Everyone has fears. A fear of the dark, a fear of heights, or even a fear of the unknown can make leading an otherwise normal life difficult. But what if you were afraid not of the dark or of heights-but of other people? What if you were overcome with paralyzing terror and even pushed to the brink of sickness each time you talked with another person-even though you wanted more than anything to be with and enjoy the company of that person? In Learning to Play the Game: My Journey through Silence, author Jonathan Kohlmeier shares a coming-of-age memoir of his young life living with selective mutism-an extreme form of social anxiety. At first as a child being so afraid that he could barely speak outside of the home, Jon's story of struggle turns triumph as he is eventually able to join the debate team in high school. From the start of his journey in kindergarten to his high school graduation, Jon chronicles his desire to be "normal"-whatever that means. 2018 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist

Winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction, The Game of Silence is the second novel in the critically acclaimed Birchbark House series by New York Times bestselling author Louise Erdrich. Her name is Omakayas, or Little Frog, because her first step was a hop, and she lives on an island in Lake Superior. One day in 1850, Omakayas’s island is visited by a group of mysterious people. From them, she learns that the chimookomanag, or white people, want Omakayas and her people to leave their island and move farther west. That day, Omakayas realizes that something so valuable, so important that she never knew she had it in the first place, could be in danger: Her way of life. Her home. The Birchbark House Series is the story of one Ojibwe family’s journey through one hundred years in America. The New York Times Book Review raved about The Game of Silence: “Erdrich has created a world, fictional but real: absorbing, funny, serious and convincingly human.”

Follow the adventure of our hero, The Boy, as he runs from the noises of life, hoping to find Golden, Peaceful, Blissful Silence. Join in his amazement as he discovers Silence where he least expects it. This one-of-a-kind book will help children to use meditation and gratitude to help with the stress and constant stimulation of the outside world. The book ends with The Gratitude Spiral, a short exercise to help children to raise their awareness of help children change their perspective and also to relax and sleep.

Book 1 of a four-part series (paperback)

Rosaleen McDonagh writes fearlessly about a diverse experience of being Irish. 'Unsettled' explores racism, ableism, abuse and resistance as well as the bonds of community, family and friendship. As an Irish Traveller writing from a feminist perspective, McDonagh's essays are rich and complex, raw and honest, and, above all else, uncompromising.

The author, a computer science professor diagnosed with terminal cancer, explores his life, the lessons that he has learned, how he has worked to achieve his childhood dreams, and the effect of his diagnosis on him and his family.

What does one do when faced with any kind of challenge in life? And what if the challenges keep coming until it becomes a matter of life and death? Everyone is unique in their approach, and so is Marjan, an Iranian girl who immigrated to the US after getting married. All the childhood traumas and difficulties she faced even after coming to the US were brought front and center when she embarked on a journey of a lifetime when she got diagnosed with breast cancer. A Series of serendipitous events made her choose a path that she never thought she would and went against all she had learned her whole life in her upbringing and education. She had always followed her heart, but this time it was no easy task. On this journey, she finally learned to heal old wounds and transform beyond who she ever thought she was.