Open this book and who knows what will pop out: the story of a gangland funeral, a status report on an ex-husband, a meditation on cats and gardens, a feuilleton about Native American fry bread, or a thoughtful musing on old women and books. Welcome to the delightfully irreverent world of Connie Cronley, essayist, radio commentator, and native Oklahoman. In this collection of true stories, Cronley pokes fun at everything—including herself—as she delights in the world around her. With her trademark down-home humor, Cronley takes on a range of subjects as broad as the Oklahoma prairies. No subject is off-limits as the author casts her curious eye on vampire literature, gay insects, air-dried laundry, Emily Post etiquette, and impossible dogs. As she says, “It’s a big world and there’s a lot to know.” Poke a Stick at It is also a love letter to the glories of the English language. Even as Cronley fusses around her garden or snoozes on the couch with her cat Muriel, she always has a stack of books within easy reach. Her eclectic passion for reading, embracing the lowbrow and the highbrow, the epic romance Gone with the Wind and the poems of Emily Dickinson, is both infectious and inspiring. Often compared to authors Annie Dillard, Phyllis McGinley, Robert Benchley, and Mark Twain, Connie Cronley is a Southwest original, a writer who infuses her stories with joy, humor, beauty—and plenty of spice.

This is the story of Jack Tree and Kaavi Noname who live on a large island called Aurelia. They meet an 11 year old girl, Jodie Jones, a survivor of a shipwreck. Jodie has rescued a copper statue of a very young girl with a cart and a goat. To everyone's surprise the statue comes to life. As the child cannot speak, they have no idea who this mysterious toddler is. Jodie decides to call her Hazel and announces that she must be a princess because she appears to have the power to control the weather and only princesses can do things like that. Meanwhile, the treacherous Tulgon, a sorcerer from the island of Kraag, stalks the copper princess. Tulgon craves the power she possesses, but Jodie’s innocent heart prevents him from coming too close. After some investigation, Jack, Kaavi and Jodie learn that the toddler is the daughter of Neva, a rival sorceress. They decide to return the child to her mother who is still faraway on what is left of Kraag. After a number of adventures and meetings with some who help and some who hinder, they succeed in defeating Tulgon and return the child to her mother.

First-person accounts by five PTSD survivors bring hope to the millions suffering from but not yet diagnosed with this affliction—and their loved ones. First-person accounts by five PTSD survivors bring hope to the millions suffering from but not yet diagnosed with this affliction--and their loved ones. Each year millions of people are afflicted by Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Most struggle to simply make it through the day as sights, sounds, and smells bring their life's most harrowing experience front and center, to be relived again and again. And many are unaware of the root problem of these symptoms or are unwilling to admit one exists.Through moving firsthand accounts 5 Survivors sheds an intimate light on the impact of PTSD on three veterans of war, a survivor of Hurricane Katrina, and a victim of childhood sexual abuse. With courage and honesty, they tell their stories of trauma, revealing the struggles they faced later in life, and how they eventually worked toward positive change and healing.With the guidance of PTSD expert and researcher Tracy Stecker, Ph.D. who outlines the symptoms and progress of each survivor, those living untreated with PTSD may see themselves in these stories, realize they are not alone, and take action to get help. Friends and family of those who have been greatly impacted by trauma will gain a more intimate understanding of a loved one's struggle and pain.About the author Tracy Stecker, Ph.D., is a psychologist at the Dartmouth Psychiatric Research Center. She developed a curriculum titled Using a Brief Intervention to Motivate Clients to Get Help in collaboration with Hazelden. Her focus is on treating veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan returning with PTSD and/or substance abuse issues. Several of these projects have been funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute for Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse.

Third Language Dictionary is a guide to everyday language that is peculiar to and used by Australian folks from all walks of life no matter what or who they are or the level of success, education, credence, or place in society they have attained.

The Ceremony at the Crying Tree depicts the life of a typical Sinixt Indian family living along the upper Columbia River during the last half and the first half of the nineteenth/twentieth centuries. This family traveled from Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada, each summer in their sturgeon-nosed canoes to Kettle Falls on the Columbia to fish for salmon. Their way of life was ended when the US government built the Grand Coulee Dam and the backwater covered the falls. The salmon could no longer swim from the ocean up the river to spawn. That affected fourteen tribes whose high-protein diet of salmon was effectively ended.

A young English girl arrives in Australia searching for her birth mother. Her initial investigations indicate she has to wait six months atleast on what may have happened to her mother. Finding the weather too cold for her liking in the New South Wales town of Goulburn, she heads north to the warmer climates of Queensland to the tourist hot spot Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast. It doesn't take long for her to taste the addiction of drugs, and after a torrid start ends up in the care of two inseparable nuns who are trying to solve crimes to raise money for the orphanage.

In this remarkable novel, Pulitzer Prize–winning author James A. Michener draws on his unparalleled gift for storytelling, his deep understanding of American society, and his own life experiences to illuminate the challenges of aging and the folly of youth. As the new director of a Florida retirement home known as the Palms, Andy Zorn suffers no shortage of loving support from his “elders,” a group of five passionate, outspoken residents. Still, Andy’s shortcomings tear him apart. But when he meets an extraordinary young woman who has been forced to rebuild her life after suffering crippling injuries, he finds himself falling in love. And with a few gentle jabs from his more mature friends, he discovers a wonderful new purpose in life. BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from James A. Michener's Hawaii. Praise for Recessional “The best moments in the novel occur when the characters disclose what’s in their hearts and minds with rueful, snappy humor.”—The New York Times Book Review “Michener hooks you with wonderfully humorous scenes. These are then interwoven between the moments of pain and heartache brought about by life choices we all must make.”—Tulsa World “Engaging . . . One will be drawn into the novelist’s world. . . . The lush natural setting provides James Michener plenty to show and tell.”—The Washington Times

A compulsive and dark thriller for fans of A.J. Finn and B A Paris. A cop needs to know what a child wants to forget . . . When a boarding master at an exclusive boys' school is shot dead, it appears to be accidental. Not thinking much of it, Cardilini, a detective with a bad reputation, is sent to write up the report. Riled up by the privileged arrogance of the pupils at the school, Cardilini does not cooperate, deciding it's time to use his instincts. Despite no real evidence, he declares the death a murder. But as his investigation deepens and dark secrets are uncovered, Cardilini finds himself fighting against the powerful elite of the school. Cardilini is determined to bring justice to the victim, but is his pursuit helpful or harmful to those most affected by the death?

Set in the wilds of Maine, this is an explosive tale of an estranged son thrust into the hunt for a murderous fugitive - his own father. Game warden Mike Bowditch returns home one evening to find an alarming voice from the past on his answering machine: his father Jack, a hard-drinking womanizer who makes his living from poaching illegal game. An even more frightening call comes the next morning from the police: they are searching for a cop-killer - and Mike's father is their prime suspect. Now, alienated from the woman he loves and shunned by colleagues who have no sympathy for the suspected cop killer, Mike must come to terms with his haunted past. He knows firsthand of his father's brutality, but is he capable of murder? Desperate and alone, the only way for Mike to save his father is to find the real killer - which could mean putting everyone he loves into the line of fire...

Bestselling author and Edgar-Award finalist Paul Doiron knows Maine better than just about anyone, and in this series that follows Maine game warden Mike Bowditch, he proves it. Here together for the first time in one thrill-ride collection are the first three books in the critically acclaimed series: The Poacher's Son Set in the wilds of Maine, this is an explosive tale of an estranged son thrust into the hunt for a murderous fugitive-his own father. Trespasser On a fog shrouded road in Maine, a young woman disappears after hitting a deer with her car. When Bowditch is called to investigate, he uncovers a web of lies and deceit that leads to a killer who may have already gotten away with murder. Bad Little Falls Doiron delivers another "masterpiece of high-octane narrative" (Booklist) in this harrowing thriller about the hunt for a murderer at the height of a major snowstorm.