The Matriarch

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "[The] rare biography of a public figure that's not only beautifully written, but also shockingly revelatory." -- The Atlantic A vivid biography of former First Lady Barbara Bush, one of the most influential and under-appreciated women in American political history. Barbara Pierce Bush was one of the country's most popular and powerful figures, yet her full story has never been told. THE MATRIARCH tells the riveting tale of a woman who helped define two American presidencies and an entire political era. Written by USA TODAY's Washington Bureau chief Susan Page, this biography is informed by more than one hundred interviews with Bush friends and family members, hours of conversation with Mrs. Bush herself in the final six months of her life, and access to her diaries that spanned decades. THE MATRIARCH examines not only her public persona but also less well-known aspects of her remarkable life. As a girl in Rye, New York, Barbara Bush weathered criticism of her weight from her mother, barbs that left lifelong scars. As a young wife, she coped with the death of her three-year-old daughter from leukemia, a loss that changed her forever. In middle age, she grappled with depression so serious that she contemplated suicide. And as first the wife and then the mother of American presidents, she made history as the only woman to see -- and advise -- both her husband and son in the Oval Office. As with many women of her era, Barbara Bush was routinely underestimated, her contributions often neither recognized nor acknowledged. But she became an astute and trusted political campaign strategist and a beloved First Lady. She invested herself deeply in expanding literacy programs in America, played a critical role in the end of the Cold War, and led the way in demonstrating love and compassion to those with HIV/AIDS. With her cooperation, this book offers Barbara Bush's last words for history -- on the evolution of her party, on the role of women, on Donald Trump, and on her family's legacy. Barbara Bush's accomplishments, struggles, and contributions are many. Now, Susan Page explores them all in THE MATRIARCH, a groundbreaking book certain to cement Barbara Bush as one of the most unique and influential women in American history.

Kathy Pettingill is a name that’s both respected and feared, not only by Australia’s criminal underworld, but by many in the Victorian police force. As the matriarch at the head of the most notorious and violent family of habitual offenders in Australian criminal history, her life has revolved around murder, drugs, prison, prostitution and bent coppers – and the intrigue and horror that surround such crimes. Her eldest son, Dennis Allen, was a mass murderer and a $70,000-a-week drug dealer who dismembered a Hell’s Angel with a chainsaw. Two younger sons were acquitted of the Walsh Street murders, the cold-blooded assassination of two police officers that changed the face of crime in Melbourne forever. One of the two, Victor, was gunned down himself in the street 14 years later, becoming the third son Kathy has buried. In this revised and updated authorised edition of Adrian Tame’s bestselling The Matriarch, Kathy Pettingill reveals the chilling truth behind many of the myths and legends that surround her family, including her experiences in the blood-spattered charnel house at the centre of Dennis Allen’s empire of drugs and violence. But this is no plea for pity. Forthright and deeply disturbing, like its subject, The Matriarch pulls no punches. Updated and revised for a new generation, this true crime classic is as terrifying and powerful as when it was first published.

Achieve success by becoming the change maker you were always meant to be. What is a matriarch? For one thing, you can tell she's in charge the second she walks into a room. She's bold, she's fierce, and she's got her own unique style. The matriarch isn't some crusty old lady dressed head-to-toe in black who sits at the head of the table barking demands at Sunday dinner. The modern matriarch is alive and vivacious. She's purposeful and deliberate about everything, from her career, to her home, to her family, to what she eats for lunch. She is not second guessing herself but moving herself and those she loves boldly into the future. The matriarch’s vision for her career is as big as her love for her family, and she's paid her worth for work she's passionate about. The matriarch knows exactly what she wants the end game to be and she has the power to make it come to fruition. Simply put: she has her act together and you feel safer and more secure when you're in her presence. So, the question is, how does one become her? This book answers that question and more. • Recast yourself • Own your wins • Define your legacy • Leverage your success Written by the CEO of a multimillion-dollar startup, The Matriarch Rules provides you with guidelines that empower you to find personal success and growth in being the compassionate, powerful, and forward-thinking woman you are.

This wonderfully gossipy novel whisks readers through the glamorous worlds of turn-of-the-century Vienna, Paris and London.

“If we turn our backs on who we are, who knows what danger we ourselves may become?” Orpahned by war, haunted by unknown origins, KIRA is a young woman with a secret. She can psychically communicate with certain animals. Determined to discover the truth of her heritage, Kira resumes her journey following the events of The Healer's Legacy. Together with Milos, and accompanied by her loyal companions, Kelmir and Vaith, she sets sail for the strange land across the Faersent Sea. But when she arrives in her mother’s homeland, what awaits her is not the welcoming arms of loving relatives, but a land filled with political strife, dark intrigue, and a family secret that could shatter everything.

In keeping with his commitment to revisit his first five pieces of fiction, Witi Ihimaera has reworked the original text of this much-loved classic. The matriarch is a woman of intelligence, wit, beauty and ruthlessness, and has become a mythical figure through her fight to repossess the land and sustain her people against the ravages wrought by the Pakeha. Priestess of the Ringatu faith, she has been virtually a law unto herself. In his search for the truth behind the legends surrounding the matriarch, his grandmother, Tama Mahana delves deeper and deeper into Maori history and lore to understand the mysterious sources of her power and ambition. Witi Ihimaera's prose is at turns lyrical and spare, sensuous and savage. Weaving fact with fiction, this remarkable odyssey into New Zealand history is a novel of stunning imaginative power. Also available as an eBook Winner of the Wattie Book of the Year, 1986 Runner-up for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize, 1987 'Witi Ihimaera's uncompromising masterwork . . . A profound and spellbinding character study' - New Zealand Herald

Two hair-dryers from outer space visit a normal home on Earth to rescue a fellow home appliance from the shackles of slavery. However, the blender they came to rescue does not seem willing to follow them...