This is a coming of age, just flown the nest, tell all comedy memoir about the ups and downs of working on-board a cruise ship as an entertainer. If you have doubts about going on a cruise, then this book might encourage you. If you have ambitions to go and work on a cruise, then this book won't dissuade you...probably.

Sex and the sea… Desperate to win back his ex, billionaire playboy Jeb Whitcomb spent a year in self-discipline and (mostly) celibacy. He's a new man. But when she decides to marry someone else, Jeb immediately sets sail. He has only four days to stop the wedding and, worse still, he has a stowaway…the only woman who can make a newly good man behave very, very badly! R.N. Haley French is furious. For one night, she lets go of her usual boring routine, and the next she knows she's accidentally off to Florida with Mr. Sexy Superficiality, and desperately trying to forget the steamy encounter they almost shared. And in the boat, there's no escape from each other…or the unfurling lust that threatens to send their self-control overboard!

Smooth Sailing enhances our understanding of the family's transition through adolescence by examining qualitative data about the experiences of parents and teens across multiple relationships and social contexts. This volume follows the same 60 families described in the authors' first book, Becoming a Family, and now, six years later, relates their stories about their transition from childhood to adolescence. Collectively, the two books provide a unique longitudinal perspective on family development using two distinct data collection formats and time frames. Interdisciplinary in nature, the book draws on theory and practice from the fields of social work, psychology, and sociology. Smooth Sailing reveals a picture of the transition to adolescence as it is influenced by intrafamily relationships as well as social context factors. Initial chapters lay the foundation for the study's methods. Proceeding chapters present the participants' stories, organized by context— developmental changes, interpersonal relationships, education, and work. Each chapter follows a similar format: an overview of past research; interview and coding techniques; and a presentation of parents' and teens' qualitative descriptions. Chapters also include an analysis of gender and conclude with implications for practice and policy. The final chapter in the book summarizes this work and looks ahead to the next developmental period, emerging adulthood. Intended for researchers in a variety of disciplines such as social work, psychology, and sociology, this volume also serves as a supplementary text for courses on the family and/or adolescent development.

Opening a new theme park is not for kids. Laurie Nielsen is so overworked and overstressed that she's forced to take a vacation--on one of her companies' kid-centric cruise ships. It's a slow torture, but she eventually makes the best of it and gets off the boat in St. Maarten. There, Laurie meets and insults Kaatje Hoogaboom, a woman who has very little of Laurie's work obsession. But they still manage to hit it off--to her great surprise. Once Laurie returns home they stay in touch, getting to know each other via phone calls and e-mails. But Laurie isn't an ideal girlfriend. Work is at the top of her priority list and toppling it might be more than Kaatje is able, or even willing to do. Kaatje and Laurie both have to do a lot of soul searching; what do each of them want and need, and how far is each willing to compromise? They're both strong-minded women who've adjusted to being single. The adjustment to being coupled can be just as, if not more, trying.

Choosing a mate is like picking house paint from one of those tiny color squares: You never know how it will look across a large expanse, or how it will change in different light. Meet Janna and Graeme. After a decade-long tango (together, apart, together, apart), they're back in love -- but the stress of nine-to-five is seriously hampering their happiness. So they quit their jobs, tie the knot, and untie the lines on a beat-up old sailboat for a most unusual honeymoon: a two-year voyage across the Pacific. But passage from first date to first mate is anything but smooth sailing. From the rugged Pacific Northwest coast to the blue lagoons of Polynesia to bustling Asian ports, Janna and Graeme find themselves at the mercy of poachers, under the spell of crossdressers, and under the gun of a less-than-sober tattooist. And they encounter do-or-die moments that threaten their safety, their sanity, and their marriage. Join Janna and Graeme's 17,000-mile journey and their quest to resolve the uncertainties so many couples face: How do you know if you've really found the One? How do you balance duty to others while preserving space for yourself? And, when the waters get rough, do you jump ship, or do you learn to navigate the world...together?

From the award-winning host of the Radically Loved podcast, an invitation to discover the healing power of who you are, body, mind, and spirit. Growing up in East L.A. in the nineties, Rosie Acosta dismissed spirituality and wellness as something people like her didn’t do. But after being arrested at age fifteen, she knew that only a radical change would lead her away from debilitating anxiety and self-doubt. As she puts it, yoga offered her a ladder and she began to climb. In this empowering and accessible guide, Acosta leads readers through the essential spiritual practices she uses to create a radically loved life. With the arc of her own journey as a framework, she presents meditations, journaling questions, and practices for identifying and honoring our own radical truths. With grit and grace, this heart-filled guide makes spiritual practice accessible to everyone and helps you become the person you are truly meant to be.