Nobody Knew She Was There

This is the true story of a mother who rose to the challenges of surviving the Second World War with family intact, lived an intensely passionate and deeply troubled personal life afterward, endured the perils of cultural displacement, and suffered the loss of her identity as she drifted toward an agonizingly slow death from an affliction that stole her mind. It is also the story of her bemused family members, all trying to demystify the woman they thought they knew, together producing a fascinating kaleidoscopic picture of a mystery they cannot unravel. Finally, it is the author's own story--the aging son reflecting on the enigmas of identity, family myths, dying, and death. These stories are set in Glasgow and Toronto.

This is the true story of a mother who rose to the challenges of surviving the Second World War with family intact, lived an intensely passionate and deeply troubled personal life afterward, endured the perils of cultural displacement, and suffered the loss of her identity as she drifted toward an agonizingly slow death from an affliction that stole her mind. It is also the story of her bemused family members, all trying to demystify the woman they thought they knew, together producing a fascinating kaleidoscopic picture of a mystery they cannot unravel. Finally, it is the author's own story--the aging son reflecting on the enigmas of identity, family myths, dying, and death. These stories are set in Glasgow and Toronto.

It's autumn in Tokyo, and 12-year-old Akira and his younger siblings Kyoko, Shige, and little Yuki have just moved into a new apartment with their mother. Akira hopes it's a new start for all of them. But their mother soon begins to spend more and more time away from the apartment, and then one morning Akira finds an envelope of money and a note. She has gone away with her new boyfriend for a while. For a brief time the children bask in their freedom. They shop, explore, plant a little balcony garden, have the playground to themselves. Even when the bank account is empty and the utilities are turned off and the children become increasingly ill kempt, it seems in the bustling big city, nobody notices them. It's as if nobody knows.

The nail-bitingly intense story of a summer at camp that ends in a disturbing death—and depicts a powerful friendship that won’t ever be forgotten. Perfect for fans of One of Us Is Lying and Broken Things. Kayla is still holding on to Lainie’s secrets. After all, Lainie is Kayla’s best friend. And despite Lainie’s painful obsession with her on-again, off-again boyfriend, and the ways he has tried to come between them, friends don’t spill each other’s secrets. They don’t betray each other’s trust. The murder at the end of the summer doesn’t change all that. Besides—Kayla knows that the truth is not the whole story.

Shannon was 13 and she wanted to die. She hated her parents, her body, her friends - her life. She never felt pretty or popular enough. She struggled with drinking. She was sexually assaulted. She nearly starved herself. But Shannon survived her pain and slowly began finding peace in her life. With warmth and insight, Shannon McLinden shares the true story of her journey through addiction and depression, offering a lifeline of support for girls everywhere. Like the best-selling Go Ask Alice, this compelling true account of the secrets and pains of a teen girl are revealed with utter honesty.

My story begins aged 3, when my mother abandoned me and left me with my brutal father to raise me. Nobody knew the secrets that went on inside that house, or the journey that I travelled on after leaving it, until now. This is the story of my survival. What do you do when no one wants you? How many people need to destroy a child until that child wants to destroy herself? What if social services always got told a different story? What would you do if you were in my position? Survival is key.

She is probably best remembered for her wistful-husky voice which, as Pauline Kael wrote, "was one of the best sounds in the romantic comedies of the 30s and 40s". But Jean Arthur's screen career began in silent films and spanned more than a quarter of a century. She worked with great directors of Hollywood's Golden Age: John Ford, Frank Capra, Cecil B. DeMille, Howard Hawks, George Stevens and Billy Wilder; and she shared star billing with the likes of Gary Cooper, James Stewart, Cary Grant, Alan Ladd, Charles Boyer and John Wayne. Her most enduring films include Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, You Can't Take It With You, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, The More the Merrier, The Whole Town's Talking, A Foreign Affair and, in her last screen appearance, Shane. She was, in fact, one of the most popular and beloved movie stars of her time. Jean Arthur's popularity sprang from her talent, her charm and her quiet beauty, not from her offscreen exploits. Independent, indifferent to most of Hollywood's rules if not defiant of them, treasuring her privacy above all else, she chose to become an enigma - and so she has remained until now. In this, the first biography of Jean Arthur, John Oller, after years of research among the actress's closest friends, relatives and co-workers, has uncovered the life she tried so hard to shroud: a bruising, rootless childhood that left her with a crushing sense of insecurity, but also a steely determination to stand up for herself and what she believed in; a romance with David O. Selznick that ended unhappily, a childless marriage to film executive Frank Ross that descended into bitterness and recrimination, and rumors of lesbianism that continue to this day; legal battles fought over the roles she was offered as well as in defense of animals and the environment; repeated, aborted attempts to conquer Broadway that yielded but one theatrical triumph - as Peter Pan, a character she loved because, like herself, he refused to deal with the world on its terms. This is an engrossing, humane biography that strikes a fitting balance between the acting career and the personal life of an unforgettable star, and does full justice to both.

When she is four years old Amra Pajalić realises that her mother is different. Fatima is loving but sometimes hears strange voices that tell her to do bizarre things. She is frequently sent to hospital and Amra and her brother are passed around to family friends and foster homes, and for a time live with their grandparents in Bosnia. At sixteen Amra ends up in the school counsellor's office for wagging school. She finally learns the name for the malady that has dogged her mother and affected her own life: bipolar disorder. Amra becomes her mother's confidante and learns the extraordinary story of her life: when she was fifteen years old Fatima visited family friends only to find herself in an arranged marriage. At sixteen she was a migrant, a mother, and mental patient. Surprisingly funny, Things Nobody Knows But Me is a tender portrait of family and migration, beautifully told. It captures a wonderful sense of bicultural place and life as it weaves between St Albans in suburban Australia and Bosanska Gradiška in Bosnia. Ultimately it is the heartrending story of a mother and daughter bond fractured and forged by illness and experience. Fatima emerges as a remarkable but wounded woman who learns that her daughter really loves her.