Leaving On Top

David Heenan's Leaving on Top reveals the secrets to excelling in one of life's formidable challenges: the graceful exit.

Leaving on Top: Graceful Exits for Leaders explores what it means to move on from a career with a class and a view for what?s next. While most graceful exiters pursue a variety of interests throughout their professional lifetime, others are content to reach the top and then cling to it. Through this research, David Heenan has found that most leaders can be categorized into four exiting types: Timeless wonders: With their skills very much intact, these white-haired prodigies have no need to call it quits. Aging Despots: Reluctant to leave the spotlight, they are past their prime and should turn the reigns over to a new generation. Comeback Kids: Whether to return their enterprises to their former glory, or simply save themselves from boredom, these once-departed leaders have returned with a vengeance. Graceful Exiters: Quitting while ahead, they leave a sterling reputation as they move on. Heenan understands how to exit gracefully from his profession?he?s done it several times. In Leaving On Top, he pairs wisdom derived from his experience with dozens of high-profile exits, both graceful and untimely. Heenan?s examination includes ten exiting lessons from leaders of industry, such as: Know Thy Situation: Situations change, and the intuitive know when a great career has fizzled. Take Risks: Accept change as a natural part of your transition, push your comfort zone to confront new challenges. Keep Good Company: Build alliances to help plan your exit strategy, then stay connected. Keep Learning: Graceful exiters remain curious. They are intellectually interested, alert, and adaptable. Know When to Walk Away: Blind determination often backfires. Don?t let professional success cloud your personal life.

Six were taken. Eleven years later, five come back--with no idea of where they've been. A riveting mystery for fans of We Were Liars. Eleven years ago, six kindergartners went missing without a trace. After all that time, the people left behind moved on, or tried to. Until today. Today five of those kids return. They're sixteen, and they are . . . fine. Scarlett comes home and finds a mom she barely recognizes, and doesn't really recognize the person she's supposed to be, either. But she thinks she remembers Lucas. Lucas remembers Scarlett, too, except they're entirely unable to recall where they've been or what happened to them. Neither of them remember the sixth victim, Max--the only one who hasn't come back. Which leaves Max's sister, Avery, wanting answers. She wants to find her brother--dead or alive--and isn't buying this whole memory-loss story. But as details of the disappearance begin to unfold, no one is prepared for the truth. This unforgettable novel--with its rich characters, high stakes, and plot twists--will leave readers breathless.

Leaving on Top: Graceful Exits for Leaders explores what it means to move on from a career with a class and a view for what's next. While most graceful exiters pursue a variety of interests throughout their professional lifetime, others are content to reach the top and then cling to it. Through this research, David Heenan has found that most leaders can be categorized into four exiting types: Timeless wonders: With their skills very much intact, these white-haired prodigies have no need to call it quits. Aging Despots: Reluctant to leave the spotlight, they are past their prime and should turn the reigns over to a new generation. Comeback Kids: Whether to return their enterprises to their former glory, or simply save themselves from boredom, these once-departed leaders have returned with a vengeance. Graceful Exiters: Quitting while ahead, they leave a sterling reputation as they move on. Heenan understands how to exit gracefully from his profession'he's done it several times. In Leaving On Top, he pairs wisdom derived from his experience with dozens of high-profile exits, both graceful and untimely. Heenan's examination includes ten exiting lessons from leaders of industry, such as: Know Thy Situation: Situations change, and the intuitive know when a great career has fizzled. Take Risks: Accept change as a natural part of your transition, push your comfort zone to confront new challenges. Keep Good Company: Build alliances to help plan your exit strategy, then stay connected. Keep Learning: Graceful exiters remain curious. They are intellectually interested, alert, and adaptable. Know When to Walk Away: Blind determination often backfires. Don't let professional success cloud your personal life.

When I first came to consider how to compile and select a personal collection of 80 amazing cakes from all around the world, the task that was set out in front of me seemed almost impossible. There were just so many delicious choices from so many baking traditions! How could I possibly narrow down a selection from all across the baking globe to just 80 cakes, when deep down inside me I knew that I could easily include three times the number. Well, the truth is I simply had to settle on those cakes that I truly loved and felt would convey the wonder of the vast variety of cakes to be found from across all the continents of the globe. Cakes that I could happily cook and eat time and time again. Cakes that gave a sense of wonder and travel and occasionally eccentricity. But always cakes that tasted exquisite and that would be received with hungry appreciation. Some classics such as the French croquembouche seemed like they might be an insurmountable project for most so I combined it with the simplicity of the modern cupcake and the fun of constructing something that doesn’t take all day. I love the whimsical and the unexpected and I haven’t been able to resist giving a few of the cakes my own personal take and twists. They might not be completely true to the tradition with regard to technique or ingredients but they will, trust me, be every bit as delicious as the originals. Some might even think more so! We now appear to live in a world where we are all meant to love to bake. And more and more of us do indeed absolutely love to bake. I have been a pastry chef for more than thirty years now and so I couldn’t be happier with the ever-growing love and fascination with the wonderful world of cakes and baking in general. And it is a world – a very wide world indeed! The cakes of France and Europe differ so very greatly from those sweet delights coming from the ovens of, say, Asia or the Middle East; different flavours and techniques bringing differing results but with one single unifying truth – they are all absolutely delicious to eat. I love the fact that cakes can incorporate flavours and ingredients as wide-ranging and diverse as almonds, walnuts and pistachios contrasting with cakes emitting heavenly scents of cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg; cakes with luscious soft cheese, the finest honey, plumped juicy raisins, glutinous rice flour, sweet potatoes, pandan essence, the freshest of tree-picked fruits and let’s not forget those which are doused in the finest brandies, rums and wines of a locale. This is a world of passionate and creative bakers each creating a cake with their country’s most treasured produce, expertly crafted and sculpted. A global cake heaven. My heaven and I hope soon to be yours too!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FIRST CHAPTER (Provide us with a little information and we'll send your download directly to your inbox) * Entertaining climbing narrative about a destination many dream of visiting * Perfect gift for adventure travelers and climbers alike * Dorr's story was featured on the Outdoor Life Network's "Countdown to the 25 Most Dangerous Places" Mount Kilimanjaro is sometimes called "Everyman's Everest" because it is possible for a novice climber to reach the summit. And every year, more than 30,000 adventure tourists try. But for each person who goes to the mountain, there are thousands more who chat about it at cocktail parties, making plans to go...someday. That's how Daniel Dorr got started: flirting with a beautiful brunette over hot cocoa and spouting impressive plans. Six months later, he was lying on the cold gravel trail at 18,000 feet, panting and hacking in the darkness. Dorr is a typical marketing exec by day but, amped up by his re-acquaintance with a romantic interest, he gained the determination to pursue one of his lifelong dreams -- summiting Kilimanjaro. When Dorr left behind the familiarity of his weekend-warrior lifestyle in Southern California to reach the top of the 19,340-foot peak, he didn't realize he would cross a threshold to a new way of life. As he fondles expensive hi-tech gear, gets vaccinated for the jungle, travels local-style across East Africa, and vomits on top of the African continent, readers share in the rewards, both large and small, of reaching for personal fulfillment through adventure travel.

Whether you are planting a yard from scratch or modifying an existing area, Landscaping for Wildlife in the Pacific Northwest will help you select, arrange, and maintain plants and other landscape elements that fulfill wildlife needs. Homeowners, property owners, professional wildlife managers, landscape architects, and garden designers will all find it invaluable. A wealth of information is provided on: --Wildlife habitat and landscaping basics --Birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and insects likely to be attracted to your property --Specialty gardens for butterflies and hummingbirds --How to plant and maintain woodlands, grasslands, wetlands, and waterways --Feeders and nest boxes --Ponds and birdbaths --Potential problems --Wildlife viewing tips --Extensive plant lists

#1 International Bestseller “In this surging epic, a veritable decathlon of the spirit, Kennedy incisively dramatizes the enigma of chance, petty cruelty, and catastrophic evil, ‘unalloyed grief,’ and the tensile strength concealed beneath our obvious vulnerability.” —Booklist (starred review) On the night of her thirteenth birthday, Jane Howard made a vow to her warring parents: she would never get married, and she would never have children. But life, as Jane comes to discover, is a profoundly random business. Many years and many lives later, she is a professor in Boston, in love with a brilliant, erratic man named Theo. And then Jane becomes pregnant. Motherhood turns out to be a great welcome surprise—but when a devastating turn of events tears her existence apart she has no choice but to flee all she knows and leave the world. Just when she has renounced life itself, the disappearance of a young girl pulls her back from the edge and into an obsessive search for some sort of personal redemption. Convinced that she knows more about the case than the police do, she is forced to make a decision—stay hidden or bring to light a shattering truth. Leaving the World is a riveting portrait of a brilliant woman that reflects the way we live now, of the many routes we follow in the course of a single life, and of the arbitrary nature of destiny. A critically acclaimed international bestseller, it is also a compulsive read and one that speaks volumes about the dilemmas we face in trying to navigate our way through all that fate throws in our path.