The Beauty World Through the Lens of a Psychiatrist by Jane B. Sofair
In 2012, approximately one month prior to the Sandy Hook massacre, Dr. Jane Sofair made an impactful career change. She closed her solo psychiatric practice in New Jersey and relocated to western Connecticut to join a group practice. Reeling from the aftereffects of incessant administrative demands that she believed were essential to maintain her practice and stunned by the unspeakable tragedy of Sandy Hook, Dr. Sofair stayed diligently focused on providing care in the new practice setting-then unexpectedly encountered an opportunity to enter the world of beauty and cosmetics.
In this memoir framed by hopefulness, Dr. Sofair describes the rewards and challenges of becoming a beauty consultant through her perspective as a psychiatrist and explains how she grew both personally and professionally.
Gods of Glenhaven by Stephen Statler
When Greek gods sweep into the quaint suburban town of Glenhaven to untangle their messy love lives, the helpless mortals don’t stand a chance.
Christian Orr, struggling with work and erectile dysfunction after discovering his wife’s infidelity, has just moved into what his daughter Francesca calls the Divorced Dads Apartment Complex. His high-powered attorney ex, Sloan, is jaded and restless, leaving precocious Francesca caught in the crosscurrents of change.
Enter Dionysus—”Dee”—the god of wine, sex, and questionable decisions, who shows up searching for his estranged wife Ari and their teenage son Maron. After three thousand years of Dee’s antics, Ari has had enough. She’s struck a deal with Zeus to start fresh-as a mortal suburban mom. And what’s more normal than falling for a regular guy like Christian? If only Dee would stop tearing through Glenhaven in his quest to win her back.
Drunk on Dee’s wine, the residents of Glenhaven form chanting covens in the woods, participate in ecstatic rituals, and experience divine revelations-all while Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” loops faintly in the background of their lives.
The Washashore by Marshall Highet & Bird Jones
Martha’s Vineyard, 1929. Prohibition is in full swing, and Emily, a Midwest transplant, has never met her wealthy aunt Isabel. That is until, after her mother’s death, the courts declare Isabel her guardian. Their first meeting is a disaster. Emily’s clumsy curtsy earns her only a frosty glare, and she quickly realizes she’s in for a crash course in East Coast high society. But manners take a back seat to mystery when Isabel’s dear friend, an accomplished sailor, vanishes at sea. Convinced it’s murder, Isabel recruits her niece to catch the killer, pointing the finger at two dangerous men: a ruthless Mob boss and the fastest rumrunner in the harbor. While Emily crosses paths with gangsters on the island, she may just find home on its miles of coastline and among its quirky inhabitants—her stoic aunt Isabel included.
Poison: A Story of Loss, Revenge, and Possible Redemption by Gary Ball
English professor Vere Larson and his family are living an idyllic life in a quiet college town when a baseball injury interrupts the promising sports career of his son, Chris. A doctor prescribes pain-killing drugs that subtly but quickly ensnare Chris in addiction, leading him to street drugs and the horrors that hard drugs so often create.
As the harm to his family escalates, Vere seeks revenge on the drug dealers who have destroyed his family’s happiness. His violently effective vigilante actions lead to dangerous confrontations with corrupt police and a ruthless drug cartel.
Vere’s story should resonate with anyone whose life has been affected by drug addiction or has ever wished they could strike back at the heartless drug dealers pouring their poison onto our streets.
The Sinking of the Leonardo da Vinci by Deborah Jeanne Weitzman
An impossible love. An impossible choice.
It is 1976, in New York. Joanna, a dreamy and sensitive young woman, suffers deep loneliness and a sense of never belonging. The world of music, of songwriting, draws her toward something deeper, if only she had permission to enter that world. When she meets Luca, onboard The Leonardo da Vinci, her wildest dreams come true. He-the young navigator of the ship, rebellious and passionate-gives her that permission. They fall hopelessly in love, and against all odds, she travels to Rome to be with him. When she arrives, he has drastically changed. Never knowing what turned him so callous, this dark seed contaminates the rest of her life.
Back in NY, she runs into her former professor, Stuart, a visionary environmentalist, and they marry. Older than Joanna, he is her anchor and benevolent father figure. To never be burned again, she vows to stay far from the rocky shoals of passion. To keep that vow, she buries her creative soul, her real voice, and her music. When Stuart unexpectedly dies of a heart attack, her unlived self awakens with a vengeance. Hoping to heal, she travels to the walking trails of Cinque Terre, where she unexpectedly reawakens both passion and comfort in her relationships, finding herself along the way.
Maximizing Organizational Performance: A Guide to Effective Performance Coaching by Patrick Behar-Courtois, PhD
Dr. Patrick Behar-Courtois, with over two decades of international consulting experience, offers a fresh approach to performance coaching that transcends traditional methods. This practical guide tackles pressing issues such as remote work, diversity, employee retention, and technological integration, equipping leaders, HR professionals, and coaches with strategies to measure coaching effectiveness and build high-performing teams. Packed with immediately applicable tools and real-world case studies, Maximizing Organizational Performance bridges theory and practice, offering insights that resonate in today’s complex business environment.
So don’t let your organization fall behind. Unlock its full potential and prepare for the future with this essential resource!
A Date with the Fairy Drag Queen by Julie Harthill Turner
Saskia Nash’s world is turned upside down when her single-parent father tears her from an idyllic childhood in Germany—leaving behind the memories of her dead mother and the protection of her beloved Opa—for a teaching position at a small Jesuit college on the East Coast. A misfit in a strange land, struggling to learn the language and customs of a good American girl, Saskia struggles with issues of belonging, sexual identity, and faith. She’s drawn to the progressive spirituality of the Jesuits at her father’s college. When strong-armed into having an abortion, Saskia is sent away to recover at Pippin House, a hospice for men dying of AIDS. It is the early 1990s.
Mourning the loss of personal choice and bodily autonomy, Saskia is assigned as a companion to Ed, a.k.a. Marlena Merlot, a dying drag queen who’s losing control over his own mind and body. When Saskia helps Marlena Merlot stage one final performance, she learns that chosen family is the one we can count on most. A Date with the Fairy Drag Queen is a story of platonic queer friendship, regaining autonomy, letting go, and learning what it means to live.
The Summer Knows by Sarah E. Pearsall
Slinging fried clams at a dumpy tourist trap in Florida’s panhandle at thirty-one and being a single mom was not the future Adrienne Harris envisioned. As a girl in Harbor Point, she dreamed of becoming a chef and spending her life with Quinn Merrit, the rich and handsome boy next door. But her dreams crumbled the summer she turned seventeen, ending with her running away pregnant, heartbroken, and notorious.
Adrienne’s world is upended again when she gets the call that her eccentric grandmother has nearly burned down the family cottage. Adrienne has no choice but to return, and the town wastes no time in thrusting her back into the harsh limelight. When local fishmonger Christopher Crane offers Adrienne a chance to be the chef at the fish market her grandfather once owned, Adrienne might just figure out how to face the past and forge a new future.
Don’t Give In! (You’re Not Just Getting Old) by Kathy Bauernfeind
Don’t Give In! is a unique and engaging account of how a fifty-five-year-old woman overcame a life of excess to take back her health. Exhausted, hurting, and unhappy after a life of self-imposed abuse, Kathy thought she was just “getting old” and that feeling bad was inevitable. Then she decided to fight back. She shares how she damaged her health, what made her want to take control of her health, and how she did it.
Don’t Give In! is a real person’s story by someone with a forty-hour workweek, modest income, no home gym, and no private chef. It is a candid testament to determination and self-discovery, and it offers practical mindsets and tactics you can use to take back your own health!
I Don’t Want to Die: A New Look at Suicide Assessment, Intervention, and Prevention by Tom Butero, MSW
I Don’t Want to Die is for anyone who works in the field of mental health or seeks help for a vulnerable loved one who may be showing suicidal tendencies.
With decades of clinical experience and research behind it, this new look at suicide prevention takes a comprehensive approach to the assessment of suicide risk and presents effective approaches to intervention and prevention.
Starting with an overview of depression and its effects, I Don’t Want to Die discusses why and how someone chooses suicide as a “way out” of their problems. A thorough assessment tool and strategies for intervening in a suicidal crisis are described in a clear, easy-to-follow style.
The need for suicide education in schools and the role of the media are also discussed. I Don’t Want to Die also examines the ethical issues often faced by those who work in the field of mental health and poses the question for the practitioner as to the “right” of an individual to commit suicide.
I Don’t Want to Die is written in a user-friendly style for professionals and laypersons, and it offers a unique approach that focuses on both content and process when assessing risk.
