For Alison


Book Description

Renowned activist Andy Parker's account of the story that shocked America, the murder of his daughter, reporter Alison Parker, on live television, and his extraordinary ensuing fight for commonsense gun safety legislation and doing "Whatever It Takes" to end gun violence. On August 26, 2015, Emmy Award–winning twenty-four-year-old reporter Alison Parker was murdered on live television, along with her colleague, photojournalist Adam Ward. Their interviewee was also shot, but survived. People watching at home heard the gunshots, and the gunman's video of the murder, which he uploaded to Facebook, would spread over the internet like wildfire. In the wake of his daughter's murder, Andy Parker became a national leader in the fight for commonsense gun safety legislation. The night of the murder, with his emotions still raw, he went on Fox News and vowed to do "Whatever it Takes" to end gun violence in America. Today he is a media go-to each time a shooting shocks the national consciousness, and has worked with a range of other crusaders, like Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Lenny Pozner, whose son was killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School and brought suit against Alex Jones and Infowars, who claimed the shooting was staged. In For Alison, Parker shares his work as a powerhouse battling gun violence and gives a plan for commonsense gun legislation that all sides should agree on. He calls out the NRA-backed politicians blocking the legislation, shares his fight against "truthers," who claim Alison's murder was fabricated, and reveals what's ahead in his fight to do whatever it takes to stop gun violence. Parker's story is one of great loss, but also resilience, determination, and a call to action. Senator Tim Kaine, also a fierce advocate for commonsense gun laws, contributes a moving foreword.




The Charm Offensive


Book Description

A MOST ANTICIPATED ROM-COM SELECTED BY * BUZZFEED * LGBTQ READS * BUSTLE * THE NERD DAILY * ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT * FROLIC MEDIA * AND MORE! A BEST BOOK PICK BY * HARPER’​S BAZAAR * ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY “The Charm Offensive will sweep you off your feet.” —PopSugar ​​​​In this witty and heartwarming romantic comedy—reminiscent of Red, White & Royal Blue and One to Watch—an awkward tech wunderkind on a reality dating show goes off-script when sparks fly with his producer. Dev Deshpande has always believed in fairy tales. So it’s no wonder then that he’s spent his career crafting them on the long-running reality dating show Ever After. As the most successful producer in the franchise’s history, Dev always scripts the perfect love story for his contestants, even as his own love life crashes and burns. But then the show casts disgraced tech wunderkind Charlie Winshaw as its star. Charlie is far from the romantic Prince Charming Ever After expects. He doesn’t believe in true love, and only agreed to the show as a last-ditch effort to rehabilitate his image. In front of the cameras, he’s a stiff, anxious mess with no idea how to date twenty women on national television. Behind the scenes, he’s cold, awkward, and emotionally closed-off. As Dev fights to get Charlie to connect with the contestants on a whirlwind, worldwide tour, they begin to open up to each other, and Charlie realizes he has better chemistry with Dev than with any of his female co-stars. But even reality TV has a script, and in order to find to happily ever after, they’ll have to reconsider whose love story gets told.




Kiss Her Once for Me


Book Description

Winner of Lambda Literary Award for Best LGBTQ+ Romance A Best New Holiday Romance by PopSugar, BuzzFeed, Refinery29, and more! The author of the “swoon-worthy debut” (Harper’s Bazaar) The Charm Offensive returns with a festive romantic comedy about a woman who fakes an engagement with her landlord…only to fall for his sister. One year ago, recent Portland transplant Ellie Oliver had her dream job in animation and a Christmas Eve meet-cute with a woman at a bookstore that led her to fall in love over the course of a single night. But after a betrayal the next morning and the loss of her job soon after, she finds herself adrift, alone, and desperate for money. Finding work at a local coffee shop, she’s just getting through the days—until Andrew, the shop’s landlord, proposes a shocking, drunken plan: a marriage of convenience that will give him his recent inheritance and alleviate Ellie’s financial woes and isolation. They make a plan to spend the holidays together at his family cabin to keep up the ruse. But when Andrew introduces his new fiancée to his sister, Ellie is shocked to discover it’s Jack—the mysterious woman she fell for over the course of one magical Christmas Eve the year before. Now, Ellie must choose between the safety of a fake relationship and the risk of something real. Perfect for fans of Written in the Stars and One Day in December, Kiss Her Once for Me is the queer holiday rom-com that you’ll want to cozy up with next to the fire.




On the Streets for Alison


Book Description

Raph and Mac are approached by their old friend Sam. He comes to them tormented because his twenty year-old sister, Alison is missing. They hit the streets to help Sam and his family look for her. Along the way they make more friends and uncover a terrifying mess no family wants to have happen to them. With help they come out on the other side. But was it for better or worse? With wit, charm and friendship their world will change, even if only for a short time. What would you do for a friend?




Ready, Regan?


Book Description

Regan is a star in the classroom and on the soccer field. She's hard-working, competitive, and always prepared. But Regan's new third grade teacher, Ms. Eaton, throws her a bit of a curveball on the first day of school when she hands out tool kits. Since when does homework come wrapped in a colorful paper bag tied with ribbon? Regan's best friend, Leslie, isn't bothered a bit by their unusual homework, but Regan's orderly world is rocked as she tries to figure out how some very ordinary items can make her a top-notch third grader. It doesn't help that the class know-it-all, Conor, is in her class for the fourth year in a row and seems more determined than ever to compete with Regan. As the familiar and funny routines of the first week of school play out, Regan struggles to master Ms. Eaton's confusing assignment. By Friday, though, she starts to see the tools in use all around her, even on the soccer field and in the kitchen with her dad. Regan learns quickly that she can use her tools to help herself and a new little friend just learning to read.




James Alison and a Girardian Theology


Book Description

Opening with a Foreword by James Alison, this volume is the first in-depth treatment of Alison's theological method. John P. Edwards shows that Alison's theological project outstrips René Girard's application of mimetic theory to theology. He concludes that an explicitly Christian theological perspective is necessary for providing a fully coherent account of Girard's notions of "conversion" and "mimetic desire". This volume grounds Alison's theological method in his understanding of the ongoing interaction between conversion and theological reflection, which is informed by his use of mimetic theory. While Alison describes this method as “theology in the order of the discovery”, the author refers to it as an “inductive theology”. The volume closes by demonstrating that such a theology bears fruit in a renewed understanding of the value of Christian doctrines and, particularly, the doctrine of revelation.




A Study Guide for Susan Glaspell's "Alison's House"


Book Description

A Study Guide for Susan Glaspell's "Alison's House," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Drama For Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Drama For Students for all of your research needs.




Alison’s Transformation


Book Description

Early in the spring of 2010, it was one of the biggest stories on Long Island. All across the globe, television and radio stations broadcasted the gruesome, staggering murders of Alison's parents. Then five years later, just when Alison was healing & feeling good about her life, her two best friends were murdered and again she survived. Will Alison's tragedies ever end?




Alison's Automotive Repair Manual


Book Description

A widow in her mid-thirties, Alison has been mourning for two years. Now living in small town West Virginia with her sister Sarah and brother-in-law Bill, Alison is unable to move on with her life. Finally, she promises Sarah and Bill that she will start over---once she restores the abandoned, nearly ruined 1976 Corvette she found rusting in the garage and immediately loved. Unfortunately, Alison doesn't know the first thing about cars, and the fact that the townspeople (with the exception of a cute demolition man) find a woman messing with automotive parts bewildering doesn't help. With beautiful frankness and surprising hilarity, Brad Barkley tells of a gutsy woman's attempts to overcome loss, and fit into a close-knit community, in a triumphant look at grief, love, loss, and moving on.




The Private Diaries of Alison Uttley


Book Description

Popular childrens author, Alison Uttley (Little Grey Rabbit and Sam Pig) spent over 40 years writing diaries. Professor Denis Judd, who knew Alison and has previously written her biography, reveals a different side to the writer whose husband committed suicide and whose close relationship with her son is recorded in detail. But the magic of the author rings through on every page as she writes about her daily life in Berkshire, the red lipped fisherwife near neighbor (better known as Enid Blyton!) and her tempestuous relationship with her illustrators. She also writes endearingly about the changing seasons, reflecting much of her adult writing. These beautifully written diaries have been skillfully edited by Denis Judd, one of the Trustees of her Estate and a renowned biographer in his own right. Wonderfully written with a truly nostalgic look at days long gone, this is a must-read not just for fans of Alison Uttley's work but for anyone who enjoys good writing.