OF THE WEEK!" "IF YOU HAD THE CLIPPERS AND 37 POINTS--YOU LOST!" From what goes on behind the camera to what happens on the playing field, Warner Wolf knows what sports is all about--having fun. And in an arena filled with out-of-control media hype, LET'S GO TO THE VIDEOTAPE replays the lighter side of the sports world. So don't put off reading this book, because, as the late, great NFL coach George Allen used to say, and Warner wholeheartedly agrees... "THE FUTURE IS NOW!"
In April 2016, Dr. Nasser Al-Mohannadi became one of the first Qataris ever to complete a full Ironman race. He swam 3.8km, biked 180km and ran 42.2km on one of the most difficult Ironman courses in the world. It was the fulfilment of a childhood dream and the climax of 28 years of preparation and training. In this book, Al-Mohannadi shows how he overcame childhood fears, cultural misunderstanding, and physical injuries to reach his goal. Through careful planning, persistence and learning through mistakes, he achieved what seemed impossible.
Flying the not-so-friendly skies... In her more than fifteen years as an airline flight attendant, Heather Poole has seen it all. She's witnessed all manner of bad behavior at 35,000 feet and knows what it takes for a traveler to become the most hated passenger onboard. She's slept in flight attendant crashpads in "Crew Gardens," Queens--sharing small bedrooms crammed with bunk beds with a parade of attractive women who come and go at all hours, prompting suspicious neighbors to jump to the very worst conclusions. She's watched passengers and coworkers alike escorted off the planes by police. She can tell you why it's a bad idea to fall for a pilot but can be a very good one (in her case) to date a business-class passenger. Heather knows everything about flying in a post-9/11 world--and she knows what goes on behind the scenes, things the passengers would never dream. Heather's true stories in Cruising Attitude are surprising, hilarious, sometimes outrageously incredible--the very juiciest of "galley gossip" delightfully intermingled with the eye-opening, unforgettable chronicle of her fascinating life in the sky.
Tom Hart Dyke has a bit of a thing about plants. You might call it an obsession. You might call him certifiable, in fact. But it's a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a large ramshackle country estate and an obsession with plant collecting could want for only one thing - in Tom's case it's a walled garden containing examples of plants collected from every corner of the globe. Tom's infectious enthusiasm for anything with chlorophyll in it and the hugely ambitious World Garden project he has undertaken at his family home, Lullingstone Castle, in Kent have been documented in a 12-part television series for BBC 2. The first six parts ("Save Lullingstone Castle") were shown in spring 2006, and the second six episodes ("Return to Lullingstone Castle") in spring 2007 to coincide with hardback publication.Tom's attempts to set up the World Garden aren't exactly straightforward. You might imagine, for example, that the easiest way to start preparing the ground inside the walled Elizabethan garden which he transforms into the main part of the world garden would be to enlist the help of a few people and a lot of hard digging. Well not for Tom, who enlists instead two large pigs, who do indeed do a great job of turning over the earth and fertilising it with great organic manure. But the problem is that they keep escaping into the Hart Dyke family burial plot next door where they start digging up Tom's ancestors..."The World Garden" is created to bring together a truly amazing collection of plants from every continent and so to show the global origins of the plants we all grow in our gardens. It's already establishing itself as a tourist attraction of some note as well as an educational resource. This is a book for all those who bought Tim Smit's "Lost Gardens of Heligan". It's stuffed full of fascinating botanical information as well as the story of Tom's hapless struggle to overcome huge logistical nightmares. It's a riveting, hilarious story of English eccentricity in full bloom.
The twins were born in Nha Trang, Vietnam, in 1998, where their mother struggled to care for them. Ha was taken in by their biological aunt, and grew up in a rural village, going to school, and playing outside with the neighbors. They had sporadic electricity and frequent monsoons. Ha's twin sister, Loan, spent time in an orphanage before a wealthy, white American family adopted her and renamed her Isabella. Isabella grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, with a nonbiological sister, Olivia, also adopted from Vietnam. Isabella and Olivia attended a predominantly white Catholic school, played soccer, and prepared for college. But when Isabella's adoptive mother learned of Isabella's biological twin back in Vietnam, all of their lives changed forever. Award-winning journalist Erika Hayasaki spent years and hundreds of hours interviewing each of the birth and adoptive family members and tells the girls' incredible story from their perspectives, challenging conceptions about adoption and what it means to give a child a good life. Hayasaki contextualizes the sisters' experiences with the fascinating and often sinister history of twin studies, the nature versus nurture debate, and intercountry and transracial adoption, as well as the latest scholarship and conversation surrounding adoption today, especially among adoptees. For readers of All You Can Ever Know and American Baby, Somewhere Sisters is a richly textured, moving story of sisterhood and coming-of-age, told through the remarkable lives of young women who have redefined the meaning of family for themselves.
Max Edelman was just 17 when the Nazis took him to the first of five work camps, where his only hope of survival was to keep quiet and raise an emotional shield. After witnessing a German Shepherd kill a fellow prisoner, he developed a lifelong fear of dogs. Beaten into blindness by two bored guards, Max survived, buried the past, and moved on. But when he retired, he needed help. After a month of training, he received Calvin, a devoted chocolate Labrador retriever. Calvin guided Max safely through life, but he sensed Max's distance and reserve. Calvin grew listless and lost weight. Trainers intervened-but to no avail. A few days before Calvin's inevitable reassignment, Max went for a walk. A car cut into the crosswalk, and Calvin leapt forward, saving Max's life. Max's emotional shield dissolved. Calvin sensed the change and immediately improved, guiding Max to greater openness, trust, and engagement with the world. Here is the remarkable, touching story of a man who survived history and the dog that unlocked his heart. |
![]() ![]() You may like...
Writing Better Requirements - Writing…
Ian Alexander, Richard Stevens
Paperback
R1,445
Discovery Miles 14 450
Data Mining Patterns - New Methods and…
Pascal Poncelet, Florent Masseglia, …
Hardcover
R4,955
Discovery Miles 49 550
|