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Jessica Alexander arrived in Rwanda in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide as an idealistic intern, eager to contribute to the work of the international humanitarian aid community. But the world that she encountered in the field was dramatically different than anything she could have imagined. It was messy, chaotic, and difficult—but she was hooked. In this honest and irreverent memoir, she introduces readers to the realities of life as an aid worker. We watch as she manages a 24,000-person camp in Darfur, collects evidence for the Charles Taylor trial in Sierra Leone, and contributes to the massive aid effort to clean up a shattered Haiti. But we also see the alcohol-fueled parties and fleeting romances, the burnouts and self-doubt, and the struggle to do good in places that have long endured suffering. Tracing her personal journey from wide-eyed and naïve newcomer to hardened cynic and, ultimately, to hopeful but critical realist, Alexander transports readers to some of the most troubled locations around the world and shows us not only the seemingly impossible challenges, but also the moments of resilience and recovery.
International bestseller As seen in The Wall Street Journal--from free play to cozy together time, discover the parenting secrets of the happiest people in the world What makes Denmark the happiest country in the world--and how do Danish parents raise happy, confident, successful kids, year after year? This upbeat and practical book presents six essential principles, which spell out P-A-R-E-N-T: Play is essential for development and well-being. Authenticity fosters trust and an "inner compass." Reframing helps kids cope with setbacks and look on the bright side. Empathy allows us to act with kindness toward others. No ultimatums means no power struggles, lines in the sand, or resentment. Togetherness is a way to celebrate family time, on special occasions and every day. The Danes call this hygge--and it's a fun, cozy way to foster closeness. Preparing meals together, playing favorite games, and sharing other family traditions are all hygge. (Cell phones, bickering, and complaining are not!) With illuminating examples and simple yet powerful advice, The Danish Way of Parenting will help parents from all walks of life raise the happiest, most well-adjusted kids in the world.
Fiction. A woman discovers a hand in the garden, a wrist in the sink, and resigns herself to stand by and watch as her lover reduces herself to an eyeball. DEAR ENEMY, is a collection of twenty-one depraved tales. A dead family strokes their rage while wandering in and out of other family photographs. Another woman wrestles with marital ambivalence as a bear carries her husband off their front porch and into a nearby forest. These stories are haunted by strange, inexplicable, and sinister yearnings. With the terse simplicity of fairy tales, DEAR ENEMY, warps familiar fictional forms and serves a vision as intimate as it is alien. "This book is outlandish, uncanny, and telling in the best possible ways." --Amina Cain "DEAR ENEMY announces the arrival of an important new voice on the American innovative writing scene--crazy smart, self-aware, energetic, and impishly irreverent." --Lance Olsen "With a matchbook of stimulating quirky literary devices, Jessica Alexander is ready with her DEAR ENEMY, to light up our hair, our brain, the striking surface of our ignorant taste on fire." --Vi Khi Nao
In rhyme, this book celebrates a beauty with a birthmark. She enjoys a variety of activities that highlight acceptance and belonging with her friends. Different birth- and skin- marks are visible on the story's characters and are described in a glossary. Readers of all ages will appreciate concepts of diversity and inclusion in Beauty with a Birthmark.
"With courage they rallied and answered the call . . . dreaming of freedom and justice for all." The United States of America was founded on the declaration that all men are created equal. But nearly two hundred years after that proclamation, America was still deeply segregated. Slowly but surely, powerful leaders as well as everyday citizens spoke up for their dreams and beliefs. Soon, a people proud and strong stood up as one for their rights, and a new America came to be.
A group of aging librarians must decide whether to fight or flee from the end of print and the rise of electronic publication, while the parents of a young girl who died in front of the library struggle with their role in her loss. Anchored by the transposed stories of a photographer and his deaf mathematician lover, each mourning the other's death, The Sorrow Proper illustrated how humans of all relations--lovers, parents, colleagues--cope with and challenge social "progress," a mechanism that requires we ignore, and ultimately forget, the residual in order to make room for the new, to tell a story that resists "The End."
Young readers learn how they can create a greener, healthier world in this powerful nonfiction picture book from authors Diane Z. Shore and Jessica Alexander, with art by award-winning illustrator Wendell Minor. This Is the Earth explores hundreds of years of changing landscapes and the positive and negative impacts humans have had on the environment. Even the smallest actions can help save the world, and this lyrical, rhyming read-aloud text shows how smart and simple everyday habits can protect the planet.
'It's a long time since I have enjoyed a novel so much. Fresh, witty and smart it also has a heart.' KATE ATKINSON 'Sizzles with uproarious fun, from its snout to the sting in its tale.' INDEPENDENT 'The perfect tonic for testing times.' GUARDIAN We all know politics is absurd. But could a Republican be brought down by a stuffed aardvark? Republican congressman Alexander Paine Wilson is determined that nothing will stop him in his campaign for re-election. Not the fact that he is a bachelor, not the fact that his main adversary Nancy Beavers - married, with children - is rising in the polls. Nothing. That is, until one hot day in August, he receives a large parcel via FedEx. Inside is a giga...
Flannery O'Connor and Fyodor Dostoevsky shared a deep faith in Christ, which compelled them to tell stories that force readers to choose between eternal life and demonic possession. Their either-or extremism has not become more popular in the last fifty to a hundred years since these stories were first published, but it has become more relevant to a twenty-firstt-century culture in which the lukewarm middle ground seems the most comfortable place to dwell. Giving the Devil His Due walks through all of O'Connor's stories and looks closely at Dostoevsky's magnum opus The Brothers Karamazov to show that when the devil rules, all hell breaks loose. Instead of this kingdom of violence, O'Connor and Dostoevsky propose a kingdom of love, one that is only possible when the Lord again is king.
'...this poignant and disarming story is full of heart and its crescendo will give you tingles' Attitude Magazine 'Outstanding' Irish Examiner Sam has known his sister Jessica all his life. Tonight is the first time they're going to meet. Sam Waver has always been a loner: bullied, struggling at school, with parents who have very little time for him. The one person he has always been able to rely on is his beloved older sibling - but when they announce that they are transitioning, Sam's life is thrown upside down. He's convinced nothing will ever be the same again - but as Sam is about to discover, nothing is more constant than love. A moving and heartfelt portrait of one family's journey to acceptance, from a master storyteller. 'A story with so much heart that the pages practically pulse. Both funny and moving... this is a must-read for all ages' Irish Independent