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The wilderness [text (large print)] : a novel / by Flournoy, Angela,author.;
"Desiree, Danielle, January, Monique, and Nakia are in their early twenties and at the beginning. Of their careers, of marriage, of motherhood, and of big-city lives in New York and Los Angeles. Together, they are finding their way through the wilderness, that period of life when the reality of contemporary adulthood -- overwhelming, mysterious, and full of freedom and consequences -- swoops in and stays. Desiree and Danielle, sisters whose shared history has done little to prevent their estrangement, nurse bitter family wounds in different ways. January's got a relationship with a "good" man she feels ambivalent about, even after her surprise pregnancy. Monique, a librarian and aspiring blogger, finds unexpected online fame after calling out the university where she works for its plans to whitewash fraught history. And Nakia is trying to get her restaurant off the ground, without relying on the largesse of her upper middle-class family who wonder aloud if she should be doing something better with her life. As these friends move from the late 2000's into the late 2020's, from young adults to grown women, they must figure out what they mean to one another -- amid political upheaval, economic and environmental instability, and the increasing volatility of modern American life. The Wilderness is Angela Flournoy's masterful and kaleidoscopic follow-up to her critically acclaimed debut The Turner House. A generational talent, she captures with disarming wit and electric language how the most profound connections over a lifetime can lie in the tangled, uncertain thicket of friendship"--
Subjects: Large print books.; Domestic fiction.; Novels.; Female friendship; Self-actualization (Psychology) in women; Sisters; Women;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Only time will tell / by Archer, Jeffrey,1940-author.;
"From the popular author of Kane and Abel and A Prisoner of Birth comes the story of one family across generations, across oceans, from heartbreak to triumph. The epic tale of Harry Clifton's life begins in 1920, with the words, "I was told that my father was killed in the war." A dock worker in Bristol, Harry never knew his father, but he learns about life on the docks from his uncle who expects Harry to join him at the shipyard once he's left school. But then his unexpected gift wins him a scholarship to an exclusive boys' school, and his life will never be the same again. As he enters into adulthood, Harry finally learns how his father really died, but the awful truth only leads him to question who was his father? Is he the son of Arthur Clifton, a stevedore who spent his whole life on the docks, or the first-born son of a scion of West Country society, whose family owns a shipping line? This introductory novel in The Clifton Chronicles includes a cast of colorful characters and takes us from the ravages of the Great War to the outbreak of the Second World War, when Harry must decide whether to take up a place at Oxford or join the navy and go to war with Hitler's Germany. From the docks of working-class England to the bustling streets of 1940 New York City, Only Time Will Tell takes readers on a journey through to future volumes, which will bring to life one hundred years of recent history to reveal a family story that neither the reader nor Harry Clifton himself could ever have imagined.".
Subjects: Domestic fiction.; Historical fiction.; Sagas.; Families; Families; Fathers and sons; Social classes;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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This is your mother : a memoir / by Simpson, Erica J.,author.;
"Growing up, Erika Simpson's mother loomed large, almost biblical in her life. A daughter of sharecroppers, middle child of ten, her origin story served as a kind of Genesis. Her departure from home and a cheating husband, pursuing higher education along the way a kind of Exodus. Her rules for survival, often repeated like the Ten Commandments, guided Erika's own journey into adulthood. And the most important rule? Throughout her life, Sallie Carol preached the power of a testimony-which often proved useful in talking her way out of a bind with bill collectors. But where does a mother's story end and a daughter's begin? In this brave, illuminating memoir, Erika offers a joint recollection of their lives as they navigate times of poverty and stability, separation and togetherness, illness and remission. Her mother's uncanny ability to endure Job-like trials and manifest New Testament-style miracles made her seem invincible. But while those who raise us may start out as gods in our lives, through her mother's final months and fifth battle with cancer, Erika captures the moment you realize that parents are just people. Weaving together a dual timeline and elements from both scripture and pop culture, Erika explores how the lessons, dreams, and patterns we inherit influence our future, for better and worse. Powerful, moving, and unforgettable, This Is Your Mother is a gorgeously rendered story of a mother's life through a daughter's eyes as she navigates through grief to a place of clarity where she can see who she is without her mom -- and because of her"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Autobiographies.; Personal narratives.; Simpson, Erica J.; Cancer; Mothers and daughters; Women authors, American;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The most fun thing : dispatches from a skateboard life / by Beachy, Kyle,author.;
Includes bibliographical references."In the tradition of Barbarian Days, THE MOST FUN THING is a memoir in essays of Kyle Beachy's decade-long quest to uncover the hidden meaning of skateboarding--a search that unearthed fresh insights on marriage, love, loss, and American invention. In January 2012, creative writing professor and novelist Kyle Beachy published one of his first essays on skate culture, an exploration of how Nike's corporate strategy successfully gutted the once-mighty independent skate shoe market. For a decade and counting, Beachy has been skate culture's freshest, most illuminating, at times most controversial voice, writing candidly about the increasingly popular and fast-changing pastime Beachy first picked up as a young boy and has continued to practice well into adulthood. What is skateboarding? What does it mean to continue skateboarding after forty, four decades after the kickflip was invented? How does one live authentically as an adult while staying true to a passion cemented in childhood? How does skateboarding shape one's understanding of contemporary American life? Of growing old and getting married? Answering these questions and more, Beachy offers a deep exploration of a pastime, often overlooked, regularly maligned, whose seeming simplicity conceals universal truths. THE MOST FUN THING is both a rich account of a hobby and a life and collection of the varied lessons skateboarding has taught Beachy-what it continues to teach him as he struggles to find space for it as an adult, a professor, and a husband"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Autobiographies.; Essays.; Beachy, Kyle.; Skateboarders; Skateboarding;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Brown girls : a novel / by Andreades, Daphne Palasi,author.;
"This remarkable, deeply moving story brings you deep into the hearts and souls of a tight-knit group of friends--girls growing up in Queens, the polyglot borough of New York, where the streets sprawl for miles and echo with voices from all over the world, and the scent of bubbling oil, chopped garlic, and grilled meats waft through open windows as night comes to the neighborhood. Here Nadira, Mae, Trish, and Aisha become friends for life--or so they vow. Together they learn to survive all that the street throws at them--schoolyard bullies, clueless teachers, and the leering gaze of men who trail behind them wherever they walk. Exuberant and wild, they are daughters of immigrants from different diasporas, but in Queens their backgrounds blur and blend: they sing Mariah Carey at the tops of their lungs, pine for boyfriends who pay them no mind--and break the hearts of those who do--all while balancing the cultures they came from and the one they find themselves in. In small brick houses, their fathers snore on armchairs after long shifts, while mothers command them to be dutiful daughters, obedient young women. But as the years go by, and their own adulthood nears, choices must be made about their futures. Cracks and fissures form as some find themselves drawn to the allure of other skylines, beckoned by lovers and jobs foreign to what they knew back home. Some of the girls become wives and mothers to a new generation of brown girls; while others embark on a migration baffling to the generation before them, journeying back to the countries their parents fled for the 'better life' in America"--
Subjects: Bildungsromans.; Female friendship; Immigrants;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The Paris novel / by Reichl, Ruth,author.;
"When her estranged mother dies, Stella is left with an unusual inheritance: a one-way plane ticket and a note reading "Go to Paris." But Stella is hardly cut out for adventure; a childhood trauma, and her mother's negligent parenting style, have kept her strictly confined to her comfort zone, even in adulthood. When her boss encourages her to time off, Stella resigns herself to honor her mother's wishes, even if a spontaneous trip to Paris is the last thing she wants. Even in a new city, Stella can't help but fall into old habits, living cautiously and frugally. But one day, she stumbles across a consignment store and tries on a fabulous vintage dress. The shopkeeper allows her to borrow it for the day if she goes on an adventure. So Stella decides to treat herself to oysters and wine for lunch, where she has a chance encounter with a dapper octogenarian art collector, Jules. He immediately recognizes Stella needs a proper introduction to the magical side of Paris and takes her under his wing. Amid decadent meals and encounters with a veritable who's who of the 1980s Paris art and culinary worlds, Stella begins to understand what it might mean to live a bigger life. As weeks pass, Stella ends up living at the bookstore Shakespeare & Company as a "tumbleweed," uncovering a hundred-year-old art mystery, and unlocking a passion for food that may be connected to her past, and the true reason she has been sent to Paris. A feast for the senses, this novel is a testament to what it means to live deliciously: to be authentic, to embrace adventure, and to find a home in the last place you might expect"--
Subjects: Historical fiction.; Psychological fiction.; Novels.; Self-realization in women;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The light pirate / by Brooks-Dalton, Lily,1987-author.;
"From the author of Good Morning, Midnight comes a hopeful, sweeping story of survival and resilience spanning one extraordinary woman's lifetime as she navigates the uncertainty, brutality, and arresting beauty of a rapidly changing world. Florida as we know it is slipping away. As devastating weather patterns and rising sea levels wreak gradual havoc on the state's infrastructure, a powerful hurricane approaches a small town on the southeastern coast. Kirby Lowe, an electrical line worker for the local utility municipality, his pregnant wife, Frida, and their two sons, Flip and Lucas, prepare for the worst. When the boys go missing just before the hurricane hits, Kirby heads out into the high winds in search of his children. Left alone, Frida goes into premature labor and gives birth to an unusual child, Wanda, whom she names after the catastrophic storm that ushers her into a society closer to collapse than ever before. As Florida continues to unravel, Wanda grows. Moving from childhood to adulthood, adapting not only to the changing landscape, but also to the people who stayed behind in a place abandoned by civilization, Wanda loses family, gains community, and ultimately, seeks adventure, love, and purpose in a place remade by nature. Told in four parts-power, water, light, and time-The Light Pirate mirrors the rhythms of the elements and the sometimes quick, sometimes slow dissolution of the world as we know it. It is a meditation on the changes we would rather not see, the future we would rather not greet, and a call back to the beauty and violence of an untamable wilderness"--
Subjects: Psychological fiction.; Novels.; Childbirth; Climatic changes; Hurricanes; Missing persons; Survival;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Dream state : a novel / by Puchner, Eric,author.;
"PEN/Faulkner Award finalist, Pushcart Prize winner, and Best American Stories contributor, Eric Puchner returns with an ambitious and deeply moving novel set against the backdrop of the American West that follows three lifelong friends and the betrayal at the center of their entwined fates. Cece and Charlie are in love and a few weeks away from their summer wedding. But when Cece meets Charlie's best friend from college, Garrett, her long-held expectations for her future begin to crumble. As Garrett's gruff mask slips, Cece begins to anticipate the big day with dread as her feelings for Garrett become impossible to bury. And as she decides to follow her instincts, ditching her groom for his best man, she will alter the three of their lives forever, the events of that July reverberating through marriage, parenthood, and, in the end, across generations. Years later, Cece's daughter, Lana, and Charlie's son, Jasper, meet and become fast friends, finding themselves reunited again and again throughout their adolescence. Soon enough, they find themselves enacting their parents' mistakes, falling victim to duplicity and heartbreak, with age and mortality looming. With Montana's once-warm summers growing untenably hot, and the nearby lake all but drying up, obscured only by the ceaseless smoke of wildfires, Garrett's career as a wildlife researcher feels increasingly futile. As he watches Cece begin to lose herself, Charlie wonders whether he will ever find stability, especially with a son failing to adjust to the demands of adulthood. With delicacy, precision, and enormous heart, Dream State is at once a study of the unholy catastrophe of marriage, and a tender ode to the beauty of impermanence"--
Subjects: Domestic fiction.; Psychological fiction.; Novels.; Betrayal; Families; Man-woman relationships; Marriage; Triangles (Interpersonal relations);
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Bye, Baby A Novel [electronic resource] : by Lovering, Carola.aut; Laser, Helen.nrt; Vacker, Karissa.nrt; cloudLibrary;
"Powerful, relatable and crazily addictive, Bye, Baby takes an unflinching look at the battling forces of toxicity and love which define so many female friendships. I couldn't put it down." —Rosie Walsh, New York Times bestselling author of Ghosted and The Love of My Life Every friendship has its shadow... On a brisk fall night in a New York apartment, 35-year-old Billie West hears terrified screams. It's her lifelong best friend Cassie Barnwell, one floor above, and she's just realized her infant daughter has gone missing. Billie is shaken as she looks down into her own arms to see the baby, remembering—with a jolt of fear—that she is responsible for the kidnapping that has instantly shattered Cassie’s world. Once fiercely bonded by their secrets, Cassie and Billie have drifted apart in adulthood, no longer the inseparable pair they used to be in their small Hudson Valley hometown. Cassie is married to a wealthy man, has recently become a mother, and is building a following as a lifestyle influencer. She is desperate to leave her past behind—including Billie, who is single and childless, and no longer fits into her world. But Billie knows the worst thing Cassie has ever done, and she will do whatever it takes to restore their friendship… Told in alternating perspectives in Lovering’s signature suspenseful style, Bye, Baby confronts the myriad ways friendships change and evolve over time, the lingering echoes of childhood trauma, and the impact of women’s choices on their lifelong relationships. A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.
Subjects: Audiobooks.; Contemporary Women; Psychological;
© 2024., Macmillan Audio,
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Small ceremonies : a novel / by Edwards, Kyle,author.;
"A poignant coming-of-age story following the friendships, hopes, fears, and struggles of a group of Native high school students from Winnipeg's North End illuminating what it's like to grow up forgotten, urban, poor, and Indigenous. Word on the street is that this is the Tigers' last season. For Tomahawk "Tommy" Shields, an image-obsessed high school student from a northern Indian reserve, the potential loss of his hockey team serves as a stark reminder of the fact that he is completely uncertain about his future. He can't help but feel that each of his peers has some skill or gift that he lacks, yet each of their perceived virtues hides darker truths too. Clinton is beloved by teachers, but his "good kid" disposition is a desperate attempt not to end up falling prey to the gang violence his older brother has become enmeshed in. Floyd has incredible talent on the ice, yet behind that talent lies deep insecurity about his multiracial background. And the adults that populate Tommy's life-his mother who struggles with schizophrenia; Pete, the wayward Zamboni driver; and elders Maggie and Olga-offer a mixture of well-intentioned but often misguided support and a depressing portent of what the future could hold. Set in Winnipeg's north end, a remote neighborhood at the border of Canada's eastern woodlands and central prairies, Small Ceremonies follows a community that both literally and figuratively straddles two worlds. As its richly drawn characters navigate the thrilling independence of adulthood and the loss of innocence that accompanies adolescence, one can't help but root for Tommy and his community, even as Tommy himself reckons with his place in it"--
Subjects: Bildungsromans.; Novels.; Friendship; High school students; Hockey teams; Indigenous youth; Teenagers;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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