Stories and autobiographical narrations have particular importance in society, whether they are told, shared or just listened to. This book presents 19 narrations of authors about their own experiences as migrants. Coming from different parts of the world, they tell stories about struggles, development, doubt, challenges, hope and empowerment, sometimes amusing the reader and then again containing a saddening or thought-provoking undertone. These creative works are set in various cultural contexts such as for example Germany, Australia, South Africa, America, India or Hungary and describe how life experiences in different countries contribute to and influence the development of transcultural identities. This book is a must for readers interested in transcultural stories, creative writing and identity development in cultural and transcultural contexts.

Never mind the Real Housewives of Orange County—Marla Jo Fisher is the woman everyone can relate to, complete with bad parenting, rotten dogs, ill health, and fashion faux pas. For nearly two decades, in the Orange County Register and many syndicated papers, readers have delighted in Marla Jo’s subversive humor, cranky intellect, and huge heart on her journey through broke, single, after-40 motherhood, when she adopted Cheetah Boy and Curly Girl, to her oddball adventures around the globe, to the sublime ridiculousness of life next door. Even while facing a devastating diagnosis, Fisher teaches us that humor is the balm that eases and the very thing that binds us together.

Five friends are feeling bored on a hot sticky day. Just when they think theyll never find anything fun to place, a simple gust of wind changes everything Jacaranda Magic is a unique rhyming picture book that celebrates imaginative play and highlights the value of boredom and nature in inspiring creativity.

A decade ago, Tim Low journeyed to the remote northernmost tip of Australia. Instead of the pristine rain forests he expected, he found jungles infested with Latin American carpet grass and feral cattle. That incident helped inspire Feral Future, a passionate account of the history and implications of invasive species in that island nation, with consequences for ecological communities around the globe. Australia is far from alone in facing horrific ecological and economic damage from invading plants and animals, and in Low's capable hands, Australia's experiences serve as a wake-up call for all of us. He covers how invasive species like cane toads and pond apple got to Australia (often through misguided but intentional introductions) and what we can do to stop them. He also covers the many pests that Australia has exported to the world, including the paperbark tree (Melaleuca) that infests hundreds of thousands of acres in south Florida.

When Purvis Driggers, a South Carolina Low Country loser with little judgment and even less chance for a decent life beyond his parents' house, home town, and whatever part-time work he can scrounge up, seeks to rob an old man of the rumored millions hidden in his house and fails, he's drawn to the sound of music across the creek. There, he discovers a beautiful woman in a white gown being baptized in the water. Surely Martha, beautiful Martha, will give Purvis the escape he imagines. With the Martha boat come to his rescue, Purvis decides, he'll never have to worry about drowning. But Martha Umphlett is trapped, too. Made to take care of her obese mother and forced to participate in a baptism she has no interest in whatsoever, Martha, in her own way, is every bit as desperate as Purvis, but far more capable and a good deal more dangerous. As funny as it is sad, as beautiful as it is ugly, as authentic as it is shocking, and as powerful as anything you'll ever read, Ron Cooper's Purple Jesus is a mystery, a love story, a religious allegory, and, most importantly, a dark and comic descent into the lives and world views of these unbelievable and unforgettable characters.Purvis Driggers is a South Carolina Low Country loser. With little judgment and even less chance for a decent life beyond his parents' house, home town, and whatever part-time work he can scrounge up, he's sure he's figured a way out: Rob an old man of the rumored millions hidden in his house. But all he finds is the old man dead and the money, if there was any, already gone. Disappointed and defeated, Purvis is drawn to the sound of music across the creek. There, he discovers a beautiful woman in a white gown being baptized in the water. Surely Martha, beautiful Martha, will give Purvis the escape he imagines. With the Martha boat come to his rescue, Purvis decides, he'll never have to worry about drowning. But Martha Umphlett is trapped, too. Married and just as quickly divorced, Martha's been condemned to return to the home she'd once escaped. Made to take care of her obese mother and forced to participate in a baptism she has no interest in whatsoever, Martha, in her own way, is every bit as desperate as Purvis, but far more capable and a good deal more dangerous.Their paths cross with that of Brother Andrew, a monk at a nearby monastery whose call more and more is not to God, but to nature, and more importantly, to somewhere else. He wanders the swamp to watch birds, practice archery, and meditate, but it becomes clearer and clearer to him that the answers he seeks are not to be found in his monastery, his vow of silence, or the life he's thus far known. But maybe the answer is in the girl he, too, sees being baptised across the creek. Perhaps Martha will make Andrew happy. All three want and need something different in their lives, but the paths they'll take are neither clear nor pretty, and they will not end well. Infatuated with Martha, and certain she's the answer to his dreams, Purvis sets out to do whatever is necessary to prove his love, all the while terrified that the FBI will pin the old man's murder on him. Is he demented, or just crazy with love? Does Martha care for Purvis, or will she simply exploit him? Is Brother Andrew straying too far toward both of them and too far away from his faith? And just what is necessary for Purvis to prove himself to Martha?Told from the characters' alternating points of view, this darkly humorous story wends its way through a web of murder and dismemberment, a twisted love triangle, and a woodland monster known as the Hairy Man. As funny as it is sad, as beautiful as it is ugly, as authentic as it is shocking, and as powerful as...

A stunning debut novel set in post-revolutionary Iran that gives voice to the men, women, and children who won a war only to find their livesNand those of their descendantsNimperiled by its aftermath.