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“It’s like the meanest, wildest monkey running around my head, constantly looking for ways to bite me.” That was how Kirsten Pagacz described her OCD to her therapist on their first session when she was well into her 30s she’d been following orders from this mean taskmaster for 20 years, without understanding why. Initially the tapping and counting and cleaning and ordering brought her comfort and structure, two things lacking in her family life. But it never lasted; the loathsome self-talk only intensified, and the rituals she had to perform got more bizarre. By high school she was anorexic and a substance abuser, common "shadow syndromes" of OCD. By adulthood, she could barely hide her problems and held on to jobs and friends through sheer grit. Help finally came in the form of a miraculously well-timed public service announcement on NPR about OCD -- at last her illness had an identity. Leaving the OCD Circus reveals the story of Pagacz’s traumatic childhood and the escalation of her disorder demonstrating how OCD works to misshape a life from a very young age and explains the various tools she used for healing including meditation, cognitive behavioral therapy, yoga, exposure therapy, and medication.

The first novel from award-winning author Gianfranco Calligarich to be published in English, Last Summer in the City is a witty and despairing classic of Italian literature. Biting, tragic, and endlessly quotable, this translated edition features an introductory appreciation from longtime fan New York Times bestselling author André Aciman. In a city smothering under the summer sun and an overdose of la dolce vita, Leo Gazarra spends his time in an alcoholic haze, bouncing between run-down hotels and the homes of his rich and well-educated friends, without whom he would probably starve. At thirty, he’s still drifting: between jobs that mean nothing to him, between human relationships both ephemeral and frayed. Everyone he knows wants to graduate, get married, get rich―but not him. He has no ambitions whatsoever. Rather than toil and spin, isn’t it better to submit to the alienation of the Eternal City, Rome, sometimes a cruel and indifferent mistress, sometimes sweet and sublime? There can be no half measures with her, either she’s the love of your life or you have to leave her. First discovered by Natalia Ginzburg, Last Summer in the City is a forgotten classic of Italian literature, a great novel of a stature similar to that of The Great Gatsby or The Catcher in the Rye. Gianfranco Calligarich’s enduring masterpiece has drawn comparisons to such writers as Truman Capote, Ernest Hemingway, and Jonathan Franzen and is here made available in English for the first time.

Change The World By Changing Yourself Find answers: Today, it’s easy to get outraged by world events, frustrated by our own personal battles, and disenfranchised from government and leadership. Born of moral indignation, informed by decades of study, and seasoned by a life of devoted self-cultivation, Monk Yun Rou’s Mad Monk Manifesto has the answers we’re looking for, organically cohering personal prescriptions and calls to social and political action in one powerful document. Discover venerated wisdom: Based on ancient Chinese wisdom such as Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching , Mad Monk Manifesto is part tour guide to consciousness, part recipe for personal development, part prescription for environmental salvation, and part handbook for social change. In approximately 70,000 words, the book’s six chapters (framed by an introduction and afterward) follow the traditional Taoist prescription for changing the larger world by changing ourselves first. Improve yourself―and the world: In the same way ripples move away from a stone dropped into a pond, Mad Monk Manifesto begins with our personal lives, discussing topics such as diet, exercise, meditation, and mind/body practice, and spreads to our public environment, describing ideas such as what we can do to improve the community, the government, and the world. Full of everything from advice for a healthy, conscious lifestyle to suggested actions we can take to enhance the lives of friends, family, coworkers, and community members, Mad Monk Manifesto highlights spirituality and service, the goals of an awakened life. Learn something new: Each chapter of Mad Monk Manifesto is creative and fresh, offering proactive solutions in single-paragraph exhortations and prescriptions against a backdrop of lessons from Chinese history, the wisdom of ancient sages like Lao Tzu, and stories born of author Monk Yun Rou's journey from privileged Manhattanite to practicing Taoist monk. Inspirational and informative, exhortative and prescriptive, this modern Alan Watts creates a complete and immersive experience for everyone who picks up his Mad Monk Manifesto ―a portrayal of everything from the mundane to the sublime through the lens of the philosophy best known from George Lucas’ Star Wars saga, the Green Movement, and surf and hippie cultures. Emerge with a new way of seeing life, a series of concrete steps to take for personal transformation, and an action plan for working in the community to provoke change. Mad Monk Manifesto is precisely what the world needs at a time of unprecedented environmental disasters, international instability, and divisive and unreliable leadership. After reading this book, you will learn: How to relax, rectify, and rebalance life How to bolster the community and deepen culture How to effect positive change in commerce, government, power, and the environment For readers of Alan Watts, Ursula Le Guin, and Change Your Thoughts―Change Your Life by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

From Cradle to Classroom: A Guide to Special Education for Young Children is a book written for regular and special education teachers, school administrators, school psychologists, related educational personnel, day care providers, parents, graduate students, and policy makers who work on behalf of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers to ensure they are ready for formal education when they reach age 5. It reflects a keen understanding that early interventions are most effective in reducing the potential for special education or other support services later in a child’s development. Research shows the benefits of investing in early intervention and high-quality preschool as a way to mitigate educational gaps in learning and to improve the development of children across all domains (Executive Office of the President of the United States, 2015; Lynch & Vaghul, 2015; Yoshikawa et al., 2013). Throughout the book, readers will find strategies to help atypical children navigate the world as they move from infancy to toddlerhood, and to preschool and beyond. The chapters dig deep and offer expansive understandings of the components necessary to ensure young children, especially those with exceptionalities, become successful students.

AN AMAZON BEST SELLING BOOK FOR KIDS! This entertaining, illustrated, middle grade chapter book is the series opener. Sign up for the spelling bee? No way! If there's one thing 10-year-old Texan Sophie Washington is good at, it's spelling. She's earned straight 100s on all her spelling tests to prove it. Her parents want her to compete in the Xavier Academy spelling bee,but Sophie wishes they would buzz off. That's until her irritating classmate, Nathan Jones, challenges her. There's no way she can let Mr. Know-It-All win. Studying is hard when you have a pesky younger brother and a busy social calendar. Can Sophie ignore the distractions and become Queen of the Bee? Here's what Goodreads reviewers say about Sophie Washington: Queen of the Bee: "Another great Sophie Washington book. Super cute. My 11-year-old loves these books." "As someone with a 10-year niece who is in fifth grade like Sophie, I believe that she would love this book and the rest of the Sophie Washington series by Tonya Duncan Ellis." "This series will go far. The story is down to earth, realistic and easy to read." This is the first book in the Readers' Favorite five star rated Sophie Washington book series that includes: Sophie Washington: Queen of the Bee (Book 1) Sophie Washington: The Snitch (Book 2) Sophie Washington: Things You Didn't Know About Sophie (Book 3) Sophie Washington: The Gamer (Book 4) Sophie Washington: Hurricane (Book 5) Sophie Washington: Mission Costa Rica (Book 6) Sophie Washington: Secret Santa (Book 7) Sophie Washington: Code One (Book 8) Sophie Washington: Mismatch (Book 9) Sophie Washington: My BFF (Book 10) Kids Ages 8-12 Click above to get your copy today!

A stone by any other name… Can lead to murder. Rosemary Grey, who’s just getting settled into the charming town of Paperwick, Connecticut, is looking forward to the holiday season. She’ll be moving into her snug cottage at Jack and Charlie’s farm—so she’ll have her best friends right next door, and she’s loving her new job as a history professor at Paperwick University, home of the Fighting Trout. The fact that she sees the shy Professor Seth McGuire, from the anthropology department, on campus, might have a little something to do with the smile on her face and the spring in her step. But Rosemary soon discovers that the cozy, tucked-away village, has a longstanding mystery in its midst. Thirty-five years ago, what appeared to be a rune-covered megalithic stone was discovered. There were those who believed the runes scattered across the stone were created by the indigenous peoples who’d inhabited the area—but some believed the runes were Norse in origin, lending credibility to the idea that Vikings had once walked the land. None of the theories about the stone could be proved, however, because it went missing almost as mysteriously as it had appeared. Searches proved fruitless and no one could imagine who could possibly slip away with a two hundred fifty-pound slab of granite. Nevertheless, the legend of Bjørn the Lost Viking was born, along with an annual festival that commemorates the stone, the first snow of the winter, and Norse culture. When a twist of fate leads to the discovery of the fabled missing runestone—and a body is found lying next to it—Rosemary and friends will have to separate legend and myth from fact and solve the crime. Seth is targeted as one of the prime suspects, so there’s no time to waste! You’ll want to curl up with a warm, spicy mug of Mrs. Potter’s Glogg and a warm blanket to enjoy this exciting cozy holiday adventure!

Inspiration for Brave Girls Who Love STEM AZ is a young girl who finds herself in a robot building competition. Can she use girl power to overcome crashes, explosions, and hackers to beat school bully and three-time champ? Smart and strong is the new pretty. In this funny, action-packed story about STEM for kids, the talented AZ fights gender stereotypes and learns tough lessons on leadership. With the help of her quirky friends, Li and 10, the team builds a feisty robot named Ada. Together, they work hard, solve puzzles, grow in confidence, and learn the importance of friendship and collaboration. Calling all girls who code, techgirls, Grace Hopper fans, and stemettes. Written to raise awareness about the challenges faced by women in science and engineering, She’s Building a Robot celebrates voices from diverse socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds. More importantly, it gives girls in science the opportunity to relate to strong, brave, smart characters. If your child enjoyed books like Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls , The Fourteenth Goldfish , Women in Science , or Hidden Figures Young Reader’ Edition , then She’s Building a Robot is your next read!

Tolly Lee is pearls, debutant balls, and old silver on the breakfast table. She is ashamed of something she did thirteen years ago, but she was only sixteen and she didn't set out to do it. Still, she should not have led college senior Nathan Scott to think she was his age. She never imagined a football star like him would keep calling her, but it was mostly a long distance relationship and it's not like they had sex. In the end, she paid for her sins with her heart and she might not be done paying. When she moved to Merritt, Alabama, Nathan had been gone for over a decade. Now that he's back, and if the good citizens of her adopted hometown learn of her part in costing their hometown hero his chance at an NFL career, she might as well pack up her law practice and move to Siberia. A sports commentator christened Nathan Scott "The Angel" because of his flawless face and his ability to leap to catch a football, as if he had wings. He still has the face but his leaping days ended when he was injured after going on the football field distracted, only hours after catching the girl of his dreams in a terrible lie. He would never have accepted the job as head football coach of Merritt High if he'd known Tolly had set up shop on Main Street. Not that he still has feelings for her. But a small town has a way of reviving the past and when common interest in an orphaned teenager forces Tolly and Nathan to agree to an uneasy truce, guilt and old resentments resurface. With no end zone in sight, their mutual attraction leads to a Scrimmage Gone South.

Chocolatier Lanie Heaven has good friends, a booming business, and the adoration of the citizens of Merritt, Alabama. But she also has a secret. After the devastating breakup with her long time college boyfriend, she lost a baby and the hope of ever having a child - the thing she desires above all else. Though still grief-stricken eighteen months after the accident that killed his wife and best friend, Judge Luke Avery is lonely for the company of someone other than his three-year-old daughter, Emma. When Luke moves into the apartment above Lanie's candy shop, Lanie and Emma fall in love at first sight and Luke finds himself along for the ride. It's so easy for the three of them to slip into a life as sweet as the candy in Lanie's shop. But when Emma calls Lanie Mommy, Luke realizes things have gone too far; he has to propose to Lanie or walk away. He isn't ready for marriage, but engaged isn't married. Lanie eagerly accepts but as the evidence stacks up, she must accept that Luke's love is not equal to her own. Can Luke find a way to slay his demons before the sweet life they have created goes completely south?

Good friends and healthy friendships are crucial to women's well-being at every stage of life. But what happens when a friendship turns toxic? When a friend becomes hurtful or mistreats another? When a friend abandons another in a time of need? Here, Suzanne Degges-White and Judy Pochel Van Tieghem explore such toxic friendships and how women navigate the ups and downs, as well as how broken friendships can be mended and bad friendships ended. Explaining and illustrating the "rules of friendship" at various stages of life, the authors reveal what it takes to be a good friend, how to identify bad friends, and how to move forward when friendships turn sour. Vignettes of toxic friendship behaviors are shared, as well as tips on how best to respond to these rule-breaking friends in order to rebuild damaged relationships and repair a friendship's foundation (when appropriate) and how to decide when it's time to let go of a relationship that is bringing you down versus keeping you afloat. Information for parents is also provided, to aid them as they help their daughters navigate their friendships. We all need friends, but knowing when and how to let go can help us all be better friends--to ourselves, and also to others.