Pens Are My Friends

Text by Harlan Levey, Peter Thaler, Lars Denicke.

Reproduction of the original. The publishing house Megali specialises in reproducing historical works in large print to make reading easier for people with impaired vision.

Lambda Literary Award Winner! “Pen is an inspiration to anyone who’s struggled to be understood, and a vital addition to the growing world of genderqueer protagonists.” —New York Times Book Review All Pen wants is to be the kind of girl she’s always been. So why does everyone have a problem with it? They think the way she looks and acts means she’s trying to be a boy—that she should quit trying to be something she’s not. If she dresses like a girl, and does what her folks want, it will show respect. If she takes orders and does what her friend Colby wants, it will show her loyalty. But respect and loyalty, Pen discovers, are empty words. Old-world parents, disintegrating friendships, and strong feelings for other girls drive Pen to see the truth—that in order to be who she truly wants to be, she’ll have to man up. M. E. Girard’s Girl Mans Up is perfect for fans of Meredith Russo, Becky Albertalli, Alex Sanchez, and Jaye Robin Brown! Entertainment Weekly Best YA Book of 2016 * Children’s Book Council Books Best Book of 2016 * Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Coming-of-Age Novel of 2016 and Best Teen Book of 2016 with Unforgettable Protagonists * Publishers Weekly Fall 2016 Flying Starts * William C. Morris YA Debut Award Finalist

Orissa Society of Americas 39th Annual Convention Souvenir for Convention held in 2008 at Toronto, Canada re-published as Golden Jubilee Convention July 4-7, 2019 Atlantic City, New Jersey commemorative edition. Odisha Society of the Americas Golden Jubilee Convention will be held in Atlantic City, New Jersey during July 4-7, 2019. Convention website is http://www.osa2019.org. Odisha Society of the Americas website is http://www.odishasociety.org

This book is a collection of 62 real-life stories from the author’s experiences that occurred over 15 years. Thirty-four of these were published in a daily. Twenty-eight are being published for the first time here. These include a diversity of characters, incidents, conversations filled with unsuspecting twists, suspense and thrilling, joyful and happy endings. These are stories embedded with emotions, relationships, mysteries and learning. -How does a grandmother serve a royal meal of one full egg to her grandchild? What message is she trying to convey to the rest of the family through this? Has the Chinese girl Lio Sa met an Indian friend again? Does their mutual admiration blossom further? How did a group of friends save their friend’s life? How did an aboriginal person stir sugar in hot tea? Why and how did a white Canadian argue to travel together in the same coach with an Indian in a train? How did an uncle save his nephew from mosquito bites? A concoction of non-fiction and a cocktail of emotions, mysteries and relationships, the author has transformed 62 real-life stories in a literary diamond with 62 cuts.

This book gives us the rare and meaningful insight that is not often found in the world of psychiatry and mental health, an area that, even today, a large proportion of society still associates with stigma and shame. This book is invaluable in that it presents a patients perspective to the reader, shedding new light on the amount of suffering a mental illness such as schizophrenia can cause. We are taken on a journey of the life of this man right from his earliest school days till present. We read and learn about the author as a young boy, a student, and as a young man when the first symptoms of his illness began to manifest. We then follow the whole course of the author's struggle with his illness and recovery. Throughout the entire course of the narrative, the author does a brilliant job of explaining the thoughts, the experiences, and the struggle he experienced as a victim of mental illness in such a way that the reader is unable to read without empathizing and question how it would feel if their own mind were to turn against them in such a way.