As he challenges classical semiological accounts of cultural representation in this ethnography of Melanesian religious phenomenology, Thomas Maschio shows that ritual and poetic performance are about the enactment, expression, and invention of the self. Maschio demonstrates how such emotions as nostalgia, anger, sadness, and grief are creatively transformed during the course of religious performance and expression into a form of cultural memory--one that juxtaposes a pattern of cultural meaning with the emotional feeling of plenitude the Melanesian Rauto call makai. Evoked during initiation, mourning, and agricultural rites, and figuring prominently in Rauto discourse about the self, makai joins personal memory to patterned sets of images and meanings that Westerners would call culture.

As he challenges classical semiological accounts of cultural representation in this ethnography of Melanesian religious phenomenology, Thomas Maschio shows that ritual and poetic performance are about the enactment, expression, and invention of the self. Maschio demonstrates how such emotions as nostalgia, anger, sadness, and grief are creatively transformed during the course of religious performance and expression into a form of cultural memory--one that juxtaposes a pattern of cultural meaning with the emotional feeling of plenitude the Melanesian Rauto call makai. Evoked during initiation, mourning, and agricultural rites, and figuring prominently in Rauto discourse about the self, makai joins personal memory to patterned sets of images and meanings that Westerners would call culture.

When Marie-Therese, daughter of Marie Antoinette, slips into the streets of Paris at the height of the French Revolution, she finds a world much darker than what she's ever known. When Marie-Thérèse Charlotte of France learns of the powerful rebellion sweeping her country, the sheltered princess is determined to see the revolution for herself. Switching places with a chambermaid, the princess sneaks out of the safety of the royal palace and into the heart of a city in strife. Soon the princess is brushing shoulders with revolutionaries and activists. One boy in particular, Henri, befriends her and has her questioning the only life she's known. When the princess returns to the palace one night to find an angry mob storming its walls, she's forced into hiding in Paris. Henri brings her to the workshop of one Mademoiselle Grosholtz, whose wax figures seem to bring the famous back from the dead, and who looks at Marie-Thérèse as if she can see all of her secrets. There, the princess quickly discovers there's much more to the outside world - and to the mysterious woman's wax figures - than meets the eye.

**THE MILLION COPY BESTSELLER** 'Rattling. Heartbreaking. Beautiful,' Atul Gawande, bestselling author of Being Mortal What makes life worth living in the face of death? At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade's training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. One day he was a doctor treating the dying, the next he was a patient struggling to live. When Breath Becomes Air chronicles Kalanithi's transformation from a medical student asking what makes a virtuous and meaningful life into a neurosurgeon working in the core of human identity - the brain - and finally into a patient and a new father. Paul Kalanithi died while working on this profoundly moving book, yet his words live on as a guide to us all. When Breath Becomes Air is a life-affirming reflection on facing our mortality and on the relationship between doctor and patient, from a gifted writer who became both. 'A vital book about dying. Awe-inspiring and exquisite. Obligatory reading for the living' Nigella Lawson

She ruined their lives. Now they’re going to destroy hers. ‘Someone is recreating every traumatic point in your life. They are doing this to make you suffer, to make you hurt and the only possible end game can be death. Your death.’ On the fourth floor of Chaucer House, two teenagers are found chained to a radiator. The boy is dead but the girl is alive. For Detective Kim Stone every detail of the scene mirrors her own terrifying experience with her brother Mikey, when they lived in the same tower block thirty years ago. When the bodies of a middle-aged couple are discovered in a burnt-out car, Kim can’t ignore the chilling similarity to the death of Erica and Keith – the only loving parents Kim had ever known. Faced with a killer who is recreating traumatic events from her past, Kim must face the brutal truth that someone wants to hurt her in the worst way possible. Desperate to stay on the case, she is forced to work with profiler Alison Lowe who has been called in to observe and monitor Kim’s behaviour. Kim has spent years catching dangerous criminals and protecting the innocent. But with a killer firmly fixed on destroying Kim, can she solve this complex case and save her own life or will she become the final victim? The heart-stopping and totally addictive new crime thriller from multi-million copy number one bestseller Angela Marsons will have you completely hooked. Read what everyone is saying about Dead Memories: ‘The book I've been waiting for without even knowing that I was… A great starting point for anyone new to the series… I couldn't put the book down…It is completely addictive and easily my new favourite in this series, I have a feeling I've said that before, but what can I say Angela Marsons seems to outdo herself each and every time.’ Rachel’s Random Reads, 5 stars ‘As always, another brilliant book by Angela Marsons featuring Detective Kim Stone and her team… Fast-paced and dark it kept me gripped from the first page to the last. Utterly superb.’Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars ‘The author writes to such a consistently high level. Yet again, gripping plot line, strong characters and a well-paced story that builds to a crescendo. If you haven't already tried this author do yourself a favour and start reading now.’ Worcester Source, 5 stars ‘Wow! Just wow.I knew I would be engrossed in this book so cleared my schedule today to read it cover to cover. I’m so glad I did!...’ Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars ‘Once again, she delivers a fast-paced, action-packed nail-biting roller coaster ride of a book… This is one series that just gets better with each book.’ Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars ‘Reading this instalment of Kim's life is like catching up with an old friend…Each book gives you some insight into her past… Angela gives to us yet another riveting, gritty, chilling insight into Kim's world… One scene in the book moved me to tears.’ booksbehindthetitle, 5 stars ‘I loved getting further into Kim’s psyche and learning more about her which only makes you like the character more. Bring on book eleven!’ Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars I blooming love this series. I love Kim, her vulnerability and tenacity, I love the interaction and banter between the characters…., another cracking addition to an already brilliant and well established series.’ Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars ‘The uber-sharp Kim Stone has to be one of the best detectives out there. A twisty, fast-paced plot stocked with red herrings.’ Bookpreneur, 5 stars ‘Angela Marsons is fast becoming one of the best crime fiction authors going. The Laughing Librarian, 5 stars

In this full length book with a new preface added, Barbara Karnes shares her insights and experiences gathered over decades of working with people during their final act of living. For both professionals and lay people, this book weaves personal stories with practical care guidelines, including: living with a life threatening illness, signs of the dying process, the stages of grief, living wills, and other end of life issues. The Final Act of Living: Reflections of a Long-Time Hospice Nurse is an end of life book; a resource that reads like a novel, yet has the content of a textbook.Barbara wrote this book following years of being a hospice nurse at the bedside of hundreds of people in the months to moments before death. From the stories and experiences she shares, you will see that death doesn't just happen, there is an unfolding; there is a process to dying. The Final Act of Living is used as:*A resource on end of life for palliative care nurses*A training handbook for hospice nurses and volunteers*A reference book for anyone working with end of life issues: Lay ministers, social workers, counselors, nurses, chaplains*An easy read for anyone interested in dying and grief*A text book in college and university classes, CNA training, social work and LPN/RN classesThis material may be described as an "end of life book" however, as the title states, its content and philosophy is all about The Final Act of Living.

From Kevin Brockmeier, one of this generation's most inventive young writers, comes a striking new novel about death, life, and the mysterious place in between. The City is inhabited by those who have departed Earth but are still remembered by the living. They will reside in this afterlife until they are completely forgotten. But the City is shrinking, and the residents clearing out. Some of the holdouts, like Luka Sims, who produces the City’s only newspaper, are wondering what exactly is going on. Others, like Coleman Kinzler, believe it is the beginning of the end. Meanwhile, Laura Byrd is trapped in an Antarctic research station, her supplies are running low, her radio finds only static, and the power is failing. With little choice, Laura sets out across the ice to look for help, but time is running out. Kevin Brockmeier alternates these two storylines to create a lyrical and haunting story about love, loss and the power of memory.