Search:

Everything and nothing at all : essays / by Wills, Jenny Heijun,author.;
Includes bibliographical references."From Hilary Weston Prize-winning author Jenny Heijun Wills comes a new collection of piercing, breathtaking essays on beauty, identity, and language -- as well as the grey zones that exist between and within these notions of self. As an adoptee, Jenny Heijun Wills has spent her life navigating the spaces of race and ethnicity. As a polyamorous, pansexual femme, she occupies a liminality between family -- adopted, biological, chosen -- and "freedom;" queerness and heteronormativity; monogamy and a constellation of love. As a person who self-harms to cope with mental illness, she moves between the desire to be beautiful and the urge to make herself ugly, preening in the limelight while daily wishing her body would disappear. And as a parent with a lifelong eating disorder, her love language is to feed, but she finds it near-impossible to consume anything herself. These facets of Jenny's personhood have served as both the anchors she has clung to, in the time before self-discovery and understanding, and the harsh parameters of what others now imagine she can be. Everything and Nothing At All weaves together literary criticism, cultural context, and personal history into a staggering tapestry of knowledge. Yet Jenny is acutely aware of the cost of this knowledge: the more she uncovers, the more parts of herself she must reconcile. And though she is guided by those who came before -- her Korean grandmother, Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, even Emily Brontë, when read with intention -- and the lovers she has sewn into her life, they cannot shield her from the combined weight of this knowledge. It feels at once like everything she has been seeking in order to set herself free, and that which threatens to extinguish her, one day, into nothing at all. Devastating, illuminating, and beautifully crafted, these essays breathe life into the ambiguities and excesses of Jenny's life, where she lingers always at the intersections within the intersections of identity."--
Subjects: Biographies.; Autobiographies.; Essays.; Personal narratives.; Wills, Jenny Heijun.; Body image.; Pansexual people; Self-perception.; Authors, Canadian (English);
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
unAPI

Silken Gazelles A Novel [electronic resource] : by Alharthi, Jokha.aut; Booth, Marilyn.; cloudLibrary;
An unforgettable story of friendship, love, and the impact of childhood from the first Arabic-language winner of the Man Booker International Prize. Raised as sisters, Ghazaala is devastated when her friend Asiya is forced to leave their small, mountainside village following a tragic circumstance. It’s a separation that haunts her into adulthood, and she never gives up on finding a love that might replace the bond they shared. Ghazaala soon falls for a young violinist, despite her parents’ opposition. His position in the Royal Oman Symphony Orchestra brings the young couple to Muscat, where Ghazaala enrolls in university while balancing the duties of a new wife, caring for her husband, their home, and before long, their twin boys. During this time, Ghazaala grows close to Harir, who recounts the story of their deepening friendship over ten years in the pages of her diary. The elusive, ghostly existence of Asiya exerts a force over both of their lives, yet neither Ghazaala nor Harir are aware of the connection. From the brilliant mind of Jokha Alharthi comes a tale of childhood friendship, and how its significance—and loss—can be recalibrated at different stages of life.General adult.
Subjects: Electronic books.; Contemporary Women; Cultural Heritage;
© 2024., House of Anansi Press Inc,
unAPI

Had it coming : what's fair in the age of #MeToo / by Doolittle, Robyn,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."An illuminating, timely look at the changing landscape of sexual politics by a popular journalist. For nearly two years, Globe and Mail reporter Robyn Doolittle investigated how Canadian police handle sexual assault cases. Her findings were shocking: across the country, in big cities and small towns, the system was dismissing a high number of allegations as "unfounded." A police officer would simply view the claim as baseless and no investigation would follow. Of the 26,500 reported cases of sexual assault in 2015, only 1,400 resulted in convictions. The response to Doolittle's groundbreaking Unfounded series was swift. Federal ministers immediately vowed to establish better oversight, training, and policies; Prime Minister Trudeau announced $100 million to combat gender-based violence; Statistics Canada began to collect and publish unfounded rates; and to date, about a third of the country's forces have pledged to review more than 10,000 sex-assault cases dating back to 2010. Had It Coming picks up where the Unfounded series left off. Doolittle brings a personal voice to what has been a turning point for most women: the #MeToo movement and its aftermath. The world is now increasingly aware of the pervasiveness of rape culture in which powerful men got away with sexual assault and harassment for years: from Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein, Bill O'Reilly, and Matt Lauer, to Charlie Rose and Jian Ghomeshi. But Doolittle looks beyond specific cases to the big picture. The issue of "consent" figures largely: not only is the public confused about what it means, but an astounding number of police officers and judges do not understand Canadian consent law. The brain's reaction to trauma and how it affects memory is also crucial to understanding victim statements. Surprisingly, Canada has the most progressive sexual assault laws in the developed world, yet the system is failing victims at every stage. Had It Coming is not a diatribe or manifesto, but a nuanced and informed look at how attitudes around sexual behaviour have changed and still need to change."-- Provided by publisher.
Subjects: Sexual consent; Sexual ethics; Sex and law; Sex; Sex;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
unAPI

Lucid dying : the new science revolutionizing how we understand life and death / by Parnia, Sam,author.;
Includes bibliographical references."A groundbreaking look at what happens to us when we die, based on the largest-ever research study run on recalled experiences of death. Today, for the first time in history, the scientific exploration of death and what happens when we die is real, active and ongoing. Contrary to popular perceptions, this subject is no longer the remit of philosophy, religion, or personal opinion. Truly remarkable scientific discoveries that will fundamentally affect everyone's lives now and in the future are taking place, yet very few people are aware of them. Most people -- including scientists and doctors-maintain strong beliefs about death and its experience. Those beliefs are rooted in traditional, and often cultural, notions of death. But what if all that we have come to believe about death is fundamentally wrong? What if the paradigm we have been operating within no longer exists? What if death is not the end we thought? Lucid Dying is the first book to share that science. Presenting data derived from multiple groundbreaking studies, Dr. Parnia shows that the entity we refer to as consciousness -- our Self -- does not seem to become annihilated when we die. In fact, during death, our consciousness vastly expands and leads to a vivid experience that follows a very specific narrative arc. These studies support that there really is a universal experience of death that is meaningful, transcendent, positive, and transformative -- not hallucinatory, delusional, or illusory as previously imagined. In his latest book, Dr. Parnia weaves empirical research with gripping stories to show us the truth of how death is not the end we all thought and how anyone can harness the newfound wisdom to lead deeper, more intentional lives."--
Subjects: Death (Biology); Death; Death.; Future life.; Near-death experiences.; Thanatology.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
unAPI

Fatal conveniences : the toxic products and harmful habits that are making you sick--and the simple changes that will save your health / by Olien, Darin,author.;
"The New York Times bestselling author of SuperLife and cohost with Zac Efron of the hit Netflix series Down to Earth, Darin Olien offers invaluable advice for addressing the health of our bodies and the health of the planet by identifying common products and behaviors that are harmful and providing alternatives that are non-toxic and life-enhancing. Fatal conveniences are the toxic products we routinely use and the unhealthy things we do that our culture and corporations have made us believe are safe and necessary for living well and efficiently. These things--from deodorant, cosmetics, dental floss, and sunscreen to laundry detergent, air fresheners, carpets, and crayons to candles, tea bags, cell phones, and chewing gum--are ubiquitous in daily life ... and they are wreaking havoc on our health and our planet. The environmental toxins found in these products create a cascade of problems, including chemical sensitivities, auto-immune issues, obesity, chronic health diseases, and more. Darin Olien has spent most of his adult life obsessively researching these "conveniences" and in this book, he raises our awareness of their dangers, demolishes the myth that "if it's easy, it must also be good," and gives us alternative choices to take control of our lives and our health. Fatal Conveniences offers a fresh perspective and achievable, small tweaks that will lead to big, life-enhancing changes."--
Subjects: Brand name products.; Commercial products.; Environmental protection.; Life change events.; Toxins.; Health; Public health;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
unAPI

Disorientation : being Black in the world / by Williams, Ian,1979-author.;
Includes bibliographical references."Bestselling, Scotiabank Giller Award-winning writer Ian Williams brings fresh eyes and new insights to today's urgent conversation on race and racism in startling, illuminating essays that grow out of his own experience as a Black man moving through the world. With that one eloquent word, "disorientation," Ian Williams captures the impact of racial encounters on racialized people--the whiplash of race that occurs while minding one's own business. Sometimes the consequences are only irritating, but sometimes they are deadly. Spurred by the police killings and street protests of 2020, Williams realized he could offer a perspective distinct from the almost exclusively America-centric books on race topping the bestseller lists, because of one salient fact: he has lived in Trinidad (where he was never the only Black person in the room), in Canada (where he often was), and in the United States (where as a Black man from the Caribbean, he was a different kind of "only"). Inspired by the essays of James Baldwin, in which the personal becomes the gateway to larger ideas, Williams explores such things as the unmistakable moment when a child realizes they are Black; the ten characteristics of institutional whiteness; how friendship forms a bulwark against being a target of racism; the meaning and uses of a Black person's smile; and blame culture--or how do we make meaningful change when no one feels responsible for the systemic structures of the past. With these essays, Williams wants to reach a multi-racial audience of people who believe that civil conversation on even the most charged subjects is possible. Examining the past and the present in order to speak to the future, he offers new thinking, honest feeling, and his astonishing, piercing gift of language."--
Subjects: Essays.; Williams, Ian, 1979-; Blacks; Blacks; Race awareness.; Race discrimination.; Race relations.; Racism.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
unAPI

Fi : a memoir of my son / by Fuller, Alexandra,1969-author.;
"From the award-winning New York Times-bestselling author, Alexandra Fuller, comes a career defining memoir about grieving the sudden loss of her twenty-one-year-old child. "Fair to say, I was in a ribald state the summer before my fiftieth birthday." And so begins Alexandra Fuller's open, vivid new memoir, Fi. It's midsummer in Wyoming and Alexandra is barely hanging on. Grieving her father and pining for her home country of Zimbabwe, reeling from a midlife breakup, freshly sober and piecing her way uncertainly through a volatile new relationship with a younger woman, Alexandra vows to get herself back on even keel. And then -- suddenly and incomprehensibly -- her son Fi, at twenty-one years old, dies in his sleep. No stranger to loss -- young siblings, a parent, a home country -- Alexandra is nonetheless leveled. At the same time, she is painfully aware that she cannot succumb and abandon her two surviving daughters as her mother before her had done. From a sheep wagon deep in the mountains of Wyoming to a grief sanctuary in New Mexico to a silent meditation retreat in Alberta, Canada, Alexandra journeys up and down the spine of the Rocky Mountains in an attempt to find how to grieve herself whole. There is no answer, and there are countless answers -- in poetry, in rituals and routines, in nature and in the indigenous wisdom she absorbed as a child in Zimbabwe. By turns disarming, devastating and unexpectedly, blessedly funny, Alexandra recounts the wild medicine of painstakingly grieving a child in a culture that has no instructions for it"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Autobiographies.; Personal narratives.; Fuller, Alexandra, 1969-; Authors, American; English; Grief.; Sons;
Available copies: 0 / Total copies: 1
unAPI