Collected stories by George Archibald, Co-Founder of the International Crane Foundation.

A memoir in essays that expands on the viral sensation “The Crane Wife” with a frank and funny look at love, intimacy, and self in the twenty-first century. From friends and lovers to blood family and chosen family, this “elegant masterpiece” (Roxane Gay, New York Times bestselling author of Hunger) asks what more expansive definitions of love might offer ​us all. A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: TIME, THE GUARDIAN, GARDEN & GUN "Hauser builds their life's inventory out of deconstructed personal narratives, resulting in a reading experience that's rich like a complicated dessert—not for wolfing down but for savoring in small bites." —The New York Times “Clever, heartfelt, and wrenching.” —Time “Brilliant.” —Oprah Daily Ten days after calling off their wedding, CJ Hauser went on an expedition to Texas to study the whooping crane. After a week wading through the gulf, they realized they'd almost signed up to live someone else's life. What if you released yourself from traditional narratives of happiness? What if you looked for ways to leave room for the unexpected? In Hauser’s case, this meant dissecting pop culture touchstone, from The Philadelphia Story to The X Files, to learn how not to lose yourself in a relationship. They attended a robot convention, contemplated grief at John Belushi’s gravesite, and officiated a wedding. Most importantly, they mapped the difference between the stories we’re asked to hold versus those we choose to carry. Told with the late-night barstool directness of your wisest, most bighearted friend, The Crane Wife is a book for everyone whose path doesn't look the way they thought it would; for everyone learning to find joy in the not-knowing and to build a new sort of life story, a new sort of family, a new sort of home to live in.

Syndicated columnist Sharon Randall's writing style is intensely personal and unmistakably authentic, as if she were writing a letter to a trusted friend. She shares stories of how her blind brother once tried to drive a car; her sister lost a wig on a bumper car ride; her husband coached basketball while battling cancer; and her oldest child grew up to be "not a real doctor, but play one on TV." In Randall's hands, even stories about ordinary things—from a broken birdbath to a rusty porch swing to a thousand paper cranes—all shine with extraordinary meaning and grace. Laughing or crying, readers will surely see in her stories some of their own, and may look at life in a new way.

For Cooley the cranes are something beyond curiosity, perhaps familiar, yet inexplicable. To learn about the cranes, she went to the International Crane Fdn. in Wisconsin (the only place where all 15 species exist). There she walked among them and interacted with them. For 60 million years, cranes have flown over practically every continent. They can fly at altitudes of up to 30,000 ft. and can migrate over 5,000 miles. This book shares the magnificence of these creatures and helps their survival. For each species of crane, Cooley offers a page of poetic description accompanied by a watercolor illustration. A beautiful work of art with a gorgeous slipcase.

We all have a story to tell! They are all unique. No two are the same. Each is special; they are full of memories, of learning experiences, of things encountered along the way""some tragic and difficult, some fascinating and exciting. Certainly each story is valuable to someone. Life stories are full of mentors, both good and bad, people with tremendous influence who perhaps changed the pathway of one's life. I have had many mentors over the years. You will read about them! My Life, Does It Really Matter is my story. I loved writing it. As the distant memories came together in my mind, the details took shape, and often I was taken back to "the moment," and the emotions took over. As I wrote my story, I realized that there was a thread that wound through the years that held me together and brought me along the way. You can have the same thread! It will change your life! Insight One day at Starbucks, Dick Craig told his "career story" to some of us friends. An underlying theme in his life story stood out. God was working in Dick Craig's life from way back then and clearly all the way through. The truth shouts out. So now Dick had captured the story on paper; hence, family, friends, and everyone else can grasp that careful involvement. Dick's story reveals many lessons. From a distance, we also get an insight. "Many things happen for a reason and a purpose," even when we don't see it at the time. Our heavenly Parent is nurturing us for eternity. Many readers will have felt God's involvement in their life. If not, this book may now awaken their awareness. - Dennis O'Neill, Business Growth Coach, Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ontario, Canada

Shortlisted for the 2013 National Book Awards UK Author of the Year. One night, George Duncan - decent man, a good man - is woken by a noise in his garden. Impossibly, a great white crane has tumbled to earth, shot through its wing by an arrow. Unexpectedly moved, George helps the bird, and from the moment he watches it fly off, his life is transformed. The next day, a kind but enigmatic woman walks into George's shop. Suddenly a new world opens up for George, and one night she starts to tell him the most extraordinary story. Wise, romantic, magical and funny, The Crane Wife is a hymn to the creative imagination and a celebration of the disruptive and redemptive power of love.