After over a decade of fighting chronic illness, trauma therapist and beloved author K.J. Ramsey was the healthiest she'd been in her life. She packed up her Jeep and set out on a summer of road trips, returning to the places where she first glimpsed joy as a kid. More than adventure, her aim was a personal dare to discover that joy is more trustworthy than trauma. What could go wrong? It turns out, everything. The woman who just wandered through Redwood forests and ran naked into the Pacific suddenly found herself in the hospital fighting to stay alive. A mysterious illness struck like lightning, splintering the best days of her life into the absolute scariest. Told with unhinged humor, lyrical honesty, and zero patience for toxic positivity, The Place Between Our Pains is a true story that reaches past our expectations of what joy can survive. This is a love letter to every life seared by pain or autoimmune disease and a fierce permission slip to show up in the stories we never would have written for ourselves.

"Discover how making connections with strangers leads to positive shifts in our everyday lives, from preeminent researcher and professor of the psychology of kindness Dr. Gillian Sandstrom. Do you ever feel lonely, even in a crowd? Do you feel anxious or worried about what others think of you, or struggle to make friends? You are not alone. But the truth is, opportunities for positive connection and community are all around you. In this groundbreaking book, Dr. Gillian Sandstrom reveals that by talking to strangers, we can unlock more joy, curiosity, and goodwill every day. In an age when loneliness is a social health crisis and harmful behaviors like groupthink increase our perception of distance and polarization, this transformational guide explains the benefits of stretching our perceived limits and connecting with our fellow humans, including: Increased happiness and wellbeing -- Improved social skills and self-esteem -- Reduced anxiety and social biases -- Expanded connections and social circles. Combining powerful scientific findings with stories from her own life, Dr. Sandstrom offers us a new vision of a life well lived, when we have the courage to reach out and simply say, 'hello'."--Publisher

"New York Times bestselling authors Mike Schur and Joe Posnanski travel the world in a hilarious and heartwarming celebration of fans and the things they love: baseball, basketball, chess, darts, football, futbol, Indigenous North American stickball, pickleball, WWE, Taylor Swift, Star Wars, and more. Two great friends. Lots of frequent flyer miles. And a bottomless appetite for experiencing sports. That's what BIG FAN is all about. Bestselling authors and podcast hosts Joe Posnanski and Mike Schur love games--almost any game!--and they bring readers to the front row (and sometimes even right onto the field). Whether ringside at WrestleMania in Las Vegas, singing along with the maniacs at the World Darts Championships in London, or just watching eight straight hours of football at a Buffalo Wild Wings in Dallas, they bring us to the very heart of what it means to love something so much it hurts. Through crushing defeats and glorious wins, whether cheering penalty kicks with 65,000 fans in Liverpool or beholding a chess master castling in dead silence, BIG FAN is about why we love what we love and how fandom connects us in a time when so much else pulls us apart." --

"Based on the life-saving research and more than twenty years of clinical trials and practice, Unlearn Your Pain is a ground-breaking guide to reversing chronic pain and overcoming anxiety and depression. AN OPEN FIELD PUBLICATION FROM MARIA SHRIVER. Migraines, headaches, back pain, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic fatigue, and a host of other chronic illnesses have crippled the modern American population. For the past twenty years, Dr. Howard Schubiner has been conducting clinical trials and authoring more than 100 scientific papers and lectures to get to the root cause of how to reverse these insidious illnesses. In Unlearn Your Pain, he shares in inspiring and step-by-step detail the program steeped in the latest neuroplasticity research that has proven most effective in treating chronic pain, anxiety, and depression. The source of much of chronic pain is neurological and the book details a revolutionary program to better health that has saved thousands from a lifetime of misery and depression. Using the latest practices in the mind-body connection, all confirmed by clinical trials and studies, Dr. Schubiner leads readers to a new understanding of how the mind affects our pain, physical and emotional, and how we can gain control over our bodies and minds to live a healthier and better life"-- Provided by publisher.

"A groundbreaking approach to parenting that builds emotional maturity as the foundation for happy, resilient, successful children-from the clinical psychologist behind the New York Times bestseller Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents"-- Provided by publisher.

A sweeping history of the Black Death that shows how the deadly plague affected not just Europe, but much of the medieval world. The book follows the pandemic's impact on places like London, Cairo, and Florence, exploring how Christians, Muslims, and Jews faced fear, loss, and survival during one of history's deadliest disasters. Through personal stories and historical detail, it reveals both the devastation caused by the plague and the resilience people showed in overcoming it.

"In a place like Yellowstone the rules that humans normally live by are only one set of rules among many. When we leave the roads and villages other rules come into play, rules where creatures who are not always friendly have a say. The largest animal in North America, the bison, lives here and is often ill-tempered. The Park hosts a wide range of pathogens-viruses, bacteria, and parasites, including one that gives you bubonic plague. Yellowstone has two species of poisonous snakes, almost every species of deer in North America, grazing animals, lions, wolves and bears. Some Yellowstone creatures are profoundly dangerous; they eat people. It's not surprising that a land with such astounding landscapes also has astounding lifeforms. That is what makes life in Yellowstone real and gives it quality"-- Provided by publisher.

For 250 years, we have debated what it means to be American. This question shaped the compromises in our Constitution and the arguments we've been having ever since--spawning abolitionism, secession, and civil war; populism, mass migration, and global leadership; movements for reform and the backlashes to them. In All We Say, Ben Rhodes tells the story of fifteen speeches--some iconic, others long forgotten--that have both shaped and reflected the argument Americans have been having from our founding to the intense divisions of our time. Through riveting and beautifully rendered accounts of the people, movements, and moments that produced these speeches, Rhodes traces the history of our battle over identity. The result is a singular and revealing portrait of America itself: a nation divided between two stories--one of inheritance, power, and exclusion, the other of equality, striving, and belonging. Drawing on a decade writing for Barack Obama, Rhodes also shows us how words can redirect a nation, what makes a speech enduring, and why oratory is a unique form of persuasion in American democracy. From Benjamin Franklin's call for compromise at the Constitutional Convention, to Alexander Stephens' case for white supremacy as the cornerstone of the Confederacy; from Martin Luther King's dream of true equality to Donald Trump's rallying cry against democracy itself, these speeches remind us that history is a living argument. At a time when American identity--and truth--is contested, All We Say offers a fresh and powerful look at who we really are and who we could still become. --

"A comprehensive guide to understanding and practicing Western nondual spirituality, often referred to as the "pathless path" or the "direct approach.""-- Provided by publisher.

"Two writers show you how to turn a worthy sentence into a memorable one. Starting where The Elements of Style leaves off, Good Writing can improve your book, your essay, your memo, your blog post, speech, or script. These essential rules for persuasive language work on any type of writing, and anyone can learn them quickly. Each rule is accompanied by examples and a lively pair of essays, the first by Neal Allen, who developed the list of tips over the course of his journalism and corporate careers; the second by his wife, Anne Lamott, acclaimed author of Bird by Bird and nineteen other nonfiction works and novels. The authors don't always agree on the specifics, but they are passionate about making better sentences."--

A heartfelt journey across the United States exploring the history, importance, and lasting spirit of lesbian bars. Traveling with her wife and best friend, author and co-creator of the hit podcast Cruising Rachel Karp visits some of the country's remaining lesbian bars, sharing the stories of the people and communities that keep them alive. Blending queer history, personal experiences, and cultural exploration, the book shows how these spaces have served as places of safety, activism, friendship, and belonging for generations.

"A young queer millennial physicist unveils some of the most mind-bending physics concepts in the universe—and uses them to illuminate their own fascinating life story. “I see physics everywhere,” Karmela Padavic-Callaghan writes. “It offers itself to me when I try to make sense of all the paths my life did and did not take, it reassures me when I try to reconcile all the identities that I feel describe me.” Born in Croatia in 1991, Karmela grew up against the backdrop of the Yugoslav wars. They grew to love science and hair metal, and they began longing to see more of the world. At age 16, they received an offer to study at a boarding school in New York, setting them on a path to a physics PhD. Now a science writer in New York, Karmela uses physics to meditate on building a life in a new country, on being nonbinary in a field dominated by cishet men, and on cause, effect, future, and destiny. Each chapter examines a moment in Karmela’s life through the lens of a physics concept. Knot theory becomes a lens for the story of Karmela visiting a Croatian healer. Ultracold atom labs lead to a meditation on societal expectations that women be unfailingly warm and nurturing. And the workings of an electron microscope become a framework for Karmela’s evolving relationship with cosmetics as they realized they are nonbinary. Taking us from Croatia to New York, from quantum computing to Queen, Entangled States offers readers a unique and unforgettable journey—and shows how the world of physics and the world of humanity illuminate one another."--Publisher.

"Ever since conquistadores claimed Taino land in the name of their Catholic God and New England Puritans formed their strictly Protestant 'city on a hill,' religion has been central to American life. Even as some found religious freedom -- Rhode Island welcomed the Quakers, Jews, and Baptists that Massachusetts expelled as dissenters -- indigenous people and Africans forced into slavery struggled to protect their religious practices. With the constitutional separation of church and state, it fell to the American people to decide: would they sharpen religion's formidable powers of division, or reimagine its creative possibilities? In A God-Shaped Nation, Brook Wilensky-Lanford follows this essential American tension from first contact through the 2025 inauguration. It is a story of defiance: Anne Hutchinson, preaching against Puritan clergy; Reform rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise serving soft-shell crab to his kosher guests; the Paiute man Wovoka envisioning the Ghost Dance movement in the face of violent government repression. It is also a story of community: Millerites waiting together in vain for Jesus's return on a rainy October night in 1844; Chinese immigrants bringing Daoist and Buddhist gods to their California temples; Mormons pushing westward to build their 'new Zion' in Utah. And in the last fifty years, it has been a story of muscular political power, as the religious right has sought both to shape the present and to paint the past in its own image. At this moment, when religion appears to shape even the most secular aspects of American life, understanding its complex history is more essential than ever. 'It is in history that the very human work of religion happens,' Wilensky-Lanford shows us, 'and in ordinary time that even the most carved-in-stone tenets can and do change.'"-- Book jacket flaps.

"In Say Nephew, Steven Pfau blends memoir and criticism to celebrate the gay uncles who shape our sense of queer identity, culture, and history. The most influential figure in Pfau's gay boyhood--the mentor who set the standard for all his future mentors--was his uncle Bruce. A charismatic storyteller with a Burt Reynolds-esque bravado (and a mustache, leather jacket, and pair of cowboy boots to match), Bruce came out in 1950s Memphis and lived in New York City through many of the defining events of the gay liberation era. Bruce was both a unique fixture in his nephew's upbringing and a link in a long lineage of uncles, literal and figurative, who have offered various forms of queer tutelage to younger men. But what role is the nephew supposed to play in these relationships? And who does he become once his uncles are no longer there to guide him? Both a coming-of-age story and a wide-ranging study, Say Nephew is a wholly original and expansive consideration of queer mentorship"--Jacket flap.

"Discover the Four Bodies of Existence--reshape your self-knowledge, empower your story, and embody a happier, healthier life. A revelatory guide and a vital invitation rooted in Indigenous wisdom from author Granddaughter Crow."-- Provided by publisher.

Woodstake is a wickedly clever spin on the Dracula legend, reimagined against the backdrop of the iconic Woodstock festival of 1969. When a vampire descends on the summer of love, a generation of hippies is forced to survive three days of peace, music, and blood in this darkly funny, genre-bending thrill ride. A razor-sharp blend of satire, horror, and 60s nostalgia, Woodstake offers a wildly original story brought vividly to life through the bold, evocative artwork of Felipe Kroll. It is a must-read for fans of classic rock, genre mashups, and blood-soaked storytelling.

"Does the Bible condone warfare and slavery? Isn't the New Testament's teaching on sex outdated? Surely there's not a literal heaven and hell? These are just some of the questions that popular Bible teacher and theologian Andrew Ollerton asks as he helps us navigate the most challenging topics in the Bible. Understanding the Bible isn't easy. God's Book follows the biblical plotline from Genesis to Revelation and reveals how to make sense of difficult passages by considering them in their original setting. When we understand the creation story in its ancient context, we won't need to choose between science or the Bible. When we appreciate that the conquest of Canaan was a unique moment in history, these passages won't justify violence today. The Bible's 7 toughest topics: science and evolution versus creation slavery and Old Testament laws warfare and violence suffering miracles and exorcisms sex heaven, hell and judgement Andrew concludes each chapter with a letter to a young adult, giving practical advice on each topic. God's Book is for anyone who is spiritually curious about Christianity and wants to know how to understand the Bible, and for Christians who want to share their faith more confidently in today's culture"-- Provided by publisher.

"Despite prevailing assumptions, ADHD is still an underdiagnosed condition. Not only is the diagnostic scale subjective , but the hallmarks of ADHD often remain shrouded behind conditions like anxiety and depression. Most individuals with ADHD live through their formative years with symptoms that so powerfully derail their confidence, future, career, relationships, and sense of self. And many of them are not first diagnosed until adulthood despite their struggles. An esteemed psychologist and retired clinical professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine, Dr. Russell Ramsay, has worked with countless patients -- some suffering from severe cases of ADHD, others having experienced the common frustrations of undiagnosed ADHD for most of their lives. With the help of his groundbreaking program, his patients have found ways to support their brain, express their emotions, prioritize what matters, release shame, blame, and guilt, and see the world in the creative, bright, brilliant delight this neurodivergence offers. The solution isn't simply getting back to whatever is considered 'normal.' As Dr. Ramsay presents in this book, there are patient-proven specific solutions to bolstering our executive function and these methods combined with a more comprehensive understanding of the emotional pain-points at the root of ADHD can transform lives. Dr. Ramsay offers a paradigm shift to help us stop blaming and shaming ourselves for our moment-to-moment inattention and instead focus on the behaviors and routines that form the foundation of our lives. It's for anyone seeking a healthier relationship with their to-do list, more positive inner self-talk, and a new perspective on what is possible when we embrace and support our sometimes-unreliable minds"-- Provided by publisher.

"Twenty years ago, Stephanie Coontz asked of traditional marriage, "What tradition?" Now she returns to examine its contemporary state-what threatens its prevalence and what freedoms it can create for all people. Ninety percent of the world's people live in countries where marriage rates have plummeted since the 1980s, with the Western world experiencing especially steep drops. Almost everywhere, marriage has declined most among men and women with the lowest levels of education or earnings. And highly-educated and high-earning women are actually more likely to marry and less likely to divorce than in the past. But such women often express more ambivalence about getting married than other women-and typically postpone doing so until later in life. Still, rather than devaluing marriage, people all around the world overwhelmingly describe it as the highest expression of commitment they can imagine. And most people say they eventually want to marry even while they increasingly express uncertainty about whether they will end up doing so. In her new book, For Better and Worse, Stephanie Coontz unravels the origins of these paradoxical trends. Using the past to illuminate the present, she shows how shifting marital ideologies, gender relations, sexual mores, and emotional mind-sets over time have bequeathed us a welter of contradictory expectations and habits that often sabotage our attempts to build mutually satisfactory relationships. "Traditional" roles and values that once promoted successful marriages are now a recipe for relationship failure. Only by undoing the legacy of marriage's "problematic past," Coontz argues, can we help individuals and society at large navigate the "challenging future" of marriage"-- Provided by publisher.

"The extraordinary true story of Lockheed Martin's "Skunk Works," the radical innovation hub that designed the greatest airplanes of the 20th century. It began with a humble warehouse building in Burbank, California and a charismatic young engineer named Kelly Johnson. In 1938, Johnson, who was then working for the U.S. Army Air Corps, got the idea for a small, agile, disruptive engineering shop-one that could compete with Nazi Germany's then-superior warplanes. By 1943, with the U.S. now in World War II and desperate for new technology, "Advanced Development Projects," more commonly known as the "Skunk Works," was born. During Johnson's 47 years at Lockheed Martin, the Skunk Works developed at least half a dozen planes that would have been the capstone achievement of anyone else's career. There was the XP-80, America's first ever fighter jet, which did indeed help the Allies win World War II. The Constellation, the first passenger plane with a pressurized cabin, revolutionized commercial air travel. The U-2 spy plane could reach an astonishing altitude of 70,000 feet, enabling it could fly dangerous covert missions in Soviet airspace during the height of the Cold War. And Kelly was the visionary behind the SR-71 Blackbird, one of the most unusual, and iconic, planes ever designed. But the planes were only part of Johnson's legacy. There was also his management style, which would come to shape organizations for decades to come. Under him, the Skunk Works' structure-flat management, no red tape, extraordinary speed-quickly became the model for nurturing innovation, and eventually would fuel the nimble startups of Silicon Valley. Half a century before Mark Zuckerberg coined the motto "move fast and break things," Kelly Johnson was living that mantra-and at the same time helping the Department of Defense secure the fate of the free world. The Impossible Factory is a page-turning work of history with the soul of a thriller"-- Provided by publisher.

Why'd I do that? He's such a jerk! I'm such an idiot! What did she mean by that comment? Ideally, our thought spirals help us process difficult situations and emotions. When they become repetitive, however, they can be highly problematic: your brain is ruminating. And science has shown the degree to which we ruminate, perhaps more than any other mental act, determines our life-long well-being. In Mind Drama, veteran science writer Donna Jackson Nakazawa gets inside the strange magnetism of rumination, explains why we're all doing it now more than ever, and shares the new science for decoding, outwitting, and repurposing this dark mental habit. Using her own ruminative mind as a test case, she walks us through the actionable neuro-hacks that can help us escape unhealthy brooding.

"No one is born resilient. But you have the power to become stronger than you think. At one point or another, life will break us open-through loss, trauma, betrayal, or heartbreak. But as psychologist Dr. Sherry Hamby reveals, we are never beyond repair. We all have an incredible capacity for greater resilience. In Stronger Than You Think, Dr. Hamby shatters the conventional wisdom that says resilience is something you either have or don't. Instead, it is a modifiable process-and like any process, it can be learned, practiced, and built upon. Drawing on over 30 years of original research, clinical work, and a growing body of evidence, this groundbreaking book gives you the tools to build your own resilience portfolio-a set of evidence-based strategies and resources that can help you flourish despite life's hardest moments. Along the way, you'll learn: The everyday, science-backed practices you can rely on to feel calmer and more regulated How cultivating an authentic sense of purpose changes everything--including giving your trauma meaning How our social and physical ecologies can make us more or less resilient, and how to make necessary changes Why traditional therapy and medication can only take us so far, and how to take it one step further You don't have to be tough or gritty to thrive. You just have to know how to build your strength"--

"As the unprecedented backlash against diversity, equity, and inclusion intensifies--with corporations dismantling initiatives, lawmakers passing anti-DEI legislation, and post-George Floyd promises abandoned--this tactical handbook arms advocates with revolutionary resistance strategies drawn from Black historical movements. Dr. Janice Gassam Asare transforms centuries of Black resistance wisdom--from Underground Railroad networks to civil rights organizing tactics--into modern resistance plans, wielding ethical AI as a force multiplier to create sustainable change that outlasts corporate whims and political cycles. Each chapter grounds modern workplace tactics in revolutionary approaches of more than twenty prominent Black historical figures, including the following: Ida B. Wells--Documentation techniques for workplace injustice inspired by her work ; Ella Baker and Fred Hampton--Coalition-building methods from the American civil rights movement ; Toni Morrison and Angela Davis--Narrative control strategies drawn from their celebrated writing. Whether you're a DEI practitioner navigating corporate pushback, an employee experiencing equity rollbacks, or a leader committed to sustainable inclusion, this handbook provides battle-tested strategies for preserving workplace equity--even in hostile environments. This isn't just about surviving the backlash. It's about reimagining workplaces where everyone thrives."--Amazon website.

"Wrongful convictions have long been dismissed as rare exceptions to an otherwise well-oiled criminal justice machine. But after years spent investigating one of the largest criminal court systems in the nation, Chicago's Cook County, Dr. Nicole Gonzalez Van Cleve began to uncover a far more chilling truth. Wrongful convictions are not accidental, or anomalous: There are at least hundreds of cases indicting innocent Black youth of crimes they didn't commit. Arresting and incarcerating kids is the point -- the 'evidence' is tailored to fit. In a suspenseful narrative account based on years of interviews, archival research, and the excavation of hidden documents, Gonzalez Van Cleve presents an ironclad 'howdunit,' illustrating the steps that our supposed justice system takes to 'find' criminals, coerce confessions, bury evidence, and persuade witnesses to lie. A clear pattern emerges as Lee Hester, a disabled fourteen-year-old boy, is branded a 'super predator' and convicted of killing his teacher. At just seven years old, Romarr Gipson is charged with a murder that is physically impossible for him to have committed. Groups of boys like the Roscetti Four and Dixmoor Five are characterized as 'wolf packs' in a pattern that connects them to the Central Park Five. These 'crime fictions' are actively produced, perfected by police, enshrined in our legal records by the courts, and reinforced by the media. Placing the exonerated boys at the center of their own story, Crime Fictions is a devastating, systematic account that leaves us to wonder just how many innocent souls have been claimed by the racist lies police tell."--Book jacket flap.