True Tragedy

The Anime Arsonist: The Tragedy at Kyoto Animation and the Mind of Shinji Aoba is a comprehensive, narrative-driven investigation into one of the most devastating mass murders in modern Japanese history. On July 18, 2019, Kyoto Animation—a beloved anime studio known for its emotional storytelling, delicate artistry, and deeply human characters—was targeted in an act of terror that shocked the world. The attack claimed 36 lives, injured dozens more, and left an indelible scar on Japan’s cultural landscape. This book traces the arc of that tragedy from its quiet beginnings to its far-...

Kaitlyn Emberland was brutally raped five years ago. She almost died, and her assailant left behind forty-two scars to remind her of their encounter. She will never trust a man again. She will never love again. The mere thought of a man’s touch makes her skin crawl—and then she meets Marc Campbell. He is different. He’s kind, gentle, understanding, and he loves her. He is willing to do whatever it takes to convince Kaitlyn that she can put the rape behind her and live and love again. But is it even possible? Can such a brutal act of violence and betrayal ever truly be overcome? ...

Will anyone ever know what happened to the Aloha, a sport fishing boat that vanished with all onboard in the Pacific off San Francisco’s coast? ‘Knowing’ is a complex, inexact business. There’s real truth and then there’s courtroom truth; a jury’s verdict may or may not approach what actually happened. Nor can someone reading about such an event—one that had no witnesses or hard evidence to explain it—be sure where the truth lies. But trials, judges, and juries are what we use in our legal system to find truth. The Widow Wave explores this alternate reality. It is a ...

True Memories is a collection of stories about our treasured memories, flashbacks, and recollections of both good and bad times gone by. Join the men and women of these tales as they share memories of their pasts. Stories include: • Yesterday’s Kisses • The Treasure Chest • Life After Death • Private Past • Black Memory • November Memoir • Hidden Memories And more…. Excerpt: The first thing I remember after the crash was waking up with a heavy feeling in my chest. It wasn’t painful, just a weight that held me in place, and a kind of darkness that I’d never experienced ...

Accidents happen, but they're usually the result of human carelessness. Charlie Morecraft found that out one August night years ago, when he literally blew himself up. A long time worker at an Exxon refinery in New Jersey, Morecraft was rushing to leave for vacation and too macho to bother following standard safety procedures when performing a late night repair job. The result? Burns covering 50 percent of his body, months upon months of hospitalization and rehab, dozens of surgeries, and emotional suffering.

Set in Manchester, England and Chiang Mai, Thailand, Ray is a powerful story of abandonment, rejection and betrayal. But also a story of fulfillment, enduring love, an unquenchable friendship and a paradise found.

Imagine losing a loved one in the public eye. A media frenzy ensues and spreads your family name through the news. Reporters ambush you, and across the country, strangers gossip about your personal loss. Welcome to the circus. In Media Circus, Kim Goldman, now a dedicated victims' advocate who works with families across the country, presents the first collective look at these ordinary, grieving victims - forced to manage their very private trauma and despair in a very public way.

In his own words, Kermit Alexander finally shares the full story of what happened to his loved ones and the aftermath of that tragic day. He recounts the hours leading up to the massacre and how afterward he lost himself in the LA underworld, pleading, bribing, and threatening in a search for answers. He describes his journey through the "wilderness" of despair - the years of isolation living out of his car, broke, depressed, and sick.

Part memoir, part manifesto, Soulbbatical is an invitation to become Chief Soul Officer of your own life - and to open up a whole new world of possibility. Former Harley-Davidson executive Shelley Paxton did just that. She walked away at the peak of her 26-year marketing career and embarked on a profoundly personal journey to reconnect with her true purpose and deepest desires. She called it her “Soulbbatical”, and it not only changed her life, it became her calling.

The world watched in horror in April 2007 when Virginia Tech student Seung-Hui Cho went on a killing rampage that resulted in the deaths of thirty-two students and faculty members before he ended his own life. Former Virginia Tech English department chair and distinguished professor Lucinda Roy saw the tragedy unfold on the TV screen in her home and had a terrible realization. Cho was the student she had struggled to get to know–the loner who found speech torturous.

In a surprising and shocking narrative, one woman tells the astonishing true story of her mysterious ailment, two harrowing nights in Mexico, and the life-altering experience that would change her life forever. An unbelievable story that nearly cost a vibrant, vital young woman her life, Carry Me Home is an exploration of radical trust and relinquishing control. A profoundly compelling tale of survival. What happens when a control freak loses control? Either faith steps in, or fear overcomes.

The Quiet Americans chronicles the exploits of four spies - Michael Burke, a charming former football star fallen on hard times, Frank Wisner, the scion of a wealthy Southern family, Peter Sichel, a sophisticated German Jew who escaped the Nazis and Edward Lansdale, a brilliant ad executive. The four ran covert operations across the globe, trying to outwit the ruthless KGB in Berlin, parachuting commandos into Eastern Europe, plotting coups and directing wars against Communist insurgents in Asia.

Shawn Wallis earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology. Mr. Wallis currently resides in Zephyrhills with his Weimaraner puppy Samantha.

During 51 days in early 1993 one of the most tragic events in American crime history unfolded on the plains outside Waco, Texas. An obscure and heavily armed religious sect called the Branch Davidians was barricaded inside their commune and outside were hundreds of law enforcement angry because the former had killed four ATF agents in a botched raid. Go on an engaging and captivating ride to examine one of the most important true crime stories in recent decades.

A story from the anthology Masters of True Crime, which spans murder cases from the beginning of the 20th century to today. This is a must-hear for fans of true crime and will also be compelling to mystery and thriller listeners.

Bob Rowe and his wife Mary worked hard to build their American dream. A suburban home, barbecues in the summer, and a fast track corporate job made their life look ideal to outsiders. Yet they faced one of the most difficult challenges for a couple: their son Christopher was born severely handicapped and disabled. As a family, they managed to navigate through the tough times by being hands-on parents. Their efforts were emboldened by a group of extraordinary women - all of whom also had disabled children.

With thousands of men off fighting in the Civil War, the government hired women and girls - some as young as 10 - to make millions of rounds of ammunition. Poor immigrant girls and widows paid the price for carelessness at three major arsenals. Many of these workers were killed, blown up and burned beyond recognition.

The eighteenth-century hanging of a schoolteacher for concealing the birth of a child out of wedlock has appeared in local legend over the last few centuries, but the full account of Ruth's story has never been told. Drawing on over two years of investigative research, author Carolyn Marvin brings to light the dramatic details of Ruth's life and the cruel injustice of colonial Portsmouth's moral code. As Marvin uncovers the real flesh-and-blood woman who suffered the ultimate punishment, her listeners come to understand Ruth as an individual and a woman of her time.

The Quiet Americans chronicles the exploits of four spies - Michael Burke, a charming former football star fallen on hard times, Frank Wisner, the scion of a wealthy Southern family, Peter Sichel, a sophisticated German Jew who escaped the Nazis and Edward Lansdale, a brilliant ad executive. The four ran covert operations across the globe, trying to outwit the ruthless KGB in Berlin, parachuting commandos into Eastern Europe, plotting coups and directing wars against Communist insurgents in Asia.

October 25, 2023 was just an ordinary night in Lewiston, a small, working class city of 37,000 in central Maine. Friends and families had gathered to do what they loved to do with the people they wanted to be with at a bowling alley called Just-in-Time Recreation Center and Schemengees, a popular sports bar and restaurant. They felt immune from the violent crime that seemed to wrack the rest of the country in a state that the FBI had just named the safest in America.