Other books that might interest you

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  Dealing with Stress: The 'Mind...

  Dr. Rebecca Williams

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  Stress is a problem for many people. This practical book was written by a GP who developed her approach for dealing with stress to help her patients and felt it could help a wider audience. It was first available in 2014 but the latest version was released in 2024. The book is designed to encourage you (the reader) to reflect on what is causing stress in your life, how this stress is affecting you and on what you can change in your situation, and in yourself, to help you make life feel less stressful. There is plenty of space for you to jot down your thoughts. 
  The introduction includes a definition of the word 'stress', and is followed by a description of the Acute Stress Reaction. You are then asked to consider whether there are aspects of your life that you can change and if so, to focus your energy on bringing about these changes. From then on, the book focuses on how stress can affect you: your mind, your body and your spirit. You may recognise some of the thoughts, physical symptoms and feelings described. There is also a section on unhealthy coping behaviours, prompting personal reflection. It goes on to give practical advice to help life become less stressful for you. This advice focuses on helping you to control your mind and any anxious thoughts, and also on ways to look after your body and to restore your spirit. 
  It is hoped that through the process of reading this book, and reflecting as you go, you will gain a greater understanding of yourself and the way you respond to stressful situations and events. The book provides a handy reference tool which you can personalise by annotation and also by highlighting areas which are particularly useful. Through this process you will become more empowered to make changes which will hopefully make your life more manageable and enjoyable.

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  No Excuses - Turning around one...

  Alison Colwell

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  "Eye-popping" – Sunday Times
  "Brilliant" – Iain Dale
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  An unputdownable true account of how a tenacious head teacher led one of the most challenging schools in the country to excellence.
  No Excuses charts an extraordinary principal's journey from the moment she took over at a failing secondary school in a deprived area, where less than a quarter of children attained five or more A*–C GCSEs, and how she set about the gruelling task of transforming its reputation using her zero-tolerance, tough-love approach.
  Armed only with a wicked sense of humour, fearless energy and a powerful vision, Alison Colwell put in place a stringent set of rules, including a strict uniform policy and a complete ban on mobile phones, provoking resistance and hostility from some parents, the wider community and on social media.
  This is the darkly funny, moving story of how, together, teachers and their – often troubled – pupils rebuilt a school and community, with an inspirational head at the helm.
  Charming, touching and full of brilliant leadership advice, this is the diary of the woman the Daily Mail labelled Britain's strictest head teacher.

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  Fleecy Clouds - One Woman's...

  Gail Champion Barber, Alice...

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  Gail's family was poor but rich with love. When her mother was in the hospital giving birth to the youngest child, their house burned. Before leaving the hospital, Gail’s mother was diagnosed with cancer.  
  When her mother died, Gail and her siblings went to stay with their family, eventually living at her grandmother's house. Although warned that this was not a good decision, Gail’s father felt it was his only option. However, it was nearly fatal for little Gail. Her father—her hero—saved her in the nick of time.  
  The Welfare Department soon removed Gail and her two younger siblings and placed them in foster homes. They were ultimately placed at Childhaven, an orphanage for fortunate children. 
  Despite great sadness and pain in their early years, Gail and her siblings grew up to be strong, loving, and faith-filled adults. But those early traumatic childhood events weighed on Gail’s body, mind, and spirit until she was in her forties. Finally agreeing to seek help, she started seeing a Christian counselor. That was the beginning of her healing journey. 
  No matter how much hurt you’ve endured, there’s always a path to healing and wholeness. In Fleecy Clouds: One Woman’s Story of Surviving and Thriving after Childhood Abuse, Gail’s story is evidence of the resiliency of the human spirit, the power of love, and the never-ending mercies of a loving Father. 

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  Sherwood Anderson and Other...

  William Faulkner, William Spratling

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  A treasury of literary history featuring caricatures of bohemian life in 1920s New Orleans with captions by William Faulkner.After meeting in the French Quarter, Nobel Prize–winning novelist William Faulkner and renowned silver artist William Spratling shared a house together—and collaborated on a parody volume that offered a witty portrait of the creative denizens of the city, a group that included such future icons as publisher and Broadway producer Horace Liveright, Pulitzer-winning biographer Carl Van Doren,; novelist John Dos Passos, actress and screenwriter Anita Loos, and others. This unique book provides both an enjoyable glimpse into the early lives of prominent literary and artistic figures and a snapshot of New Orleans history.

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  The Vote Collectors - The True...

  Nick Ochsner, Michael Graff

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  In November 2018, Baptist preacher Mark Harris beat the odds, narrowly fending off a blue wave in the sprawling Ninth District of North Carolina. But word soon got around that something fishy was going on in rural Bladen County. At the center of the mess was a local political operative named McCrae Dowless. Dowless had learned the ins and outs of the absentee ballot system from Democrats before switching over to the Republican Party. Bladen County's vote-collecting cottage industry made national headlines, led to multiple election fraud indictments, toppled North Carolina GOP leadership, and left hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians without congressional representation for nearly a year. 
   
    
    
  Michael Graff and Nick Ochsner tell the story of the political shenanigans in Bladen County, exposing the shocking vulnerability of local elections and explaining why our present systems are powerless to monitor and prevent fraud. In their hands, this tale of rural corruption becomes a fascinating narrative of the long clash of racism and electioneering—and a larger story about the challenges to democracy in the rural South. 
   
   
   
  At a time rife with accusations of election fraud, The Vote Collectors shows the reality of election stealing in one southern county, where democracy was undermined the old-fashioned way: one absentee ballot at a time.

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  Dust and Light - On the Art of...

  Andrea Barrett

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  The celebrated National Book Award–winning writer's intimate exploration of how fact is transformed into fiction. 
   
   
   
  In this thoughtful collection of essays, Andrea Barrett draws from her experiences writing some of the most acclaimed historical fiction of our time to explore the mysteries and delights of the genre. Inspiration found in the past, she argues, can illuminate fiction, just as dust scatters light and makes the unseen visible. Delving into some of the largest questions in the genre—How does a writer find meaningful subject matter beyond the confines of their life? How are scraps of history transformed into a fully formed narrative?—Barrett explores how she came to create some of her beloved works and explores lessons gleaned from the work of such masters of historical fiction as Toni Morrison, Leo Tolstoy, Hilary Mantel, and Colm Tóibín. Candid and elegant, Dust and Light is the perfect book for anyone who loves reading fiction set in the past, as well as for anyone aspiring to write it.

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