Separate Lives

No, Q was not a mere coincidence. Kajal felt a rapid pining for Q to see his work. He urgently needed her to. He was finally ready. Q..That night when I gave her the name, she had no voice or eyes or ears. She wasnt even an animal. She was just an object. A motif that defined a clan. Three individuals resolute minded Doctor, seemingly self-assured relationship-hopper Q and Kajal, an academic failure with growing-up ghosts are thrown into a tryst with circumstances, and layer by layer, they discover themselves more than they unravel each other. As fate leads Kajals life to intertwine with Qs in a way that both find their spaces in the world, Doctor is forced to face brutal realities of his own inadequacies, sending his life spiraling downward into darkness while still seeking the truth. Set in a palpable backdrop of northeast India and London, the non-linear narrative builds minor culminations while rippling to a climax that surprises and leaves a mixed after-taste. Separate Lives weaves the compelling tale of three everyday individuals as their distinct pasts, presents and futures collide, even as chance is the simultaneous protagonist and antagonist.

Your partner of ten years, and the father of your children (though not your husband, because the two of you agreed that marriage seems so...old-fashioned), receives a text message. A text message you happen to see when you're getting ready for work one day: Start living a different kind of life... P :-) xxx You don't even know anyone with the initial P, but even if you did, the smiley face and kisses would send a shiver of fear down your spine that everything you and your partner have built and which seemed so strong, might be in danger of collapse. How could you miss that? Narrated by Susie, her partner Alex, and the mysterious P, this is an achingly funny, moving and honest portrayal of modern romance, parenthood, and adultery.

Yolanda Lee is an African American married woman whose beauty surpasses the expectations of men. Life, however, takes a twist as the love of her life journeys the path of double-standard living, and this poses serious threats to life and property. Anyone susceptible to his fiery passion ends up at a cross-road and in for an unexpected treat. Being surrounded by ravishingly beautiful women, kindles a fire within which burns, and increases cravings; but the onus is on him to exercise self-control. Separate Lives is an intense and interesting story about love, betrayal, deceit, passion, murder and the risks of unforgivingness and lack of self-control.

A pioneer woman educator in the male-dominated world of nineteenth-century academia, Mary Rippon was the first female professor at the University of Colorado and is believed to have been the first woman in the United States to teach at a state university. Mary received wide acclaim for her teaching, but Victorian society forced her to lead two very separate lives. "Miss Rippon," as she was always known, was both a professional woman and a mother in an era when these two roles could not be combined. To keep her job and provide for her family, she hid her husband and child behind a Victorian veil of secrecy that spanned two continents. Separate Lives reveals the full story of the conflicts between this extraordinary woman’s public and private lives. In January 1878, after several years of education in Germany, France, and Switzerland, the soft-spoken twenty-seven-year-old was welcomed at the newly opened University of Colorado in the then-small frontier town of Boulder. The growth of her lengthy career paralleled the early growth of the university, where she worked her way up from first female faculty member to the university's first female professor, eventually chairing the Department of German Language and Literature. The truth of Mary’s separate lives was not disclosed until nearly a century later, in 1976, when her elderly grandson revealed to a university librarian that he was Mary’s descendant. In 2006, Mary received a posthumous honorary degree from the University of Colorado, and in 2020 a scholarship was endowed in her name. Silvia Pettem’s carefully researched biography weaves together the story of Mary’s private life with her professional career—not to tarnish Mary's well-deserved reputation, but rather to uncover the human side of a woman whose circumstances clashed with the mores of her times.

Auctioneer Honor Horton is able to channel the past lives of her clients. Now working with Dr. Carson Ankerson, she catches glimpses of his past relationship with his best friend's wife, Rachel. However, getting entangled in Dr. Ankerson story may pose a threat to Honor's own future when she finds herself in bed with her client. Is it because of the rift with her boyfriend, Dustin, or is she channeling Rachel? Will Honor and Dustin be able to survive the havoc their indiscretions wreaked on their relationship?

In a section of Memphis, TN called Smokey City, two girls; Lori Ann Keefer and April Gail Quincy grow up right across the street from one another. Though they attend the same elementary, middle and high schools, their perceptions of life and living are totally different. They do everything together! They go to the same church and get baptized at the same time. They take long walks in the neighborhood for fun. One excels academically and the other is a social butterfly. They both think they are lucky to have each other as friends. They both think they are smart in their own way. Both are popular in their own ways, but one has a reputation that often gets the other one in trouble. They double date as they get older and discover their integrity and preferences are totally different. As they approach womanhood, they realize their friendship is no longer an integral part of their life or development because college, marriage, children, distance, addiction, and jobs pull them further apart. They lose the one mainstay from their past - their friendship, which leads to different paths in their separate lives. You don’t have to talk every day to be a friend, but that friend must know that you will be there when they need you.

The authors passion is history, and this volume fulfills a lifelong quest to tell the story of his mothers long and intricate relationship with a world class athlete and sports and entertainment icon, Mr. Charles Charlie Major, Sr. Written in personal and biographical style, the story captures the heroic journeys of these two ordinary Bahamians, and their singular vision in founding the Nassau Stadium, The Bahamas major sports entertainment mecca for almost half century. It charts Charlie Majors college years at St. Bonaventure College, New York and his phenomenal rise to international prominence as a record holder in the high jump in the 1920s. And, it relates an anthological account of Willamae Deveauxs impressive culinary and managerial resume, and her love and fidelity to her family and church. In brief, the book is a tribute to the lives of these heroes, whose great accomplishments believe their humble beginnings. It is a story of love, friendship and commitment, and an inspiration to all.

In Learning to Live, Douglas Palermo takes us on his personal journey for meaning, purpose, and enlightenment in an otherwise meaningless, fragmented, post-modern world. Through his personal writings (short stories, essays, articles, poems, etc.) we follow Doug from being an 8th grade student all the way to being a teacher of 8th grade students-covering over twelve years in the process. We see Doug the high school student developing his writing skills and using them for fun and humor in the classroom and on the internet. We see Doug the college student using his writing to tackle issues of politics and self-identity in his essays and short stories. We see Doug the young adult yearn for spiritual enlightenment in his metaphysical notebook and fictions. And we see Doug the teacher synthesizing all he learned and sharing it with the world through his journal entries and rap songs. Take the journey through the writings of Douglas Palermo and you will find his soul and the soul of the Universe.