'Ingrid's irreverent humour transforms rejection, fear and abandonment into rekindled love in her deeply healing memoir. A spiritual, emotional and entertaining tale of discovery.' Eva Mazza author of Sex, Lies & Stellenbosch 'You do know you're a nymphomaniac don't you?' My husband got up abruptly, picked up his pillow and moved from the bed to the couch. I felt totally crushed. A deep pain that started in the region of my heart finally engulfed my very being as I felt a million tears of rejection well up inside me. Instead of letting them run free in order to purge myself of their unwanted presence, accumulated over a lifetime of feeling starved of affection, I turned my face to the wall. And only let the few I couldn't control to dampen my unseen cheeks. Alone. Together. Loved. Forever. is a memoir with a difference. Yes, it is the life story of Ingrid Lomas, thus far, but it also happens to read more like a novel. By inviting the reader into her world on a warmly personal level she makes you feel that you are not simply an onlooker but part of her life's journey through every facet of every lesson she learns. Mostly the hard way. It's a book that has it's beginning in her mother's womb prior to her birth where she is subjected to an intimate peak into the life she will be living with her mother post birth. It proves to be an unnerving experience for her and one that makes her attempt something she lives to regret for many years following her arrival on Planet Earth. Although every word of this compelling read comes from a place of deep sadness, abandonment and rejection, they are largely delivered with a huge dollop of humour as Ingrid introduces you to all the influential players who once populated her world. Those she drew into her life to teach her how to overcome the obstacles put in the way of all eternal spirits revisiting Planet Earth for the purpose of spiritual growth. As well as to achieve the eternal happiness that we all desire to experience, not only in the hereafter but during our time on Planet Earth too. While her uneasy relationship with her mother takes centre stage there are others of equal importance. They include those with her grandmother, her father, her ex-husband and ones she forms with a variety of unsuitable men in her search for love and fulfilment during this adventure of a lifetime. All of them being integral in fact to her development and awareness as she strives, initially unbeknown to herself, to achieve her quest for the eternally beautiful life of the eternally beautiful. Alone. Together. Loved. Forever. is in essence a love story that is only able to truly unfold following Ingrid's 'Awakening'. But one that, by virtue of its exquisite and inclusive nature, is a never-ending story that promises to embrace the lives of everyone who chooses to open themselves up to true love. Now and forever more.

"Could there be a timelier gift to quarantined readers...? I doubt it."—The Washington Post "A heartening gathering of writers joining forces for community support."—Kirkus Reviews "Connects writers, readers, and booksellers in a wonderfully imaginative way. It's a really good book for a really good cause"—Bestselling author James Patterson ALONE TOGETHER: Love, Grief, and Comfort in the Time of COVID-19 is a collection of essays, poems, and interviews to serve as a lifeline for negotiating how to connect and thrive during this stressful time of isolation as well as a historical perspective that will remain relevant for years to come. All contributing authors and business partners are donating their share to The Book Industry Charitable Foundation (Binc), a nonprofit organization that coordinates charitable programs to strengthen the bookselling community. The roster of diverse voices includes Faith Adiele, Kwame Alexander, Jenna Blum, Andre Dubus III, Jamie Ford, Nikki Giovanni, Pam Houston, Jean Kwok, Major Jackson, Devi S. Laskar, Caroline Leavitt, Ada Limón, Dani Shapiro, David Sheff, Garth Stein, Luis Alberto Urrea, Steve Yarbrough, and Lidia Yuknavitch. The overarching theme is how this age of isolation and uncertainty is changing us as individuals and a society. "Alone Together showcases the human desire to grieve, explore, comfort, connect, and simply sit with the world as it weathers the pandemic. Jennifer Haupt's timely and moving anthology also benefits the Book Industry Charitable Foundation, making it a project that is noble in both word and deed."—Ann Patchett, Bestselling author, bookseller, and Co-Ambassador for The Book Industry Charitable Foundation

A groundbreaking book by one of the most important thinkers of our time shows how technology is warping our social lives and our inner ones Technology has become the architect of our intimacies. Online, we fall prey to the illusion of companionship, gathering thousands of Twitter and Facebook friends, and confusing tweets and wall posts with authentic communication. But this relentless connection leads to a deep solitude. MIT professor Sherry Turkle argues that as technology ramps up, our emotional lives ramp down. Based on hundreds of interviews and with a new introduction taking us to the present day, Alone Together describes changing, unsettling relationships between friends, lovers, and families.

Three women experience loss-and discover themselves.

A wimp and a winner switch places in the school pecking order

In SHIVER, Grace and Sam found each other. In LINGER, they fought to be together. Now, in FOREVER, the stakes are even higher than before. Wolves are being hunted. Lives are being threatened. And love is harder and harder to hold on to as death comes closing in.

A young child describes what it means to be adopted emphasizing that parents of adopted children chose them, love them, and will never leave them.