Blood Life

Selected for The Globe 100 Books in 2013. With the 2013 CBC Massey Lectures, bestselling author Lawrence Hill offers a provocative examination of the scientific and social history of blood, and on the ways that it unites and divides us today. Blood runs red through every person’s arteries and fulfills the same functions in every human being. The study of blood has advanced our understanding of biology and improved medical treatments, but its cultural and social representations have divided us perennially. Blood pulses through religion, literature, and the visual arts. Every time it pools or spills, we learn a little more about what brings human beings together and what pulls us apart. For centuries, perceptions of difference in our blood have separated people on the basis of gender, race, class, and nation. Ideas about blood purity have spawned rules about who gets to belong to a family or cultural group, who enjoys the rights of citizenship and nationality, what privileges one can expect to be granted or denied, whether you inherit poverty or the right to rule over the masses, what constitutes fair play in sport, and what defines a person’s identity. Blood: The Stuff of Life is a bold meditation on blood as an historical and contemporary marker of identity, belonging, gender, race, class, citizenship, athletic superiority, and nationhood.

Blood Life is a vampire/witch thriller full of blood, magic, love, violence, and sex. The witches and vampires of the fictional world of the Spectrum have united and created a race of half-breeds called the Combined. These are very powerful entities, but their race has been threatened by a rogue vampire with very old, powerful blood named Lokee, son of the Great Witch, Devendra. This story is about letting Fate play out, but in all its turmoil, trying to save one woman who will be the key to saving the Combined. Can the Combined's strongest adversary form an army to defeat them, or will the power of three keep the race on top? Centered around the lives of four integral characters, Blood Life is a fresh and unique paranormal adventure. Meet Devendra, a powerful witch descended from one of the first lineages; Lokee, her son and worst enemy; Roman, her friend and companion; and Alethea, the key to it all... Blood Life is a full-length paranormal horror novel that will appeal to lovers of paranormal, dark fantasy, horror fiction, witches, vampires, and supernatural horror. Note from the author: Although this book can stand on its own, when I finished writing it, I realized Devendra had a lot more to say. Writing her book now as a prequel to Blood Life. Stay tuned!

A leading cancer specialist tells the powerful stories of 3 adult leukemia patients—shining new light on the hidden history of the disease and the drugs developed to treat it. “A look at leukemia patients’ fear, survival and grace while fighting the disease . . . a quiet chronicle of life with and beyond leukemia, and sometimes life’s end.” —The Washington Post When you are told that you have leukemia, your world stops. Your brain can’t function. You are asked to make decisions about treatment almost immediately, when you are not in your right mind. And yet you pull yourself together and start asking questions. Beside you is your doctor, whose job it is to solve the awful puzzle of bone marrow gone wrong. The two of you are in it together. In When Blood Breaks Down, Mikkael Sekeres, a leading cancer specialist, takes readers on the journey that patient and doctor travel together. Sekeres, who writes regularly for the “Well” section of The New York Times, tells the compelling stories of three people who receive diagnoses of adult leukemia within hours of each other: Joan, a 48-year-old surgical nurse, a caregiver who becomes a patient; David, a 68-year-old former factory worker who bows to his family’s wishes and pursues the most aggressive treatment; and Sarah, a 36-year-old pregnant woman who must decide whether to undergo chemotherapy and put her fetus at risk. We join the intimate conversations between Sekeres and his patients, and we watch as he teaches trainees. Along the way, Sekeres also explores leukemia in its different forms and the development of drugs to treat it—describing, among many other fascinating details, the invention of the bone marrow transplant (first performed experimentally on beagles) and a treatment that targets the genetics of leukemia. The lessons to be learned from leukemia, Sekeres shows, are not merely medical; they teach us about courage and grace and defying the odds.

For the Blood is the Life and Other Stories by Marion F. Crawford is a collection of blood-curdling stories for the most steady horror fans. Crawford writes a riveting collection about vampires, murders, and unexplored crypts. Excerpt: "SIR HUGH OCKRAM smiled as he sat by the open window of his study, in the late August afternoon. A curiously yellow cloud obscured the low sun, and the clear summer light turned lurid as if it had been suddenly poisoned and polluted by the foul vapors of a plague."

In this moving, disarmingly honest and humorous story of survival, Cathy Koning charts her leukaemia experience from diagnosis, cure and beyond, leaving us at the end full of wisdom and hope.

A standard blood test indicates how well the kidneys and liver are functioning, the potential for heart disease, and a host of other vital health markers. Unfortunately, most of us cannot decipher these results ourselves, nor can we even formulate the right questions to ask about them—or we couldn’t until now. In Your Blood Never Lies, best-selling author James LaValle clears up the mystery surrounding blood test results. In simple language, he explains all of the information found on these forms, making it understandable and accessible. This means that you can look at the results yourself and know the significance of each marker. Dr. LaValle even recommends the most effective conventional and complementary treatments for dealing with any problematic findings. Rounding out the book are the names of test markers that should be requested for a more complete physical picture. A blood test can reveal so much about your body, but only if you can interpret the results. Your Blood Never Lies provides the up-to-date information you need to take control of your health.

Reptiles and amphibians ruled the world for nearly 200 million years and today there are still over 12,500 of them. Some are huge, the deadliest creatures on earth. Some are tiny, among the strangest to be found anywhere. Together they not only outnumber mammals or birds but in their colourful variety and extraordinary behaviour, they far surpass them.So where did these ancient creatures come from? How have they transformed themselves into the bizarre and beautiful forms that are alive today? And what's the secret of their epic success? In Life in Cold Blood, David traces the story of their evolution and overturns the myth that these creatures are just primitive killers to reveal them for what they truly are.

Pinnacle 2000 New York filmmaker Morgan James is about to journey straight into the heart of a dark conspiracy, hidden deep in the mist-shrouded Maya rain forest of Central America, where a bizarre human experiment (including a baby factory) comes at a terrible price.In Vitro, Independent Film, Adoption, Fertility, Human Eggs, Guatemala, Peten, Maya, Mayan Pyramid, Vision Serp