Other books that might interest you

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  Invading Nirvana - A Chicagoan...

  Kevin Theis

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  Chicago theater veteran Kevin Theis, co-author of the cult classic Confessions of a Transylvanian: a Story of Sex, Drugs and Rocky Horror presents: Invading Nirvana: a Chicagoan in the City of Angels the story of one actor's quixotic odyssey into the heart of the entertainment industry: Hollywood, California.  From the early preparations for his trip to La La Land to his search for representation, his encounters with the famous (and soon-to-be famous) as well as his deep-dive exploration of this unique and fascinating city, Invading Nirvana is a must-listen for anyone considering moving to L.A. to pursue a dream of breaking into show business.  The author is both candid and unsparing in his description of the industry, the city of Los Angeles, and the challenges of being a performer in Hollywood looking for work. Casting agents, pay-to-meet workshops, the comedy club scene, film and TV auditions, as well as a peek inside the audiobook world; every aspect of the entertainment industry is thoroughly examined in this hilarious and comprehensive look at life as a professional actor in Hollywood.

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  Designed to Succeed - A...

  Kevin Olusola, Donovan Donnell,...

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  Success May Not Be What You Think It Is 
  Grammy Award winner Kevin Olusola of the multiplatinum a cappella group Pentatonix and international life coach Donovan Dee Donnell have seen it all. They've had the applause, money, and everything people said they should be living for, only to discover that success as the world understands it is a hamster wheel--an exhausting chase that leads to emptiness. 
  In Designed to Succeed, Kevin and Donovan challenge our deeply held notions about success. They reconceptualize what it means to be a high performer, showing us that it is sustainable only in partnership with God, who designed each of us with gifts and a purpose. In Designed to Succeed, you will discover:How to break free from false identities and performance traps so you can experience a fulfilled lifeHow to develop a practical framework for aligning your decisions and desires with your God-given purposeHow to balance ambition with authenticity to attain a deeper, truer, sustainable success 
    
  You were designed to succeed, but attaining that lasting success is not achieved by listening to what other people tell you it is. It begins when you align with God, embracing the unique purpose he designed you for. Only then can you get off the hamster wheel. When you do, you will step into authentic, enduring success that will leave you fulfilled, empowered, and energized for all that is to come.

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  Love's Journey Home

  Gabi Coatsworth

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  Decades after falling passionately in love, alcoholism had finally torn Gabi and Jay apart. Then a drastic diagnosis forced them both to make decisions. Without love this final journey would be lonely and hard. But when Jay’s illness forced him to stop drinking, they found themselves with a second chance at love. 
  This romantic memoir doesn’t shy away from the realities of life, but the relationship between these two lovers, tested to its ultimate limit by pancreatic cancer, proves that love—and a sense of humor—can conquer anything, even death.

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  Lydia Litvyak: The Life and...

  Editors Charles River

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  Altogether, the Battle of Stalingrad was the deadliest battle in the history of warfare, and the Soviets’ decisive victory there is considered one of the biggest turning points in the entire war, and certainly in the European theater. Over the next two years, the German gains in Russia were steadily reversed, and the Red Army eventually began pushing west towards Berlin. Fittingly, the importance of Stalingrad was commemorated in several ways, from Churchill presenting Stalin with a “Sword of Stalingrad” to the Russians’ decision not to rebuild parts of the battle scarred city as a reminder of what happened there.  
  Partly out of dire circumstances and partly from a cultural worldview, it was the Soviet Union who first pressed female pilots into direct combat when Hitler invaded Russia. Ahead of Stalingrad, Stalin publicly declared that “women should be given the right to fly and fight for their country.” As a result, more than 800,000 women served in the Soviet military during the war years in hospitals, communication units, as road troops, anti-aircraft gunners, and snipers. 
  Of the Soviet female fighter pilots who fought the Nazis in the skies, led raids against ground targets, and stopped supply transports, the iconic Lydia Vladimirovna Litvyak stands out as the most distinguished. The most productive and highly decorated of the Soviet Union’s female pilots, Litvyak was an expert aviator by the age of 14 and trained 45 pilots in the years leading up to the war, while still a teenager. She went on to serve in several of the elite air guard regiments, and she would be credited with numerous victories as the Soviets desperately tried to hold off the German onslaught around Stalingrad. The quirky and defiant Litvyak was described as a “silent modest beauty with a blonde shock of hair and blue eyes.” She “walked with a special gait, causing delight among others,” men in particular, and she tended to look neat at all times.

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  A Mother's Job - From Benefits...

  Ann Cusack, Joe Cusack, Joy Dove

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  “I am just an ordinary mum, yet I would go to the ends of the earth to get justice for my daughter. If I can change the way people are treated, then Jodey will not have died in vain. I now feel that this was her destiny; to change the lives of millions of others.“ 
   
  While Jodey Whiting was stuck in hospital battling pneumonia over Christmas, a letter dropped on her doormat from the Department of Work and Pensions, asking her to attend an assessment. It was a letter she never saw. 
   
  Despite suffering from major health problems and needing daily care, the powers-that-be callously halted benefit payments for the mum-of-nine. While waiting for her appeal, and with no money coming in, Jodey killed herself, aged just 42. Another DWP letter pronouncing her ‘fit to work’ was sent to her home three days after her tragic death. 
   
  A Mother’s Jobis the story of how Jodey’s mum Joy Dove, 67, took on the system – and won justice for her daughter. A former cleaner and shop-worker, she is intimidated by nothing and nobody. 
   
  Joy reveals how she struggled to raise her family, as a single mother, living on the now notorious: ‘Benefits Street’ estate in Stockton-on-Tees. Of how Jodey, her middle daughter, developed problems including curvature of the spine, a brain cyst, and bipolar and personality disorders and how, as her health deteriorated, Joy became her unofficial carer, visiting several times a day. 
   
  Jodey left farewell notes following her suicide, warning that her youngest son, Cory, a twin, was particularly vulnerable. Tragically, her premonition was realised when, unable to cope with his grief, he died from a drug overdose, aged 19, in May 2020. Joy felt that the DWP had stolen two members from her family. 
   
  An inquiry after Jodey’s death found the DWP had failed to follow its own safeguarding practice. It issued an apology and compensation. The case was discussed in Parliament where the Prime Minister labelled it ‘appalling.’ Joy launched ‘Justice For Jodey’ which aims to hold the DWP to account and to prevent other tragedies. She met other grieving families and her campaign saw her take centre stage at the Labour Party conference and argue her case in the High Court.

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  Breakthroughs in Science

  Isaac Asimov

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  Isaac Asimov, known primarily for his science fiction stories, was also a scientist. In cooperation with the Senior Scholastic magazine, he composed this wonderful and fascinating work of historical nonfiction. 
  Twenty-six far-reaching discoveries and the twenty-nine scientists who made them—from Archimedes, who boasted he could move the world, to Goddard, who sent the first liquid-fuel rocket toward space. 
  These men of vision and genius set their sights beyond the known to bring about hold advances in scientific thinking and enlarge our knowledge of man and his environment. 
  Masterfully narrated by award-winning narrator Mike Vendetti. This work is an inspiration to young and old alike. Who knew Thomas Alva Edison lost his hearing in one ear because he lost his balance hopping a train, and a trainman grabbed him by the ears to pull him onto the train?

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