And I Dont Want To Live This Life

The mother of Nancy Spungen, the woman who was allegedly murdered by punk rock star Sid Vicious, chronicles her family's despair and the futility of professional advice in dealing with her daughter's life-long episodes of uncontrollable rebellion

“Honest and moving . . . Her painful tale is engrossing.”—Washington Post Book World For most of us, it was just another horrible headline. But for Deborah Spungen, the mother of Nancy, who was stabbed to death at the Chelsea Hotel, it was both a relief and a tragedy. Here is the incredible story of an infant who never stopped screaming, a toddler who attacked people, a teenager addicted to drugs, violence, and easy sex, a daughter completely out of control—who almost destroyed her parents’ marriage and the happiness of the rest of her family.

'I Had a Black Dog says with wit, insight, economy and complete understanding what other books take 300 pages to say. Brilliant and indispensable.' - Stephen Fry 'Finally, a book about depression that isn't a prescriptive self-help manual. Johnston's deftly expresses how lonely and isolating depression can be for sufferers. Poignant and humorous in equal measure.' Sunday Times There are many different breeds of Black Dog affecting millions of people from all walks of life. The Black Dog is an equal opportunity mongrel. It was Winston Churchill who popularized the phrase Black Dog to describe the bouts of depression he experienced for much of his life. Matthew Johnstone, a sufferer himself, has written and illustrated this moving and uplifting insight into what it is like to have a Black Dog as a companion and how he learned to tame it and bring it to heel.

After being diagnosed with terminal cancer, a professor shares the lessons he's learned—about living in the present, building a legacy, and taking full advantage of the time you have—in this life-changing classic. "We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand." —Randy Pausch A lot of professors give talks titled "The Last Lecture." Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them. And while they speak, audiences can't help but mull over the same question: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? If we had to vanish tomorrow, what would we want as our legacy? When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn't have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave—"Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams"—wasn't about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because "time is all you have . . . and you may find one day that you have less than you think"). It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living. In this book, Randy Pausch has combined the humor, inspiration and intelligence that made his lecture such a phenomenon and given it an indelible form. It is a book that will be shared for generations to come.

Do you feel all the feels—all the time? Are you fed up with the mainstream spiritual “love and light” scene that calls for constant positivity, even in the face of true loss, trauma, and pain? If so, this book is for you. I Don’t Want to Be an Empath Anymore is a gift for the jaded empath searching for authenticity in spirituality, and spirituality in being authentic—something beyond the clichéd, positive affirmations that seem to invalidate our anger, sadness, and pain. When we feel broken—and when real damage has been done, it’s not always helpful to ignore our feelings and tell ourselves that we are perfect and whole. In this refreshingly honest guide, shamanic practitioner Ora North offers practical exercises to help you navigate your intuition and empathic sensitivities, create much-needed boundaries, and build confidence. You’ll also learn to balance your emotions and energy, and harness the strength of your shadow side to embrace your whole self and live your best life. Like the Japanese craft known as Kintsugi—the art of repairing broken pottery using a lacquer dusted with powdered gold—the process of acknowledging and repairing our fragmented selves can make us even more beautiful than before, cracks and all. In this book, you won’t find platitudes or attempts to whitewash your experiences. What you will find are real, practical tools and guidance to help you make the most of your unique abilities.

Get rid of clutter and live a more meaningful life. From taking control of an overflowing closet to creating clear and achievable life goals, Mary Carlomagno shows you how to strip away the nonessentials and make room for serenity, change, creativity, and even enlightenment. Offering a practical week-at-a-time approach, Carlomagno helps you shed not only the unnecessary things that are cluttering up your day, but also the habits and mindsets that keep you from reaching your fullest potential.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A stunning “portrait of the enduring grace of friendship” (NPR) about the families we are born into, and those that we make for ourselves. A masterful depiction of love in the twenty-first century. NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • MAN BOOKER PRIZE FINALIST • WINNER OF THE KIRKUS PRIZE A Little Life follows four college classmates—broke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition—as they move to New York in search of fame and fortune. While their relationships, which are tinged by addiction, success, and pride, deepen over the decades, the men are held together by their devotion to the brilliant, enigmatic Jude, a man scarred by an unspeakable childhood trauma. A hymn to brotherly bonds and a masterful depiction of love in the twenty-first century, Hanya Yanagihara’s stunning novel is about the families we are born into, and those that we make for ourselves. Look for Hanya Yanagihara’s latest bestselling novel, To Paradise.

Dan Moyane was 10 years old when he lay on his back on a patch of grass at his parents' home in White City Jabavu, Soweto, looking at the moon and thinking, 'I don't want to die unknown.' The year was 1969, and Neil Armstrong and his team had recently achieved immortality by completing the first moon landing. It was the knowledge that the astronauts would be remembered as long as the world turned that made Dan realise that he, too, would like to be remembered by people outside of his immediate community, just as he would like to find out more about what lay beyond his horizon. Dan's insatiable curiosity and love of learning have ensured that his name has, indeed, become known throughout South Africa. This is the story of how he achieved his goal – from his days as a student at the apex of South Africa's political turmoil, to his years in exile in Mozambique and his first job in media, and the trajectory of a career that would see him become one of South Africa's most highly regarded and influential broadcasters. It is a career that led Dan to interview prominent leaders in Mozambique and South Africa and become acquainted with the likes of Nelson Mandela and Graça Machel, and saw him cover the country's birth into democracy, and help shape South Africans' understanding of the changed world around them. I Don't Want to Die Unknown delves into these experiences, giving a glimpse into the inquisitiveness and desire to know more, do more and be more that has driven Dan Moyane. It offers a rare insight into the man behind the microphone – his ambitions, trials, and motivations. Part memoir, part legacy, this book bears testimony to the fact that far from dying unknown, Dan is one of South Africa's most important, high profile media players and his story provides the framework for his next significant question: How best to use his public profile to benefit his countrymen.