Dagbøker og memoarer

There was a time when I did not know about the present moment as a clinical concept and yet I would find myself absorbed in something I was doing-a hobby, a drawing, a book. As a child, I loved to read. I still do. And when I am reading, I feel fully present with the story. As a child, growing up in the country on our farm along the Little River in Middle Georgia, I used to love spending time in the woods exploring and playing with my brother and our neighbor boys. We would play Cowboys and Indians for hours and hours, forgetting about time as we enacted the stories we made up as we went along. I used to love dressing up as Davy Crockett or his son, and exploring the woods alone inside the story I had made up for that day. I also loved creating scrapbooks and getting fully absorbed in the story I was telling about certain events in my life. I want to do that now... write, draw, color, paint, make scrapbooks, and go on adventures. The book you are holding is the way I have come to understand the confusion of the pandemic and the events of my life-so that I can come to integrate those pieces of myself in this present moment.

This is a beautiful collection of poems about the ways and places that love appears. They are written by Ray Cicetti with both wisdom and insight. The poems in this book take the reader on a journey of their own, and are to be savored like a morning cup of espresso. Their essence can be realized beyond the words, like love is. Ultimately, the reader ends up where they started, in the present moment. These poems help me to be better able to see and live life with more open hearted. -Carl BachmannIn his second volume of published poetry, Songs of Love & Longing, Ray Cicetti delivers lyrics that are immense in their knowledge: of love and loss, of rock and roll, of splendid birds that fill the skies over New Jersey. A psychotherapist and longtime Zen teacher, Cicetti understands how family can persist in memory both as bedrock and heartbreak. This is a brilliant performance.--Daniel Born

It's November 22, 1963-JFK is assassinated, and ten-year-old Tim Stonecash learns that people don't live forever. Tim is the only child of a loving mom and dad, growing up in a small homogenous Midwestern town.Soon, the divisive, turbulent times of the decade touch Tim: the Vietnam War, civil rights, political assassinations, and the counterculture movement. Conflicted between doing what he knows is right and doing what is fun, easy, and exciting, Tim models both the good and the bad.He clings to friends of all sorts in his need to belong and in his search for freedom and identity. Tim's reckless and rebellious character takes the reader on a wild ride full of fast cars, confusion, sadness, and uncertainty. His story explores themes of race, freedom, belonging, and family. It demonstrates the power that all people wield in molding young people.His family travels reveal what a small, insular world he lives in. He becomes rebellious and rejects authority-but is held in check by his strict father. Tim yearns for freedom to seek out new friends and places that have more to offer than his home town. When his father dies, he becomes more than his mom can handle, running away to California and hooking up with a wild group of castoffs from the summer of love.How far will Tim go in his search, and what risks will he take?

For fans of “We Own This City”, “Just Mercy” and “Between the World and Me”.Stewart of Justice is a powerful book, recounting the true story of L. Chris Stewart, a managing Partner of Stewart Miller Simmons Trial Attorneys. Chris has achieved remarkable success as a serious injury and wrongful death lawyer and is a renowned civil rights attorney, having represented some of the most high-profile cases of our time, including George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Walter Scott. This book provides an in-depth exploration of Chris's personal journey and his deep commitment to serving his community, delivering a powerful message of hope, resilience, and social justice.  Stewart of Justice offers an unflinching look at the legal system's failures and the fight for justice.

A memoir of Johnson's unusual upbringing during the 1970s and '80s, interwoven with the story of her transition to parenthood in post-recession Portland, Oregon. In the weeks after her first child is born, Jessica E. Johnson receives an email from her mother that contains artifacts of the author's early childhood: scans of Polaroids and letters her mother wrote in mountain west mining camps and ghost towns-places without running water, companions, or help. Awash in love and restlessness, Johnson begins to see how the bedrock images of her isolated upbringing have stayed with her, even when she believed she was removing herself from their logic. As she copes with the swirling pressures of parenting, teaching at an urban community college, and a partnership shaped by chronic illness, Johnson starts digging through her mother's keepsakes and the histories of the places her family passed through, uncovering the linked misogyny and disconnection that characterized her childhood world-a world with uncomfortable echoes in the present and even in the act of writing itself. The resulting journey encompasses Johnson's early memories, the story of the earth told in the language of geology, bits of vivid correspondence, a mothering manual from the early twentieth century, and the daily challenges of personal and collective care in a lonesome-crowded Pacific wonderland. Mettlework traces intergenerational failures of homemaking, traveling toward presence and relationship amid the remains of extractive industry and unsustainable notions of family.

It isn't called "running" a bed and breakfast for nothing. What do you do when you move to a foreign country and haven't yet mastered the language and customs? Take it easy or find an old house in need of rebuilding, and open a B&B? Never one to run from a challenge, that's exactly what Emma did in an idyllic seaside town on the west coast of Sweden - in the middle of a winter where temperatures dipped to minus twenty-two! With feet of snow, few daylight hours and a very small budget, Emma battled constantly with the challenges thrown at her. As winter progressed, plaster and paint turned to slush, wood cracked in the ancient house and frequent night climbs on to the roof resulted in bruises, cuts, and a few broken bones. Having survived the renovation, the real business of running a B&B began. No sleep, a lack of privacy and the odd drunken threesome (by the guests!) would push her to her limit. With perseverance and determination, Emma succeeded in living her dream. Here you can share her extraordinary journey. www.emmastrandbergbooks.com. "Highly entertaining, the perfect book for anyone who dreams of opening their own B&B or escaping the rat race! It is honest, funny, and written as it happened, with much humour and forbearance".

A personal look into the mind of one of Europe's first and foremost women of letters.   At times poetic but not a poem, prosaic but not an essay, a letter is often pure writing for writing's sake. Such is the case for Rahel Varnhagen von Ense, née Levin, the illustrious German-Jewish Berlin literary salon hostess from the early nineteenth century. She penned over ten thousand letters to more than three hundred recipients, including princes, philosophers, poets, family members, and the family cook. Written with a wink at posterity, collected and first published after her passing by her husband, Karl August Varnhagen von Ense, these letters constitute a singular contribution to German literature.   Varied in subject-from family affairs to linguistic, literary, and pressing social concerns-the poignant lyricism of her letters is all the more remarkable when we take into account that High German was not her first language; she grew up speaking, reading, and writing primarily Yiddish. Her shaky social status as a woman and a member of a precarious minority, combined with an astounding lucidity and a rare capacity to put her thoughts into words, made her a force to be reckoned with in her lifetime and thereafter as one of Germany's preeminent women of letters. As we see in I Just Let Life Rain Down on Me, her voice is as fresh and original as that of any of the recognized poets and thinkers of her day. As Rahel herself put it: "[O]ur language is our lived life; I invented mine for my own purposes, I was less able than many others to make use of preconceived turns of phrase, which is why mine are often clumsy, and in all respects faulty, but always true."   Compiled and translated by Peter Wortsman, this rewarding volume affords English-speaking readers the first privileged peek at the mindset of one of Europe's first and foremost women of letters.

Embarking on a life-altering decision on his wedding day, Andrew's journey is shadowed by a turbulent childhood due to his father's abandonment. Despite painful rejection, his mother and grandmother's unwavering love become his anchor. As life unfolds, he grapples with the fear of resembling his estranged father. Rejection's sting is just the beginning, leading to questions of whether Andrew deserves his fate. This authentic tale invites you to judge and offers a harrowing glimpse into a smiling façade masking profound pain - a story where clues abound, waiting to be discovered.

A young English girl experiences the joys and challenges of a unique adolescence, against the backdrop of an island people intent on taking up an independent role in the world.

What was it like to search for fossilized remains back in the 1900s? While several advances have been made in the field of paleontology, a lot of the searching has remained much the same today. In his memoir, The Life of a Fossil Hunter, Charles H. Sternberg (1850-1943) provides us with a part scientific, part autobiography, and part adventure-like retelling of his discoveries, hardships, and close calls while searching and collecting fossils in the American West. A window into the life of an academic pioneer on the frontier.

Joy is everywhere. This book is a collection of true, short stories illustrating life's joyful moments while singing in a choir.

Esta es una historia guiada por Dios y una increíble aventura para su siervo.Mi vida personal siempre se definió por un propósito: no caer en los problemas en los que los adultos a mi alrededor estaban cayendo. Hubo momentos, sin embargo, en los cuales les puedo decir con franqueza que me encontré con fuerzas demoniacas. De niño, era imposible saber lo que estaba pasando, pero aun con todo lo que me sucedía, yo quería hacer el bien. Comencé a solo aprender lo bueno y rechazar lo malo, tratando de ocuparme de mi persona. Entre buenas y malas experiencias a lo largo de mi vida, aprendí a dejar todo en manos del Señor, me di cuenta de que solo tenía que entregar mis sueños, mis planes, mi futuro, y mi vida a Dios, y tomé la decisión de obrar en todo lo que envolviera a mi Señor. Mis deseos son que este libro sea una bendición para todo aquel que plasme sus ojos en él, y que el amor de mi Creador y su favor los bendiga siempre.

I'd always wanted to help people, but my life felt pointless compared to the lives of people who were positively influencing the world. But giving my life to God and accepting His grace-filled forgiveness for my sins initiated the death of my self-centered desires. I found purpose in Him and the ending I needed for my story- transformation and new life. Reaching the end of myself, I decided I could help other hurting people if I told my story-the story of everyone who reaches the end of themselves and humbly comes to Jesus for new life. This is the good news, the gospel of Jesus Christ. This book is dedicated to the fatherless and to those who have suffered or are currently suffering from domestic abuse. My prayer is two-fold: that these individuals find someone they can talk to, and that they realize their true identity and worth in Jesus Christ. Brandon Keane "I am delighted to encourage you to read Brandon's story! The First Thirty-Nine reads like a love story of God who pursued Brandon through his life's agonies. Anyone with past or present pain can find hope in Brandon's experience with the life-changing power of surrender to the glory and lordship of Jesus."Steve DeWitt, Senior Pastor, Bethel Church, Crown Point, Indiana, and author of Eyes Wide Open

"A biography of Norman Brokaw's remarkable life and influence on Hollywood, where he was CEO and chairman of the William Morris Agency from 1989 to 1997 and agent for some of Hollywood's most iconic figures of the twentieth century"--

This is a book that will hold the reader's attention from start to finish. It's a story of courage, determination, control, anger, jealousy, and love. Alma, the main protagonist, was injured during the Blitz in East London when half her house fell on top of the air-raid shelter also killing her father and her sister. That experience coloured the rest of her life. Alma and the family moved to Poplar ('Call the Midwife' country) in 1947. By 1951, they'd been re-housed to a Council House in Grundy Street where they stayed until 1981. East end life was important to them, but Alma always had aspirations to move back to Hornchurch in Essex and the surrounding areas where most of her family lived. George, Alma's husband, was born and bred in Poplar in the East End - a true Cockney. His attitude was, 'I'll leave the East End feet first!' However, his daughter Linda's medical needs meant that she could no longer climb the stairs after major back surgery. So they had to move and Alma's ambition was realised, but little did they know that Linda would eventually meet and fall in love with Ralph, and that despite her disabilities, she would get married and achieve great things with her husband.

The author of the runaway hit Buy Yourself the F*cking Lilies shares honest and practical lessons for healing your past and owning your future so you can radiate strength, bravery, and joy when life gets dark.“A revealing and powerful book that lit me up from the inside out.”—GLENNON DOYLE, #1 New York Times bestselling author of UntamedTara Schuster thought she was on stable ground. For years, she’d worked like hell to repair the emotional wounds inflicted during what she refers to as her “mess-wreck disaster” of a childhood. She’d brought radical healing rituals and self-love into her life. On most days, she was a happy, stable adult. She even wrote a book about it! But then she lost her job, the one on which she had staked her entire identity. Cue a panic-attack-doom-spiral that brought her harshest childhood traumas to the surface. Isolated at home during a global pandemic, she felt piercing loneliness and a lack of purpose like she had never known. Finally, after experiencing a terrifying dissociative episode while driving down the highway, she realized that enough was enough; she needed to slow down and pull over—literally. It was time for Tara to stop the hustling and to reclaim her essential, free, and loving self.Glow in the F*cking Dark is a guide to healing your deepest wounds, getting off your “good enough” plateau, and creating the spectacular life that you most desire. Tara clawed her way out of the darkness and recovered her shine, and in this book, she shows how to• recognize trauma reactions and choose new ways to respond• find what’s really under your anxiety• repair your relationship with your body• find solace and purpose in something bigger than yourselfFull of practical, achievable baby steps that we can take today, this book is for anyone ready to liberate themselves from their emotional suffering, discover their purpose, and finally sit in the driver’s seat of their life. It’s for anyone who is tired, hurting, and feeling like their essential brightness has dimmed. It’s for people who are ready to glow, even when sh*t gets grim.

"In Magical/Realism, Vanessa Anéglica Villarreal offers us an intimate mosaic of migration, violence, and colonial erasure through the lens of her marriage and her experiences navigating American monoculture. As she attempts to recover the truth from the absences and silences within her life, her relationships, and those of her ancestors, Vanessa pieces together her story from the fragments of music, memory, and fantasy that have helped her make sense of it all. The trauma of remembering gives the collection its unique Each chapter is an attempt to reimagine and re-world what has been lost. In one essay, Vanessa examines the gender performativity of Nirvana and Selena; in another, she offers a radical but crucial racial reading of Jon Snow in Game of Thrones; and throughout the collection, she explores how fantasy can provide healing when grief feels insurmountable. She reflects on the moments of her life that are too painful to remember--her difficult adolescence, her role as the eldest daughter of Mexican immigrants, her divorce--and finds a new way to archive her history and map her future(s), one infused with the hope and joy of fantasy and magical thinking. By engaging readers in her project of rebuilding narrative, Vanessa broadens our understanding of what memoir and cultural criticism can be. Magical/Realism is a wise, tender, and essential collection that carves a path toward a new way of remembering and telling our stories." --

HOW DID I GET HERE? I have been kidnapped, alone in a truck with a meth addict! Where is he taking me? What will he do to me when we get there? He is going to murder me! I have to get out of this truck! The door won't open; it won't unlock! What am I going to do? The Runaway is a fast-paced, intense true story of a drug-addicted runaway's journey from brokenness and defeat to new life and victory. Joy is a runaway teen, running from her family, the law, abuse, reality, and dangerous situations she continually finds herself in. When her choices bring her to the lowest she's ever been, is there anyone who can help her? Is there hope for someone like her?