The beloved bestselling collection of common sense wisdom from a celebrated psychologist and military veteran who proves it's never too late to move beyond the deepest of personal losses After service in Vietnam, as a surgeon for the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment in 1968-69, at the height of the war, Dr. Gordon Livingston returned to the U.S. and began work as a psychiatrist. In that capacity, he has listened to people talk about their lives--what works, what doesn't, and the limitless ways (many of them self-inflicted) that people find to be unhappy. He is also a parent twice bereaved; in one thirteen-month period he lost his eldest son to suicide, his youngest to leukemia. Out of a lifetime of experience, Gordon Livingston has extracted thirty bedrock truths, including: We are what we do. Any relationship is under the control of the person who cares the least. The perfect is the enemy of the good. Only bad things happen quickly. Forgiveness is a form of letting go, but they are not the same thing. The statute of limitations has expired on most of our childhood traumas. Livingston illuminates these and twenty-four other truths in a series of carefully hewn, perfectly calibrated essays, many of which focus on our closest relationships and the things that we do to impede or, less frequently, enhance them. Again and again, these essays underscore that "we are what we do," and that while there may be no escaping who we are, we have the capacity to face loss, misfortune, and regret and to move beyond them--that it is not too late. Full of things we may know but have not articulated to ourselves, Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart offers solace, guidance, and hope to everyone ready to become the person they'd most like to be.

On a winter's night in July 2012, Kathy and Ralph Kelly received a phone call no parent should ever have to answer. It was the Emergency department of a Sydney hospital, telling them that their eldest son Thomas had been in an altercation and that they were to come at once. Thomas had been coward punched by a total stranger within two minutes of getting out of a taxi in Kings Cross, on his way to a private 18th birthday party of a friend. Two days after that first phone call Kathy and Ralph were told that their son had suffered catastrophic head injuries resulting in brain death. They were advised that there was no other option but to switch off his life support. He was 18 years old. In the aftermath of their son's death, Kathy and Ralph became the public face of the campaign to end the drunken violence that plagued Sydney's major nightspots. Along with Premiers Barry O'Farrell and Mike Baird they helped institute the lock out laws that have been a major factor in the reduction of alcohol related deaths and injuries in Darling Harbour, Kings Cross and Sydney's CBD. They were also instrumental in creating Take Kare Safe Spaces ('Kare' with a 'K' after Thomas's initials) for young people in key nightspots, which has now registered over 52,000 interventions since December 2014, what the Kellys call 'sliding door moments', the difference between a young person's life continuing on as normal or degenerating into something terrible. And they were one of the driving forces behind the introduction of tougher sentencing for 'coward-punch' deaths. But their campaigning created a huge toll on their family. Online intimidation, death threats and false news about the mishandling of donations came from those with a stake in the clubs and businesses who were the lock out laws financial losers. When Stuart Kelly, Thomas's younger brother, went for his first night at University of Sydney's St Paul's College, Ralph and Kathy believe the bullying he experienced because of the family's profile was so traumatising he left university for good the next day, and wouldn't tell his parents exactly what he'd been made to endure. Five months later, on July 25th 2016, Stuart took his own life. This book is the Kellys' story. How they coped with one unimaginable tragedy, only to find that it had sowed the seed for another. How in the face of these terrible losses they have found the spirit and the drive to campaign first for a safer environment for all our children, and for a greater understanding of young people's self-harm and its drivers.

If life were easy, there would be no need for mentors, friends, or family. Inspiration and motivation would come naturally. Everything we ever wanted would simply come to us. But the reality is that life is a difficult journey we must travel. Sometimes the road will be smooth with a gusty wind at our back. At other times we will find ourselves mired in the mud. During those travels we use a map to find our way to the destination. This book is also a map to help guide you to that destination. It aims to inspire, motivate, and pull you from being mired in the mud. The stories you will find inside are like the many different routes on a map. While each has purpose and meaning, like the many different routes on a map, the stories will have different meanings for each of us. Simply allow the stories to be a guide for you to choose your own path. And while we may be on different paths; we each have the same destination in mind, which is a great life we all seek. So grab hold of the stories and allow them to be your guide as you travel through life. Live the journey and experience all the goodness that you pass along the way.

This sequel to Between Worlds: Essays on Culture and Belonging, Marilyn Gardner¿s first exploration of the Third Culture Kid (TCK) experience, probes more deeply into the journey that forms a TCK¿s identity. Memories of joy and pain, close friendships and loneliness interweave in this compelling portrait of an international childhood. In Growing Up Between Worlds, Marilyn Gardner traces a journey of growing faith and emerging identity in a small missionary community. From the close quarters of boarding school, to the strangeness of furloughs in her parents¿ native Massachusetts, this honest portrayal of a young girl¿s struggles with faith, friendship, and belonging will resonate deeply with anyone who has lived between worlds.

DIFFERENT . . . YET EXTRAORDINARY. What if the one person you loved more than anyone in the world wasn’t who you thought he was? What if he was someone different? Different yet extraordinary. Kate Kirby has been best friends with Ben for as long as she could remember. He was her beloved companion through childhood, and he was her rock and her strength during adulthood. When she faced tragedy, he comforted her. When she lost her way, he guided her home. Even when she pushed him away, he was never far. Through the ups and downs Kate always knew she could count on him. But what she didn’t know was that there was much more to Ben than what met the eye. Although ordinary by outward appearances and worldly standards, inwardly there was something indescribable about Ben. Something otherworldly. Would Kate ever realize the truth about her best friend? The truth that was staring her right between the eyes, yet she was blind to see. Journey with Kate as she experiences life and faith with a guardian quite literally by her side, and in the process embark upon your own journey of faith that will simultaneously comfort and challenge you.

In his winning collection of essays, So Far: Reflections on the Journey, author Ben Dillow writes of the un-common pleasures that come from the mundane elements of life: family, work, travel and play. Though autobiographical in nature, the narratives weave a web of common human experiences that will evoke nods of familiarity and smiles of appreciation. From the high expectations of an anniversary cruise to a simple home improvement project run amuck, these stories offer canny perspectives on lifes journey. Essay collections abound, but few can match the pleasures of Ben Dillows wonderful album. Just interested in good stories? Hes a master story teller, and like Garrison Keillor, he has an eagles eye for warmhearted humor in things we often miss. Whatever your mood or your need, Dillow has a story, a thought, an image, a frozen moment, or a surprising insight that can brighten your day and maybe even change the way you see your own journey. William E. McDonald

Clown Girl lives in Baloneytown, a seedy neighborhood where drugs, balloon animals, and even rubber chickens contribute to the local currency. Against a backdrop of petty crime, she struggles to live her dreams, calling on cultural masters Charlie Chaplin, Kafka, and da Vinci for inspiration. In an effort to support herself and her layabout performance-artist boyfriend, Clown Girl finds herself unwittingly transformed into a "corporate clown," trapping herself in a cycle of meaningless, high-paid gigs that veer dangerously close to prostitution. Monica Drake has created a novel that riffs on the high comedy of early film stars — most notably Chaplin and W. C. Fields — to raise questions of class, gender, economics, and prejudice. Resisting easy classification, this debut novel blends the bizarre, the humorous, and the gritty with stunning skill.