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Like crazy : life with my mother and her invisible friends / by Mathews, Dan,author.;
"Dan Mathews knew that his eccentric mother, Perry Lawrence, was outspoken, foul-mouthed, and, at seventy-nine years old, unable to maintain her fiercely independent lifestyle--so he flew her across the country (with a gay man as her escort) to live with him in a dilapidated Victorian townhouse in Portsmouth, Virginia. What he didn't know was that she was schizophrenic. Over the next five years, Dan and Perry built a rollicking life together fueled by costume parties, experiments in drug use, and an unshakeable sense of humor as they faced down illness, natural disasters, and Perry's steady decline. With the help of an ever-expanding circle of friends--boyfriends new and old, strippers, DJs, gun nuts, Evangelical Christians, and everyone in between--they flipped the parent-child relationship on its head, with the globe-trotting animal rights activist finally learning to slow down and care for the woman who raised him. But it wasn't until after a kicking-and-screaming trip to the emergency room that Dan discovered that his mother's lifelong tendency to go it alone wasn't just a manifestation of her free spirit but was actually the inescapable element of a serious and undiagnosed disorder. Witty, emotionally powerful, and deeply moving, Like Crazy is a warm and engrossing memoir about mental illness, reinvention, and the remarkable power of community. Lovingly told, Mathews's memoir is also a profound meditation on the joys and pitfalls of caring for an aging family member and of the remarkable growth that takes place as a child steps into the role of the parent"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Autobiographies.; Mathews, Dan.; Mathews, Perry Lawrence; Mothers and sons; Schizophrenics; Schizophrenics;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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You're not special : a (sort-of) memoir / by Rienks, Meghan,author.;
In her first-ever (sort of) memoir, the beloved actor and YouTube sensation gets personal about everything from mental health to drunken debaucheries ... As an only child raised in a town of less than 8,000 people and without a Starbucks in sight, Meghan Rienks has always been pretty good at entertaining herself. Then one day-cue the dramatic voiceover-her life changed forever ... On June 12th, 2010, Meghan was diagnosed with mononucleosis. Mono is basically just a really bad case of the flu, right? Wrong. To a party crazed sixteen-year-old, mono is social suicide. More than anything, it's just plain boring. So, Meghan opened up her 2009 MacBook, used the webcam for something other than a bad Andy Warhol-style photobooth session, and recorded her first YouTube video. Since then, Meghan has shared the ups and downs of her life with the internet, documenting her teenage years for the whole world to see ... Now that she's (mostly) through her awkward stage, Meghan's here to tell you that it gets better. You're not alone in the thoughts you think. Sometimes a bad hair day feels worse than a punch in the gut and asking a boy out seems about as difficult as achieving that perfect dewy glow. But despite what you've been told, your problems are not unique, your struggles have taken form in everybody else&'s life too, and somebody else has felt the way you feel right at this very moment ... You're not special. But you're also not alone on the bumpy road to adulthood.
Subjects: Rienks, Meghan.; Teenagers; Teenagers;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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One sunny afternoon : a memoir of trauma and healing / by Jetté Knox, Amanda,author.;
Includes bibliographical references."From the bestselling author of Love Lives Here, a deeply personal memoir about facing life-long trauma head on, and bravely healing the scars that endure. For writer and human rights advocate Amanda Jetté Knox, the inspiring story of her family's journey of love and acceptance, when both her child and partner came out as transgender one after the other, was the hopeful beginning to their new lives. Their tale, shared in her memoir Love Lives Here and embraced by readers everywhere, quickly found its way to the top of bestseller lists. Yet in the spring of 2020, Jetté Knox began to experience targeted attacks on social media, and she soon became the subject of a small but very vocal group that criticized her book's success and her advocacy work. The intensity of the backlash grew and drove Jetté Knox to contemplate suicide. But instead of taking her life, on one sunny afternoon, she went to the hospital to seek help. One Sunny Afternoon is a searing testament to Amanda Jetté Knox's extraordinary reckoning with her past and present, to find hope in her future. Triggered by the online harassment, she wades through her personal history and details the incidents of violence, addiction, and sexual assault that have haunted her. When Amanda eventually receives a diagnosis of Anxiety Disorder and Mood Disorder (also known as complex PTSD) and dedicates herself to recovery, she emerges with newfound strength, resiliency, and confidence. One Sunny Afternoon is a profoundly moving and candid account of how trauma can shape us, but not define us, and reveals how even in our darkest moments--and on our most hopeless days--light can find its way in."--
Subjects: Biographies.; Autobiographies.; Personal narratives.; Jetté Knox, Amanda; Jetté Knox, Amanda.; Affective disorders; Anxiety disorders; Psychic trauma; Resilience (Personality trait);
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Sure, I'll join your cult : a memoir of mental illness and the quest to belong anywhere / by Bamford, Maria,1970-author.;
"From "weird, scary, ingenious" (The New York Times) stand-up comedian Maria Bamford, a brutally honest and hilariously frenetic memoir about show business, mental health, and the comfort of rigid belief systems--from Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People, to Suzuki violin training, to Richard Simmons, to 12-step programs. Maria Bamford is a comedian's comedian (an outsider among outsiders) and has forever fought to find a place to belong. From struggling with an eating disorder as a child of the 1980s, to navigating a career in the arts (and medical debt and psychiatric institutionalization), she has tried just about every method possible to not only be a part of the world, but to want to be a part of it. In Bamford's signature voice, Sure, I'll Join Your Cult, brings us on a quest to participate in something. With sincerity and transparency, she recounts every anonymous fellowship she has joined (including but not limited to: Debtors Anonymous, Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous, and Overeaters Anonymous), every hypomanic episode (from worrying about selling out under capitalism to enforcing union rules on her Netflix TV show set to protect her health), and every easy 1-to-3-step recipe for fudge in between. Singular and inimitable, Bamford's memoir explores what it means to keep going, and to be a member of society (or any group she's invited to) despite not being very good at it. In turn, she hopes to transform isolating experiences into comedy that will make you feel less alone (without turning into a cult following)"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Autobiographies.; Personal narratives.; Bamford, Maria, 1970-; Comedians; Mentally ill;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Finding Harmony [electronic resource] : by Walters, Eric.aut; cloudLibrary;
So what if Harmony has to be the grown-up? After months living in a foster home (again), Harmony convinces a judge that she can move back in with her mother. Her mom even finds an apartment that the social worker, Gloria, can't find fault with. But now Harmony has an even bigger battle ahead—trying to keep her mom on the straight and narrow, or at least keep Gloria from finding out when she slips. Which she does. A lot. Often left to fend for herself, Harmony finds an ally in Mr. Khaled, the owner of the convenience store across the street. He helps Harmony out with food in exchange for some part-time work. And at school, her principal seems to be on her side. Even so, it feels like Harmony’s life is always one step from falling apart, and she can't really trust anyone. Harmony knows the question is less about whether she'll return to foster care and more about when she's ready to do it. Finding Harmony is the prequel to the Governor General's award-winning The King of Jam Sandwiches. ★ “Tug at the heartstrings and tickle the funny bone…This warm tale is definitely one for the keeper shelves. Highly recommended.” —School Library Journal (SLJ), starred review for The King of Jam SandwichesKey Selling Points Harmony's finally allowed to leave foster care and go home to her mother, who struggles with drug addiction and alcoholism, but Harmony feels like the only one trying to make it work. The book's wise-beyond-her-years narrator, Harmony, shows us a child's experience of the foster care system and of living with a parent struggling so hard with their own mental health issues and addictions that the child essentially raises herself. Yet, the book also demonstrates how kids can resist and persevere in even the direst circumstances. Harmony finds helpers throughout her story—including her supportive friends at her new school, her principal (who also grew up in foster care) and the owner of the corner store, Mr. Khaled, who is a Syrian refugee—giving readers a sense of hope and faith in community. The multigenerational friendship between Harmony and Mr. Khaled shows two people who have survived difficult circumstances finding common ground and sheds light on the immigrant experience. This book is a prequel to the Governor General's award-winning The King of Jam Sandwiches, focusing on Robbie's friend Harmony.Children/juvenile.
Subjects: Electronic books.; Homelessness & Poverty; Orphans & Foster Homes; Drugs, Alcohol, Substance Abuse;
© 2025., Orca Book Publishers,
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The wonder of it all / by Bradford, Barbara Taylor,1933-author.;
"James Falconer--a tycoon and a self-made man--seems to have the world in the palm of his hand. But the Great War looms, and James decides to fight for king and country. The fighting is bloody and brutal, and James returns a changed man, with wounds both physical and mental. His beloved wife is dead, but a new woman returns to help nurse him back to health. Georgiana Ward once held James in her thrall, but years have passed and bitterness has set in. Still, the old attraction is there and James is determined to make amends to both Georgiana and his child Leonie--now a grown woman and someone he hasn't seen in decades. Leonie is having none of it, and is embarking on a dangerous journey with a man who might very well destroy her. As James fights to return to the man he once was, he needs to find a way to heal his body, soul, and family."--
Subjects: Domestic fiction.; Historical fiction.; Novels.; Families; Fathers and daughters; Interpersonal relations; Social classes; Veterans; World War, 1914-1918;
Available copies: 4 / Total copies: 4
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The wonder of it all [sound recording] / by Bradford, Barbara Taylor,1933-author.; Walker, Joan(Narrator),narrator.; Macmillan Audio (Firm),publisher.;
Read by Joan Walker."James Falconer--a tycoon and a self-made man--seems to have the world in the palm of his hand. But the Great War looms, and James decides to fight for king and country. The fighting is bloody and brutal, and James returns a changed man, with wounds both physical and mental. His beloved wife is dead, but a new woman returns to help nurse him back to health. Georgiana Ward once held James in her thrall, but years have passed and bitterness has set in. Still, the old attraction is there and James is determined to make amends to both Georgiana and his child Leonie--now a grown woman and someone he hasn't seen in decades. Leonie is having none of it, and is embarking on a dangerous journey with a man who might very well destroy her. As James fights to return to the man he once was, he needs to find a way to heal his body, soul, and family."--
Subjects: Audiobooks.; Domestic fiction.; Historical fiction.; Novels.; Families; Fathers and daughters; Interpersonal relations; Social classes; Veterans; World War, 1914-1918;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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A kind of mirraculas paradise : a true story about schizophrenia / by Allen, Sandra(Nonfiction writer),author.;
"Dazzlingly, daringly written, marrying the thoughtful originality of Maggie Nelson's The Argonauts with the revelatory power of Neurotribes and The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, this propulsive, stunning book illuminates the experience of living with schizophrenia like never before. Sandra Allen did not know her uncle Bob very well. As a child, she had been told he was "crazy," that he had spent time in mental hospitals while growing up in Berkeley in the 60s and 70s. But Bob had lived a hermetic life in a remote part of California for longer than she had been alive, and what little she knew of him came from rare family reunions or odd, infrequent phone calls. Then in 2009 Bob mailed her his autobiography. Typewritten in all caps, a stream of error-riddled sentences over sixty, single-spaced pages, the often incomprehensible manuscript proclaimed to be a "true story" about being "labeled a psychotic paranoid schizophrenic," and arrived with a plea to help him get his story out to the world. In A Kind of Mirraculas Paradise, Allen translates her uncle's autobiography, artfully creating a gripping coming-of-age story while sticking faithfully to the facts as he shared them. Lacing Bob's narrative with chapters providing greater contextualization, Allen also shares background information about her family, the culturally explosive time and place of her uncle's formative years, and the vitally important questions surrounding schizophrenia and mental healthcare in America more broadly. The result is a heartbreaking and sometimes hilarious portrait of a young man striving for stability in his life as well as his mind, and an utterly unique lens into an experience that, to most people, remains unimaginable"--
Subjects: Autobiographies.; Biographies.; Allen, Sandra (Nonfiction writer); Schizophrenia;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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