The Story Bench

#1 New York Times Bestselling Picture Book Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex's first children's book, The Bench, beautifully captures the special relationship between father and son, as seen through a mother's eyes. The book's storytelling and illustration give us snapshots of shared moments that evoke a deep sense of warmth, connection, and compassion. This is your bench Where you'll witness great joy. From here you will rest See the growth of our boy. In The Bench, Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex, touchingly captures the evolving and expanding relationship between father and son and reminds us of the many ways that love can take shape and be expressed in a modern family. Evoking a deep sense of warmth, connection, and compassion, The Bench gives readers a window into shared and enduring moments between a diverse group of fathers and sons - moments of peace and reflection, trust and belief, discovery and learning, and lasting comfort. Working in watercolour for the first time, Caldecott-winning, bestselling illustrator Christian Robinson expands on his signature style to bring joy and softness to the pages, reflecting the beauty of a father's love through a mother's eyes. With a universal message, this thoughtful and heartwarming read-aloud is destined to be treasured by families for generations to come.

'With echoes of David Nicholls's One Day, this romance has just the right mix of heart-melting moments and heart-rending near misses' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING 'Intensely romantic' SUNDAY MIRROR 'Wonderful, heart-tugging' PRIMA 'Timeless and moving' HOLLY MILLER Perfect for fans of ONE DAY and ME BEFORE YOU, this is a heartbreaking love story spanning three decades that starts and ends on a bench, by the Richard & Judy Book Club bestselling author. __________________________________________ It begins at the end. It begins on a bench, on a heath, where a woman waits for a man. Ten years ago, they made a pact: On this bench, on this day, they will end a love affair that's spanned three decades, or start again. They should never have met. They should never have fallen in love. But they did, until a lie separated them for a lifetime. Can they fix the mistake, forgive the lie, erase the years in-between? Can what was lost ever truly be found? __________________________________________ Readers are falling in LOVE with The Bench . . . 'I loved this book from beginning to end' ***** Reader review 'A raw, emotional book about love in all its guises' Sun 'I cried at the end, they were happy tears!' ***** Reader review 'Heartbreaking' Bella 'What an epic love story, I loved this so much' ***** Reader review 'Irresistible' Jemma Wayne 'Beautiful, painful, heart-breaking' ***** Reader review 'Honest, tender' Emma Rous 'Poignant and heart-wrenching' Mary Chamberlain 'I absolutely loved it' ***** Reader review 'Beautiful' Cecilia Ekbäck 'I fell head over heels in love with it' Fiona Mitchell 'Wonderful storytelling' ***** Reader review 'Wonderful' Lisa Ballantyne *THE NEW LOVE STORY FROM SASKIA SARGINSON, SEVEN MONTHS OF SUMMER, IS OUT NOW*

Having seen what being left out is like, children become agents of change, convincing their teacher to let them build a buddy bench. A school playground can be a solitary place for a kid without playmates; in one survey, 80 percent of 8- to 10-year-old respondents described being lonely at some point during a school day. Patty Brozo’s cast of kids brings a playground to raucous life, and Mike Deas’s illustrations invest their games with imaginary planes to fly, dragons to tame, and elephants to ride. And these kids match their imaginations with empathy, identifying and swooping up the lonely among them. Buddy benches are appearing in schoolyards around the country. Introduced from Germany in 2014, the concept is simple: When a child sits on the bench, it’s a signal to other kids to ask him or her to play.

Overwhelmed, Miranda feels she is failing to live up to her mother's perfect image. Perhaps running for Mom of the Year on the 25th anniversary of her mother's win would change that and atone for the role that Miranda believes she played in her mom's death. Unfortunately, Miranda's son's behavior might prove her failure and disqualify any chance she has in the contest. A desperate prayer leads her to a park bench where she meets a remarkable stranger. The bench becomes a path to purpose as old dreams Miranda set on the shelf are rekindled through wisdom imparted from this unlikely friend. When crisis hits and old family secrets erupt, will Miranda follow the woman's advice and continue her journey to personal purpose, or will she hide behind the façade that she, like her mother, worked so hard to build?

The Bench chronicles the life of a compulsive gambler that takes his addiction to depths most cannot imagine, only to discover that the horrors of addiction would be necessary for the amazing transformation that happened in his recovery. Author Joel Elston recounts his journey through addiction, depression, and eventual recovery and how an old bench on a beach plays a pivotal role over a twenty year span. This brutally honest account of his life is a roller coaster of emotion with an unforeseen twist that even the Author didn’t see coming, will leave you speechless.

Create Value Through Relationships Are you someone who gets off the bench and into the game by realizing the value and importance of people and networking, or do you stay on the bench and on the sidelines altogether? Strategic networking will help you create powerful relationships, achieve goals, and most importantly, give you the opportunity to help those in need. Get off the Bench takes you through stories, concepts, techniques, and numerous examples of how strategic networking is accomplished, what is to be avoided, and how value is created for everyone involved. As technology, globalization, and world events continually drive for and demand more connectivity, building and maintaining a powerful network is more important than it has ever been.

A young Afghani amputee matter-of-factly removes her own barrier to education, building a bench from discarded wood so that she and her "helper-leg" can sit through school in comfort.