The Whole Truth And Nothing But

Imagine a world where babies are born and their names are instantly turned into corporations. Where birth certificates are worth millions. Where colonists took the law of the seas and imposed it onto the land. Corporations were classified as 'Persons' and had the ability to control, imprison and extract money from people. Where for certain groups of people, it was illegal to learn how to read and write or even own property. This isn't an imaginary world...this is the 20th century in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA...allow me to explain.

Growing up going form one foster home to another like a game piece on a no-win board can shatter your view of yourself and the world. In my memoir, "I Swear to tell the truth, the Whole Truth, and nothing but the Truth, So Help Me God" I expose the thoughts and feelings I experienced as I struggled over the past two years to make sense of a life shattered by childhood abandonment, neglect, and abuse. It's difficult for people who live in secure homes to understand how being deprived of simple things like safety, security, and warmth can make you seek these things even in destructive ways. Even with the support of different social services, nothing seemed to fill the emptiness growing inside me, an emptiness I desperately crave to fill. For the past two years I struggled to escape the pain of being unwanted by seeking comfort in the world of alcohol, drugs, and sexual addiction three worlds that have nearly destroyed me. Keywords: Memoir; diary; Journal; Autobiography; Sex Addiction; Drug Addiction; Alcoholism; Childhood Abuse; Mental Illness; Bipolar.

From the dawn of the studio system to the decade it all came crashing down, Hedda Hopper was one of the Queens of Hollywood. Although she made her name as a star of the silent screen, she found her calling as a gossip columnist, where she had the ear of the most powerful force in show business: the public. With a readership of 20,000,000 people, Hopper turned nobodies into stars, and brought stars to their knees. And in this sensational memoir, she tells all. In her career, Hopper crossed some of Hollywood’s biggest bold-faced names, from Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn to Charlie Chaplin and Joseph Cotten, and her feud with rival gossip columnist Louella Parsons became the stuff of legend. In The Whole Truth and Nothing But, we get Hedda’s side of the story—and what a story it is. Hedda Hopper is portrayed by Judy Davis in the Ryan Murphy TV series Feud about Joan Crawford and Bette Davis.

Finalist for the CLA Book of the Year for Children Award Kit Pearson's endearing heroine from the award-winning The Whole Truth, Polly, is now thirteen and following in her sister's footsteps to a boarding school in Victoria. The adjustment is difficult--all those rules!--and Polly often escapes into her dreams of becoming an artist. At least her family is intact again, and there are no more dark and difficult secrets to be kept hidden . . . that is, until her teenage sister, Maud, makes a dramatic confession. Will Polly be able to keep this new secret? Will it tear her family apart again?

A ninth-grader's suspension for singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" during homeroom becomes a national news story.

INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER A critically acclaimed, intimate and no-holds-barred memoir by Canada’s top defence lawyer, Nothing But the Truth weaves Marie Henein’s personal story with her strongly held views on society’s most pressing issues. Marie Henein, arguably the most prominent lawyer in the country, has written a memoir that is at once raw, beautiful, and altogether unforgettable. Her story, as an immigrant from a tight-knit Egyptian-Lebanese family, demonstrates the value of strong role models—from her mother and grandmother, to her brilliant uncle Sami who died of AIDS. She learned the value of hard work, being true to herself and others, and unapologetically owning it all. Marie Henein shares here her unvarnished view on the ethical and practical implications of being a criminal lawyer, and how the job is misunderstood and even demonized. Ironically, her most successful cases made her a “lightning rod” in some circles, confirming her belief that much of the public’s understanding of democracy and the justice system is based on popular culture and social media, and decidedly not the rule of law. As she turns fifty and struggles with the corrosive effect becoming invisible has on women, Marie doubles down on being even more highly visible and opinionated as she deconstructs, among other things, the otherness of the immigrant experience (Where are you really from?), the pros and cons of being a household name in this country, opening her own boutique law firm, and the commoditization of women’s previously unpaid labour popularized by the likes of Martha Stewart. Nothing But the Truth is refreshingly unconstrained and surprising—an account by a woman at the top of her game in a male-dominated world.

It is 1932. Polly and her older sister, Maud, travel by train and boat from Winnipeg to an island between Vancouver and Victoria. Polly will live with their grandmother, the sisters’ new guardian, and attend the small school on the island, while Maud will go to boarding school in Victoria. Their extended family welcomes the girls warmly. New-school jitters give way to new friendships and even a new puppy, and slowly Polly feels that she is becoming part of a larger family she never knew until now. But Polly and Maud have a dramatic secret, and they have promised each other never to tell anyone. A surprise arrival on the island, however, threatens Polly’s newfound happiness and tests the bonds of family love. Can Polly keep the secret and her new life on the island?

All of twenty-three, Tara's life takes a turn when her law teacher invites her to join a leading law firm as a young associate. For a smart and dedicated law student like Tara, the prospect of rubbing shoulders with the nation's top legal practitioners is nothing less than a dream come true. Tara's foray into the world of courtrooms and legal proceedings is not without its fair share of delights and disappointments. On the one hand, she gets to work with her idol Meherdad E. Warren, her mentor-senior Tehlina and a host of cool friends. On the other hand, there is the stuck up and inefficient senior Praizeen Asthana and a rather obnoxious, backstabbing colleague Raj Parker, who are determined to make her already strenuous work life more difficult. Away from the maddening buzz of office politics, in the courtrooms where Tara gets to study the commendable tactics of legal stalwarts, she runs into Yash. And even before Tara can realise it, she has already fallen for this witty and charming young man who has the makings of a brilliant lawyer. However, all is not well in this paradise. Hidden behind the exterior of Yash's sanguine personality is a secret that will sweep Tara off her feet. But more importantly, Tara must first learn to tackle her own demons, simplify her life and find her true calling. The novel is a bittersweet narrative of coming to terms with what the heart truly wants and taking that leap of faith.