Are You My Momma?


Book Description

As World War II may seem to baby boomers and 9/11 to Gen Z, children born during and after 2020 may view memories of the pandemic, the smoke-choked orange skies over the West Coast, protests in the streets, an endless election, and family get together via FaceTime may see as a bizarre fairytale. This is one attempt to show it was real: virtual doctor visits, nasal swabs, risk assessment for visiting grandparents, etc. Giving birth during this pandemic wasn’t idea. It wasn’t what I pictured. I held my mantras close, and still do. Now the phrase, “it take a village” has a whole new meaning for me. Although your “village” cannot be present, they are still with you via text and video chat. People still really want to be there for you. You might feel alone, and at times I did, but when you finally give birth to that precious baby, give yourself the credit you deserve. I gave birth during the novel coronavirus outbreak, nothing is impossible. And then it was my son’s turn to face the pandemic head on: He was born with a heart issue. So after one month of being home, his health got worse and he had to have surgery done. So besides the normal poke of the IV, they were also shoving a swab down his nose day in and day out to (1) make sure he didn’t have COVID and (2) because he contracted a disease from the hospital. So whenever the doctors came to see him, they were not only wearing masks but also infectious disease suits and gloves. Can you imagine? At that moment, I couldn’t help but wonder what was going through my son’s head. He has only been on this earth for less than a month and he probably really didn’t know my face that well. So I wonder what was going through his head as he lay there after surgery unable to move and just take the pokes and prods from the men and women in suits. Which got me the inspiration to write this book... In honor of my son and his experience: You go through the wars to become a warrior – keep standing strong brave little heart.




Be My Baby


Book Description

When two lines appear on the pregnancy test kit, Humphreys’ world is turned upside down. He is excited but clueless and urgently needs some directions. After all, his biggest responsibility to this point had been a pet hamster and he lost that twice. From the moment his doctor tells him to book an obstetrician’s appointment, he knows he is out of his depth — he doesn’t know what an obstetrician is. Humphreys deals with parents who mock his sex drive, midwives who question his usefulness, friends who share only horrific birth stories, strangers who rub his wife’s belly and folks who seem to know everything there is to know about pregnancy (but often don’t have kids of their own). And there’s that troubling dream about her giving birth to a plastic toy lizard made in China. How will he deal with his parental insecurities? What’s the secret to being a decent dad? Will he drop his baby at the birth? Both funny and poignant, Be My Baby is a frank account of Humphreys’ quest to be a good father. Every parent will identify with his journey and perhaps begin to realise what they themselves put their mummy and daddy through, even in the womb.




Please Give My Baby Back


Book Description

'Please don't take him. Let him stay with me. Please don't take my baby.' When a health visitor notices a bruise on her newborn son's leg, Robyn's world quickly falls apart. Before she knows what's happening, police are called and three-week-old Quinn is being taken to hospital to be examined. As Robyn can't give them any definite explanation as to what's caused the bruise, Quinn is immediately taken into care and given to Maggie to foster while Social Services investigate. With no idea how long the investigation will take and in total shock and distress that her newborn son has been taken from her, Robyn appeals to Maggie for help. But is Robyn really telling the truth that she hasn't harmed her baby? And if so, can Maggie help her prove her innocence and convince Social Services and the courts to let her bring Quinn home? A true story of hope from Sunday Times bestselling author Maggie Hartley, a foster carer for over 20 years. 'Sad but brilliant read' 5* Amazon reader review




Sex, Men, and Babies


Book Description

Over the past 15 years much pioneering work has been done on the social demography of young men's sexual activities, contraceptive use, and fertility experiences. But how do men develop and manage their identities in these areas? In Sex, Men, and Babies, William Marsiglio and Sally Hutchinson provide a compelling and insightful portrait of young men who are capable of anticipating, creating, and fathering human life. Based on in-depth interviews with a diverse sample of 70 single men aged 16-30, this is the most comprehensive, qualitative study of its kind. Through intimate stories and self-reflections, these men talk about sex, romance, relationships, birth control, pregnancies, miscarriages, abortions, visions of fathering, and other issues related to men's self-awareness, and the many ways they construct, explain, and change their identities as potential fathers. The interviews also provide valuable insights about how young men experience responsiblities associated with sex and the full range of procreative events. Accessibly written for a wide audience and raising a host of issues relevant to debates about unplanned pregnancy, childbearing among teens and young adults, and women's and children's well-being, Sex, Men, and Babies is the fullest account available today on how young men conceptualize themselves as procreative beings. Lessons from this study can inform interventions designed to encourage young men to be more aware of their abilities and responsiblities in making babies.




Buried in Secrets


Book Description

The fourth book in the USA Today bestselling Carly Moore series. Be careful where you dig… Life in Drum, Tennessee has been quiet since corruption was uncovered in the sheriff’s department three months ago—too quiet. Still, Carly is shocked when she discovers one of her sweetest lunch customers at the tavern has committed murder in cold blood. Carly is certain the woman was fulfilling an infamous “favor” for the town patriarch, Bart Drummond, but now she has to prove it. She already knew that Drum has two sides—the side they show the world, and the seedy underbelly. Only in Drum, all things seedy lead back to two men—Bart Drummond and the local drug king, Todd Bingham. The deeper Carly gets, the more she begins to question everything, even her desire to have her own family. But even if she could forget Bart’s threat is hanging over her head, she can’t forget that her father is still searching for her, ready to drag her back to her own death. She needs to uncover the truth, but everything is buried in secrets.




Health in Ruins


Book Description

In Health in Ruins César Ernesto Abadía-Barrero chronicles the story of El Materno—Colombia’s oldest maternity and neonatal health center and teaching hospital—over several decades as it faced constant threats of government shutdown. Using team-based and collaborative ethnography to analyze the social life of neoliberal health policy, Abadía-Barrero details the everyday dynamics around teaching, learning, and working in health care before, during, and after privatization. He argues that health care privatization is not only about defunding public hospitals; it also ruins rich traditions of medical care by denying or destroying ways of practicing medicine that challenge Western medicine. Despite radical cuts in funding and a corrupt and malfunctioning privatized system, El Materno’s professors, staff, and students continued to find ways to provide innovative, high-quality, and noncommodified health care. By tracking the violences, conflicts, hopes, and uncertainties that characterized the struggles to keep El Materno open, Abadía-Barrero demonstrates that any study of medical care needs to be embedded in larger political histories.




Kindergarten Review


Book Description




What Ever


Book Description

"May be the nearest thing to an American Ulysses . . . wildly funny and infinitely sad." —Fintan O'Toole, The Irish times Focusing on the lives of more than a dozen characters—among them the Oregon rave boy Skeeter; the progressive-thinking octogenarian Violet, remembering her life from her bohemian youth in prewar Paris to her jazz-clubbing in postwar Greenwich Village; and the street-smart prostitute Bushie, holding forth on the profanity of the world—Heather Woodbury has forged a unique kind of fiction that combines the immediacy of performance art with the narrative structure and subtle characterization of a traditional novel. Taking off from her acclaimed one-woman show of the same title, Woodbury continually surprises in this novel with her ability to create new forms while always locating the unique, resonant humanity that links all the characters to one another—and to the reader.




Harlequin Presents October 2016 - Box Set 2 of 2


Book Description

Harlequin® Presents brings you a collection of four new titles! This Presents box set includes: THE SPANIARD'S PREGNANT BRIDE Heirs Before Vows by Maisey Yates Allegra Valenti enters Italy's most glorious masquerade ball in disguise—and is unknowingly seduced by her brother's best friend! Now, to safeguard the Acosta legacy, Duke Cristian Acosta must adorn Allegra with a trinket of his own—a gold wedding band! MARRIED FOR THE TYCOON'S EMPIRE Brides for Billionaires by Abby Green Ben Carter's reputation needs salvaging, and only a gold ring will do. English society princess Julianna Ford seems perfect…until she says no. But Ben is used to getting his way, and when Julianna auctions one kiss for charity, Ben intends to take advantage! A CINDERELLA FOR THE GREEK by Julia James Ellen Mountford is hiding from her stepfamily's cruel mistreatment at her father's glorious English country estate—until powerful tycoon Max Vasilikos wants to buy it! Transformed from dowdy recluse to belle of the ball, Ellen sees a devastating new glint in Max's eye…seduction! SURRENDERING TO THE ITALIAN'S COMMAND by Kim Lawrence When English rose Tess Jones succeeds in touching Danilo Raphael's protective instincts, he offers her shelter in his imposing palazzo. But Tess is certain this autocratic Italian isn't what she wants—until hot summer days melt into sultry nights… Be sure to collect Harlequin® Presents' October 2016 Box set 1 of 2!




Thoughts


Book Description

I was adopted at age 6. I immediately felt as a part of the family. My father spent most every weekend with us. e played sports, went to amusement parks and went out places all the time. Come Christmas we received most everything any child could possibly want. We had a wonderful childhood. As we grew up we moved and things got even better. At the new school, work was much harder. My dad always took out time to help me. Now that I'm nearly grown, he's still there when I need him & I love him dearly. So if you ask is he a fit father the answer is surely yes!