Recommendations based on "Cries Unheard"

Six-year-old Sheila never spoke, she never cried, and her eyes were filled with hate. Abandoned on a highway by her mother, unwanted by her alcoholic father, Sheila was placed in a class for emotionally disturbed children after she committed an atrocious act of violence against another child.Everyone said Sheila was lost forever, everyone except her teacher, Torey Hayden.Torey fought to reach Sheila, to bring the abused child back from her secret nightmare, because beneath the rage, Torey saw in Sheila the spark of genius. And together they embarked on a wondrous journey—a journey gleaming with a child's joy at discovering a world filled with love and a journey sustained by a young teacher's inspiring bravery and devotion.

'Three in the bed. One not yet born, another dead, and I'm alive.' Puk is 26 years old, preparing for the birth of her second child, when her husband has a heart attack on his morning run. She leaves their toddler with a friend and dashes to the hospital, where Lasse lies unresponsive in a coma. He dies a few hours later. Into a Star follows Puk and her young family for one year after this tragedy, which has shattered the ordinary life she thought she would live, as she finds her way slowly through the enormous grief and, eventually, out the other side. With remarkable dignity, candour and attention to the domestic details that make us human, Puk Qvortrup invites us into the hardest moments of her life. And she reveals, amid the devastation, a powerful thread of hope.

How is it possible for a young, homeless woman to overcome abuse, endure the foster care system, and rise to prominence to help others? CinderGirl tells Christina Meredith's incredible story of how she overcame these hardships to earn the title of Miss California and become an advocate for the vulnerable. Born into a large, working-class family in upstate New York, Christina endured years of abuse before entering the foster care system as a teenager. With nowhere to turn after she graduated from high school, Christina lived in her car for almost a year, working three jobs to survive. As she prayed in her car every day, Christina had no idea that in just a few years, her suffering would help others find healing. But she did know that she was destined for more, and she refused to give up hope, no matter the circumstance. In CinderGirl, Christina tells her piercing and poignant story of leaving behind homelessness to become Miss California and the founder of a nonprofit organization that provides advocacy for foster care children. With stunning vulnerability, Christina invites us into her childhood home and the heart of a child longing to be loved, challenging us to dig deeper into our own personal courage, even in the most difficult conditions. And in return, you'll learn how to: Dream big, even when you're at rock bottom Embrace the inherent worth that is yours in Christ Jesus Deepen your faith and your relationship with God Praise for CinderGirl: "Christina Meredith's life experience and real-life Cinderella story are beyond inspirational to me, and I'm so proud of her. She is an overcomer like few I've ever read about. But what impresses me the most is her desire to transform the foster care system and use her challenges to better the next generation." --Kristen Dalton-Wolfe, bestselling author and former Miss USA "Christina Meredith's story, which she tells with unique courage, follows a young woman's rise out of vulnerability, homelessness, and abuse to become a soldier, leader, and pillar in her community. Christina's spirited and empathetic soul shines through every page." --Jason Jones, author, activist, film producer

The memoirs of Mary Rodgers—writer, composer, Broadway royalty, and “a woman who tried everything.”“What am I, bologna?” Mary Rodgers (1931–2014) often said. She was referring to being stuck in the middle of a talent sandwich: the daughter of one composer and the mother of another. And not just any composers. Her father was Richard Rodgers, perhaps the greatest American melodist; her son, Adam Guettel, a worthy successor. What that leaves out is Mary herself, also a composer, whose musical Once Upon a Mattress remains one of the rare revivable Broadway hits written by a woman. Shy is the story of how it all happened: how Mary grew from an angry child, constrained by privilege and a parent’s overwhelming gift, to become not just a theater figure in her own right but also a renowned author of books for young readers (including the classic Freaky Friday) and, in a final grand turn, a doyenne of philanthropy and the chairman of the Juilliard School. But in telling these stories—with copious annotations, contradictions, and interruptions from Jesse Green, the chief theater critic of The New York Times—Shy also tells another, about a woman liberating herself from disapproving parents and pervasive sexism to find art and romance on her own terms. Whether writing for Judy Holliday or Rin Tin Tin, dating Hal Prince or falling for Stephen Sondheim over a game of chess at thirteen, Rodgers grabbed every chance possible—and then some. Both an eyewitness report from the golden age of American musical theater and a tale of a woman striving for a meaningful life, Shy is, above all, a chance to sit at the feet of the kind of woman they don’t make anymore—and never did. They make themselves.

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING HILARIOUS AND HEARTFELT MEMOIR FROM LINDA ROBSON __________ Linda Robson's nickname is Baggy Mouth for good reason. She may be one of the nation's favourite TV personalities - whether playing Tracey Stubbs in Birds of a Feather or being a regular on Loose Women - but she can't help hilariously oversharing. Luckily, this is an ideal trait for her first-ever memoir . . . Taking us back to the very beginning, growing up in a North London council house, Linda explains how she came to attend theatre school aged nine, where she met Pauline Quirke. As their friendship blossomed and evolved into a professional partnership, small parts in theatre and film productions culminated in the pair being cast in the enduring and beloved sitcom Birds of a Feather. With a wicked glint in her eye, Linda recounts the twists and turns of an actor's life, sharing tales of backstage antics, on-set stories and demanding co-stars from across her her varied and celebrated career. However, it has not all been laughter, and she candidly talks about the struggles she's faced in her personal life and the battles she has had to overcome. Yet her determination to pull herself back from the brink shows us that the tough times really do make us stronger. Truth Be Told is funny, warm and loose-lipped about a remarkable life well-lived. __________ PRAISE FOR TRUTH BE TOLD 'Searingly honest' The Mail

A warm, empathetic guide to understanding, coping with, and healing from the unique pain of sibling estrangement"Whenever I tell people that I am working on a book about sibling estrangement, they sit up a little straighter and lean in, as if I've tapped into a dark secret."Fern Schumer Chapman understands the pain of sibling estrangement firsthand. For the better part of forty years, she had nearly no relationship with her only brother, despite many attempts at reconnection. Her grief and shame were devastating and isolating. But when she tried to turn to others for help, she found that a profound stigma still surrounded estrangement, and that very little statistical and psychological research existed to help her better understand the rift that had broken up her family. So she decided to conduct her own research, interviewing psychologists and estranged siblings as well as recording the extraordinary story of her own rift with her brother--and subsequent reconciliation. Brothers, Sisters, Strangers is the result--a thoughtfully researched memoir that illuminates both the author's own story and the greater phenomenon of estrangement. Chapman helps readers work through the challenges of rebuilding a sibling relationship that seems damaged beyond repair, as well as understand when estrangement is the best option. It is at once a detailed framework for understanding sibling estrangement, a beacon of solidarity and comfort for the estranged, and a moving memoir about family trauma, addiction, grief, and recovery.

"I was born with skins too few. Or they were scrubbed off me by...robust and efficient hands." The experiences absorbed through these "skins too few" are evoked in this memoir of Doris Lessing's childhood and youth as the daughter of a British colonial family in Persia and Southern Rhodesia Honestly and with overwhelming immediacy, Lessing maps the growth of her consciousness, her sexuality, and her politics, offering a rare opportunity to get under her skin and discover the forces that made her one of the most distinguished writers of our time.

Somewhere Between Life and DeathThe celebration isn't supposed to end in tragedy. But the lives of sisters Amy and Erin come crashing down when Amy takes the car and has a horrible accident.Time to Let GoLanding the lead in the senior musical opposite David Devlin doesn't give Erin much pleasure. Erin knows that her headaches started just after the death of her younger sister. What is it about David that triggers Erin's violent reaction?This companion volume explores the complexities not only of accepting unexpected loss, but also the need to move on.

For the first time ever, collected here are all three volumes of the diaries of Helen Garner, inviting readers into the world behind the novels and nonfiction of a literary force.“This is one for the introverts — the wary and the peevish, the uncertain of their looks, taste, talent and class status . . . . [Garner's] prose is clear, honest, and economical; take it or leave it.”—Dwight Garner, New York Times Book ReviewThe name Helen Garner commands near-universal acclaim. A master of many literary forms, Garner is best known for her frank, unsparing, and intricate portraits of "ordinary people in difficult times" (New York Times). But the inspiration for it all was her extensive collection of diaries—fastidiously kept, intricately written, and delightfully dishy, unspooling the inner lives of her insular world in bohemian Melbourne.Now, for the first time, all three volumes of Garner's inimitable diaries are collected into one book. Spanning more than two decades, each finely etched volume reveals Garner like never before: a fledgling author publishing her lightning-rod debut novel in the late 70s; in the throes of a consuming affair in the late 80s; and clinging to a disintegrating marriage in the late 90s. And all the while, they bear witness to one of the world's great writers hard at work. Devastatingly honest and disarmingly funny, How to End a Story is a portrait of loss, betrayal, and the sheer force of a woman’s anger—but also of resilience, quotidian moments of joy, the immutable ties of motherhood, and the regenerative power of a room of one’s own.

A hospice chaplain passes on wisdom on giving meaning to life, from those taking leave of it. As a hospice chaplain, Kerry Egan didn't offer sermons or prayers, unless they were requested; in fact, she found, the dying rarely want to talk about God, at least not overtly. Instead, she discovered she'd been granted an invaluable chance to witness firsthand what she calls the "spiritual work of dying"--The work of finding or making meaning of one's life, the experiences it's contained and the people who have touched it, the betrayals, wounds, unfinished business, and unrealized dreams. Instead of talking, she mainly listened: to stories of hope and regret, shame and pride, mystery and revelation and secrets held too long. Most of all, though, she listened as her patients talked about love--love for their children and partners and friends; love they didn't know how to offer; love they gave unconditionally; love they, sometimes belatedly, learned to grant themselves. This isn't a book about dying--it's a book about living. And Egan isn't just passively bearing witness to these stories. An emergency procedure during the birth of her first child left her physically whole but emotionally and spiritually adrift. Her work as a hospice chaplain healed her, from a brokenness she came to see we all share. Each of her patients taught her something--how to find courage in the face of fear or the strength to make amends; how to be profoundly compassionate and fiercely empathetic; how to see the world in grays instead of black and white. In this poignant, moving, and beautiful book, she passes along all their precious and necessary gifts.