Barbara Maddox was living a fairly normal and happy existence. Newly married, she was reaching the pinnacle of success as a regional sales manager at a large corporation and enjoying a fun social life with family and friends. And then her body started to betray her with what she thought were work-related, stress-induced health problems. After several months of worsening symptoms and a frustrating search for answers, she found herself in the emergency room one Sunday afternoon, completely exhausted and missing half of her blood. Within two hours of testing and prodding, she learned her fate: Cancer had spread throughout her lymph nodes. Mashed Potatoes and Gravy is Barb's brave and poignant accounting of how she managed through months of aggressive chemotherapy, three hospital stays, two serious blood infections, and acute mental depression. Along the way she discovers the importance of love, family, and friends as her spiritual world expands and she asks some deep, penetrating questions about life and our very existence. Written with raw emotion, and sprinkled with a good dose of humor, her story will leave readers inspired as they cheer her on through the unpredictable twists and turns on her journey toward conquering stage IV Hodgkin's lymphoma.

"When Down is Up" is the story of John Albert Wilkat, a courageous young man with Down Syndrome and Cerebral Palsy.

"He never wanted people to see him as different, even though he did realize, to some extent, that he was. He always wanted to be accepted as "one of the crowd." It was when people were talking about him saying, "John has Down Syndrome," that he would always correct them saying, "I'm not Down Syndrome. I'm UP SYNDROME." And "Up Syndrome" he was, in so very many ways.

From John you could learn that the world is a place of many different people. It is a world where sometimes things are not as they seem, a world where brother turns on brother, and a world where sometimes the smallest gesture can mean everything to another person.

John was a loving, giving, funny, joyful and, for the most part, happy person who was dealt a hand in life that most of us could never imagine. He made the very best of the situation, and John was truly an "UP SYNDROME" young man. "

Author Melba Heim Wilkat shares the story of her son's heartbreaking birth, the joys and trials of raising him, and the deafening silence as the door of his life closed.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of Americans survive heart attacks. The journey back to a normal life is not always easy. In THE SILENT HEART, author Larry J. Matthews provides a road map of the physical and emotional obstacles encountered on his personal journey through the ten months following his heart attack and cardiac arrest.

In this memoir, Matthews offers an intimate look into the mind of a heart attack survivor, sharing the events and his thoughts and feelings after his heart stopped beating. Combining personal experience with medical facts and reflections from his family, THE SILENT HEART shows the realities of heart disease, heart attacks, and rehabilitation as they affect not only the patient, but loved ones as well.

THE SILENT HEART gives hope and encouragement to those facing the same hurdles in their lives by presenting firsthand insight into one man's personal experience, the road to recovery, and the goal of practicing heart-healthy living.

The surgeons' heads seemed small next to the huge dome-shaped lights. Together heads and lights zoomed in on this sick heart, which looked like a wiggly red ball of flesh. Gloved fingers felt and searched for new possibilities.

All of a sudden there was an undeniable knowing that someday I would be a member of such a team and stand at the head of the patient to guard his or her life...

Bold and brilliant, "Behind the Ether Screen" shares the true story of Gabriele F. Roden, a woman whose attempt to break free from a childhood of relentless expectations of performance and perfection, instead ended up choosing a career with similar challenges that resulted in great successes.

Born in post-war Germany, Roden was raised with rigorous discipline and motivation to choose a career based on humanitarian principles that would outlast the demolished, chaotic surroundings of her home. But it was a pivotal move to Ireland in her teens and her enrollment at University College Cork that launched her career in medicine.

Her early drive to excel in the specialty of anesthesiology brought her to the United States of America as a young graduate. She completed her internship in Worcester, MA, pursued her anesthesia residency at Yale University, and after a few years in private practice at a community hospital, she returned to academic medicine in Boston.

Spanning a career of more than thirty-seven years, Dr. Roden's moving account offers insight into the behind-the-scenes struggles and rewards of her specialty.

Becoming part of the Ribbon, My personal journey is just that. It tells, in detail, what I went through during my whole process of getting breast cancer. I have always said that it is all in the attitude and now I can live to tell how true that is. I can remember saying to my Mom, "Let's try to have as much fun with this journey as we can" and I can say that I did do that. I hope that this book gives other women that are diagnosed the courage and strength to get through this terrible disease.

NOW A MAJOR SERIES 'GENIUS' ON NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, PRODUCED BY RON HOWARD AND STARRING GEOFFREY RUSH Einstein is the great icon of our age: the kindly refugee from oppression whose wild halo of hair, twinkling eyes, engaging humanity and extraordinary brilliance made his face a symbol and his name a synonym for genius. He was a rebel and nonconformist from boyhood days. His character, creativity and imagination were related, and they drove both his life and his science. In this marvellously clear and accessible narrative, Walter Isaacson explains how his mind worked and the mysteries of the universe that he discovered. Einstein's success came from questioning conventional wisdom and marvelling at mysteries that struck others as mundane. This led him to embrace a worldview based on respect for free spirits and free individuals. All of which helped make Einstein into a rebel but with a reverence for the harmony of nature, one with just the right blend of imagination and wisdom to transform our understanding of the universe. This new biography, the first since all of Einstein's papers have become available, is the fullest picture yet of one of the key figures of the twentieth century. This is the first full biography of Albert Einstein since all of his papers have become available -- a fully realised portrait of this extraordinary human being, and great genius. Praise for EINSTEIN by Walter Isaacson:- 'YOU REALLY MUST READ THIS.' Sunday Times 'As pithy as Einstein himself.' New Scientist '[A] brilliant biography, rich with newly available archival material.' Literary Review 'Beautifully written, it renders the physics understandable.' Sunday Telegraph 'Isaacson is excellent at explaining the science. ' Daily Express

Dorothy Wrinch, a complicated and ultimately tragic figure, is remembered today for her much publicized feud with Linus Pauling over the shape of proteins, known as "the cyclol controversy." Pauling emerged victorious and is now seen as one of the 20th century's greatest scientists. History has proven less kind to Wrinch. Although some of Wrinch's theories did not pass the test of time, her contributions to the fields of Darwinism, probability and statistics, quantum mechanics, x-ray diffraction, and computer science were anything but inconsequential. Wrinch's story is also the story of the science of crystals and the ever-changing notion of symmetry fundamental to that science. Drawing on her own personal relationship with Wrinch as well as the papers archived at Smith College and elsewhere, Marjorie Senechal explores the life of this brilliant and controversial figure in I Died for Beauty. This biography provides a coherent biographical narration, a detailed account of the cyclol controversy, and a personal memoir of the author's relationship with Wrinch. Senechal presents a sympathetic portrait of the life and science of a luminous but tragically flawed character.

In Inside Sodom, there are several actors; "real-life" actors. Nnedi is a tantalizing black beauty, artist per excellence, prodigy but born into abysmal poverty. She survived serial childhood sexual abuse, teenage motherhood, and unmitigated deprivations during her college years to a life of triumph Her natural endowments contributed in no small way to her ordeals; an object of intense temptations and pressures from the high and mighty. She rose above all odds to be crowned a beauty queen. Eleanor is a living angel; a rich pink rose but planted in an infested garden. Circumstances and fate played their turns early in her childhood, and she found herself in a missionary orphanage. But fate wasn't done yet with her blows; her stepmom was to be the next victim of death's cruelty. All the ropes that bound El to sanity and civility got snapped. She was released to an old beckoning orchestra, and having been commandeered by the mysterious, she became a whore of no mean repute. But then fate began singing an awkward tune. When it reached a crescendo, she came home to motherhood. Her husband was no other but a mogul in the corporate world, son of a preacher of no mean repute. The pages are garnished, foremost with passionate poetry and above all with pidgin English-the "lingua franca" of Sote. With the former, the inner recesses of the actors' and actor-writer's minds were well captured, whereas with the latter garnishing, the grassroots; the flavor of Sote was not left out this real-life drama. The reader is encouraged to imbibe some pidgin verses with which to explore the riches and absurdities of Sote as an emerging tourist destination.

My caregiver training started early in life, extended through the 44 years after Eileen was diagnosed as having multiple sclerosis, and did not end until her death in 2001. At home, I provided full care to her, planned and thought ahead, but always was willing to sacrifice my personal freedom, and to suffer frequent heartbreak. As a caregiver I received a lifetime of gratitude from Eileen, to give me satisfaction of having successfully met her daily MS demands. The early training I received in childhood coincided with the years of the Great Depression, from the late 1920's, through the 1930's, and the first years of the 1940's. During that time I had the least possible financial assistance from anybody, yet I became an unpaid electrician, plumber, carpenter, auto repairer...a Mr. Fixit for the entire Fenley family. The four years I served in the US Army were very pleasant, advancing from private to major, in an endless procession of challenging but interesting extra duties, in addition to my regular ones. These I describe as my lucky Army breaks. I have bared my soul. Happy reading

Until the age of four, Irene Snow lived happily with her mother and gentle, doting grandparents. The return of her father, a rough and tough soldier, at the close of World War II set the stage for rebellion and dissention in her young life. He was a strict disciplinarian, and she resented his authority from the outset. What's more his arrival introduced her to the baser emotions of jealousy and hatred, which were previously beyond her ken as the reigning princess in Grandma's house.

As she grew older, her life became a search to regain the pedestal she lost, no matter what it took. As a young woman, she fell in love with a married German and had his child out of wedlock. Aware of her father's deep and abiding enmity for "the enemy," she reveled in his displeasure; he in turn vowed to disown his grandchild. Irene's seven-year love affair ended with her marriage to a Canadian widower, but her wedding was closely followed by a tragedy that ignited her darker emotions and eventually brought her to a nervous breakdown, psychosis, and utter darkness.

She turned to the field of psychology in the hope it might shed light on her self-defeating behavior. While her studies provided many answers, they did not lead to peace. Finally, she embarked upon a spiritual journey that led her to "A Course in Miracles." Once she began to reach out with love, her life changed dramatically.

Although a diagnosis of breast cancer is certain to be frightening and life-changing, with the help of supportive family and friends, it's possible to come through triumphant on the other side. In her new memoir, I Forgot to Cry, Claudean Nia Robinson shares the history of her personal breast cancer journey in 2008. Her story is about embracing the journey-despite the heartache and challenges that developed along the way. Learning and growing from those challenges was an integral part of the healing process for her, and it also allowed her to trust and have more faith in herself and God at a much deeper level. Being surrounded by her loving family and friends, day in and day out, was also an important part of her recovery. Having come through such an experience, Claudean decided to use her passion and purpose to inspire and encourage cancer patients and survivors as they were working to achieve their wellness. Through this journey, she learned that it's not the years in your life but the life in your years that creates a brighter tomorrow.

In January 2020, leading epidemiologist Professor Mark Woolhouse learned of a new virus taking hold in China. He immediately foresaw a hard road ahead for the entire world, and emailed the Chief Medical Officer of Scotland warning that the UK should urgently begin preparations. A few days later he received a polite reply stating only that everything was under control. In this astonishing account, Mark Woolhouse shares his story as an insider, having served on advisory groups to both the Scottish and UK governments. He reveals the disregarded advice, frustration of dealing with politicians, and the missteps that led to the deaths of vulnerable people, damage to livelihoods and the disruption of education. He explains the follies of lockdown and sets out the alternatives. Finally, he warns that when the next pandemic comes, we must not dither and we must not panic; never again should we make a global crisis even worse. The Year the World Went Mad puts our recent, devastating, history in a completely new light.

Early in 2008, doing ordinary, mundane things like tying his shoes and walking up steps literally took author Jim Uhrig's breath away. He had trouble breathing, and it seemed as though he could never catch his breath. That was the beginning of a long journey for Uhrig, who shares his story in Partners 4 Life. In this memoir, he narrates the path his life took after being diagnosed with the incurable idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and undergoing a subsequent lung transplant in April of 2009. Uhrig not only discusses his diagnosis and treatment, but also places special emphasis on the partners-from his personal life, his business, and his sports activities-who provided him with inspiration and help and played an integral role in his survival. He includes his partners in medicine, the donor and her family, caregivers, and special angels. Uhrig's story relates how he tackled his lung disease and transplant with the same fervor he lived life. Partners 4 Life communicates the saving grace of an organ transplant as well as the power of positive thinking.