You dream, you love, you lose, you change and gosh, there is still so much more. These are the most important verbs of your life each of which represent how you experience and define your world. So, excuse me but I can't resist sharing my notes with you on this. Read this book when you are at the beach, on your way to work, or on your couch with a cup of tea. At this point I don't even know if I wrote this book for me or, perhaps, for you. Let's say we both need it. My notes can dig deep, but only when they have to and bring you a smile when you desperately need one. And when you finish the last page, you will feel like you met that one good old friend again and talked about lifeyou know?

A five-time Moth GrandSLAM winner and bestselling novelist shows how to tell a great story — and why doing so matters. Whether we realize it or not, we are always telling stories. On a first date or job interview, at a sales presentation or therapy appointment, with family or friends, we are constantly narrating events and interpreting emotions and actions. In this compelling book, storyteller extraordinaire Matthew Dicks presents wonderfully straightforward and engaging tips and techniques for constructing, telling, and polishing stories that will hold the attention of your audience (no matter how big or small). He shows that anyone can learn to be an appealing storyteller, that everyone has something “storyworthy” to express, and, perhaps most important, that the act of creating and telling a tale is a powerful way of understanding and enhancing your own life.

New York Times bestselling author, superstar comedian, and Hollywood box office star Kevin Hart turns his immense talent to the written word in this “hilarious but also heartfelt” (Elle) memoir on survival, success, and the importance of believing in yourself. The question you’re probably asking yourself right now is: What does Kevin Hart have that a book also has? According to the three people who have seen Kevin Hart and a book in the same room, the answer is clear: A book is compact. Kevin Hart is compact. A book has a spine that holds it together. Kevin Hart has a spine that holds him together. A book has a beginning. Kevin Hart’s life uniquely qualifies him to write this book by also having a beginning. It begins in North Philadelphia. He was born an accident, unwanted by his parents. His father was a drug addict who was in and out of jail. His brother was a crack dealer and petty thief. And his mother was overwhelmingly strict, beating him with belts, frying pans, and his own toys. The odds, in short, were stacked against our young hero. But Kevin Hart, like Ernest Hemingway, J.K. Rowling, and Chocolate Droppa before him, was able to defy the odds and turn it around. In his literary debut, he takes us on a journey through what his life was, what it is today, and how he’s overcome each challenge to become the man he is today. And that man happens to be the biggest comedian in the world, with tours that sell out football stadiums and films that have collectively grossed over $3.5 billion. He achieved this not just through hard work, determination, and talent. “Hart is an incredibly magnetic storyteller, on the page as he is onstage, and that’s what shines through [in this] genial, entertaining guide to a life in comedy” (Kirkus Reviews).

In a quiet English town, a college student lives on the margins of life, their world confined by the walls of chronic illnesses, and the whispers of a life they long to live. They seek refuge under the Willow tree, and within the dusty corners of the old college library, where the stories of others become their only escape. But one day, they stumble upon something unexpected, something that feels different from everything they have always known. It's a discovery that connects them to a world they never imagined - a world where they are not as alone as they once believed. This story is filled with sadness and glimpses of hope. Will they surrender to the shadows, or rewrite their story and discover the courage to live on their terms? Join them in this moving tale that proves that even in the face of a lifelong illness, one can find strength, solace, and the will to live.

Welcome to 'My Brain in Words,' where I've gathered my thoughts and feelings and turned them into short texts, poems, journal prompts, and questions. It's like taking a peek inside my mind and seeing the world through my eyes. For years I wrote down these texts in my phone note app until now, when I finally get to share them with you. But more than just sharing my own perspective, I hope to spark something within you. Through these words, I aim to offer a fresh perspective, a new way of thinking and seeing things. It's like we're on an expedition together, exploring the uncharted territories of the mind and soul. Who knows what we might find along the way? The possibilities are endless.

Ethnologia Europaea has set itself the task of breaking down not only the barriers which divided research into Europe from general ethnology, but also the barriers between the various national schools within the continent. With this manifesto Ethnologia Europaea was started in 1969. Since then, it has acquired a central position in the international co-operation between ethnologists in the various European countries, in the East as well as the West. It is, however, a journal of topical interest, not only for ethnologists, but also for anthropologists, social historians and others studying the social and cultural forms of everyday life in recent and historical European societies.

This book presents research findings on the overall process of storytelling as a social event in Japanese everyday conversations focusing on the relationship between a story and surrounding talks, the social and cultural aspects of the participants, and the tellability of conversational stories. Focusing on the participants' verbal and nonverbal behavior and their use of linguistic devices, the chapters describe how the participants display their orientation to the a) embeddedness of the story in the conversation, b) their views of past events, c) their knowledge about the story content and elements, and d) their social circumstances, and how these four elements are relevant for a story becoming worth telling and sharing. The book furthers the sociolinguistic analysis of conversational storytelling by describing how the participants' concerns about social circumstances as members of a particular community, specifically their role relationships and interpersonal relationships with others, influence the shape of their storytelling.