A New York Times and USA Today Bestseller For the first time, Nicole Curtis, the star of the megahit HGTV and DIY Network show Rehab Addict, reveals her private struggles, her personal victories, and the inspiring lessons we can all learn from them. Nicole Curtis is the tough, soulful, charismatic dynamo who for the past twenty years has worked tirelessly to restore historical houses, often revitalizing neighborhoods in the process. And also, in the process, drawing millions of fans to her television show, Rehab Addict, where they follow each step of the hard work and singular vision that transform the seemingly lost cause of a run-down building into a beautifully restored home. But there is so much more to this self-taught expert and working mom. With hersignature irresistible honesty and energy, Curtis writes about a project that every reader will find compelling: how she rehabbed herself. Better Than New reveals what’s not seen on TV—Curtis’s personal battles and her personal triumphs, her complicated relationships, her life as a single mother, the story of how she got started remodeling houses, and the consuming ins and outs of producing a megahit television show while keeping up with two kids, two rescue dogs, and countless tasks on her home renovation punch lists. Followers of the show will get an inside look at some of her most famous restorations, including the Dollar house, the Minnehaha house, the Campbell Street project, and the Ransom Gillis mansion. Part inspirational memoir and part self-help guide, Better Than New is a journey ineight chapters—each pinned to the story of a house that Curtis has remodeled, each delivering a hard-fought lesson about life—that takes readers to the place we all want to be: home.

Give old furniture a new lease of life, save money and help the planet with this beautifully illustrated guide to upcycling. Renovating tired old furniture can make it look as good as new – or even better! It can be a cost-effective and more sustainable solution than buying modern replacements, encouraging creative thinking and resulting in eye-catching and unique pieces. In this colourfully illustrated guide by furniture artist and upcycling expert Chloe Kempster, you can learn all the tricks of the trade to revitalise well-loved but worn out furniture. Throughout the 15 step-by-step examples in this book – ranging from a textured bombe chest to a decoupaged wardrobe, and a hand-painted floral cupboard – there is plenty of advice regarding design and preparation, the types of paint and variety of decoration that can be used, and ideas for how to make your project really stand out. Whether you are tailoring something to fit a new look in your home or revamping pieces to sell on to others, this book offers inspiration and advice both to keen beginners and those wanting to expand their existing skills.

It would be wonderful if every Christian could maintain the newness and wholesomeness of his or her salvation experience. But the unfortunate reality is Christians do sin. There may be a number of Josephs and Daniels within the ranks of Christendom who succeed in retaining a sterling character from start to finish. Human experience, however, reveals that the greater part of God’s family consists of people like David, Samson, Jonah, Jacob, and Simon Peter; people who, for one reason or another, lose the enthusiasm, spiritual strength, and sensitivity that once characterized their lives. Spiritual battles, temptations, disappointments, and failures take their toll. Harmful indiscretions cause painful bruising to the soul. Prodigal sons and daughters abound. But in spite of self-inflicted wounds there is good news; there is great news. God’s love and compassion abound even more. His desire is not to discard damaged lives. God’s intention is to restore wayward sons and daughters to their proper place in His family. The Father’s plan is to make them “better than new.” This book explores the process by which the “better than new” condition can be realized.

What's Better Than New? God's Best You've made a commitment to see your marriage healed, so now what? Whether your relationship is recovering from an affair, pornography addiction, or just years of coasting, Cindy Beall shares from her redeemed-marriage journey to help you trust completely in God's ability and grace heal deeply by restoring faith in a future build wisely from the foundation up live fully by embracing your renewed relationship invest generously in your marriage and in other people Insightful questions, biblical teachings to counter lies, and stories of rebuilt marriages lead you to God's healing and the hope of helping others from the place you once had deep pain. Cindy Beall provides undeniable proof that God is a Redeemer regardless of how messy, difficult, or painful our current relationships are. Lisa Harper, bestselling author and Bible teacher I'm a massive Cindy Beall fan. If your relationship needs a tune-up or a complete overhaul, read this book with an open heart and I believe God will do a new work in you. Craig Groeschel, senior pastor of Life.Church

Give old furniture a new lease of life, save money and help the planet with this beautifully illustrated guide to upcycling. Renovating tired old furniture can make it look as good as new – or even better! It can be a cost-effective and more sustainable solution than buying modern replacements, encouraging creative thinking and resulting in eye-catching and unique pieces. In this colourfully illustrated guide by furniture artist and upcycling expert Chloe Kempster, you can learn all the tricks of the trade to revitalise well-loved but worn out furniture. Throughout the 15 step-by-step examples in this book – ranging from a textured bombe chest to a decoupaged wardrobe, and a hand-painted floral cupboard – there is plenty of advice regarding design and preparation, the types of paint and variety of decoration that can be used, and ideas for how to make your project really stand out. Whether you are tailoring something to fit a new look in your home or revamping pieces to sell on to others, this book offers inspiration and advice both to keen beginners and those wanting to expand their existing skills.

A veritable "tko of terminology," Better Than Great is the essential guide for describing the extraordinary — the must have reference for anyone wishing to rise above tired superlatives. Deft praise encourages others to feel as we do, share our enthusiasms. It rewards deserving objects of admiration. It persuades people to take certain actions. It sells things. Sadly, in this "age of awesome," our words and phrases of acclaim are exhausted, all but impotent. Even so, we find ourselves defaulting to such habitual choices as good, great, and terrific, or substitute the weary synonyms that tuble our of a thesaurus — superb, marvelous, outstanding, and the like. The piling on of intensifers such as the now-silly "super," only makes matters worse and negative modifiers render our common parlance nearly tragic. Until now. Arthur Plotnik, the wunderkind of word-wonks is, without mincing, proffering a well knit wellspring of worthy and wondrous words to rescue our worn-down usage. Plotnik is both hella AND hecka up to the task of rescuing the English language and offers readers the chance to never be at a loss for words!

In 1938, two rival expeditions descend on an ancient temple recently discovered in the jungles of Honduras, one intending to shoot a huge Hollywood production on location there, the other to disassemble the temple and ship it back to New York. A seemingly endless stalemate ensues. Twenty years later, a rogue CIA agent sets out to exploit the temple for his own ends, unaware that it is a locus of conspiracies far grander than anyone could ever have guessed. Shot through with intrigue, ingenuity, and adventure, and showcasing Beauman’s riotous humor, spectacular imagination, and riveting prose, Madness Is Better Than Defeat is a novel without parallel: inventive, anarchic, and delightfully insane.