Our Lives Our Stories

Sign languages are non-written languages. Given that the use of digital media and video recordings in documenting sign languages started only some 30 years ago, the life stories of Deaf elderly signers born in the 1930s-1940s have – except for a few scattered fragments in film – not been documented and are therefore under serious threat of being lost. The chapters compiled in this volume document important aspects of past and present experiences of elderly Deaf signers across Europe, as well as in Israel and the United States. Issues addressed include (i) historical events and how they were experienced by Deaf people, (ii) issues of identity and independence, (iii) aspects of language change, (iv) experiences of suppression and discrimination. The stories shared by elderly signers reveal intriguing, yet hidden, aspects of Deaf life. On the negative side, these include experiences of the Deaf in Nazi Germany and occupied countries and harsh practices in educational settings, to name a few. On the positive side, there are stories of resilience and vivid memories of school years and social and professional life. In this way, the volume contributes in a significant way to the preservation of the cultural and linguistic heritage of Deaf communities and sheds light on lesser known aspects against an otherwise familiar background. This publication has been made possible within the SIGN-HUB project, which has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.

Powerful ideas from narrative therapy can teach us how to create new life stories and promote change. Our lives and their pathways are not fixed in stone; instead they are shaped by story. The ways in which we understand and share the stories of our lives therefore make all the difference. If we tell stories that emphasize only desolation, then we become weaker. If we tell our stories in ways that make us stronger, we can soothe our losses and ease our sorrows. Learning how to re-envision the stories we tell about ourselves can make an enormous difference in the ways we live our lives. Drawing on wisdoms from the field of narrative therapy, this book is designed to help people rewrite and retell the stories of their lives. The book invites readers to take a new look at their own stories and to find significance in events often neglected, to find sparkling actions that are often discounted, and to find solutions to problems and predicaments in unexpected places. Readers are introduced to key ideas of narrative practice like the externalizing problems - 'the person is not the problem, the problem is the problem' -and the concept of "re-membering" one's life. Easy-to-understand examples and exercises demonstrate how these ideas have helped many people overcome intense hardship and will help readers make these techniques their own. The book also outlines practical strategies for reclaiming and celebrating one's experience in the face of specific challenges such as trauma, abuse, personal failure, grief, and aging. Filled with relatable examples, useful exercises, and informative illustrations, Retelling the Stories of Our Lives leads readers on a path to reclaim their past and re-envision their future.

Winner of the 2003 Trillium Book Award "Stories are wondrous things," award-winning author and scholar Thomas King declares in his 2003 CBC Massey Lectures. "And they are dangerous." Beginning with a traditional Native oral story, King weaves his way through literature and history, religion and politics, popular culture and social protest, gracefully elucidating North America's relationship with its Native peoples. Native culture has deep ties to storytelling, and yet no other North American culture has been the subject of more erroneous stories. The Indian of fact, as King says, bears little resemblance to the literary Indian, the dying Indian, the construct so powerfully and often destructively projected by White North America. With keen perception and wit, King illustrates that stories are the key to, and only hope for, human understanding. He compels us to listen well.

This book harnesses the therapeutic power of storytelling to convert feelings of fear and powerlessness into affirmative life narratives.

“Truthful and empowering.” —Booklist From Amy Reed, Ellen Hopkins, Amber Smith, Nina LaCour, Sandhya Menon, and more of your favorite YA authors comes an “outstanding anthology” (School Library Connection) of essays that explore the diverse experiences of injustice, empowerment, and growing up female in America. This collection of twenty-one essays from major YA authors—including award-winning and bestselling writers—touches on a powerful range of topics related to growing up female in today’s America, and the intersection with race, religion, and ethnicity. Sure to inspire hope and solidarity to anyone who reads it, Our Stories, Our Voices belongs on every young woman’s shelf. This anthology features essays from Martha Brockenbrough, Jaye Robin Brown, Sona Charaipotra, Brandy Colbert, Somaiya Daud, Christine Day, Alexandra Duncan, Ilene Wong (I.W.) Gregorio, Maurene Goo. Ellen Hopkins, Stephanie Kuehnert, Nina LaCour, Anna-Marie LcLemore, Sandhya Menon, Hannah Moskowitz, Julie Murphy, Aisha Saeed, Jenny Torres Sanchez, Amber Smith, and Tracy Walker.

ABOUT THE BOOK"In Our Stories Lies Our Strength: Aging, Spirituality, and Narrative" is aimed at thoughtful older adults who are committed to aging as creatively, as positively, and as resiliently as possible amid the challenges and changes that come with later life. It is aimed as well at professionals and volunteers who offer spiritual care to older adults in a wide range of settings, from hospitals to nursing homes, from hospice to rehabilitation, and from religious congregations to community centers. These include: chaplains, pastors, rabbis, priests, parish nurses, social workers, therapists, spiritual directors, and volunteers - anyone whose calling is to listen deeply to older adults' stories and, in the process, help them to re-story in healing and life-affirming ways.ABOUT THE AUTHORWilliam L. (Bill) Randall is Professor of Gerontology at St. Thomas University. Prior to entering academic life, he was a minister for 11 years with the United Church of Canada, serving pastorates in Saskatchewan, Ontario, and New Brunswick. A graduate of Harvard College, Princeton Seminary, and the University of Toronto, he is author or co-author of over 60 publications on the topic of Narrative Gerontology, including the books "The Stories We Are: An Essay on Self-Creation" (University of Toronto Press, 1995/2014), "Reading Our Lives: The Poetics of Growing Old" (Oxford University Press, 2008), and "The Narrative Complexity of Ordinary Life: Tales from the Coffee Shop" (Oxford UP, 2015). He has been chief co-organizer of three international conferences called "Narrative Matters" and is co-editor of the online, peer-reviewed journal, "Narrative Works." With a special interest in aging and spirituality (broadly defined), Bill joins a growing number of researchers and practitioners worldwide who acknowledge the power of "narrative care" in promoting emotional and mental well-being in later life.

A Beauty and the Beast short story with a thrilling twist. This page-turner will turn the fairy tale on its head! Lisa Tootles discovers more than she expects when she steps through an enchanted doorway during a game of Manhunt with her cousins. On the other side is a Prince that has been cursed. Sharden is running out of time. Cursed before he was even born, he waits by the doorway for the one the witch said could break the spell. What he gets is a curvy human woman who doesn’t have a clue that his world even existed, much less how to break a curse. Join Lisa and Sharden as they discovered that it doesn’t matter what you look like on the outside; it is who you are on the inside that counts in this delightful fairy tale. A NY Times and USA Today bestselling author, the internationally acclaimed S.E. Smith presents a new story with her signature humor and unpredictable twists! Exciting adventure, hot romance, and iconic characters have won her a legion of fans. Over TWO MILLION books sold!