I wear black when I work out; it’s a funeral for my fat. Why a funeral? Because death is permanent; when something dies, it’s not coming back. Sharee Samuels was seventeen and 256 pounds when she hit her rock bottom. But with incredible determination and an unflaggingly positive attitude, she went on to lose more than one hundred pounds over the course of five years. When she began documenting her journey on Tumblr, she never expected to become such a powerful voice for health, fitness, and self-love, but her blog, called Funeral for My Fat, soon morphed into an inspirational guide for hundreds of thousands of individuals looking for support and advice on their own fitness journeys. Here Sharee tells her story. Integral to her success has been her burgeoning passion for teaching group fitness classes, including Zumba, as well as her commitment to eating vegan. However, she firmly believes that it is important for everybody to follow their own paths and find what works for them while treating themselves and their bodies with care and respect. If you have a journey ahead of you, Sharee has a story worth reading.

Forget everything you think you know about food. And don't blame yourself if you've struggled losing weight. "It is easy to get lost in the world of nutrition. 'Experts' and 'professionals' are quick to herald the latest and greatest as a quick fix to major health issues. How do we know what is tried and true versus a charlatan's snake oil? The answer, unfortunately, is hard work. Fortunately, with Fat Funeral, we have a guiding light that has shouldered the burden of filtering through the truth and lies of health."-Amazon Verified Review All diets are destined to fail in the long term-because they're short-term strategies. Instead, drawing on years of research in several different fields, Fat Funeral takes you on an education journey into the heart of weight loss. It answers questions, busts myths, and introduces The Five Golden Weight-Loss Habits-a system of simple, science-based habits that are proven, practical, and powerful enough to completely change your life.

August 1991. In a sweltering New York City apartment, a group of Russian émigrés gathers round the deathbed of an artist named Alik, a charismatic character beloved by them all, especially the women who take turns nursing him as he fades from this world. Their reminiscences of the dying man and of their lives in Russia are punctuated by debates and squabbles: Whom did Alik love most? Should he be baptized before he dies, as his alcoholic wife, Nina, desperately wishes, or be reconciled to the faith of his birth by a rabbi who happens to be on hand? And what will be the meaning for them of the Yeltsin putsch, which is happening across the world in their long-lost Moscow but also right before their eyes on CNN? This marvelous group of individuals inhabits the first novel by Ludmila Ulitskaya to be published in English, a book that was shortlisted for the Russian Booker Prize and has been praised wherever translated editions have appeared. Simultaneously funny and sad, lyrical in its Russian sorrow and devastatingly keen in its observation of character, The Funeral Party introduces to our shores a wonderful writer who captures, wryly and tenderly, our complex thoughts and emotions confronting life and death, love and loss, homeland and exile.

The bestselling author of Suck Your Stomach In & Put Some Color On! returns with more helpful how-to's and keen observations from Dixie. Guided by principles from the ancient Belle Doctrine, the host of radio and television's All Things Southern offers down-home advice on everything from health and fitness-managing thy caloric calculations without going Straight Running Crazy and surviving the Raging Inferno Syndrome (aka hot flashes)-to the Southern art of handling your man (Bubba Whispering). Whether giving business tips or debunking the Big Boned Theory, making political observations or celebrating the inevitable resurgence of big hair, Shellie is an adviser women can relate to and laugh with regardless of their age or which side of the Mason-Dixon they call home.

Follow the journey from A to Vegan of one of the world’s biggest(!) vegan bloggers and learn what the V-word really means – and why it matters. Fat Gay Vegan is exactly what he says in the name – he’s fat, he’s gay and he’s vegan. But for a word that's grown so popular, what does being vegan actually mean? Veganism has grown hugely in the last decade, but is surrounded by questions of ethics, of community, of celebrity food fads and spurious health claims. For the last seven years, Fat Gay Vegan has been a voice that cuts through the fuss and the fads. Now, he brings together his story with those of others to answer to the questions both vegans and non-vegans alike might have: • Why should I be vegan in the first place? • Does not being vegan mean I'm a bad person? • What should my friends and family do... and are they bad people? • Do I need to be a gym bunny to be worthy of veganism? (answer: no) • Can I still eat junk food if I’m vegan? (answer: definitely yes!) In Sean’s own words: When a wave of realisation swamps you and you come to learn how incredibly simple and sensible choosing veganism is, you’ll have me sitting up there in your head like a friendly, fat uncle whispering, “I knew you could do it.” The day will arrive when you proclaim, “Hey, if that fat gay guy can do it, so can I!” Packed with personal stories and non-preachy advice, this is a compassionate, no-nonsense guide to veganism from one of the community's biggest celebrities.

'The Alexander Trilogy contains some of Renault's finest writing. Lyrical, wise, compelling: the novels are a wonderful imaginative feat' SARAH WATERS In the final novel of her stunning trilogy, Mary Renault vividly imagines the life of Alexander the Great, the charismatic leader whose drive and ambition created a legend. Alexander the Great died at the age of thirty-three, leaving behind an empire that stretched from Greece and Egypt to India. After Alexander's death in 323 B.C. his only direct heirs were two unborn sons and a simpleton half-brother. Every long-simmering faction exploded into the vacuum of power. Wives, distant relatives and generals all vied for the loyalty of the increasingly undisciplined Macedonian army. Most failed and were killed in the attempt. For no one possessed the leadership to keep the great empire from crumbling. But Alexander's legend endured to spread into worlds he had seen only in dreams. 'Mary Renault is a shining light to both historical novelists and their readers. She does not pretend the past is like the present, or that the people of ancient Greece were just like us. She shows us their strangeness; discerning, sure-footed, challenging our values, piquing our curiosity, she leads us through an alien landscape that moves and delights us' - HILARY MANTEL 'The Alexander Trilogy stands as one of the most important works of fiction in the 20th century . . . it represents the pinnacle of [Renault's] career . . . Renault's skill is in immersing us in their world, drawing us into its strangeness, its violence and beauty. It's a literary conjuring trick like all historical fiction - it can only ever be an approximation of the truth. But in Renault's hands, the trick is so convincing and passionately conjured' Antonia Senior, The Times

About the Book Caiti Morris started in the year 1955, as she narrated, a tumultuous life growing up in Fair Green Housing Projects, along with her older brother Preston eight, and their younger siblings. After they outgrew their apartment, living arrangements became worse. Horrible conditions beat down the older kids, buckling their spirits. Their strong determination to protect their family while simultaneously being pulled in opposite direction resulted in a life of early labor, despair, anxiety, and subsequent murder. One child, scarred for a lifetime, something Pres and Caiti must keep to themselves. A best friend admits at a youthful age a secret they both must keep until their friend tragically meets his death. Determined to remove themselves from their troubling past, was not an easy thing to do, particularly during the height of the Jim Crow era. One by one each of the Morris children left home in search of a better life, gambling on their dreams but not without obstacles. Their adult lives came with tragedies they never imagined. About the Author Born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina, Priscilla D. Johnson was educated in Charlotte Mecklenburg School System. She attended Central Piedmont Community College and Queens University of Charlotte, North Carolina. A retired flight attendant, Priscilla now divides her time between traveling, writing, and community volunteering. Her travels exposed her to various cultures, economics, and social issues. Her craving for writing culminated with the aforementioned uniquely helped her fictional characters with a balance of interest, resilience, and perseverance. A fondness for the music of the fifties, sixties, and seventies propelled her to choose this era to bring forth All About Us an exciting read. She currently resides in Charlotte with her husband, Willie Spencer. Visit: Park Road Books 4139 Park Road Charlotte, NC 28209 (704) 525-9239 general inquiries: [email protected] book orders: [email protected]