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Cactus Jack : a novel / by Smith, B. J.(Brad J.),author.;
"Brad Smith's latest is a terrific novel about a thirty-something single woman, the untried colt she inherits, a horse crazy little girl, and their band of misfits and has-beens who stick it to the establishment in the cutthroat world of horse racing. Billie Masterson is a chronic underachiever, drowning herself in alcohol and bad relationships in Ohio. She hasn't been home to the family's broken-down thoroughbred farm in Kentucky since college. Her mother committed suicide when Billie was a teen and she blames her father, Will Masterson. When Will drops dead while working on the farm, Billie returns to rural Kentucky for the funeral, intending only to pay her respects before high-tailing it back to Ohio. However, she's informed by her father's lawyer, the garrulous David Mountain Clay, that she now owns the farm ... and all the debt that goes with it. Determined to sell everything, settle the debts and get out of town, Billie discovers that her father's colt, a horse named Cactus Jack, is the object of obsession for billionaire Reese Ryker, the louche scion of a department store dynasty and now owner of Double R Racing, one of the top thoroughbred stables in the world. Billie is willing to sell everything to Ryker-until she realizes that he's an entitled misogynist and a not-so-subtle racist. Against her better judgment, she decides to keep the farm and the untested horse. To do that she needs to race the animal-and beat Ryker at his own game. Assisted by a team of misfits, including a washed-up trainer with whom she has a bit too much history, the horse-crazy little girl next door, and her father's ex-girlfriend, Billie and Cactus Jack take the track by a storm"--
Subjects: Humorous fiction.; Horse racing; Race horses;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 2
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Proof : a thriller / by Cowan, Jon,author.;
As a disgraced lawyer with a drinking problem that he doesn't view as a problem, Jake West is coasting on what's left of his charm and money. He used to be the kind of lawyer who could convince anyone of anything--until he decided to take on his father's biggest client and prove his dad was corrupt. Now Jake finds himself almost at rock bottom, and that's before his ex-best friend is murdered and Jake is accused of the crime. In a desperate bid to save himself, Jake must sober up and search for the real killer, whom he suspects might be hidden in one of the case files of his father's illustrious law firm. As he delves into a labyrinth of lies and corruption, Jake teams up with an eclectic group of equally broken people as they all must skirt the law in order to find the proof he needs...no matter the personal or professional cost.
Subjects: Thrillers (Fiction); Legal fiction (Literature); Novels.; Alcoholism; Lawyers; Murder; Suspects (Criminal investigation);
Available copies: 0 / Total copies: 1
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Stray : a memoir / by Danler, Stephanie,author.;
"From the author of the best-selling Sweetbitter comes an intimate, searingly honest memoir of growing up the child of addicts, of how that turbulent, often harrowing experience has affected her at every stage of her life, and of how she has struggled to transcend this unwanted legacy. When Sweetbitter was published to great success, the author knew she should be happy, but she felt incapable of it, emotionally shut down. She knew too that the roots of her inability to feel were deep in her childhood. With some hope of finally facing down her past--of looking clearly at her parents and what she did and did not inherit from them--she returned to California after a decade away, a decade in which she'd honed the practice of apathy. Stray is an account of that remarkable emotional journey. We meet her mother: a depressed alcoholic, now mentally and physically handicapped by a tragic brain aneurysm and living in squalor; and her father: once a successful businessman, now a constantly relapsing crystal meth addict living in halfway homes and shelters. And we are with the author as she remembers and relives the most difficult events of the ten years since she left "home"--betrayals and infidelities, her own problems with drinking, an affair with a married man whose darkness mirrored her own--and as she discovers the bounds of forgiveness, of her parents, but especially of herself"--
Subjects: Autobiographies.; Biographies.; Danler, Stephanie.; Authors, American; Women authors, American; Children of alcoholics; Children of drug addicts;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Mind over matter : hard-won battles on the road to hope / by Tootoo, Jordin,1983-author.; Brunt, Stephen,author.;
"For some hockey players, retirement marks the moment when it's all over. But Jordin Tootoo is not most hockey players. Having inspired millions when he first broke into the league, Tootoo continued to influence people throughout his career--not only through his very public triumph over alcoholism, but also his natural charisma. And now, years after hanging up his skates, he is more committed to doing things the right way and speaking about it to others, whether it's corporate executives or Indigenous youth. But the news of unmarked graves on the grounds of residential schools brought back to life many of the demons that had haunted his family. In a moment of realization that left him rattled and saddened, Tootoo fit the pieces together. The years that were never spoken of. The heavy drinking. The all too predictable violence. His father was a survivor, marked by what he had survived. And, Tootoo realizes, his community is marked in the same way. Its joy too often sapped away by alcoholism, its youth all too often cut down by suicide--as his brother had been. As he travels back to Nunavut to try to speak with his father about what haunts him, he encounters the ghosts of the entire community. Still, as Tootoo says, we are continuously learning and rewriting our story at every step. He has learned from his mistakes and his victories. He has learned from examples of great courage and humility. He has learned from being a father and a husband. And he has learned from his own Inuk traditions, of perseverance and discipline in the face of hardship. Weaving together life's biggest themes with observations and episodes, Jordin shares the kind of wisdom he has had to specialize in--the hard-won kind."--
Subjects: Biographies.; Autobiographies.; Personal narratives.; Tootoo, Jordin, 1983-; Fathers and sons.; Hockey players; Inuit hockey players;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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We the animals [videorecording] / by Castillo, Raul,actor.; Gabriel, Josiah,actor.; Holland, Terry,actor.; Kitrosser, Dan,screenwriter.; Kristian, Isaiah,actor.; Rosado, Evan,actor.; Vand, Shelia,actor.; Zagar, Jeremiah,film director,screenwriter.; motion picture adaptation of (work):Torres, Justin,1980-We the animals.; Cinereach (Firm),production company.; Orchard (Firm),presenter.; Passion River Films,distributor.; Public Record (Firm),production company.;
Music, Nick Zammuto ; editor, Keiko Deguchi, Brian A. Kates, Jeremiah Zagar ; production designer, Katie Hickman ; director of photography, Zak Mulligan.Raul Castillo, Josiah Gabriel, Terry Holland, Evan Rosado, Isaiah Kristian, Shelia Vand.Manny, Joel, and Jonah tear their way through childhood and push against the volatile love of their parents. As Manny and Joel grow into versions of their father and Ma dreams of escape, Jonah embraces an imagined world all on his own.Canadian Home Video Rating: 14A.MPAA rating: R; for strong sexual content, nudity, language and some underage drug and alcohol use.DVD ; widescreen presentation ; Dolby Digital 5.1, 2.0.
Subjects: Fiction films.; Feature films.; Coming-of-age films.; Video recordings for the hearing impaired.; Brothers; Dysfunctional families;
For private home use only.
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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From the ashes : my story of being Métis, homeless, and finding my way / by Thistle, Jesse,author.;
"From the Ashes is a remarkable memoir about hope and resilience, and a revelatory look into the life of a Métis-Cree man who refused to give up. Abandoned by his parents as a toddler, Jesse Thistle briefly found himself in the foster-care system with his two brothers, cut off from all they had known. Eventually the children landed in the home of their paternal grandparents, but their tough-love attitudes meant conflicts became commonplace. And the ghost of Jesse's drug-addicted father haunted the halls of the house and the memories of every family member. Struggling, Jesse succumbed to a self-destructive cycle of drug and alcohol addiction and petty crime, spending more than a decade on and off the streets, often homeless. One day, he finally realized he would die unless he turned his life around. In this heartwarming and heartbreaking memoir, Jesse Thistle writes honestly and fearlessly about his painful experiences with abuse, uncovering the truth about his parents, and how he found his way back into the circle of his Indigenous culture and family through education. An eloquent exploration of what it means to live in a world surrounded by prejudice and racism and to be cast adrift, From the Ashes is, in the end, about how love and support can help one find happiness despite the odds."-- Provided by publisher.
Subjects: Autobiographies.; Biographies.; Thistle, Jesse.; Métis; Addicts; Homeless persons;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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From the ashes : my story of being Métis, homeless, and finding my way [Book Club Set] / by Thistle, Jesse,author.;
"From the Ashes is a remarkable memoir about hope and resilience, and a revelatory look into the life of a Métis-Cree man who refused to give up. Abandoned by his parents as a toddler, Jesse Thistle briefly found himself in the foster-care system with his two brothers, cut off from all they had known. Eventually the children landed in the home of their paternal grandparents, but their tough-love attitudes meant conflicts became commonplace. And the ghost of Jesse's drug-addicted father haunted the halls of the house and the memories of every family member. Struggling, Jesse succumbed to a self-destructive cycle of drug and alcohol addiction and petty crime, spending more than a decade on and off the streets, often homeless. One day, he finally realized he would die unless he turned his life around. In this heartwarming and heartbreaking memoir, Jesse Thistle writes honestly and fearlessly about his painful experiences with abuse, uncovering the truth about his parents, and how he found his way back into the circle of his Indigenous culture and family through education. An eloquent exploration of what it means to live in a world surrounded by prejudice and racism and to be cast adrift, From the Ashes is, in the end, about how love and support can help one find happiness despite the odds."-- Provided by publisher.
Subjects: Autobiographies.; Biographies.; Thistle, Jesse.; Métis; Addicts; Homeless persons;
Available copies: 14 / Total copies: 14
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Brothers / by Van Halen, Alex,author.;
In this intimate and open account--nothing like any rock-and-roll memoir you've ever read--Alex Van Halen shares his personal story of family, friendship, music and brotherly love in a remarkable tribute to his beloved brother and band mate. Told with acclaimed New Yorker writer Ariel Levy, Brothers is seventy-year-old drummer Alex Van Halen's love letter to his younger brother, Edward, (Maybe "Ed," but never "Eddie"), written while still mourning his untimely death. In his rough yet sweet voice, Alex recounts the brothers' childhood, first in the Netherlands and then in working class Pasadena, California, with an itinerant musician father and a very proper Indonesian-born mother--the kind of mom who admonished her boys to "always wear a suit" no matter how famous they became--a woman who was both proud and practical, nonchalant about taking a doggie bag from a star-studded dinner. He also shares tales of musical politics, infighting, and plenty of bad-boy behaviour. But mostly his is a story of brotherhood, music, and enduring love. "I was with him from day one," Alex writes. "We shared the experience of coming to this country and figuring out how to fit in. We shared a record player, an 800 square foot house, a mom and dad, and a work ethic. Later, we shared the back of a tour bus, alcoholism, the experience of becoming famous, of becoming fathers and uncles, and of spending more hours in the studio than I've spent doing anything else in this life. We shared a depth of understanding that most people can only hope to achieve in a lifetime." There has never been an accurate account of them or the band, and Alex wants to set the record straight on Edward's life and death. Brothers includes never-before-seen photos from the author's private archives.
Subjects: Biographies.; Personal narratives.; Van Halen, Alex.; Van Halen, Eddie, 1955-2020.; Van Halen (Musical group); Brothers; Rock musicians;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The secret sheriff of sixth grade / by Sonnenblick, Jordan.;
Maverick Falconer is just starting middle school and he wishes he were a hero like his father because maybe then he could deal with his mother's drinking and series of abusive boyfriends, not to mention the kids who bully him in middle school (pretty much the same ones who bullied him in elementary school)--but as the year passes he begins to realize that other kids have problems too, and maybe if they can all survive sixth-grade things will get better.LSC
Subjects: Mothers and sons; Children of alcoholics; Dysfunctional families; Middle schools; Bullying; Friendship;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Devil is fine / by Vercher, John,author.;
"Our narrator is haunted. Haunted by panic attacks, a failed relationship, alcoholism, an academic career that wants to define him by his Blackness, and the trauma of the recent death of his 17-year-old son, Malcolm. When a letter arrives informing him that his maternal grandfather has left Malcolm a plot of land, our narrator leaves his life behind and heads to the seaside of the Northeast, where his identity is shaken by the dark and haunting secret that lies beneath this inherited land. With the wit of Paul Beatty's The Sellout and the nuance of Zadie Smith's On Beauty, author John Vercher's Devil is Fine is an emotional account of what it is to be a father, a son, a writer, and a biracial American fighting to reconcile freedom and creativity with the footprint of colonialism. Gripping, surrealist, and darkly funny, Devil is Fine is a brilliantly-crafted dissection of the legacies we leave behind, and those we inherit"--
Subjects: Domestic fiction.; Magic realist fiction.; Novels.; African Americans; Fathers and sons; Grief; Identity (Psychology); Inheritance and succession; Sons;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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