Author: Jordan Lee Dooley
Publisher: WaterBrook
ISBN: 0593193466
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 225
Book Description
Not quite where you expected to be? You’re in good company. Now the bestselling author of Own Your Everyday helps you navigate unmet expectations, waiting, and uncertainty with confidence and clarity. “If you are like me and need practical steps, hard-won wisdom, and a friend to help lead the way into a new season of promise, this redirection resource is what you need.”—Lysa TerKeurst, #1 New York Times bestselling author and president of Proverbs 31 Ministries Jordan Lee Dooley knows firsthand how frustrating it can be when you almost achieve a goal, almost reach a dream, and almost get to where you want to be, only to land just short of the finish line or watch it all fall apart at the last minute. Unmet expectations have a way of making us rethink everything. But perhaps rethinking dreams is not always the worst thing. Why? Because it’s in those moments, when you’re not where you expected to be, that you have a chance to pause and consider what matters most to you as well as redefine what success looks like for you in a world that’s constantly telling you what you should want or should do. Believe it or not, it is possible to cultivate a life you really like—and one where you can succeed—in the tension of the middle, between where you started and where you hoped to be. Discover: • practical steps to move forward when your plans don’t go according to plan • how to clarify which goals are right for you to pursue • what to do when dreams seem to come true for everyone but you • the unexpected gains that can arise from unwanted pain • how to know when it’s time to let go of a dream—and what to do with the space left behind Life is filled with unmet expectations, disrupted dreams, uncertainty, and in-between seasons. As hard as those experiences may be, they also offer a unique invitation to align your dreams and goals with what matters most. Learn how you can gain greater clarity about what you truly want, why you want it, and how to begin pursuing it.
Embrace Your Almost
Author: Jordan Lee Dooley
Publisher: WaterBrook
ISBN: 0593193466
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 225
Book Description
Not quite where you expected to be? You’re in good company. Now the bestselling author of Own Your Everyday helps you navigate unmet expectations, waiting, and uncertainty with confidence and clarity. “If you are like me and need practical steps, hard-won wisdom, and a friend to help lead the way into a new season of promise, this redirection resource is what you need.”—Lysa TerKeurst, #1 New York Times bestselling author and president of Proverbs 31 Ministries Jordan Lee Dooley knows firsthand how frustrating it can be when you almost achieve a goal, almost reach a dream, and almost get to where you want to be, only to land just short of the finish line or watch it all fall apart at the last minute. Unmet expectations have a way of making us rethink everything. But perhaps rethinking dreams is not always the worst thing. Why? Because it’s in those moments, when you’re not where you expected to be, that you have a chance to pause and consider what matters most to you as well as redefine what success looks like for you in a world that’s constantly telling you what you should want or should do. Believe it or not, it is possible to cultivate a life you really like—and one where you can succeed—in the tension of the middle, between where you started and where you hoped to be. Discover: • practical steps to move forward when your plans don’t go according to plan • how to clarify which goals are right for you to pursue • what to do when dreams seem to come true for everyone but you • the unexpected gains that can arise from unwanted pain • how to know when it’s time to let go of a dream—and what to do with the space left behind Life is filled with unmet expectations, disrupted dreams, uncertainty, and in-between seasons. As hard as those experiences may be, they also offer a unique invitation to align your dreams and goals with what matters most. Learn how you can gain greater clarity about what you truly want, why you want it, and how to begin pursuing it.
Publisher: WaterBrook
ISBN: 0593193466
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 225
Book Description
Not quite where you expected to be? You’re in good company. Now the bestselling author of Own Your Everyday helps you navigate unmet expectations, waiting, and uncertainty with confidence and clarity. “If you are like me and need practical steps, hard-won wisdom, and a friend to help lead the way into a new season of promise, this redirection resource is what you need.”—Lysa TerKeurst, #1 New York Times bestselling author and president of Proverbs 31 Ministries Jordan Lee Dooley knows firsthand how frustrating it can be when you almost achieve a goal, almost reach a dream, and almost get to where you want to be, only to land just short of the finish line or watch it all fall apart at the last minute. Unmet expectations have a way of making us rethink everything. But perhaps rethinking dreams is not always the worst thing. Why? Because it’s in those moments, when you’re not where you expected to be, that you have a chance to pause and consider what matters most to you as well as redefine what success looks like for you in a world that’s constantly telling you what you should want or should do. Believe it or not, it is possible to cultivate a life you really like—and one where you can succeed—in the tension of the middle, between where you started and where you hoped to be. Discover: • practical steps to move forward when your plans don’t go according to plan • how to clarify which goals are right for you to pursue • what to do when dreams seem to come true for everyone but you • the unexpected gains that can arise from unwanted pain • how to know when it’s time to let go of a dream—and what to do with the space left behind Life is filled with unmet expectations, disrupted dreams, uncertainty, and in-between seasons. As hard as those experiences may be, they also offer a unique invitation to align your dreams and goals with what matters most. Learn how you can gain greater clarity about what you truly want, why you want it, and how to begin pursuing it.
Embrace Your Weird
Author: Felicia Day
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1982115742
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 272
Book Description
An instant New York Times bestseller In Embrace Your Weird, New York Times bestselling author, producer, actress, TV writer, and award-winning web series creator, Felicia Day takes you on a journey to find, rekindle, or expand your creative passions. Including Felicia’s personal stories and hard-won wisdom, Embrace Your Weird offers: —Entertaining and revelatory exercises that empower you to be fearless, so you can rediscover the things that bring you joy, and crack your imagination wide open —Unique techniques to vanquish enemies of creativity like: anxiety, fear, procrastination, perfectionism, criticism, and jealousy —Tips to cultivate a creative community —Space to explore and get your neurons firing Whether you enjoy writing, baking, painting, podcasting, playing music, or have yet to uncover your favorite creative outlet, Embrace Your Weird will help you unlock the power of self-expression. Get motivated. Get creative. Get weird.
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1982115742
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 272
Book Description
An instant New York Times bestseller In Embrace Your Weird, New York Times bestselling author, producer, actress, TV writer, and award-winning web series creator, Felicia Day takes you on a journey to find, rekindle, or expand your creative passions. Including Felicia’s personal stories and hard-won wisdom, Embrace Your Weird offers: —Entertaining and revelatory exercises that empower you to be fearless, so you can rediscover the things that bring you joy, and crack your imagination wide open —Unique techniques to vanquish enemies of creativity like: anxiety, fear, procrastination, perfectionism, criticism, and jealousy —Tips to cultivate a creative community —Space to explore and get your neurons firing Whether you enjoy writing, baking, painting, podcasting, playing music, or have yet to uncover your favorite creative outlet, Embrace Your Weird will help you unlock the power of self-expression. Get motivated. Get creative. Get weird.
Own Your Everyday
Author: Jordan Lee Dooley
Publisher: WaterBrook
ISBN: 0735291500
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 242
Book Description
USA TODAY BESTSELLER • ECPA BESTSELLER • An empowering girlfriend’s guide to a purpose-driven life, from the young entrepreneur and rising star behind SoulScripts and the SHE Podcast “This book will meet you right where you are with a giant hug while also giving you a little kick in the pants.”—Audrey Roloff, New York Times bestselling coauthor of A Love Letter Life, founder of Always More, cofounder of Beating50Percent Does it ever seem like you still have to find your purpose or that you’re stuck with “unfigured-out dreams”? Do you feel the pressure to prove yourself or worry about what others will think? You are not the only one. From accidentally starting a small business instead of using her college degree, to embarrassing herself onstage in front of thousands, to wasting time worrying about what others think or say, Jordan Lee Dooley knows exactly how that feels—and she’s learned some important lessons about living a purposeful life along the way. An influential millennial widely recognized for her tagline turned international movement, “Your Brokenness is Welcome Here,” Jordan has become a go-to source that women around the world look to for inspiration in their faith, work, relationships, and everyday life. Now, in this approachable but actionable read that’s jam-packed with practical tools, Jordan equips you to • tackle obstacles such as disappointment, perfectionism, comparison, and distraction • remove labels and break out of the box of expectations • identify and eliminate excuses and unnecessary stress about an unknown future • overcome the lie that you can’t live your God-given purpose until you reach a certain goal or milestone If you ever feel you need to shift your mindset but don’t know how, this book will help you overcome shame, practice gratitude, and redefine success.
Publisher: WaterBrook
ISBN: 0735291500
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 242
Book Description
USA TODAY BESTSELLER • ECPA BESTSELLER • An empowering girlfriend’s guide to a purpose-driven life, from the young entrepreneur and rising star behind SoulScripts and the SHE Podcast “This book will meet you right where you are with a giant hug while also giving you a little kick in the pants.”—Audrey Roloff, New York Times bestselling coauthor of A Love Letter Life, founder of Always More, cofounder of Beating50Percent Does it ever seem like you still have to find your purpose or that you’re stuck with “unfigured-out dreams”? Do you feel the pressure to prove yourself or worry about what others will think? You are not the only one. From accidentally starting a small business instead of using her college degree, to embarrassing herself onstage in front of thousands, to wasting time worrying about what others think or say, Jordan Lee Dooley knows exactly how that feels—and she’s learned some important lessons about living a purposeful life along the way. An influential millennial widely recognized for her tagline turned international movement, “Your Brokenness is Welcome Here,” Jordan has become a go-to source that women around the world look to for inspiration in their faith, work, relationships, and everyday life. Now, in this approachable but actionable read that’s jam-packed with practical tools, Jordan equips you to • tackle obstacles such as disappointment, perfectionism, comparison, and distraction • remove labels and break out of the box of expectations • identify and eliminate excuses and unnecessary stress about an unknown future • overcome the lie that you can’t live your God-given purpose until you reach a certain goal or milestone If you ever feel you need to shift your mindset but don’t know how, this book will help you overcome shame, practice gratitude, and redefine success.
An Almost Zero Waste Life
Author: Megean Weldon
Publisher: Rock Point
ISBN: 0760366691
Category : House & Home
Languages : en
Pages : 179
Book Description
Author Megean Weldon, aka The Zero Waste Nerd, gently guides you on an attainable, inspirational, mindful, and completely realistic journey to a sustainable living lifestyle. Find tips, strategies, recipes, and DIY projects for reducing waste in this approachable, beautifully designed and illustrated guide. What is zero waste living? Although the practice has been around for generations out of necessity, it is making a comeback as concerns grow about the fate of our environment. To put it simply: it is attempting to send no waste to landfills. Although you may have read or heard about “zero waste,” “sustainable,” or “green” living, the concept can sometimes seem too complicated, the author’s tone a bit self-righteous, or riddled with advice geared for people with 5 acres of land in the country with dreams of raising livestock and homesteading. This is not that book. Can a “regular” person do this? Absolutely! Zero waste isn’t necessarily about zero, but more about changing or altering the way we see the world around us, how we consume, and how we think about waste. It’s about making better choices when we can, and working to reduce our overall impact by reducing the amount of packaging and single-use plastics we bring into our life. Focusing on the positive, An Almost Zero Waste Life presents simple ways to reduce waste in every aspect of your life: Cleaning: Recipes for natural cleaners and how to ditch paper towels for good. Meal plans: Weekly menus and recipes for zero waste meals that use bulk pantry staples. Shopping: How to shop zero waste at big chain stores and ways to reduce food packaging. Bathroom: Sustainable beauty routine. Recycling: Ingenious ways to repurpose old clothing and how to recycle small metals, like razor blades. Compost: The basics of composting. And much more! An Almost Zero Waste Life will change the way you see the world around you, how you consume, and how you think about waste for a healthier planet and happier you.
Publisher: Rock Point
ISBN: 0760366691
Category : House & Home
Languages : en
Pages : 179
Book Description
Author Megean Weldon, aka The Zero Waste Nerd, gently guides you on an attainable, inspirational, mindful, and completely realistic journey to a sustainable living lifestyle. Find tips, strategies, recipes, and DIY projects for reducing waste in this approachable, beautifully designed and illustrated guide. What is zero waste living? Although the practice has been around for generations out of necessity, it is making a comeback as concerns grow about the fate of our environment. To put it simply: it is attempting to send no waste to landfills. Although you may have read or heard about “zero waste,” “sustainable,” or “green” living, the concept can sometimes seem too complicated, the author’s tone a bit self-righteous, or riddled with advice geared for people with 5 acres of land in the country with dreams of raising livestock and homesteading. This is not that book. Can a “regular” person do this? Absolutely! Zero waste isn’t necessarily about zero, but more about changing or altering the way we see the world around us, how we consume, and how we think about waste. It’s about making better choices when we can, and working to reduce our overall impact by reducing the amount of packaging and single-use plastics we bring into our life. Focusing on the positive, An Almost Zero Waste Life presents simple ways to reduce waste in every aspect of your life: Cleaning: Recipes for natural cleaners and how to ditch paper towels for good. Meal plans: Weekly menus and recipes for zero waste meals that use bulk pantry staples. Shopping: How to shop zero waste at big chain stores and ways to reduce food packaging. Bathroom: Sustainable beauty routine. Recycling: Ingenious ways to repurpose old clothing and how to recycle small metals, like razor blades. Compost: The basics of composting. And much more! An Almost Zero Waste Life will change the way you see the world around you, how you consume, and how you think about waste for a healthier planet and happier you.
Embrace
Author: Jessica Shirvington
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
ISBN: 1402268424
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 398
Book Description
On her 17th birthday, everything will change for Violet Eden. The boy she loves will betray her. Her enemy will save her. And she will have to make a choice that could cost not only her life, but her eternity... LINCOLN: He's been Violet's one anchor, her running partner and kickboxing trainer. Only he never told her he was training her for an ancient battle between angels and exiles. PHOENIX: As an exile, he is not to be trusted, yet he's the only one there to pick up the pieces and protect her after Lincoln's betrayal. But what is he really after? Who will she... Embrace?
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
ISBN: 1402268424
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 398
Book Description
On her 17th birthday, everything will change for Violet Eden. The boy she loves will betray her. Her enemy will save her. And she will have to make a choice that could cost not only her life, but her eternity... LINCOLN: He's been Violet's one anchor, her running partner and kickboxing trainer. Only he never told her he was training her for an ancient battle between angels and exiles. PHOENIX: As an exile, he is not to be trusted, yet he's the only one there to pick up the pieces and protect her after Lincoln's betrayal. But what is he really after? Who will she... Embrace?
Embrace Me
Author: Lisa Samson
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
ISBN: 1418537322
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 316
Book Description
Biting and gentle, hard-edged and hopeful . . . a beautiful fable of love and power, hiding and seeking, woundedness and redemption. When a "lizard woman," a self-mutilating preacher, a tattoed monk, and a sleazy lobbyist find themselves in the same North Carolina town one winter, their lives are edging precariously close to disaster . . . and improbably close to grace.
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
ISBN: 1418537322
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 316
Book Description
Biting and gentle, hard-edged and hopeful . . . a beautiful fable of love and power, hiding and seeking, woundedness and redemption. When a "lizard woman," a self-mutilating preacher, a tattoed monk, and a sleazy lobbyist find themselves in the same North Carolina town one winter, their lives are edging precariously close to disaster . . . and improbably close to grace.
Embrace Yourself
Author: Taryn Brumfitt
Publisher: Random House Australia
ISBN: 0143787055
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 202
Book Description
Body positivity from the maker of documentary Embrace - how to love the skin you're in and embrace yourself.
Publisher: Random House Australia
ISBN: 0143787055
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 202
Book Description
Body positivity from the maker of documentary Embrace - how to love the skin you're in and embrace yourself.
Embrace
Author: Cherie Colyer
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1936305976
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 184
Book Description
Madison is familiar enough with change, and she hates everything about it. Change took her long-term boyfriend away from her. It caused one of her friends to suddenly hate her. It's responsible for the death of a local along with a host of other mysterious happenings. But when Madison meets a hot new guy, she thinks her luck is about to improve. Madison is instantly drawn to the handsome and intriguing Isaac Addington. She quickly realizes he's a guy harboring a secret, but she's willing to risk the unknown to be with him. Her world really spins out of control, however, when her best friend becomes delusional, seeing things that aren't there and desperately trying to escape their evil. When the doctors can't find the answers, Madison seeks her own. Nothing can prepare her for what she is about to discover. Dangerous, intoxicating, and darkly romantic, Embrace is a thriller that will leave you spellbound.
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1936305976
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 184
Book Description
Madison is familiar enough with change, and she hates everything about it. Change took her long-term boyfriend away from her. It caused one of her friends to suddenly hate her. It's responsible for the death of a local along with a host of other mysterious happenings. But when Madison meets a hot new guy, she thinks her luck is about to improve. Madison is instantly drawn to the handsome and intriguing Isaac Addington. She quickly realizes he's a guy harboring a secret, but she's willing to risk the unknown to be with him. Her world really spins out of control, however, when her best friend becomes delusional, seeing things that aren't there and desperately trying to escape their evil. When the doctors can't find the answers, Madison seeks her own. Nothing can prepare her for what she is about to discover. Dangerous, intoxicating, and darkly romantic, Embrace is a thriller that will leave you spellbound.
Be You
Author: Lisa Leonard
Publisher: Zondervan
ISBN: 1400209803
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 193
Book Description
Do you set your own needs aside as you help others? Whether we are filling a sippy cup, carpooling to endless soccer games, or helping colleagues with their emergencies at work, many of us put ourselves second every day. We end up exhausted, empty, and frustrated. Entrepreneur and bestselling author Lisa Leonard wants to help women let go of the burdens they were never meant to carry and learn how to fully enjoy life. Through 20 simple invitations to be authentically yourself, Lisa helps you explore what life can look like when you give yourself permission to: be honest be real be messy be loud be loved by God Be You is a beautifully designed self-help book with journaling lines, self-help activities, and 20 personal entries from Lisa that invite you to embrace the real you. Inside you’ll: Overcome lies you believed about yourself by identifying the truth Embark on 10-minute meditation exercises to help you identify that you’re enough Create and memorize affirmations to build your confidence and self-esteem Create your own manifesto Be You is a thoughtful gift for the women in your life who do too much. With its colorful interior design and peaceful feel, Be You invites you and those you love to rest in God's life-giving grace on even the busiest days. Here you will find the you who lives life with joy as you receive God's love--just as you are. Stop trying to be all things to all people so you can find joy in who God created you to be.
Publisher: Zondervan
ISBN: 1400209803
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 193
Book Description
Do you set your own needs aside as you help others? Whether we are filling a sippy cup, carpooling to endless soccer games, or helping colleagues with their emergencies at work, many of us put ourselves second every day. We end up exhausted, empty, and frustrated. Entrepreneur and bestselling author Lisa Leonard wants to help women let go of the burdens they were never meant to carry and learn how to fully enjoy life. Through 20 simple invitations to be authentically yourself, Lisa helps you explore what life can look like when you give yourself permission to: be honest be real be messy be loud be loved by God Be You is a beautifully designed self-help book with journaling lines, self-help activities, and 20 personal entries from Lisa that invite you to embrace the real you. Inside you’ll: Overcome lies you believed about yourself by identifying the truth Embark on 10-minute meditation exercises to help you identify that you’re enough Create and memorize affirmations to build your confidence and self-esteem Create your own manifesto Be You is a thoughtful gift for the women in your life who do too much. With its colorful interior design and peaceful feel, Be You invites you and those you love to rest in God's life-giving grace on even the busiest days. Here you will find the you who lives life with joy as you receive God's love--just as you are. Stop trying to be all things to all people so you can find joy in who God created you to be.
I Know This Much Is True
Author: Wally Lamb
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780060391621
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 884
Book Description
With his stunning debut novel, She's Come Undone, Wally Lamb won the adulation of critics and readers with his mesmerizing tale of one woman's painful yet triumphant journey of self-discovery. Now, this brilliantly talented writer returns with I Know This Much Is True, a heartbreaking and poignant multigenerational saga of the reproductive bonds of destruction and the powerful force of forgiveness. A masterpiece that breathtakingly tells a story of alienation and connection, power and abuse, devastation and renewal--this novel is a contemporary retelling of an ancient Hindu myth. A proud king must confront his demons to achieve salvation. Change yourself, the myth instructs, and you will inhabit a renovated world. When you're the same brother of a schizophrenic identical twin, the tricky thing about saving yourself is the blood it leaves on your bands--the little inconvenience of the look-alike corpse at your feet. And if you're into both survival of the fittest and being your brother's keeper--if you've promised your dying mother--then say so long to sleep and hello to the middle of the night. Grab a book or a beer. Get used to Letterman's gap-toothed smile of the absurd, or the view of the bedroom ceiling, or the influence of random selection. Take it from a godless insomniac. Take it from the uncrazy twin--the guy who beat the biochemical rap. Dominick Birdsey's entire life has been compromised and constricted by anger and fear, by the paranoid schizophrenic twin brother he both deeply loves and resents, and by the past they shared with their adoptive father, Ray, a spit-and-polish ex-Navy man (the five-foot-six-inch sleeping giant who snoozed upstairs weekdays in the spare room and built submarines at night), and their long-suffering mother, Concettina, a timid woman with a harelip that made her shy and self-conscious: She holds a loose fist to her face to cover her defective mouth--her perpetual apology to the world for a birth defect over which she'd had no control. Born in the waning moments of 1949 and the opening minutes of 1950, the twins are physical mirror images who grow into separate yet connected entities: the seemingly strong and protective yet fearful Dominick, his mother's watchful "monkey"; and the seemingly weak and sweet yet noble Thomas, his mother's gentle "bunny." From childhood, Dominick fights for both separation and wholeness--and ultimately self-protection--in a house of fear dominated by Ray, a bully who abuses his power over these stepsons whose biological father is a mystery. I was still afraid of his anger but saw how he punished weakness--pounced on it. Out of self-preservation I hid my fear, Dominick confesses. As for Thomas, he just never knew how to play defense. He just didn't get it. But Dominick's talent for survival comes at an enormous cost, including the breakup of his marriage to the warm, beautiful Dessa, whom he still loves. And it will be put to the ultimate test when Thomas, a Bible-spouting zealot, commits an unthinkable act that threatens the tenuous balance of both his and Dominick's lives. To save himself, Dominick must confront not only the pain of his past but the dark secrets he has locked deep within himself, and the sins of his ancestors--a quest that will lead him beyond the confines of his blue-collar New England town to the volcanic foothills of Sicily 's Mount Etna, where his ambitious and vengefully proud grandfather and a namesake Domenico Tempesta, the sostegno del famiglia, was born. Each of the stories Ma told us about Papa reinforced the message that he was the boss, that he ruled the roost, that what he said went. Searching for answers, Dominick turns to the whispers of the dead, to the pages of his grandfather's handwritten memoir, The History of Domenico Onofrio Tempesta, a Great Man from Humble Beginnings. Rendered with touches of magic realism, Domenico's fablelike tale--in which monkeys enchant and religious statues weep--becomes the old man's confession--an unwitting legacy of contrition that reveals the truth's of Domenico's life, Dominick learns that power, wrongly used, defeats the oppressor as well as the oppressed, and now, picking through the humble shards of his deconstructed life, he will search for the courage and love to forgive, to expiate his and his ancestors' transgressions, and finally to rebuild himself beyond the haunted shadow of his twin. Set against the vivid panoply of twentieth-century America and filled with richly drawn, memorable characters, this deeply moving and thoroughly satisfying novel brings to light humanity's deepest needs and fears, our aloneness, our desire for love and acceptance, our struggle to survive at all costs. Joyous, mystical, and exquisitely written, I Know This Much Is True is an extraordinary reading experience that will leave no reader untouched.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780060391621
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 884
Book Description
With his stunning debut novel, She's Come Undone, Wally Lamb won the adulation of critics and readers with his mesmerizing tale of one woman's painful yet triumphant journey of self-discovery. Now, this brilliantly talented writer returns with I Know This Much Is True, a heartbreaking and poignant multigenerational saga of the reproductive bonds of destruction and the powerful force of forgiveness. A masterpiece that breathtakingly tells a story of alienation and connection, power and abuse, devastation and renewal--this novel is a contemporary retelling of an ancient Hindu myth. A proud king must confront his demons to achieve salvation. Change yourself, the myth instructs, and you will inhabit a renovated world. When you're the same brother of a schizophrenic identical twin, the tricky thing about saving yourself is the blood it leaves on your bands--the little inconvenience of the look-alike corpse at your feet. And if you're into both survival of the fittest and being your brother's keeper--if you've promised your dying mother--then say so long to sleep and hello to the middle of the night. Grab a book or a beer. Get used to Letterman's gap-toothed smile of the absurd, or the view of the bedroom ceiling, or the influence of random selection. Take it from a godless insomniac. Take it from the uncrazy twin--the guy who beat the biochemical rap. Dominick Birdsey's entire life has been compromised and constricted by anger and fear, by the paranoid schizophrenic twin brother he both deeply loves and resents, and by the past they shared with their adoptive father, Ray, a spit-and-polish ex-Navy man (the five-foot-six-inch sleeping giant who snoozed upstairs weekdays in the spare room and built submarines at night), and their long-suffering mother, Concettina, a timid woman with a harelip that made her shy and self-conscious: She holds a loose fist to her face to cover her defective mouth--her perpetual apology to the world for a birth defect over which she'd had no control. Born in the waning moments of 1949 and the opening minutes of 1950, the twins are physical mirror images who grow into separate yet connected entities: the seemingly strong and protective yet fearful Dominick, his mother's watchful "monkey"; and the seemingly weak and sweet yet noble Thomas, his mother's gentle "bunny." From childhood, Dominick fights for both separation and wholeness--and ultimately self-protection--in a house of fear dominated by Ray, a bully who abuses his power over these stepsons whose biological father is a mystery. I was still afraid of his anger but saw how he punished weakness--pounced on it. Out of self-preservation I hid my fear, Dominick confesses. As for Thomas, he just never knew how to play defense. He just didn't get it. But Dominick's talent for survival comes at an enormous cost, including the breakup of his marriage to the warm, beautiful Dessa, whom he still loves. And it will be put to the ultimate test when Thomas, a Bible-spouting zealot, commits an unthinkable act that threatens the tenuous balance of both his and Dominick's lives. To save himself, Dominick must confront not only the pain of his past but the dark secrets he has locked deep within himself, and the sins of his ancestors--a quest that will lead him beyond the confines of his blue-collar New England town to the volcanic foothills of Sicily 's Mount Etna, where his ambitious and vengefully proud grandfather and a namesake Domenico Tempesta, the sostegno del famiglia, was born. Each of the stories Ma told us about Papa reinforced the message that he was the boss, that he ruled the roost, that what he said went. Searching for answers, Dominick turns to the whispers of the dead, to the pages of his grandfather's handwritten memoir, The History of Domenico Onofrio Tempesta, a Great Man from Humble Beginnings. Rendered with touches of magic realism, Domenico's fablelike tale--in which monkeys enchant and religious statues weep--becomes the old man's confession--an unwitting legacy of contrition that reveals the truth's of Domenico's life, Dominick learns that power, wrongly used, defeats the oppressor as well as the oppressed, and now, picking through the humble shards of his deconstructed life, he will search for the courage and love to forgive, to expiate his and his ancestors' transgressions, and finally to rebuild himself beyond the haunted shadow of his twin. Set against the vivid panoply of twentieth-century America and filled with richly drawn, memorable characters, this deeply moving and thoroughly satisfying novel brings to light humanity's deepest needs and fears, our aloneness, our desire for love and acceptance, our struggle to survive at all costs. Joyous, mystical, and exquisitely written, I Know This Much Is True is an extraordinary reading experience that will leave no reader untouched.