My Not So Storybook Life

Fresh, funny, and poignant, My (not so) Storybook Life is old-fashioned humor mashed with literary spoofery. Elizabeth thinks of herself and her husband, Matt, as a modern-day Lucy and Ricky Ricardo. Together they’ve endured paint-color mishaps, sewage disasters, pest infestations, and a schnauzer that poops at tornado sirens. It’s hardly the domestic perfection a young Liz imagined while reading Anne of Green Gables and Pride and Prejudice. Could it be that these literary stalwarts had led her astray? Liz tells the story of her own path to happiness, along the way seeking revenge on her literary heroes: Jo March has to cope with a soul-sucking job, Elizabeth Bennett shepherds a Duggar-size brood of kids, and Anne Shirley deals with a penny-pinching husband. But every comedy is balanced by tragedy. Angela was one of Liz’s closest friends, a kindred spirit who, at age thirty-one, was diagnosed with cancer. Before Angela, Liz was discontented. But it was the journey she took with this friend that made her realize that her house and its decorations and plumbing and dirty-clothes-covered Man Cave were not burdens to be tweaked and perfected, but blessings to be thankful for.

“life is not something that can be experienced on a deadline.” amanda lovelace, the bestselling & award-winning author of the “women are some kind of magic” poetry series, presents unlock your storybook heart, the third & final installment in her feminist poetry series, “you are your own fairy tale.” this is a collection about being so caught up in the fable that is perfectionism that you miss out on your own life. be honest: when was the last time you stopped to take in the everyday enchantment all around you?

Libraries are full of surprises, books of all description, old and new, famous and infamous, side-by-side shelves bursting with magazines next to racks bearing the world' s biggest and most important newspapers. You can find out just about anything you want to know in the silence of its reading rooms. Or you can simply read a novel or nod off in a well-cushioned fireside leather armchair and dream of another time, another place, a piece of history, perhaps your own, an adventure somewhere in your deep past, your stories, the ones you still tell your children and grandchildren. Such are the treasures in my library, tidbits and tales of people I've met and things I've done that have changed the way I see the world and how the world sees me, as a journalist, a father, an editor, a son, a poet, an observer and a participant. Come, enter with me and see what we can find inside.

When Mitt and Ann Romney met in their late teens, a great American love story began. And their life together would be blessed: five healthy sons, financial security, and a home filled with joy. Despite the typical ups and downs, they had a storybook life. Then, in 1998, Ann was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She couldn’t believe it was real; there were no therapies or treatments to help her. Mitt told her that day that they would tackle the diagnosis as a team: They were in it together. “As long as it isn’t fatal, we’re fine. If you have to be in a wheelchair, I’ll be right there to push it,” he told her. And Ann thought, “But I’ll be the one in the wheelchair.” A caregiver and helper her whole life, she’d crossed a terrible invisible line. She wouldn’t be able to care for her family anymore. She was the patient. Ann and Mitt would face the most frightening and humbling experience of their lives. From reflections on her early life, her marriage, and her diagnosis and recovery, the sources of her faith, and the stories of others who overcame adversity and inspired her to keep going, In This Together is a brave and deeply honest portrait of a family facing an unexpected blow, often in the most public of circumstances. *Contains an update for the paperback

Whether you want to improve your impact in speeches, staff meetings, pitches, emails, PowerPoint presentations, or any other communication setting, this book provides a novel approach that teaches you how to go from simply sharing a thought to making a difference. --

"When Katie Brenner is fired from her dream job in advertising in London, she's desperate to get away from her mad boss Demeter, and her crush, Alex, who she thought shared her feelings of adoration but didn't. Seeking refuge, she goes home to her father's farm in Somerset to help make her stepmother's dream of turning their land into a glamping retreat come true. Applying her savvy marketing smarts, Katie masterminds a glamorous upscale resort. But when Demeter shows up unannounced, with Alex not far behind, Katie is forced to rethink her revenge fantasies and her assumptions about family, love, and office politics and realize how much she may have misjudged everyone--and everything--around her"--

Isabella's plan to rescue her mother from the asylum is almost complete, when she suddenly wakes up with no memory of her past and no idea why she is on a ship to America. It is the year 1885. Two years later, Isabella is drawn to Brookhaven, a remote estate in North Carolina. Overwhelmed by familiarity she peers into a window and is dicovered by the proprietor, Edward Withers. When Edward sees Isabella, he is forced to confront the past he buried long ago. Isabella's eerie recollections of Brookhaven convince her she's been there before, but Edward assures her she is mistaken. Torn between fear and instinct, she chooses to trust him, until she discovers what is hidden on the second floor. When Isabella's memory returns, hope begins to outweigh the deceptive past. Frantic to save her mother before it is too late, Isabella must place her fate in Edward's hands. Isabella is about to learn the most signifcant secret of her past . . . it is only A Matter of Time.