family relationships

North Carolina deputy sheriff Miles Ryan, heartbroken over his wife's death in a hit-and-run accident two years earlier, considers love again when he meets his son's second-grade schoolteacher, Sarah--but he soon finds that his wife's death was anything but an accident and danger is not far away.

The final entry in a trilogy of memoirs in which Dave Pelzer, brutally abused as a child, discusses the struggles he faced as an adult, and his determination to have a meaningful life.

The son of a famous radical feminist spends his life struggling with his diverse personal relationships and with his ambition to be a writer.

The author shares her experience of dying and coming back in a coma with blinking her only body function she controlled. Explores her account of relearning all the basic life skills and how to live again.

"From a child's-eye view, Travis Dandro recounts growing up with a drug-addicted birth father, alcoholic step-dad, and overwhelmed mother. As a kid, Dandro would temper the tension of his every day with flights of fancy, finding refuge in toys and animals and insects rather than the unpredictable adults around him. Dandro perceptively details the effects of poverty and addiction on a family while maintaining a child's innocence for as long as he can. King of King Court spans from Travis's early childhood through his teen years, focusing not only on the obviously abusive actions, but also on the daily slights and snubs that further strain relations between him and his parents. Alongside Dandro's birth father committing crimes and shooting up, King of King Court lingers on scenes of him criticizing Travis and his siblings. Dandro gives equal heft to these anecdotes, emphasizing how damaging even relatively slight traumas can be to a child's worldview."--.

Jennifer Ashton, M.D., has witnessed firsthand the impact of a loved one?s suicide. When her ex-husband killed himself soon after their divorce, her world?and that of her children?was shattered. Though she held a very public position with one of the world?s largest media companies, she was hesitant to speak about the personal trauma that she and her family experienced following his death. A woman who addresses the public regularly on intimate health topics, she was uncertain of revealing her devastating loss?the most painful thing she?d ever experienced. But with the high-profile suicides of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain, Dr. Ashton recognized the importance of talking about her experience and the power of giving voice to her grief. She shared her story with her Good Morning America family on air?an honest, heartbreaking revelation that provided comfort and solace to others, like her and her family, who have been left behind.

The lives of twelve-year-old Lou and her younger brother, Oz, change forever in 1940 when an accident involving their parents results in their being uprooted from their New York City home and moved to live with their great-grandmother in the mountains of Virginia.

Simon, a respected doctor, and Emily, a partner in a public relations firm, appear to have it all, but they have never come to grips with the death of their firstborn son years earlier, and that failure is causing a gap in their marriage, as well as an inability to connect with their teenage daughter, that is exacerbated by the arrival of a lover from Emily's past.

The son of a famous radical feminist spends his life struggling with his diverse personal relationships and with his ambition to be a writer.

Charlotte Pierce-Baker did everything right when raising her son, providing not only emotional support but the best education possible. At age twenty-five, he was pursuing a postgraduate degree and seemingly in control of his life. She never imagined her high-achieving son would wind up handcuffed, dirty, and in jail. The moving story of an African American family facing the challenge of bipolar disorder, This Fragile Life provides insight into mental disorders as well as family dynamics. Pierce-Baker traces the evolution of her son's illness and, in looking back, realizes she mistook warning signs for typical child and teen behavior. Hospitalizations, calls in the night, alcohol and drug relapses, pleas for money, and continuous disputes, her son's journey was long, arduous, and almost fatal. This Fragile Life weaves a fascinating story of mental illness, race, family, the drive of African Americans to succeed, and a mother's love for her son.