A talented, devoted anesthesiologist, with a coveted academic position. A lovely, accomplished financial analyst with a glamorous social life, a high-rise apartment, and a dirty little secret. A chance encounter, a night of passion, a confessed preference for opioids...In this sordid tale of infatuation, temptation, and intoxication, Dr. Kurt McCain rises to a pinnacle of popularity and self-regard that he could not previously have imagined, only to realize that his pursuit of drug-induced euphoria has cost him nearly everything that he holds dear. His position, his profession, and his relationships with those he loves are destroyed, and the young physician finds himself at the lowest point of his life, disconsolate and alone. He must somehow summon all of his energies to overcome a dependence on opioids while making a desperate attempt at the restoration of his practice, and for redemption in the eyes of those who care for him. The nation is riven by a devastating epidemic that continues even as the COVID epidemic fades- opioids are killing Americans in unprecedented numbers. While physicians are often implicated among the many causes of this scourge, little attention is paid to the potential for doctors and nurses to become addicts themselves. Anesthesiologists and nurse anesthetists, who administer opioids with great regularity, are among the most susceptible providers. The Stairs On Billy Buck Hill, a 100,000-word literary novel, relates one physician's travails as he progresses from the carefully controlled, recreational use of opioid pills, to the brazen theft of fentanyl from his patients in the operating room, a treacherous descent that leads to the destruction of his career, his social standing, and very nearly himself.

JOHNSTONE COUNTRY. WHERE DEATH RIDES FASTER THAN THE WIND. A blazing new series takes you back to the lawless frontier where every stagecoach was a moving target. Where every passenger needed protection. And where every hired gun who rides along better be fast on the draw—or be dead on arrival . . . RIDING SHOTGUN If anyone knows the road to purgatory, it’s Red Ryan. As a stagecoach guard, he’s faced holdups, ambushes, and all-out attacks from every kill-crazy outlaw, Indian, and prairie rat. But even he’s a bit reluctant to take on his next job: riding shotgun with his driver Buttons Muldoon on a stage bound from Fort Concho, Texas, to Fort Bliss. Word has it, the Apaches are on the warpath. They’re being led by the vicious war chief Ilesh, which means “Lord of the Earth.” And this lord means business, as in slaughtering every Texan from here to El Paso. Red wants to postpone the stage. But an army major’s beautiful but stubborn wife insists they leave—or she’ll go it alone. So Red has no choice . . . Thus begins a nightmare journey into 400 miles of harsh, unforgiving terrain, blood-drunk killers, and one scheming devil who plans to paint the town of El Paso red—starting with Red’s blood . . . Live Free. Read Hard.

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We all have a reason to love reading. Reading opens your mind.Reading is a shared journey.Reading builds bridges.Reading is an act of faith.Reading can take you to a place called hope.In honor of Scholastic's 100th Anniversary, it asked a hundred of its authors and illustrators to answer the question: What's a reason you love reading? The response is a dazzling collection that gets to the heart of why books matter so much, to so many people. Whether they are remembering a book that meant the world to them or conjuring the magical way that books took them to worlds far beyond their own, these authors show us with exuberance, insight, and humor how the joys of reading are often inseparable from the joys of life itself.