My Life In Heavy Metal

From the New York Times–bestselling author and Dear Sugars columnist, an arousing story collection exploring modern love in the age of hook-up culture. Steve Almond’s My Life in Heavy Metal presents twelve passion-fueled stories—including his Pushcart Prize-winning story “The Pass”—that take a clear-eyed view of relationships between young men and women who have come of age in an era without innocence. These are powerful and resonant stories of love and lust that bring to life a generation’s search for connection in a fragmented world. In the title story, an El Paso newspaper clerk assigned to review the heavy metal bands playing local arenas is drawn in by the primal music, fueling a torrid affair with a Mexican-American woman that will change him forever. In “Geek Player, Love Slayer,” a thirty-three-year-old woman harbors a secret crush on the young computer repairman in her office-until her ardor is unleashed at an after-work party. In “Valentino,” two teenagers in their last summer before college experience a sexual awakening inspired by the romantic legend of a movie star from long ago. A book The Guardian called “hip social satire,” My Life in Heavy Metal captures the moments when the fires of passion burn over and subside into embers of pain and longing. “[A] gifted storyteller . . . [Almond] writes with a loose, anthropological humor.” —The New York Times Book Review “Fourteen delightful debut stories.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

* Laina Dawes is not always the only black woman at metal shows and she's not always the only headbanger among her black female friends. In this book, she questions herself, her hardcore heroes and dozens of black punk, metal and hard-rock fans to answer a knee-jerk question she's heard a hundred times 'What are you doing here?'.

A first collection of twelve powerful stories that takes a clear-eyed view of relationships between young men and women who have come of age in an era without innocence, My Life in Heavy Metal received tremendous acclaim in hardcover. In the past year, Almond has won a Pushcart Prize and been a finalist for the National Magazine Award.

Al Atkins is the former lead singer and founder of the multi-million selling British metal band Judas Priest. But where and when did it all begin? During the sixties when the highly lauded Brum Beat era produced bands such as The Move, Atkins played in various semi-pro outfits. It was in 1969 that Atkins decided to have a go at forming yet another band with his childhood friend Bruno Stapenhill. The band in question was JUDAS PRIEST. Priest quickly built up a reputation in the Midlands as a powerful live act and even secured a record deal with Immediate, which was owned by ex-Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham. Atkins even recorded the very first Judas Priest demo: "Good Time Woman" and "We'll Stay Together". Unfortunately, Immediate folded and so did Priest. Undeterred, Atkins resurrected Priest with another line-up in 1970 with guitarist K K Downing and bassist Ian Hill. In '71 they made a 7" single acetate: "Holy is the Man" and "Mind Conception". Through the early seventies Priest supported many bands including Slade, Status Quo and Black Sabbath. A revolving line-up continued until May 1973 when Atkins finally decided to call it a day. His memoirs contain very rare archive photos and memorabilia from Judas Priest's past circa 1969-1973. Also included are interviews with various members of Priest's history. Atkins is the co-writer of several Priest songs which are included on the band's first two albums "Rocka Rolla" and "Sad Wings of Destiny" both of which eventually went Gold. Atkins co-penned the heavy metal classic "Victim of Changes". With a foreword by Judas Priest bassist Ian Hill, "Dawn of the Metal Gods" is not just a book for Judas Priest fans but a bible for all those wishing to form a band in the tumultuous world of heavy metal.

A cofounder and the bassist of the heavy metal band Megadeth shares his uplifting and empowering memoir about overcoming addiction and dedicating his life to God.

Remember the ill-fitting tuxes, regrettable dresses, wilting corsages, cheap beer, and rented limos that marked the biggest, most-anticipated celebration of the school year? Remember when the whole world hung in the balance of just one night? Well, lots of your favorite writers do too, and they share the good, the bad, and the embarrassingly ugly in this wonderful compendium of personal reminiscences about prom night. Rob Spillman has collected the prom memories of Cintra Wilson, Walter Kirn, Steve Almond, Samantha Dunn, Susie Bright, Mike Albo, and many others, capturing the magic, the misery, and the atrocious attire in a hilarious look at the simultaneously sublime and ridiculous event that has become the American right of passage. Whether prom night is something you fondly remember or long to forget, The Time of My Life will bring it all back, capturing with wit and poignancy precisely what it was like to be young, hormonal, and dressed like a butler or bridesmaid.

Many of my colleagues asked me to bring the latest and now greatest news about chelation to the public as well as to the medical community at large. I interviewed a number of doctors who provide chelation treatment and asked them to describe their approach as well as their clinical results. Voila - this book - a compendium of chelation protocols, products, and spectacular cases.