Cures For Hunger

A “poignant but rigorously unsentimental” memoir of one man’s search for the truth about his father’s dark past, and how it shaped his own life (Kirkus Reviews). Growing up in rural British Columbia, Deni Béchard had no idea his family was extraordinary. He took pleasure in typical boyish activities: salmon fishing with his father, a daring man with a penchant for brawling, and reading with his mother, who was interested in health food and the otherworldly. Assigned to complete a family tree in school, Deni begins to wonder why he doesn’t know more about his father’s side of the family. His mother is from Pittsburgh, and there’s a vague sense that his father is from Quebec, but why the mystery? When his mother leaves Deni’s father and decamps with her children to Virginia, his curiosity only grows. Who is this man, why do the police seem so interested in him, and why is his mother so afraid of him? And when his mother begrudgingly tells Deni that his father was once a bank robber, his imagination is set on fire. Boyish rebelliousness soon gives way to fantasies of a life of crime, and a deep drive for experience leads him to a number of adventures: hitching to Memphis and stealing a motorcycle; fighting classmates and kissing girls. Before long, young Deni is imagining himself as a character in one of his father’s stories, or in the novels he devours. Both attracted and repelled, Deni can’t escape the sense that his father’s life holds the key to understanding himself. Eventually he moves back to Canada, only to find himself snared in the controlling impulses of his mysterious father, and increasingly obsessed by his father’s own muted recollections of the Quebecois childhood he’d fled long ago. “Powerful and haunting . . . a must-read for anyone who has ever struggled to uncover their identity within the shadow of a parent.” —Claire Bidwell Smith, author of The Rules of Inheritance “Cures for Hunger is a poignant adventure story with a mystery . . . But it is also, perhaps even more so, the story of an artist coming of age.” —The Plain Dealer “This darkly comic and lyrical memoir demonstrates the shaping of its author, who suffers the wreckage of his father’s life, yet manages to salvage all the beauty of its desperate freedoms. Béchard’s poetic gifts give voice to the outsiders of society, and make them glow with humanity and love.” —Elizabeth McKenzie, author of The Portable Veblen

Almost unbelievable. You'll swear it's fiction. True crime all in the family. "You haven't read a story like this one, even if your father was the kind of magnificent scoundrel you only find in Russian novels. Béchard is the rare writer who knows the secret to telling the true story." -- Marlon James, author of A Brief History of Seven Killings Growing up in rural British Columbia, Deni Béchard worships his father, believing that he can do no wrong. Although his charismatic father is prone to racing trains and brawling, Deni has no idea how unusual his family is. But when Deni discovers his father's true identity (and his other life as a bank robber), his imagination is set on fire. Before long, he begins to see himself as a character in one of his father's stories. He can't escape the sense that his father's life holds the key to understanding his own passions, aversions, and motivations. Eventually Deni finds himself ensnared in the controlling impulses of his mysterious father and increasingly obsessed by his father's own muted recollections: the impoverished childhood in the Gaspé he'd fled long ago, the hunger for excitement and a better life, and a trail of crimes leading from Québec to the American west. At once an extraordinary family story and an unconventional portrait of the artist as a young man, Cures for Hungeris a singular, deeply affecting memoir by an acclaimed writer.

An insatiable need for sex and love. Periods of overeating or starving. A pattern of unstable and painful relationships. Does this sound painfully familiar? Trauma counselor Kelly McDaniel has seen these traits over and over in clients who feel trapped in cycles of harmful behaviors-and are unable to stop. Many of us find ourselves stuck in unhealthy habits simply because we don't see a better way. With Mother Hunger, McDaniel helps women break the cycle of destructive behavior by taking a fresh look at childhood trauma and its lasting impact. In doing so, she destigmatizes the shame that comes with being under-mothered and misdiagnosed. McDaniel offers a healing path with powerful tools that include therapeutic interventions and lifestyle changes in service to healthy relationships. The constant search for mother love can be a lifelong emotional burden, but healing begins with knowing and naming what we are missing. McDaniel is the first clinician to identify Mother Hunger, which demystifies the search for love and provides the compass that each woman needs to end the struggle with achy, lonely emptiness, and come home to herself.

Drop Addictive Sweets and Starches--and Stop Weight Gain--in 24 Hours Featuring a 5-part questionnaire to help you identify your personal craving profile Julia Ross, best-selling author and expert in nutrition and overeating, exposes the real reason so many of us can’t stick to a healthy diet: our favorite foods are engineered to be addictive. At her clinic in California, Ross and her colleagues treat food addiction where it starts--in the brain--by triggering our natural appetite-regulating neurotransmitters with nutrients called amino acids. It turns out that these protein concentrates boost our neurotransmitters, which broadcast sensations of satisfaction that no food, including chocolate, can override. Thousands of Ross’ clients have abolished their cravings for high-calorie confections using this simple nutritional strategy. With The Craving Cure, Ross grants all of us access to this revolutionary approach. The process begins with a five-part questionnaire that helps you identify your unique craving profile and specifies the amino acid supplements you need to curb your specific cravings. Ross’ clear explanations of why and how to use the aminos empower you to reclaim your natural appetite control, and her anti-craving eating guidelines will permanently strengthen your dietary defenses. A well-researched and clinically-tested rejection of low-calorie, low-saturated fat, and low-protein diets, The Craving Cure reveals how we can effortlessly and permanently eradicate our cravings to lose weight, rediscover our nutritional heritage, and regain optimal mood, energy, and health.

Why does hunger persist in a world of plenty? Ending Hunger Worldwide challenges the naive notion that everyone wants hunger to end, arguing that the powerful care - but not enough to make a difference. George Kent argues that the central focus in overcoming hunger should be on building stronger communities. It is these communities which can provide mutual support to ensure that people don't go hungry. Kent demonstrates that there is not a shortage of food but of what Amartya Sen terms 'opportunities', and that developing tight-knit communities will lead to more opportunities for the hungry and undernourished. Ending Hunger Worldwide challenges dominant market-led solutions, and will be essential reading for activists, NGO workers and development students looking for a fresh perspective.

Every day, we wake up hungry. Every day, we break our fast. Hunger explores the range of this primal experience. Sharman Apt Russell, the highly acclaimed author of Anatomy of a Rose and An Obsession with Butterflies, here takes us on a tour of hunger, from eighteen hours without food to thirty-six hours to seven days and beyond. What Russell finds-both in our bodies and in cultures around the world-is extraordinary. It is a biological process that transcends nature to shape the very of fabric of societies. In a fascinating survey of centuries of thought on hunger's unique power, she discovers an ability to adapt to it that is nothing short of miraculous. From the fasting saints of the early Christian church to activists like Mahatma Gandhi, generations have used hunger to make spiritual and political statements. Russell highlights these remarkable cases where hunger can inspire and even heal, but she also addresses the devastating impact of starvation on cultures around the world today. Written with consummate skill, a compassionate heart, and stocked with facts, figures, and fascinating lore, Hunger is an inspiring window on history and the human spirit.

Follows generations of a French-Canadian family cursed by an odd genetic condition brought on by hardship that causes them to be born either giants or runts.