In the vein of Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking, Kara Stanley tells the compelling story of her husband's life-changing brain and spinal cord injury and the role of music, science, and love in recovery.Part recovery narrative and part love story, interwoven with the latest research on the brain, Fallen describes the aftermath of a life-threatening brain and spinal cord injury. In 2008, Simon Paradis stepped backward on the scaffolding where he was doing construction work and fell two stories to the hard stone tile below. Landing on his back, head, and spine, he suffered a severe brain and spinal cord injury. Doctors warned his wife, Kara Stanley, that he probably would not survive, and that if he did, his mind and his body would never be the same. In Fallen, Kara Stanley chronicles the effect of this catastrophic accident on both Simon and her and on their marriage. Combining the heart-wrenching narrative of Simon's recovery with the latest research on the brain, the book elucidates the resilience of both the human heart and the human mind. It also describes the transformative role of music in Simon's life both before and during his continuing rehabilitation and his hard-fought battle to return
On the day that Lou James finds her father dead on the garage floor, she leaves her small hometown and heads for Toronto on a Greyhound, initiating a series of events that will reshape her life. Lou moves in with her brother and begins a new existence all the while trying to make sense of her father's unexpected death and the sudden loss of her place in the world. Amidst the strangeness of life in Toronto, where vibrancy and violence mix, Lou builds a small community: Isabelle, the welcoming neighbour and new best friend; Sal, Lou's angry but big-hearted godfather; despairing Donnie, a troubled fledgling drug dealer; dreamy Finn, lead singer in a post-punk band, and mysterious Stella, the old woman who spends her days seated on the back steps of a locked church door surrounded by plastic bags and bottles of Pepsi. When a series of savage and homicidal acts plague her new neighbourhood, Lou, following in her journalist father's footsteps, attempts to investigate. As her final year of high school unfolds, Lou comes perilously close to discovering the truth, and violence erupts, once again unravelling her world. She hops on a Greyhound, destination unknown, propelled by the urgent need to bridge the distance between the life she shared with her father and this precarious new existence where he grows ever more remote to her.
“The Pain Project is ironically full of pleasure: on every page is another generous, original insight into this most intimate human subject.”—NAOMI KLEIN, author of Doppelganger“The Pain Project is a beautiful, humane, thoughtful inquiry into the challenge of living with chronic pain and how Stanley and Paradis navigate its impact on their lives. This is a tough subject but a joyful book; it takes on a daunting topic with heart and humor and determination. It’s wonderful.”—SUSAN ORLEAN, author of The Orchid Thief and The Library BookTen years after her husband’s catastrophic injury, author Kara Stanley embarks with him on a journey to understand his chronic pain and find pathways into joy and relief.Kara and her husband, Simon, are at a desperate crossroads. In 2008, Simon fell off a scaffold, causing severe injuries to his brain and spinal cord. He made a remarkable recovery, eventually adjusting to life in a wheelchair and returning to his career as a musician, but he continues to suffer from debilitating pain that is beginning to strip away his selfhood.On the ten-year anniversary of the accident, Kara and Simon decide to confront Simon’s pain head-on by committing to a personal experiment. For one year, they will focus on researching, interviewing experts, and exploring both new, and age old, pain relief strategies. A decade ago, Simon was prescribed the pain-relieving drug hydromorphone. Can he discover an alternate therapeutic approach that is at least as effective as daily doses of opioids?As they navigate a difficult year, Kara’s tenacity and Simon’s wit shine through in their honest conversations, insightful journal entries, and affectionate banter. Throughout, they seek answers to profound questions about the nature of suffering and pain:Is it helpful to conceptualize pain as a disease, or not?What does it mean to understand that pain is always a creation of the brain?What is the difference between healing and curing? Is healing still possible even when all-better is not an option?Globally, at least one in five people suffer from chronic pain, placing an enormous burden on medical systems around the world. Not just a medical but also a social justice issue, chronic pain continues to be poorly understood and poorly treated. It is a challenging topic to discuss with friends and family because, as Simon says, no one really wants to lead with their cloud. Deciding to accept this challenge, Simon and Kara’s experiment is a wide-ranging exploration of the definitions, treatments, science, myths, and meanings of the mysterious and multi-faceted force that is pain.As difficult as the topic is, it can also provide us with an opportunity to question our current course. What can we learn when we confront our pain head-on? Honest, deeply researched, insightful, and ultimately hopeful, The Pain Project is a must-read for anyone looking for a greater understanding of pain as a phenomenon and in their own lives.
Everyone thinks his or her granddaughter is the best, most beautiful and most wonderful child in the world. I am no different. I first photographed my granddaughter, Kara Kutny, on her 8th birthday in 2013. I had planned just to photograph her birthday party, but she had different ideas. She took me on a grand tour of her favorite play spots, the places she felt happy. Not often do I photograph people, so I was a bit surprised that some of these images were some of the best I had done. I never have posed Kara or asked her to pose. She just does it naturally. In the next two years - well, even on that first day - Kara wanted to shoot her own photos and she did, with my DSLRs. She was good from the beginning, and she has improved every time we have ventured out on our Voyages of Photography together. And remember as you look at these images that my granddaughter is the best, most beautiful and most wonderful child in the world.
Vosmidesjatye gody KHKh veka. Prostoj sovetskij paren postupaet v prestizhnyj sovetskij vuz. I, kazhetsja, vse idet po nakatannoj. No eto vpechatlenie obmanchivo. Ved paren mechtaet zhit ne tak, kak vse. Iz primernogo studenta - v fartsovschiki, a potom - v krutye bankiry. Iz Strany Sovetov - v bezumnoe likholete devjanostykh, kogda vse protiv vsekh i sosed gotov pojti vojnoj na soseda. Vremja verolomnogo predatelstva i beskonechnoj predannosti. V pogone za drugoj zhiznju, gde budet tak mnogo deneg, chto dazhe schaste, naverno, mozhno budet na nikh kupit.Geroj knigi dobivaetsja togo, k chemu stremilsja: bogatstva, nezavisimosti i svobody. No chem obernetsja dlja nego eta pobeda? Kakuju uzhasnuju tsenu pridetsja zaplatit za nee? I chto na samom dele nuzhno cheloveku dlja schastja?Roman Leontija Chagunavy pogruzhaet nas v dramaticheskij, polnyj protivorechij mir pozdnego Sovetskogo Sojuza i novoj Rossii. Istorija zhizni, ljubvi, poter i poiska sebja, kotoraja tesno perepletena s istoricheskimi sobytijami, izmenivshimi mir.
Kara is the first novel of Nepal's first-ever female Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Sushila Karki. In this book, she explains the pain, oppression, and difficulties that Nepali women have to go through as well as the circumstances that lead them to crime. The setting of the novel is Biratnagar Jail, where Karki herself had to spend some time as a prisoner for being a part of the democratic movement.
Indulge in the tantalizing allure of "Kara My First Kiss," the scintillating first book of Kathryn and Gary's seductive trilogy. Brace yourself for a journey that intertwines passion, exploration, and the everlasting power of an unforgettable encounter. The life changing power of a first kiss...In the depths of her being, the demure Kara Gilbert harboured an unspoken longing for Greg Sheppard, a desire that had simmered through their shared days in primary school. With courage coursing through her veins, the young Kara seized the moment, initiating a first kiss in the last days in primary school; igniting a torrent of sensations, awakening desires they never knew existed. No words were exchanged, yet that singular kiss left an indelible mark. Unbeknownst to Kara, Greg spent years searching for the one who sparked his soul. After three and a half decades, fate intervened, finally leading him to Kara. Now a divorced, middle-aged woman on a journey of self-discovery, Kara had painstakingly pieced together her newfound identity. But when a surprise message and a chance reunion with Greg crossed her path, curiosity morphed into a magnetic connection that transcended boundaries. Within their clandestine liaison, a profound intimacy blossomed, unveiling a shared craving for uncharted territories of passion. Greg stood on the precipice of marrying the captivating Tess Merchant, his beloved. Yet, Kara's presence awakened a primal hunger and unleashed a spirit of adventure within him. He yearned for both the tender love of Tess and the unbridled pleasure that Kara so effortlessly kindled.
The author of the nationally bestselling "Joshua" series brings back his inspiring tale of life, love and self-sacrifice. Kara the falcon find his world transformed when he vows never to kill another animal again, even if his very survival is deoends on it.
Kara Finds Sunshine on a Rainy Day is a picture book about hope, healing, and discovering heroes around us and within. Little Kara awakens one morning to a sky raining "cats and dogs." She rushes to complain to her mother that the rain has disrupted her plans to go outside to play. Her mother responds by telling her that she doesn't need to get upset because, in reality, "the sun is always shining." When Kara seeks to learn more about unending sunshine, her mom answers by sharing rhyming stories about historical figures and ordinary people, of a wide variety of races and backgrounds, from across the globe, who found or made "sunshine" in difficult times. This special edition was written to support children and families who survived the devastating Hurricane Katrina in 2005. A child psychiatrist has called Kara Finds Sunshine "a voyage to resiliency." A cultural historian suggests it's a powerful education in the "habit of love."
A young man named Shonuske, age 15; who later finds out that life is not what he thought. He is the victim of sexual abuse by his uncle, a man of wealth and power, and is forced to learn to enjoy his lot as a slave until one day when a twist of fate allows him the chance to make a deal with the devil kind of bargain for his and the friendly maid Yuka's freedom. Now in a new school and chance to really learn something worthwhile he is soon the victim of a new kind of torture at the hands of a few of his own classmates. They discovered what he used to do before coming to school. What will he do to protect his freedom and more over will he ever learn to love anyone other than the woman who helped him gain his freedom from his uncle? What will happen when he has to make a choice of seeing his siblings again or remaining free?
