What happens when the person who is your family is someone you aren't bound to by blood? What happens when the person you promise to love and to honor for the rest of your life is not your lover, but your best friend? In Truth & Beauty, her frank and startlingly intimate first work of nonfiction, Ann Patchett shines a fresh, revealing light on the world of women's friendships and shows us what it means to stand together.
Ann Patchett and Lucy Grealy met in college in 1981, and, after enrolling in the Iowa Writers' Workshop, began a friendship that would be as defining to both of their lives as their work was. In her critically acclaimed and hugely successful memoir, Autobiography of a Face, Lucy Grealy wrote about losing part of her jaw to childhood cancer, the years of chemotherapy and radiation, and then the endless reconstructive surgeries. In Truth & Beauty, the story isn't Lucy's life or Ann's life, but the parts of their lives they shared. This is a portrait of unwavering commitment that spans twenty years, from the long, cold winters of the Midwest, to surgical wards, to book parties in New York. Through love, fame, drugs, and despair, this book shows us what it means to be part of two lives that are intertwined.
This is a tender, brutal book about loving a person we cannot save. It is about loyalty, and about being lifted up by the sheer effervescence of someone who knew how to live life to the fullest. Views: 451
This book was originally published prior to 1923, and represents a reproduction of an important historical work, maintaining the same format as the original work. While some publishers have opted to apply OCR (optical character recognition) technology to the process, we believe this leads to sub-optimal results (frequent typographical errors, strange characters and confusing formatting) and does not adequately preserve the historical character of the original artifact. We believe this work is culturally important in its original archival form. While we strive to adequately clean and digitally enhance the original work, there are occasionally instances where imperfections such as blurred or missing pages, poor pictures or errant marks may have been introduced due to either the quality of the original work or the scanning process itself. Despite these occasional imperfections, we have brought it back into print as part of our ongoing global book preservation commitment, providing customers with access to the best possible historical reprints. We appreciate your understanding of these occasional imperfections, and sincerely hope you enjoy seeing the book in a format as close as possible to that intended by the original publisher. Views: 451
{Note: This volume is now included in "The High Duties of Pacia: The Complete Saga" which is currently available for 'Reader Sets the Price' so download that for free if you like.}Long ago in a time known as the Anziên age, people lived in a complex and vibrant society which reached levels of technology and genetic engineering unimaginable to anyone now alive. Then 3,500 years ago, the Anziên era ended abruptly and traumatically. The only bright spot came in a land called Pàçia. Physically separated from the rest of the world by high mountains, the gentle nature of the Pàçian people also set them apart from all others. They built the beautiful city Abbelôn and chose the wisest and most benevolent among them to lead the way on the path of tranquility and harmony. These leaders had no power or authority. They did not rule; they fulfilled duties. They made the world a better place but their strength gradually weakened with time, and three and a half millennia is a very long time.Outside Pàçia, the population grew and cities arose. The Great Cities were ruled by powerful despots who increasingly ignored lessons of peace and goodwill. Worse, new enemies invaded part of the land. But were they really ‘new’ or were they terrors returned from a forgotten past?In this environment, the story begins.*Twelve years ago, brutal men called the Zafiri invaded Pàçia with a massive army, capturing the beautiful city Abbelôn and crushing the gentle people there. Now the rest of the world is threatened by more war and destruction. Then an extraordinary young woman named Sistére Graice crosses paths with a man unlike any she has met before. Her ‘effect,’ her ability to control everyone else, has no power over him. Known only as Holder, the man has no memory, not even of his own identity. Graice’s mentor Sybille hires him as a guide for a journey she and Graice must make, partly so they can keep him close until they discover his secret. As they travel, Graice tries to help Holder recover his memory. While he is in a drugged sleep, she ‘sees’ into his mind and discovers small fragments of past events, all involving a beautiful golden-haired woman. When he wakes, Holder still does not remember these scenes but Graice has learned much about him.In the backwaters of the land meanwhile, a boy age thirteen travels with his aunt, his only living relative, hiding from enemy spies by moving constantly and using false names and disguises. He knows nothing about his parents or his family name and its history. Later, the aunt gives him an amulet and implies he will wear it someday. It’s an Emblem of High Duty, she says.A girl named Caelia, also thirteen, hides from the same enemy in a cavern where her father searches for secrets of the Anziên civilization. Named after a legendary heroine from antiquity, Caelia is unusually bright and mature for her age and her shining red-gold hair sets her apart. Everyone in the community loves Caelia but even the girl herself does not know why. When she wants to leave the cave on an adventure, everybody objects but no one can say no to her. She gets her way and departs with a trading expedition.Along their separate paths, Graice and Holder are attacked by a monstrous creature; outlaws kidnap Caelia; and enemy soldiers close in on the boy. Not only do all survive but the encounters also reveal hidden secrets. The story continues in Part II. Views: 451
1874: Only days before she is to leave the foundling home where she grew up, Agnes Resolute discovers that, as a baby, she had been abandoned with a small token of her mother: a unicorn button.
Agnes always believed her mother had been too poor to keep her, but after working as a laundress in the home she recognises the button as belonging to Genevieve Breckby, the beautiful and headstrong daughter of a local noble family. Agnes had seen Genevieve once, in the local village, and had never forgotten her.
Despite having no money, Agnes will risk everything in a quest that will take her from the bleak moors of northern England to the harsh streets of London, then on to Paris and Ceylon. As Agnes follows her mother's trail, she makes choices that could cost her dearly. Finally, in Australia, she tracks Genevieve down. But is Genevieve capable of being the mother Agnes hopes she will be?
An enthralling story about love, motherhood and choosing who you belong to in the world by the bestselling author of LIGHTHOUSE BAY and EMBER ISLAND.
Praise for Kimberley Freeman's writing:
WILDFLOWER HILL
'Utterly engaging.'
THE COURIER-MAIL
LIGHTHOUSE BAY
'an enchanting love story'
MiNDFOOD
EVERGREEN FALLS
'Eerie and fascinating ... the plot is brilliant in both time zones.'
NEWCASTLE HERALD
** Views: 451
In 18th C. England, Susan Kirke falls in love with the gardener on her father’s estate. Her parents dismiss John Dean. On a trip to London, Susan attends a masquerade at Vauxhall Gardens. Disguised as a boy, she escapes to find the man she loves. Dean elopes with her to Scotland, where more adventures ensue. The Serpentine Path is loosely based on the story of my ancestors.In eighteenth century England, sixteen-year-old Susan Kirke defies her parents and gives up a life of privilege to marry the man she loves.Susan falls in love with the gardener on her father’s estate. John Dean, her Mr. Right is wrong in every way: wrong nationality, a Scot; wrong religion, a Presbyterian; and worst of all, wrong class. When her parents learn of her engagement, they dismiss Dean and arrange a marriage for Susan with her cousin Herbert Fitzwilliam. In preparation for the wedding, the family goes to London, where Susan and Fitzwilliam attend a masquerade at Vauxhall Gardens; she dressed as a boy and he as a woman. While he is surrounded by a coterie of admirers, she escapes to the streets of London to find the man she loves.Dean elopes with Susan to his hometown of Dundee. In Edinburgh, they stop to buy a gown for Susan, and Dean goes to Leith to book passage on a ship. There he is captured by a press gang, and Susan must find the courage to rescue him. Views: 450
I could write an awesome synopsis of All They Wanted. Tell you how you're going to get more of Gunner and Ellie, Josh and Heather, and the oh-so-sexy Jeff and his outspoken bride, Ari, as they head out on a couples camping trip.
Never mind that both Ari and Heather are pregnant and moody. Or that Gunner forgot to bring the food ... I mean really, Gunner? I could even tell you how Josh takes a tumble down a hill and—
Now you didn't really think I was going to tell you what happens ... did you?
ALL THEY WANTED is a Wanted series novella that takes us back to the beginning ... well almost the beginning. Views: 450
Stephen R. Lawhead, the critically-acclaimed author of the Pendragon Cycle continues his Eirlandia Celtic fantasy series with In the Land of the Everliving. Conor and his sword companions must leave the safety of the faéry kingdom for the barbarian Scálda threaten to overrun Eirlandia.As he fights for his people's survival, Conor discovers that several of the clan leaders have betrayed their nation by aiding the Scálda. The corruption is such that Conor and his men choose to become outcasts, clan-less and open to attack by friend and foe alike.They form their own warband...and the beginning of a legend as Conor unites the common people of Eirlandia to drive the poison from their land.The Eirlandia Series:#1) In the Region of the Summer Stars#2) In the Land of the Everliving#3) In the Kingdom of All TomorrowsAt the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management... Views: 450
\'Among Malay Pirates\' is a story of courage and danger. Join our heroes as they pit themselves against bloodthirsty pirates and epic sea storms. A magnificent swashbuckling story of a grander, more adventurous time. Views: 450
Alison and Charlie, Claire and Ben seem like two picture-perfect couples. Alison and Charlie have a beautiful family and a home in the suburbs, while Claire and Ben's marriage revolves around their careers and city-based lives. Despite their differences, the two couples have remained close friends for ten years.
But one terrifying moment in the dead of a New Jersey night will quickly—and unexpectedly—expose the fractures and stresses that lie beneath the surface. Alison and Claire, best friends since childhood, are now worlds apart. And as each of them tries to find a way forward, all four will be forced to examine the choices they have made and the lives they have built, and ultimately to ask themselves: What is happiness? Does true human nature lie in our wanting or in how deeply we allow our desires to consume us?
Four people, two marriages, one lifelong friendship: Everything is about to change. Views: 450
