Ruth was raped while in grade school and her parents married her off at 14 because she was soiled goods. She had her first child at the age of 16. Then her husband was sent to England and she followed him. She then gave birth to her second child and it was very badly deformed. She came back to the states and her father said she was evil and that is why she had that child. She got a divorce and met another man that became a fireman. Every thing was looking up for them and her husband lost his leg. The firemen stood by them and help them get back on their feet. They could of never done it without the firemen.

David Close’s English mother Isobelle Harwood never knew her mother, who died from TB just after childbirth and his Irish father Jack Close never knew his father, who was jailed for bigamy. To the Irish, ‘close’ means ‘near-enough’ while Jack always was, legally speaking, a bastard. These sociological factors shaped their working-class family struggles before, during and after World War Two in England and reappear as ‘family karma’ down the generations of this now-scattered clan. His mother’s childhood memories of orphanage life in the 1920s were followed by years of domestic servitude in the houses of her rich or unscrupulous ‘betters’ until she trained as a nurse during the war. She calls this story ‘Finding Myself’, which is part 1 of this book. Isobelle saw a photograph of and became pen-pals with an Irish nurses’ brother called Jack, a sailor on Atlantic convoy duties who she married on Victory in Europe Day in May 1945. David was born in June the following year. The second section ‘Knowing Myself’ reveals their married life until Isobelle’s battle with life-threatening TB when she was thirty years old in 1953. On recovery, her doctors claimed that if she lived in a dry climate and had no more children she would have a life-expectancy of ten more years. However, she produced two more offspring and managed to ride for an hour on a camel in China at the age of seventy-six. Part 3 contains David’s childhood memories of England, Ireland and in 1961 the first ten years of family life in Oz. Some of his father Jack’s wartime exploits and then his untimely death in 1982 lead the reader into the last section titled Release Retrospectives containing his mother’s mature reflections on grief, life and the all and everything, as well as her Back to Britain and Silk Road Diaries. Her son David’s lifelong troubled relationship with his father is explored in his other autobiographical works, but his two chapters titled ‘Close encounters of the personal secret kind’ and ‘Conflicts and growth amidst grief’ explore three of the Close family’s personal experiences of communications from beyond the grave – pointing towards reincarnation being cosmic reality central to any ‘Divine Plan’ and the healing answer to why we are here…

*Now a Hulu limited series starring Lily Gladstone, Riley Keough, and Archie Panjabi!* “A swift, harrowing classic perfect for these unnerving times.” —Jenny Offill, author of Dept. of Speculation One moonlit night, fourteen-year-old Reena Virk went to join friends at a party and never returned home. In this “tour de force of crime reportage” (Kirkus Reviews), acclaimed author Rebecca Godfrey takes us into the hidden world of the seven teenage girls—and boy—accused of a savage murder. As she follows the investigation and trials, Godfrey reveals the startling truth about the unlikely killers. Laced with lyricism and insight, Under the Bridge is an unforgettable look at a haunting modern tragedy.

This book is a detailed oral history of early San Pedro punk, from 1977 to 1985, told through countless interviews with artists, locals and fans, all of whom lived there or lived through it. Topics include iconic gigs by bands the Minutemen, Black Flag, the Descendents, and lesser-known but highly original and fascinating artists; personal interviews with the major players, friends and families; and descriptions of the nightlife haunts and hangouts, all told through never-before-published thoughts, memories, and opinions from that seminal time. The interviews are woven together in a firsthand narrative of this innovative music and arts scene, often dismissed as too remote, too artsy, and too experimental for the prevailing hardcore and rock scenes of the time. Years later, this book provides fascinating details of the iconic scene now sought after by music and history fans and those interested in the hidden gems of Los Angeles culture of the '70s and '80s.

Can you build a future if you don't let go of the past? Louise Hamilton has returned to Sydney after her long term relationship broke down in Brisbane. She's loving her new job at Glow, Darlinghurst's freshly opened yoga studio. She has found new friends in her boss Amber and the gang at the Pink Bean and feels like her life is finally back on track. Until a figure from her past unexpectedly comes back to haunt her. Mia Miller has just been hired as the Pink Bean's new manager. She's delighted to leave behind the corporate life and become part of a small business whose owners and patrons give her the sense of community she's been missing. When a Pink Bean customer catches her eye and she tries to establish a connection, her advances are met with nothing but indifference and disdain. What happens when a dark past comes back to slap you in the face? And can people ever truly move on from a deeply traumatizing experience? Find out in book five of best-selling lesbian romance author Harper Bliss' Pink Bean series! Every book in this series can be read as a stand-alone without having read the other instalments. ★★★★★ "Eloquent and Beautiful!" THE PINK BEAN SERIES: 1. No Strings Attached 2. Beneath the Surface 3. Everything Between Us 4. This Foreign Affair 5. Water Under Bridges 6. No Other Love 7. Love Without Limits 8. Crazy For You 9. More Than Words

Wearing a police wire, a skateboarding street boy from Spokane confronts the drug dealer who threatens to kill his brother.

It's in the back of every officer's mind: the bullet that could end his or her life. They take the risk and are heroes for it-but can you imagine doing this at a time when bulletproof vests were not standard? In the early 80s Hawkins and his partner chased down a suspect in Atlantic City NJ only to end up in a shoot out. This is hardly out of the ordinary-except Hawkins wasn't wearing a vest because it was not yet part of operations policy. His partner was wearing a vest, but he died and Hawkins lived. This is an autobiography unlike any you've ever read before. The details of Wesley Hawkins's personal history channel emotions and reactions you can hardly anticipate. Read the inside story of real politics and police work as Hawkins shares the miracle of his survival that he knows only God is responsible for.