The Street Was Mine

This book considers a recurrent figure in American literature: the solitary white man moving through urban space. The descendent of Nineteenth-century frontier and western heroes, the figure re-emerges in 1930-50s America as the 'tough guy'. The Street Was Mine looks to the tough guy in the works of hardboiled novelists Raymond Chandler ( The Big Sleep ) and James M. Cain ( Double Indemnity ) and their popular film noir adaptations. Focusing on the way he negotiates racial and gender 'otherness', this study argues that the tough guy embodies the promise of an impervious white masculinity amidst the turmoil of the Depression through the beginnings of the Cold War, closing with an analysis of Chester Himes, whose Harlem crime novels ( For Love of Imabelle ) unleash a ferocious revisionary critique of the tough guy tradition.

2015 INSPY Award Winner 2015 Inspirational Reader's Choice Award Winner (Now Known as Faith, Hope, & Love Reader's Choice Award) Ty Porter has always been irresistible to Celia Park. All through high school--irresistible. When their paths cross again after college--still irresistible. This time, though, Ty seems to feel exactly the same way about Celia. Their whirlwind romance deposits them at a street-corner Las Vegas wedding chapel. The next morning they wake to a marriage certificate and a dose of cold reality. Celia's ready to be Ty's wife, but Ty's not ready to be her husband. He's a professional bull rider, he lives on the road, and he's long planned to settle down with the hometown girl he's known since childhood. Five and a half years pass. Celia's buried her dreams so that she can afford to raise her daughter. Ty's achieved all of his goals. Or thought he had, until he looks again into the eyes of the woman he couldn't forget and into the face of the child he never knew he had. How much will Ty sacrifice to win back Celia's trust and prove to her that their spontaneous marriage can still become the love of a lifetime? Praise for Becky Wade "Definitely one for the keeper shelf!"--USA Today on Undeniably Yours "A sweet contemporary romance that will make for the perfect summer read."--Novel Crossing on Undeniably Yours "A feisty heroine, romance, and comedy make this a fabulous debut and Wade an author to follow."--Library Journal on My Stubborn Heart "A perfect 5 out of 5 stars...can't wait to find more from Becky in the near future. This is a must-read for your summer love stories!"--Reviews from the Heart blog on My Stubborn Heart

A captivating tale of discovery and renewal

Simply told but deeply affecting, in the bestselling tradition of Alice McDermott and Tom Perrotta, this urgent novel unravels the heartrending yet unsentimental tale of a woman who kidnaps a baby in a superstore—and gets away with it for twenty-one years. Lucy Wakefield is a seemingly ordinary woman who does something extraordinary in a desperate moment: she takes a baby girl from a shopping cart and raises her as her own. It’s a secret she manages to keep for over two decades—from her daughter, the babysitter who helped raise her, family, coworkers, and friends. When Lucy’s now-grown daughter Mia discovers the devastating truth of her origins, she is overwhelmed by confusion and anger and determines not to speak again to the mother who raised her. She reaches out to her birth mother for a tearful reunion, and Lucy is forced to flee to China to avoid prosecution. What follows is a ripple effect that alters the lives of many and challenges our understanding of the very meaning of motherhood. Author Helen Klein Ross, whose work has appeared in The New Yorker, weaves a powerful story of upheaval and resilience told from the alternating perspectives of Lucy, Mia, Mia’s birth mother, and others intimately involved in the kidnapping. What Was Mine is a compelling tale of motherhood and loss, of grief and hope, and the life-shattering effects of a single, irrevocable moment.

Thousands of people each year leave behind their family, friends, and jobs to depart their home country in search of a more fulfilling life. Have you honestly ever wondered, what it would be like to do just that? E. L. Baird and her husband were unhappy living in the United Kingdom and decided to change their future for the better. As they prepared for their eventual emigration to Canada, they spent hours reading, researching, calling, and e-mailing in order to organize their journey. Baird shares both the positive and negative experiences they encountered while dealing with red tape, finding work, and learning school rules. She also includes entertaining anecdotes about camping in grizzly bear country in Canada and their first Christmas in New Zealand, where they all sat miserably hot around the dinner table, stripped down to their underwear with the electric fan on full speed. Experience the intriguing world of emigration from the comfort of your home and share their journey. A Life Like Mine provides an honest portrayal of the heartfelt and lengthy journey a family of five is willing to take to find true happiness.