From sharing secrets as children to chasing unconventional dreams as adults, network correspondent Sara James and wildlife filmmaker Ginger Mauney explore their learning curve on life through the lens of their thirty-year friendship.

Transplanting southern roots to southern Africa, Ginger Mauney has earned the acceptance of a troop of baboons, unraveled mysteries of life and death in an elephant herd, and raised her young son in the wilds of Namibia—but has often felt the pull of the country she once called home. As a local television anchor, Sara James paid her own way to cover the war in Nicaragua, a gamble that later propelled her to NBC. At the network, James exposed slavery in Sudan and plunged to the gravesite of the Titanic, but struggled to balance her demanding career with marriage and motherhood.

Though the two lead seemingly opposite lives, there is much they share: a hometown in Richmond, Virginia, an attraction to life on the razor's edge, a weakness for men with foreign passports and accents, and a past. Now, in their heartfelt memoir, Mauney and James alternately narrate the story of how, they, two women separated by thousands of miles, have found themselves bound together through temperament, circumstance, and serendipity. The Best of Friends uses the example of their lives to explore such universal questions as: When your heart is broken, how do you heal? How do you realize your dreams without compromising yourself? How do you tame ambition to make room for love and family? And what does it mean as an adult to be a "best" friend?

The Best of Friends is James and Mauney's story,but it is also the story of so many women in their twenties, thirties, and forties who, with the help of friends, dared to reinvent their lives just when it seemed that everything was falling apart.

'Wonderfully evocative and richly layered, I couldn't put it down' Alex Brown Painful secrets have kept them apart... can the truth bring them together? London, 1984. Lori and Roland. Anna and Jude. Young, attractive and carefree, these two couples are inseparable friends. A holiday together in Paris seems like the perfect idea... until one reckless mistake tears them apart. Sydney, 2019. Ceri doesn't know the strange man who introduces himself as a friend of her parents. Her relationship with her mother was already fraught with tension... but now she needs answers. Because this man says he's her biological father. Can Ceri find a way to unravel the secrets of the past... and protect her family? A rich and warm-hearted family drama, perfect for fans of Fern Britton, Emma Hannigan and Cathy Kelly. Readers love Sara James' family drama Mothering Sunday: 'I read this book in one sitting!' 'A beautiful read' 'Such a joyous story' 'A real page turner' 'This is a book to escape into'

This volume critically engages with the work of the acclaimed Australian sociologist John Carroll. It makes the argument for a metaphysical sociology, which Carroll has proposed should focus on the questions of fundamental existence that confront all humans: 'Where do I come from?', 'What should I do with my life?' and 'What happens to me when I die?'. These questions of meaning, in the secular modern West, have become difficult to answer. As contemporary individuals increasingly draw on their inner resources, or 'ontological qualities', to pursue quests for meaning, the key challenge for a metaphysical sociology concerns the cultural resources available to people and the manner in which they are cultivated. Through wide-ranging discussions which include, film, romantic love, terrorism and video games, Metaphysical Sociology takes up this challenge. The contributors include emerging and established sociologists, a philosopher, a renowned actor and a musician. As such, this collection will appeal to scholars of social theory and sociology, and to the general reader with interests in morality, art, culture and the fundamental questions of human existence.

In a world in which individuals will undergo multiple career changes, is it possible any longer to conceive of a job as a meaningful vocation? Against the background of fragmentation and rationalisation of work, this book explores the significance and meaning of work in contemporary life, raising the question of whether people continue to feel motivated to dedicate their lives to their work, or must now look to other areas of life for meaning. Based on rich, in-depth interviews conducted with workers of different ages and across a broad range of occupations in the major city of Melbourne, Making a Living, Making a Life reveals that work continues to be a source of pride, passion and purpose, the author shedding light on the ways in which cultural narratives, collective meanings and structural factors influence people's feelings about work. An engaging and empirically grounded examination of the meaning and centrality of work to people's lives in today's 'liquid' modern world, this book will appeal to sociologists with interests in cultural sociology, social theory, ethics, the sociology of work and questions of identity.

In a world in which individuals will undergo multiple career changes, is it possible any longer to conceive of a job as a meaningful vocation? Against the background of fragmentation and rationalisation of work, this book explores the significance and meaning of work in contemporary life, raising the question of whether people continue to feel motivated to dedicate their lives to their work, or must now look to other areas of life for meaning. Based on rich, in-depth interviews conducted with workers of different ages and across a broad range of occupations in the major city of Melbourne, Making a Living, Making a Life reveals that work continues to be a source of pride, passion and purpose, the author shedding light on the ways in which cultural narratives, collective meanings and structural factors influence people's feelings about work. An engaging and empirically grounded examination of the meaning and centrality of work to people's lives in today's 'liquid' modern world, this book will appeal to sociologists with interests in cultural sociology, social theory, ethics, the sociology of work and questions of identity.

This volume critically engages with the work of the acclaimed Australian sociologist John Carroll. It makes the argument for a metaphysical sociology, which Carroll has proposed should focus on the questions of fundamental existence that confront all humans: 'Where do I come from?', 'What should I do with my life?' and 'What happens to me when I die?'. These questions of meaning, in the secular modern West, have become difficult to answer. As contemporary individuals increasingly draw on their inner resources, or 'ontological qualities', to pursue quests for meaning, the key challenge for a metaphysical sociology concerns the cultural resources available to people and the manner in which they are cultivated. Through wide-ranging discussions which include, film, romantic love, terrorism and video games, Metaphysical Sociology takes up this challenge. The contributors include emerging and established sociologists, a philosopher, a renowned actor and a musician. As such, this collection will appeal to scholars of social theory and sociology, and to the general reader with interests in morality, art, culture and the fundamental questions of human existence.

'A tender and heart-breaking story with a shocking family secret at its centre...I was weeping happy tears at the end' Saskia Sarginson One crisp and bright Mothering Sunday, Alexandra Abbott's now elderly mother, Elizabeth, reveals a secret that she has kept buried for over 50 years... April 1963: Aspiring artist Kitty Campbell has recently given birth to her first child in a mother and baby home. Kitty is to give her baby away for adoption but, when the day comes, she can't bring herself to part with her tiny daughter. In desperation, Kitty flees. She stops at a tea shop to feed her hungry baby and meets the owner, Bet - a mother with her own heartache to bear. But Bet is kind to Kitty, holding the baby and offering a listening ear. Then Kitty makes a decision that will change all their lives for ever. Several decades later, can the truth from that day finally right the past and bring a mother and daughter together? A heart-rending family drama perfect for fans of Fern Britten, Rachel Hore and Dilly Court. "Full of insight and wisdom, Mothering Sunday is an inspirational story with uplifting messages about family love, belonging and second chances... the perfect gift for your own special mum" Lancashire Post

'Wonderfully evocative and richly layered, I couldn't put it down' Alex Brown Painful secrets have kept them apart... could Christmas bring them together at last? London, 1984. Lori and Roland. Anna and Jude. Young, attractive and carefree, these two couples are inseparable friends. Holidaying together in France seems like the perfect idea... until one reckless mistake tears them apart. Sydney, 2019. Ceri doesn't know the strange man who introduces himself as a friend of her parents. Her relationship with her mother was already fraught with tension... but now she needs answers. Because this man says he's her biological father. Born on Christmas Day, Christmas has always been an extra special time for Ceri. As it draws near, can she find a way to unravel the secrets of the past... and protect her family? A rich and warm-hearted family drama, perfect for fans of Fern Britton, Emma Hannigan and Cathy Kelly. Readers love Sara James' family drama Mothering Sunday: 'I read this book in one sitting!' 'A beautiful read' 'Such a joyous story' 'A real page turner' 'This is a book to escape into'

This Element serves as a welcome to the Cambridge Elements Genetics in Epilepsy series. The series editors look forward to sharing with you the story of epilepsy genetics through a series of Elements. They will bring together many voices, by text as well as video, to illustrate the history of epilepsy genetics, the many on-going efforts in the field, and how they hope to address the still unanswered questions that command the attention of all of us and our colleagues across the globe.