Loving Tami


Book Description

"Loving Tami - No Regrets" is a love story that chronicles the difficult journey undertaken by Tami and Randy as they faced Tami's early-onset Alzheimer's Disease together. It is an inspirational read that depicts the real-life struggle of Alzheimer's, while at the same time providing insights, resources and encouragement to others who find themselves faced with similar issues. From a romantic setting in Santorini, Greece to a limiting existence in a wheelchair in memory care; from a vibrant woman at the age of 49 to a 90 lb. shell of her former self at the age of 60; from excitement for planning her retirement years to an isolated COVID quarantine; this book also demonstrates the love that two people can have for each other and the ability for that love to persevere even through the most challenging circumstances.




Essential Strategies for the Dementia Caregiver


Book Description

ESSENTIAL STRATEGIES FOR THE DEMENTIA CAREGIVER offers a fresh and practical approach to the challenges faced by wives, husbands, and adult children who care for loved ones with dementia. Using the 4 D's of Dementia Care - detach, document, diffuse, distract - caregivers can find solutions for behaviors ranging from shadowing to wandering to medication refusal. The PACE model emphasizes the importance of prioritizing the caregiver's well-being while navigating the dementia journey: P = Permission for Trial and Error, A = Acknowledge Their Reality, C = Compassionate Care, E = Empower Yourself.




Like Vanessa


Book Description

Middle graders will laugh and cry with thirteen-year-old Vanessa Martin as she tries to be like Vanessa Williams, the first black Miss America. In this semi-autobiographical debut novel set in 1983, Vanessa Martin's real-life reality of living with family in public housing in Newark, New Jersey is a far cry from the glamorous Miss America stage. She struggles with a mother she barely remembers, a grandfather dealing with addiction and her own battle with self-confidence. But when a new teacher at school coordinates a beauty pageant and convinces Vanessa to enter, Vanessa's view of her own world begins to change. Vanessa discovers that her own self-worth is more than the scores of her talent performance and her interview answers, and that she doesn't need a crown to be comfortable in her own skin and see her own true beauty. "It's such an honor to be the focal point of this wonderful book! Without a doubt, it will be inspiring to a new generation of young, talented girls well on their way to promising careers." --Vanessa Williams, Multi-Platinum Recording Artist, New York Times Best-Selling Author, Fashion Designer and star of Television, Film and the Broadway Stage "Like Vanessa has it all and then some! Gritty, poetic, emotionally true, Tami Charles wrings out every hope, every stumble and every triumph of a girl on an uneasy road to possessing her self, her strength and her own beauty. An unforgettable debut." --Rita Williams-Garcia, author of One Crazy Summer and P.S. Be Eleven ♦ "This debut is a treasure: a gift to every middle school girl who ever felt unpretty, unloved, and trapped by her circumstances."— Kirkus Reviews STARRED REVIEW ♦ "Charles evades the clichés and imbues Vanessa with an inner life that's so real and personal it's hard to deny the charm, heartbreak, and triumph of her story. . . . Superb."— Booklist STARRED REVIEW ♦ "Like Vanessa is an emotionally potent, engaging young adult story with a heroine whom it is impossible not to root for. The life lessons that Nessy learns are relevant and worthwhile for everyone."— Foreword Reviews STARRED REVIEW




Lucky's Lady


Book Description

Psychologist Serena Sheridan has come back to the small Louisiana town where she’d been raised—and where her grandfather has suddenly gone missing. Successful, ambitious, beautiful, Serena always found the darker world of the bayous far less predictable—and far more treacherous—than the life she’d chosen. And for help, she must turn to a man as mysterious and dangerous as the backcountry itself: Lucky Doucet. He’s a man with a past littered with secrets best left concealed—the perfect guide to lead Serena into a world of dazzling seduction, sudden violence, and raw natural beauty. From the exotic French Quarter to the most remote bayou, they would follow a trail of corruption and betrayal to a showdown that would require they trust not only their own deepest instincts for survival—but each other.




Red Sky in Mourning


Book Description




Muted


Book Description

A ripped-from-the-headlines novel of ambition, music, and innocence lost, perfect for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo and Jason Reynolds! Be bold. Get seen. Be Heard.For seventeen-year-old Denver, music is everything. Writing, performing, and her ultimate goal: escaping her very small, very white hometown.So Denver is more than ready on the day she and her best friends Dali and Shak sing their way into the orbit of the biggest R&B star in the world, Sean "Mercury" Ellis. Merc gives them everything: parties, perks, wild nights -- plus hours and hours in the recording studio. Even the painful sacrifices and the lies the girls have to tell are all worth it.Until they're not.Denver begins to realize that she's trapped in Merc's world, struggling to hold on to her own voice. As the dream turns into a nightmare, she must make a choice: lose her big break, or get broken.Inspired by true events, Muted is a fearless exploration of the dark side of the music industry, the business of exploitation, how a girl's dreams can be used against her -- and what it takes to fight back.




The Alibi Man


Book Description

She was a vision. She was a siren. She was a nightmare. She was dead. Now he needed her to disappear. And he knew just how to make it happen. The Palm Beach elite go to great lengths to protect their own—and their own no longer includes Elena Estes. Once upon a time a child of wealth and privilege, Elena turned her back on that life. Betrayed and disillusioned by those closest to her, she chose the life of an undercover cop, the hunt for justice her own personal passion. Then a tragic, haunting mistake ended her career. Now Elena exists on the fringes of her old life, training horses for a living. But a shocking event is about to draw her back into the painful vortex she’s fought so hard to leave behind. First she finds the body—a young woman used, murdered, and dumped in a canal. Not just a victim, but a friend. As Elena delves into her dead friend’s secret life, she discovers ties not only to the Russian mob but also to a group of powerful and wealthy Palm Beach bad boys known for giving each other alibis to cover a multitude of sins. A group that includes a man Elena once knew very well—her former fiancé, Bennett Walker, a man she knows has already escaped justice at least once in his life. Finding her friend’s killer will put Elena at odds with her old life, with her new lover, and with herself. But she is determined to reveal the truth—a truth that will shock Palm Beach society to its core, and could very well get her killed.




The Map of Me


Book Description

The note Momma left on the fridge says only: "I HAVE TO GO." But go where? Twelve-year-old Margie is convinced that Momma's gone to the Rooster Romp at the International Poultry Hall of Fame, in search of additions to her precious flock of chicken memorabilia. And it's up to Margie to bring her home. So she commandeers her daddy's Faithful Ford, kidnaps her nine-year-old sister, Peep, and takes to the open road. As she navigates the back roads of Kentucky with smarty-pants Peep criticizing her every move, Margie also travels along the highways and byways of her heart, mapping a course to help understand Momma—and herself.




Bleeding Hearts


Book Description

A kind of death...Alzheimer's not only steals the patient's life but also devastates the family-no one more so than the spouse, who is now married to someone no longer "here." Bleeding Hearts is the candid narrative of a husband torn between love for his wife and the need to move on with his own life. Told by "the other woman," whom he meets at a time when he most needs her, the story of Eric, his wife, family, and new love, Tami, breaks the silence on a sensitive subject-offering comfort and insight to those struggling with the conflicting emotions that arise when Alzheimer's strikes the one you love.




Love Don't Live Here


Book Description

"Love Don't Live Here," the first book from a generational series. A story about two young women in their early 20's and takes place during the early 1970's into the 80's. Barbara loves her boyfriend Trini dearly but finds out the hard way when he leaves her while she's six months pregnant, that love is not always what it seems. Having to raise their son Jermaine by herself poses to be a great task. Like Barbara, Beverly also becomes a single mother but through different circumstances. Her boyfriend Malik, a conscious young man in his early 20's and is a member of the Black Panther party, winds up getting killed during a bank robbery. This leaves Beverly to fend for herself and two children, Derrik and Tinesha. Being a woman she knows what it takes to raise Tinesha into womanhood, but is lost when it comes to Derrik. The two women invite us into the world of relationships and single motherhood. In the end we all find out "it's about doing and being the best that one can be."