The Toughest Kid We Knew

From critically acclaimed author Frank Bergon comes a new personal narrative about the San Joaquin Valley in California. This intimate companion to Two-Buck Chuck & The Marlboro Man brings us back to an Old West at odds with New West realities where rapid change is a common trait and memories are of rural beauty. Despite the physical transformations wrought by technology and modernity in the twenty-first century, elements of an older way of thinking still remain, and Bergon traces its presence using experiences from his own family and friends. Communal camaraderie, love of the land and its food, and joy in hard work done well describe Western lives ignored or misrepresented in most histories of California and the West. Yet nostalgia does not drive Frank Bergon’s intellectual return to that world. Also prevalent was a culture of fighting, ignorance about alcoholic addiction, brutalizing labor, and a feudal mentality that created a pain better lost and bid good riddance. Through it all, what emerges from his portraits and essays is a revelation of small-town and ranch life in the rural West. A place where the American way of extirpating the past and violently altering the land is accelerated. What Bergon has written is a portrayal of a past and people shaping the country he called home.

In the summer of 1984 four best friends become hip-hop outcasts and learn about the power of friendship, life, death, and how hard it is to be unique in a town that doesn’t always welcome those who are brave enough to be different.

I Never Knew I Belonged to God Because I Never Felt I Belonged to Anyone by: Demetria M. Kelly Demetria M. Kelly’s book, I Never Knew I Belonged to God Because I Never Felt I Belonged to Anyone, is about her struggles in life and how she applied God to her life but always felt alone until she realized God was with her and providing for her the whole time. Demetria may not have had the answers she always wanted, but she had everything she needed. Her aim is to get young mothers to understand how much they need God in their lives, especially when raising children as single parents. They are not alone because there are other single mothers going through the same thing, but God is with us. Demetria hopes that young mothers take away from this book to keep fighting, keep their heads up, and keep God in their lives.

Before the internet, when moms sent kids out to play and they didnt come home until dinnertime, one boy embarks on a unique coming-of-age journey filled with lessons as he embraces the joys and struggles of growing up during a time when adventures were plentiful and the freedom to explore was a way of life in every neighborhood. As his path leads him into the midst of a legendary rock war with his cousins, a quick draw lesson from a sharpshooter, a lucky break on the basketball court, and a showdown with an unredeemable bully, the narrator triumphs at facing his fears, learns what a true friend really is, and comes to understand that, in reality, life sometimes means failure. Through the innocence of youth, all that accompanies adolescence, and the humor that inevitably arises from growing pains, the narrator soon realizes that a life filled with adventure, mistakes, and even disappointment is a life well lived. Elevator Babies compassionately captures a young mans journey through childhood and towards adulthood as he embraces the escapades and travails that come with a simpler time in America.

There are worlds that exist beyond our dreams…and our nightmares. A brilliant scientist has uncovered a secret that threatens humanity's future. Now his girlfriend is missing, and the voices in his head are back. Since losing his daughter, Emma, seven years ago, Pike Shepard has struggled to maintain a normal life for himself in the coastal community of Blackwater. It’s a quiet life, until a beautiful scientist shows up on his doorstep with a desperate plea for help. Dr. Kate Cassidy has uncovered a new aspect to quantum entanglement: the ability to not just see the multiverse but a way to travel through it. Her device allows them to SideSlip between parallel planes that are at once familiar and quite bizarre, wondrous, and terrifying. Her ability to travel between realities uncovers a dark future for mankind. A man with a dark purpose promises profound evil and a ruthless government agent eager to see them all fail. Unless Kate and Pike can outwit them, the place they call home may never be safe again. Few authors would dare tackle interdimensional travel from a hard-science point of view. Franks does that and does it brilliantly. Slip into this gripping techno-thriller, where the biggest enemy you face might just be yourself. You absolutely won’t want to miss The Night Gate. Grab your copy now!

Recruited for his combination of size and speed, George Mills had the potential to become an outstanding college football player--but it never happened. A View from the Bench reveals the reality behind the glamour of college football and the tough experiences in the life of a benchwarmer. Mills was a solid player who loved the game, but he had only one shot in nearly five years at making Nebraska's starting team. He found little time or energy left for academics after hours of drills, weight lifting, and team meetings. Now, with complete candor, Mills lays bare the true weight of emphasis in the "student-athlete" dichotomy. Free from anger or malice, Mills tells of his struggle to come to terms with a sports career of "mediocrity." A View from the Bench is an honest reflection of the experiences of so many overlooked players. It will be meaningful to anyone who has watched or played competitive sports.

The Poems, Songs, Stories, and Reflections of a New England Poet, Teacher, Folksinger, & Wonderer

Long before U.S. News and World Report named him one of America's Best Leaders and Oprah Winfrey called him "an angel from God," Geoffrey Canada was a small, vulnerable, scared boy growing up in the South Bronx. Canada's world was one where "sidewalk" boys learned the codes of the block and were ranked through the rituals of fist, stick, and knife. Then the streets changed, and the stakes got even higher. In this candid and riveting memoir, Canada relives a childhood in which violence stalked every street corner. "If you wonder how a fourteen-year-old can shoot another child his own age in the head and then go home to dinner," Canada writes, "you need to know you don't get there in a day, or week, or month. It takes years of preparation to be willing to commit murder, to be willing to kill or die for a corner, a color, or a leather jacket."