Personal Development Fiction

The Education of Henry Adams is among the oddest and most enlightening books in American literature. Henry Adams was the grandson of a president and the great-grandson of another one. He was also the son of the American Ambassador to England, and his secretery. As such he rubbed elbows, literally, with Presidents from Abraham Lincoln to Theodore Roosevelt and with many of the great figures of his time.

After becoming trapped in present-day Bath due to a mishap with her time-traveling charm, Jane Austen is safe and sound back in the 1800s thanks to Rose Wallace’s help. Now, Rose is ready to focus on her fledgling romance with dreamy Dr. Aiden Trevellyan. But when Jane reappears in the present, it looks like Rose and Aiden have no choice but to follow her back to 1813....

Where Did We Go Wrong? left readers asking, "Who got shot?" Where Did We Go Wrong Again? continues immediately after the shooting, with one of the beloved central characters critically wounded and another murdered. The bonds of friendship and love are tested after this tragedy, causing all involved to make irrational decisions that complicate their lives even more. Nothing will ever be the same as everyone is forced to make monumental, life-altering decisions.

Popular author Taylor Clark draws on cutting-edge research in this enlightening exploration of stress—and how to tackle it constructively. Using such divergent examples as Russian sub commanders and game show contestants, Clark shows that most people experience stress the same way. Those who understand how to accept it without freezing can accomplish what needs to get done.

Nach seiner Strafversetzung leitet John Benthien die Polizeiwache von Friedrichstadt, einem nordfriesischen Kleinod mit Grachten, Holzbrücken und Backsteinbauten. Die Idylle hat ein Ende, als John eines Abends einen Mörder auf frischer Tat ertappt. Dessen Frau glaubt an seine Unschuld, obwohl er doch offenbar ihre Schwester und deren Mann getötet hat. John entdeckt, dass es tatsächlich andere Erklärungen für die Morde geben könnte. Die Spur führt zu einer Freikirche, der die Bewohner von Friedrichstadt mit Argwohn gegenüberstehen und deren geistliches Oberhaupt die grausame Tat prophezeit hat.

The night writers in Cousineau's vesperal collection range from saints, poets, and shamans to astronomers and naturalists, and tells of ancient tales and shining passages from the most brilliant (albeit insomniac) writers of today. These poetic ponderances sing of the falling darkness, revel in dream-time, convey the ache of melancholy, conspire against sleeplessness, vanquish loneliness, contemplate the night sky, rhapsodize on love, and languorously greet the first rays of dawn.

Kishana doesn't have time for a relationship. She's too busy with school and her job at Pets First. Then a secret admirer starts calling in song dedications to her. The songs are sappy - but will they change Kishana's mind about romance?

When Scottie realises that she may never become a mother, she makes the heart-breaking decision to flee to the remote North Atlantic archipelago of St Hia. Lashed by storms and far from the mainland, the islands are dangerous. Many have been lost to the ferocious tides known as the Hollow Sea—and local folklore warns that St Hia was once the home of a witch. Her name was Thordis, and when she was unable to provide her husband with a child, she was driven to a terrible act.

Edited and with an introduction by Roxane Gay, the New York Times best-selling and deeply beloved author of Bad Feminist and Hunger, this anthology of first-person essays read by all 30 contributors, including Gabrielle Union, Ally Sheedy and Lyz Lenz, tackles rape, assault and harassment head-on.

The loss of a loved one is tough enough, but when Regina Richards experiences the loss of her spouse of many decades, little does she expect the extraordinary sequence of events about to unfold. First, there is the mysterious whistling that comes from out of nowhere, followed by the black patent-leather dancing shoes that miraculously appear in her bedroom. (She doesn't dance.) And then come the visits from her dearly departed husband, to explain what it is like on the other side. Surely this would be enough for anyone to begin to think they were losing it.

In this raw yet enchanting collection of poems and essays, Tyler Gaca dreamily navigates themes of magic and queerness, offering readers an intimate look inside his mind and his worlds, real and imagined. The writings in Gentle Chaos reflect on growing up queer and in love with magic, discovering yourself and your place in the world, and daring to seek out love and hope. The result is a whimsical, vulnerable, and transporting journey into the gentle chaos within us all.

When Diane, a psychologist, falls in love with Charles, a charming and brilliant psychiatrist, there is laughter and flowers?and also darkness. After moving through infertility treatments and the trials of the adoption process as a united front, the couple is ultimately successful in creating a family. As time goes on, however, Charles becomes increasingly critical and controlling, and Diane begins to feel barraged and battered. When she is diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer, Charles is initially there for her, but his attentiveness quickly vanishes and is replaced by withdrawal, anger, and unfathomable sadism.

You have made plans to set yourself up for success and think that you are ready. However, you forgot the most essential part. You want to be on your way but need to acquire the necessary skills in a short time frame. You have a better option, so don’t panic. Achieving great success in life is most definitely not easy. However, it is possible and with the right mindset and skills, you too can do it.

Unexpected Blessings helps special-needs families move past the pain and confusion of their circumstances and slowly and firmly face the future with hope. Filled with real-life stories and hard-earned wisdom, this book shines a light on the possibilities and blessings that come when parents see their new purpose in life - which was God's purpose for them all along.

The stories in Paul Alan Ruben's Terms of Engagement explore father and son as intimate enemies, each yearning to be understood, acknowledged, and validated by the other. Raw and gripping as delivered by a cast of incredible narrators, these nine stories take place in collision territory - where father and son engage in trying to repair their alienation.

For the September 2016 issue of GQ, Michael Chabon wrote a piece about accompanying his son Abraham Chabon, then 13, to Paris Men's Fashion Week. Possessed with a precocious sense of style, Abe was in his element chatting with designers he idolized and turning a critical eye to the freshest runway looks of the season; Chabon Sr., whose interest in clothing stops at "thrift-shopping for vintage western shirts or Hermès neckties," sat idly by, staving off yawns and fighting the impulse that the whole thing was a massive waste of time.

By 1617, Donne had done it all. After being an MP, lawyer, womaniser, soldier, diplomat, father to twelve children by a secret wife, and the greatest poet of his age, he settled into the priesthood. Shortly thereafter, his wife died, prompting him to write a defence of suicide in God's eyes. She was soon followed by his 18 year old daughter died. Then Donne fell gravely ill. Physicians were called, but none could agree on what to do. It seemed certain that he would die.

Sarah Ferguson's homage to her mother and a reflection on mothers and daughters. A mother's love over decades and across continents. The sudden death of Sarah's mother reveals their relationship with poignant clarity and shows her the individual who existed beyond motherhood.

A generation is rising up to care for the hurting and oppressed. Committed to changing the world, they are passionate about justice and willing to fight for it. But what would that same justice look like if we lived it in our private lives - close to home, with our family and friends? In Chivalry, Zach Hunter dares young men and women to view their lives as a quest, challenging them to develop their own personal code that will prepare them to defend others and live with civility and integrity. Zach reframes chivalry in a modern context.

Life is never peaceful in Chris Erskine's house, what with the four kids, 300-pound beagle, chronically leaky roof, and long-suffering wife, Posh. And that's exactly the way he likes it, except when he doesn't. Every week in the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune (and now and then in many other papers), Erskine distills, mocks, and makes us laugh at the absurdities of suburban fatherhood. And now, he's gathered the very best of these witty and wise essays - and invited his kids (and maybe even Posh) to annotate them with updated commentary.