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Crooked teeth : a queer Syrian refugee memoir / by Ramadan, Ahmad Danny,author.;
"'Writing this memoir is a betrayal.' So begins this electrifying personal account from Danny Ramadan, a celebrated novelist who has long enjoyed the shield his fiction provides. Now, to tell the story of his life, he must revisit dark corners of his past he'd rather forget and unearth memories of a city he can no longer return to. Starting with his family's humble beginnings in Damascus, he takes readers on an epic, border-crossing journey: to the city's underground network of queer safe homes; to a clandestine party at a secluded villa in Cairo; through Arab Spring uprisings across the Middle East, a reckless hoax that threatens the safety of Syria's LGBTQ+ community, and a traumatic six-week imprisonment; to beaches and sunsets with friends in Beirut; to an arrival in Vancouver that's not as smooth as it promised to be; and ultimately to a life of hard-won comfort and love. What emerges is a powerful refutation of the oversimplified refugee narrative -- a book that holds space for joy alongside sorrow, for nuance and complicated ambivalences. Written with fearless intimacy, Crooked Teeth is a singular achievement in which a master storyteller learns that his greatest story is his own"--Back cover.
Subjects: Biographies.; Autobiographies.; Personal narratives.; Ramadan, Ahmad Danny.; Novelists, Canadian; Refugees; Refugees; Sexual minorities; Authors, Canadian (English);
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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An accidental odyssey / by Dyer, K. C.,author.;
"When an unexpected phone call derails a young woman's wedding plans, it sparks an epic adventure around the modern-day Mediterranean. Gianna Kostas is on the cusp of a fairy-tale life. Sure, she's just lost her job, but she's about to marry one of New York's most eligible bachelors. On her way to taste wedding cakes, though, things go sideways. Shocking news sends Gia off on a wild journey halfway around the world in pursuit of her ailing-and nearly estranged-father. In Athens, she learns Dr. Kostas, a Classics professor, is determined to retrace Odysseus's famous voyage. This is a journey her father is in no condition to take alone, so Gia faces a tough decision. When an unexpected job offer helps seal the deal and quash the guilt Gia feels from her disapproving groom-to-be, the journey is on. However, as Gia adventures-and eats-her way around the Mediterranean, she discovers that confronting epic storms and ripped surfer dudes might be the easy part. Along the way, as she uncovers family secrets, finds heartbreak, and learns more about a certain archeologist with secrets of his own, Gia discovers that fairy-tale endings might be messy and complicated, but they can happen anywhere"--
Subjects: Romance fiction.; Chick lit.; Archaeologists; Family secrets; Fathers and daughters; Man-woman relationships; Voyages and travels;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Sunshine nails : a novel / by Nguyen, Mai,1988-author.;
"A tender, humorous, and page-turning debut about a Vietnamese Canadian family in Toronto who will do whatever it takes to protect their no-frills nail salon after a new high end salon opens up-even if it tears the family apart. Perfect for readers of Olga Dies Dreaming and The Fortunes of Jaded Women. Vietnamese refugees Debbie and Phil Tran have built a comfortable life for themselves in Toronto with their family nail salon. But when an ultra-glam chain salon opens across the street, their world is rocked. Complicating matters further, their landlord has jacked up the rent and it seems only a matter of time before they lose their business and everything they've built. They enlist the help of their daughter, Jessica, who has just returned home after a messy breakup and a messier firing. Together with their son, Dustin, and niece, Thuy, they devise some good old-fashioned sabotage. Relationships are put to the test as the line between right and wrong gets blurred. Debbie and Phil must choose: do they keep their family intact or fight for their salon? Sunshine Nails is a light-hearted, urgent fable of gentrification with a cast of memorable and complex characters who showcase the diversity of immigrant experiences and community resilience"--
Subjects: Domestic fiction.; Humorous fiction.; Novels.; Families; Family-owned business enterprises; Interpersonal relations; Right and wrong; Vietnamese Canadians;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Tai chi fit over 60. [videorecording] / by Ross, David-Dorian,host.; Silver, David,film director,film producer.; YMAA Publication Center,publisher.;
Director of photography, Zach Shapiro; camera and sound, Gabe Twigg.Instructor: David-Dorian Ross.According to experts, including Harvard Medical School, one of the most effective and comprehensive forms of exercise is the ancient Chinese art of tai chi. But how do you begin? What are the moves and exercises you need to know when you are a beginner? And is it important to get all the moves right to avoid injury and receive the benefits? David-Dorian Ross answers these questions and more with this simple TaijiFit routine. Many people believe tai chi is difficult to learn. In reality, a main point of tai chi is to discover how effortless your movements can be. With tai chi, the less effort you apply, the more benefits you'll receive--quite a bit different from the fitness philosophy of "no pain, no gain." Ancient Chinese medicine says that when you exert yourself too much, you build up physical tension and mental anxiety. These create a blockage to the circulation of your life energy, known as qi, which is responsible for your health and well-being. There is nothing to "learn" in this program. You won't have to memorize a complicated routine or perfect any movements. Just smile, relax, and enjoy this simple tai chi workout.E.DVD ; wide screen presentation ; Dolby Digital.
Subjects: Instructional films.; Nonfiction films.; Exercise for older people.; Physical fitness for older people.; Tai chi for older people.; Tai chi.;
For private home use only.
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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One good deed [sound recording] / by Baldacci, David,author.; Ballerini, Edoardo,1970-narrator.; Hachette Audio (Firm),publisher.;
Read by Edoardo Ballerini.It's 1949. When war veteran Aloysius Archer is released from Carderock Prison, he is sent to Poca City on parole with a short list of do's and a much longer list of don'ts: do report regularly to his parole officer, don't go to bars, certainly don't drink alcohol, do get a job -- and don't ever associate with loose women. The small town quickly proves more complicated and dangerous than Archer's years serving in the war or his time in jail. Within a single night, his search for gainful employment -- and a stiff drink -- leads him to a local bar, where he is hired for what seems like a simple job: to collect a debt owed to a powerful local businessman, Hank Pittleman. Soon Archer discovers that recovering the debt won't be so easy. The indebted man has a furious grudge against Hank and refuses to pay; Hank's clever mistress has her own designs on Archer; and both Hank and Archer's stern parole officer, Miss Crabtree, are keeping a sharp eye on him. When a murder takes place right under Archer's nose, police suspicions rise against the ex-convict, and Archer realizes that the crime could send him right back to prison ... if he doesn't use every skill in his arsenal to track down the real killer.
Subjects: Thrillers (Fiction); Audiobooks.; Ex-convicts; Veterans; Murder;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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A summer love affair / by Chamberlin, Holly,1962-author.;
Sometimes you sense something, deep inside, long before it's proven true. Thirty-year-old Petra Quirk has always felt as if a vital element of her life is missing. It's not until she moves back to the small town of Eliot's Corner for the summer that she learns why. Rummaging in the attic, Petra comes across a diary. The discovery prompts her mother, Elizabeth, to make a confession to her three daughters. Decades ago, she fell in love with her husband's best friend, Chris--and Petra is Chris's child ... Elizabeth ended the affair before she learned she was pregnant, and Chris has no idea he's a father. Hugh, who Petra believed to be her dad, was a good-natured but self-centered, blustering man. He and Chris seemed to have little in common, though their friendship was genuine. Elizabeth loved Chris deeply yet refused to tear her family apart. Even since Hugh's death, she's resisted contacting Chris. But Petra, floundering and unsure of her path, is compelled to search out her biological father, though she knows it will complicate her relationship with her family.Over the course of two summers, decades apart, romance will be kindled and rekindled, life-altering decisions made, and secrets of the heart will come to light at last.
Subjects: Domestic fiction.; Novels.; Adultery; Diaries; Family secrets; Female friendship; Mothers and daughters;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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More or less Maddy : a novel / by Genova, Lisa,author.;
"A breathless, riveting novel about a young woman diagnosed with bipolar disorder who rejects the stability and approval found in a traditionally "normal" life for a career in stand-up comedy. Maddy Banks is just like any other stressed-out freshman at NYU. Between schoolwork, exams, navigating life in the city, and a recent breakup, it's normal to be feeling overwhelmed. It doesn't help that she's always felt like the odd one out in her picture-perfect Connecticut family. But Maddy's latest low is devastatingly low, and she goes on an antidepressant. She begins to feel good, dazzling in fact, and she soon spirals high into a wild and terrifying mania that culminates in a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. As she struggles to find her way in this new reality, navigating the complex effects bipolar has on her identity, her relationships, and her life dreams, Maddy will have to figure out how to manage being both too much and not enough. With her signature "deep empathy and insight" (Booklist), Harvard-trained neuroscientist and New York Times bestselling author Lisa Genova has crafted another profoundly moving novel that makes complicated mental health issues accessible and human. More or Less Maddy is destined to become another classic like Still Alice"--
Subjects: Psychological fiction.; Novels.; College students; Families; People with bipolar disorder; Stand-up comedy; Young women;
Available copies: 4 / Total copies: 4
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Hotel Cuba : a novel / by Hamburger, Aaron,author.;
Fleeing the chaos of World War I and the terror of the Soviet Revolution, practical, sensible Pearl Kahn and her lovestruck, impulsive younger sibling Frieda sail for America to join their sister in New York. But discriminatory new immigration laws bar their entry, and the young women are turned back at Ellis Island. With few options, Pearl and Frieda head for Havana, Cuba, convinced they will find a way to overcome this setback. At first, life in big-city Prohibition-era Havana is overwhelming, like nothing Pearl and Frieda have ever experienced--or could have ever imagined in the rural shtetl where they grew up. As the sisters begin to adjust, their plans for going to America together become complicated. Frieda falls for the not-so-dreamy man of her dreams while Pearl's life opens up unexpectedly, offering her a taste of freedom and heady romance, and an opportunity to build a future on her own terms. Though to do so, she must confront her past and the shame she has long carried. A heartbreaking, epic family story, Hotel Cuba explores the profound courage of two women displaced from their home who strive to create a new future in an enticing and dangerous world far different from anything they have ever known.
Subjects: Historical fiction.; Novels.; Jewish families; Jewish women; Jews; Jews, Russian; Man-woman relationships; Refugees; Sisters; Travelers;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Duplicity / by Thoft, Ingrid,author.;
"Gutsy Boston P.I. Fina Ludlow returns with a case that puts her faith to the test--in the latest addition to the critically acclaimed series by Ingrid Thoft. When Ceci Renard hires Ludlow and Associates to sue the hip new church that she believes has brainwashed her daughter, Fina Ludlow is assigned to the case. Covenant Rising Church has all the trappings of a less-than-holy organization: a slick young pastor and his comely wife; fancy houses and luxury cars; and devoted congregants who seem eager to part with their money. Fina wonders if Ceci disapproves of Covenant Rising's theology or the pastor's ability to solicit generous donations--until a prominent church member dies unexpectedly. Fina's investigation requires her to delve into the woman's life--both in and out of Covenant Rising--and ask a host of difficult questions. Is the pastor leading his flock astray? Did the church have a hand in the death or were there less savory elements in the woman's life outside the parish? The case proves to be a complicated morass of misplaced loyalties and questionable motivations, rivaled only by the current state of the Ludlow family. The return of eldest brother Rand sets in motion an explosive showdown that threatens the very fabric that holds the family together, forcing Fina to confront the true meaning of faith"--
Subjects: Detective and mystery fiction.; Women private investigators;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The sweet remnants of summer / by McCall Smith, Alexander,1948-author.;
"Our favorite moral philosopher is caught up in a delicate dispute between members of a prominent family as her husband, Jamie, is dragged into his own internecine rivalry. Isabel accepts an invitation to serve on the advisory committee of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, but soon finds herself swept up in an all-too-familiar dilemma. David is the grandson of a Scottish clan chief and is supportive of Scottish nationalism. But his fervent beliefs are threatening family harmony, especially because his sister Catriona's socialist views put her at odds with her brother. When their mother, Laura, a fellow committee member, asks Isabel to intervene, she tries to demur. But always one for courteous resolutions to philosophical disagreements, Isabel can't help but intercede. In the meantime, Jamie, having criticized Isabel for getting involved in the affairs of others, does precisely that himself. Jamie is helping to select a new cellist for his ensemble, but he suspects that the conductor may be focused on something other than his favored candidate's cello skills. With so many factors complicating matters, Isabel and Jamie will have to muster all their tact and charm to ensure that comity is reached between all these fractious parties"--
Subjects: Detective and mystery fiction.; Philosophical fiction.; Novels.; Dalhousie, Isabel (Fictitious character); Families; Man-woman relationships; Philosophers; Women philosophers;
Available copies: 3 / Total copies: 3
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