From #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Weiner comes a warmhearted and empowering new novel about love, family, friendship, secrets, and the power of a trip to change your life. Thirty-four-year-old Abby Stern has made it to a happy place. True, she still has gig jobs instead of a career, and the apartment where she's lived since college still looks like she just moved in. But she's got good friends, she's got her bike, and her bike club in Philadelphia. She's at peace with her plus-size body--at least, most of the time--and she's on track to marry her childhood sweetheart. Abby and Mark met at the weight-loss camp Abby's perpetually-dieting mother, Eileen, forced her daughter to attend. Fifteen years later, when Abby reconnects with a half-his-size Mark, and finds out that he still adores her, it feels like fate. Yet Abby can't escape the feeling that something isn't right...or the memories of one mind-blowing night spent with a man named Sebastian two years ago. So when Abby gets a last minute call to lead a group bike trip from New York City to Niagara Falls, she's happy to have time away from Mark, and a chance to make up her mind. But on the first day, Abby is shocked when she sees a familiar face in the tour group--Sebastian, the one-night stand she never thought she'd see again. As a serial dater who lives a hundred miles away, Sebastian is far from Mr. Perfect, and Abby is determined to keep her distance, even if their chemistry is undeniable. To make things even worse, there's a last-minute addition to the trip--Abby's mother, Eileen, whom Abby blames for a lifetime of body shaming and insecurities she's still trying to undo. Over the next two weeks, strangers become confidantes, hidden truths come to light, and a teenage girl with a secret will unite all the riders in surprising ways--while all of Abby's certainties about herself, her mother, and the nature of love are challenged.

“This is a terrific book, a dramatic family saga told in artful prose and filled with emotional turmoil, a few surprisingly touching moments but enough dysfunction for a couple of Eugene O’Neill plays.” —Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune When Rocky Wirtz took over the Wirtz Corporation in 2007, including management of the Chicago Blackhawks, the fiercely beloved hockey team had fallen to a humiliating nadir. As chronic losers playing to a deserted stadium, they were worse than bad—they were irrelevant. ESPN named the franchise the worst in all of sports. Rocky's resurrection of the team's fortunes was—publicly, at least—a feel-good tale of shrewd acumen. Behind the scenes, however, it would trigger a father, son, and brother-against-brother drama of Shakespearean proportions. The Breakaway reveals that untold story. Arthur Wirtz founded the family's business empire during the Depression. From roots in real estate, "King Arthur" soon expanded into liquor and banking, running his operations with an iron hand and a devotion to profit that earned him the nickname Baron of the Bottom Line. His son Bill further expanded the conglomerate, taking the helm of the Blackhawks in 1966. "Dollar Bill" Wirtz demanded unflinching adherence to Arthur's traditions and was notorious for an equally fierce temperament. Yet when Rocky took the reins of the business after Bill's death, it was an organization out of step with the times and financially adrift. The Hawks weren't only failing on the ice—the parlous state of the team's finances imperiled every facet of the Wirtz empire. To save the team and the company, Rocky launched a radical turnaround campaign. Yet his modest proposal to televise the Hawks' home games provoked fierce opposition from Wirtz family insiders, who considered any deviation from Arthur and Bill's doctrines to be heresy. Rocky's break with the edicts of his grandfather and father led to a reversal for the ages—three Stanley Cup championships in six years, a feat Fortune magazine called "the greatest turnaround in sports business history." But this resurrection came at a price, a fracturing of Rocky's relationships with his brother and other siblings. In riveting prose that recounts a story spanning three generations, The Breakaway reveals an insider's view of a brilliant but difficult Chicago business and sports dynasty and the inspiring story of perseverance and courage in the face of intense family pressures.

THE SUNDAY TIMES SPORT BOOK OF THE YEAR A retirement statement from a sports star rarely causes a flicker, but Nicole Cooke went out as she rode her bike: giving it her all. The contrast could not have been greater - as Lance Armstrong, a fraudster backed by many corporate sponsors and feted by presidents, was about to deliver a stage-managed confession to Oprah, so a young woman from a small village in Wales took aim. She too had been a cyclist, the only rider ever to have become World and Olympic champion in the same year, and the first British cyclist to have been ranked World No.1, but as a woman in a man's sport, her exploits gained little recognition and brought no riches. She too had ridden through this dark period for the sport when drug-taking was everywhere. Nicole Cooke spoke up for those who had taken a very different path to Lance and his team-mates. In her frank and outspoken autobiography, Cooke reveals the real story behind British cycling's rise to global dominance. With a child's dreams of success, she left home at 18 to pursue her goals in Italy. Broken contracts, unpaid wages, a horrendous injury and drugs cheats were just some of the challenges she faced, even before she lined up to take on her opponents. The Breakaway is a book that will not only inspire all those who read it, but which also asks some serious questions about the way society regards women's sport.

When Jason Marshall's younger sister passes away, he knows he can count on his three best friends and soccer teammates—Mario, Jordie, and Chick—to be there for him. With a grief-crippled mother and a father who's not in the picture, he needs them more than ever. But when Mario starts hanging out with a rough group of friends and Jordie finally lands the girl of his dreams, Jason is left to fend for himself while maintaining a strained relationship with troubled and quiet Chick. Then Jason meets Raine, a girl he thinks is out of his league but who sees him for everything he wants to be, and he finds himself pulled between building a healthy and stable relationship with a girl he might be falling in love with, grieving for his sister, and trying to hold onto the friendships he has always relied on. A witty and emotionally moving tale of friendship, first love, and loss, Breakaway is Kat Spears at her finest.

"The Breakaway" is a must have resource for any parent or provider looking for a concrete and realistic approach for guiding their neurodiverse teen into young adulthood. Inspired by the many families with whom the author has worked, the title refers to these, teens/developing young adults, as they face the challenge of taking greater initiative and responsibility for themselves. This practical and relatable guide is designed to help parents develop a plan and strategy appropriate for their specific circumstance. Through the use of real-world case studies and practical suggestions parents will learn to personalize their approach to include well-timed and purposeful nudges forward - promoting progress, not power struggles. Setting goals, creating game plans; staying engaged, but flexible; winning their Breakaway's trust and cooperation; maintaining a strong relationship even when the inevitable conflicts arise. How do you inspire your Breakaway? How high should goals be set? When should you reassess the plan? How do you provide helpful feedback? When should you intervene and when should you resist the impulse to panic? These are all things that are discussed. The book has been broken down into the major components of a winning strategy. Parents will learn to evaluate their Breakaway's Readiness For Change, the importance of setting the correct Expectations and giving good Feedback, dealing with the awkwardness of Identity Development, creating a culture of Accountability, allowing for the Resilience factor, projecting Commitment, as well as their own learning curve as parent, and the Human Experience. At the end of each chapter there are questions so the reader can apply the issues raised to gain insight into their Breakaway, and their development. By writing down answers and keeping a journal/notebook it is possible to work through and return to observations, thoughts and feelings at each stage of the process. This is essential to the creation and maintenance of an effective plan and strategy. At the end of the book there is a sample of such a journal, with an expanded case study. This added resource provides an additional point of reference, and is a great example of what another family implemented when faced with similar challenges.

Quiet, sensitive Faith starts middle school already worrying about how she will fit in. To her surprise, Amanda, a popular eighth grader, convinces her to join the school soccer team, the Bloodhounds. Having never played soccer in her life, Faith ends up on the C team, a ragtag group that’s way better at drama than at teamwork. Although they are awful at soccer, Faith and her teammates soon form a bond both on and off the soccer field that challenges their notions of loyalty, identity, friendship, and unity. The Breakaways is a raw, and beautifully honest graphic novel that looks into the lives of a diverse and defiantly independent group of kids learning to make room for themselves in the world.

When Naomi Jensen is kidnapped, it takes her parents two days to realize she's missing. Escape isn't high on her list of priorities when all she has to return to is an abusive boyfriend and parents who never paid much attention to her. For the first time in her life she's part of a family-even if it is a family of criminals. But she's still a captive. In a desperate attempt to regain some control in her life, Naomi embarks on a dangerous plan to make one of her kidnappers think she's falling in love with him. The plan works too well, and when faced with the chance to escape, Naomi isn't sure she wants to take it. Editorial Reviews: "Lush, literary, and multi-layered, The Breakaway is completely compelling. Michelle Davidson Argyle is a talent to watch!" Zoe Winters, author of Save My Soul "With secrets layered upon deception, The Breakaway is a book that kept me up late into the night. It has that amazing quality that left me thinking about the characters long after I was finished reading." P. J. Hoover, author of Solstice "Michelle Davidson Argyle is not only a writer of great skill, she is a writer with a very sharp and compassionate understanding of the human condition many of us fail to appreciate. I believed every word of The Breakaway. And you will, too." Jessica Bell, author of String Bridge "An unflinching portrayal of a young woman's growing attachment to the criminals who kidnapped her, Michelle Davidson Argyle's The Breakaway will leave your heart broken, but your spirit hopeful. You won't be able to put it down until you've read every last word." Jennifer Hillier, author of Creep "The Breakaway is a total mind-bender. This literary roller coaster ride of love, hate, right and wrong will leave readers riveted and breathless." Karen Amanda Hooper, author of Tangled Tides