The Purple Palace & Other Poems


Book Description

The Purple Palace & other Poems is the debut Poetry collection by Artist Shayna Klee. The semi-autobiographical book is divided into two parts and takes place between two countries; Part I, "is a cloud a living thing?", takes place during the Author's tumultueuse teen years with tropical Florida as a backdrop. Part II, "Inside my Shell", explores themes of transformation as the Author creates a new life for herself in Paris, France. The poems in this collection explore the surreal rollercoaster of youth, the performance of identity, being an outsider and the tension between romantic idealism and the dystopic world in which the author finds herself. Her approach to her work as a visual artist is mirrored in her poetry style, which is accompanied by all original illustrations by the Author.




This Love Thang


Book Description

This Love Thang, the first poetry novel to be written about eleven friends on the path to accepting, finding, and forgiving love in each other’s eyes. Each poem, chapter, signifies their voice, feeling, and emotions, expressing what love is. Will the path they’ve chosen be too much for even them to handle? She’s a poet, he’s a momma’s boy, she is on the path of self-destruction, will curiosity kill the cat? He needs to grow up, he doesn’t listen, he is a nightmare waiting to expel, she is mischievous, and of course, is she the best kept secret? Where there is a path, lessons are learned, and in each situation, inside their sister circle and the man’s club, can all be forgiven, or should they just let sleeping dogs lie?




The Damages


Book Description

What I remember best about that week in January is trying to keep track of all the lies I told... 1998. Ontario has been hit by a days-long, life-endangering ice storm, and on Regis University campus, with classes cancelled, the students are partying. In the midst of it all, eighteen-year-old Ros's roommate Megan goes missing. As a panicked search ensues, Ros is blamed for not keeping a closer eye on Megan, and the incident casts a shadow over the next two decades of her life. 2020. Ros's former partner, Lukas, the father of her eleven-year-old son, is accused of a sexual assault. The accusation brings new details of an old story to light, forcing Ros to revisit a dark moment from her past. Ros must take a hard look not only at the father of her child, but also at her own mistakes, her own trauma, and at the supposedly liberal period she grew up in. PRAISE FOR THE DAMAGES 'A thriller with a narrator you won't be able to get out of your head' - Toronto Star 'Scott opens wide the blurred lines of the Me Too movement... A propelling and thought provoking book that you just can't put down' - The Suburban 'A thought-provoking examination of truth, trauma, and memory, briskly and attentively presenting readers with a vivid portrait of one woman's complicated experiences. A compelling character study that tackles intriguing moral questions' - Kirkus 'This is one of the first novels I've read that does a brilliant job of unpacking the duplicity and dishonesty of the 1990s. An intelligent and intense read about how power structures are passed on - The Damages held me, riveted, in a tight, icy grip' - Claire Cameron, author of The Bear 'Scott is a sophisticated writer, and The Damages is a sharp, multi-layered story about truth, lies, history and memory' - Sarah Selecky, author of Radiant Shimmering Light 'A probing, courageous work – a dance along the tightropes of memory, justice and love. It explodes the myth of the innocent bystander and ultimately celebrates the lifelong moral challenge of learning who you really are' - Sarah Henstra, author of The Red Word




Paris Daillencourt Is About to Crumble


Book Description

From the bestselling author of Boyfriend Material comes a sweet and scrumptious romantic comedy about facing your insecurities, finding love, and baking it off, no matter what people say. Paris Daillencourt is a recipe for disaster. Despite his passion for baking, his cat, and his classics degree, constant self-doubt and second-guessing have left him a curdled, directionless mess. So when his roommate enters him in Bake Expectations, the nation’s favourite baking show, Paris is sure he’ll be the first one sent home. But not only does he win week one’s challenge—he meets fellow contestant Tariq Hassan. Sure, he’s the competition, but he’s also cute and kind, with more confidence than Paris could ever hope to have. Still, neither his growing romance with Tariq nor his own impressive bakes can keep Paris’s fear of failure from spoiling his happiness. And when the show’s vicious fanbase confirms his worst anxieties, Paris’s confidence is torn apart quicker than tear-and-share bread. But if Paris can find the strength to face his past, his future, and the chorus of hecklers that live in his brain, he’ll realize it’s the sweet things in life that he really deserves.




Against Memoir


Book Description

The PEN Award-winning essay collection about queer lives: “Gorgeously punk-rock rebellious.”—The A.V. Club The razor-sharp but damaged Valerie Solanas; a doomed lesbian biker gang; recovering alcoholics; and teenagers barely surviving at an ice creamery: these are some of the larger-than-life, yet all-too-human figures populating America’s fringes. Rife with never-ending fights and failures, theirs are the stories we too often try to forget. But in the process of excavating and documenting these queer lives, Michelle Tea also reveals herself in unexpected and heartbreaking ways. Delivered with her signature honesty and dark humor, this is the first-ever collection of journalistic writing by the author of How to Grow Up and Valencia. As she blurs the line between telling other people’s stories and her own, she turns an investigative eye to the genre that’s nurtured her entire career—memoir—and considers the price that art demands be paid from life. “Eclectic and wide-ranging…A palpable pain animates many of these essays, as well as a raucous joy and bright curiosity.” —The New York Times “Queer counterculture beats loud and proud in Tea’s stellar collection.” —Publishers Weekly (starred) “The best essay collection I've read in years.”—The New Republic Winner of the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay




Therapy Revolution


Book Description

What some therapists don't want you to know.




After Paris


Book Description

'A perfect holiday read, compulsively readable but also intriguing, thought-provoking and so good on female friendship' Laura Marshall, author of Friend Request. Three best friends. A weekend away. And a whole lot of baggage. Alice, Nina and Jules have been best friends for twenty years. They met in Paris and return there once a year, to relive their youth, leave the troubles of home behind, and indulge in each other's friendship and warmth. But this year, aged thirty-nine, the cracks in their relationships are starting to show... After their weekend together in Paris, the three women never speak again. Each claims the other two ghosted them. But is there more to the story? Praise for After Paris: 'A gripping yet tender story about friendship and motherhood... I think every reader will find a version of themselves somewhere in this book.' Holly Miller, author of What Might Have Been 'A refreshing and authentic take on female friendship. Complex, flawed and so real, I loved spending time with these three women.' Louise Hare, author of This Lovely City 'Nicole Kennedy writes beautifully about female friendship, family dramas, relationships, parenting, and the city of Paris. Moving, funny, and hugely relatable.' Andrea Mara, author of All Her Fault 'Touching, evocative and impossible to put down.' Lorraine Brown 'Gossip Girl meets Emily in Paris meets One Day. Complex, clever and – as with all of Kennedy's writing – relatable.' Laura Price, author of Single Bald Female 'A gorgeous, big hearted book.' Suzanne Ewart 'Brilliant, engaging and completely compelling, After Paris is a triumph.' Hannah Doyle 'I was enthralled by the story – from the setting to the heartache; the trials of motherhood and such a razor sharp look at the bonds of friendship.' Caroline Khoury 'Perfect... deals with the intricacies of female friendship and the struggles women face in our lives and often hide.' Libby Page 'Superb - funny, heartfelt, sad and moving with a sweet nostalgia that made me catch my breath.' Bethany Clift 'Stunning' Mira V Shah 'Moving, thought-provoking and very, very funny. A love letter to female friendship.' Sarah Turner Readers love After Paris: 'I loved the writing, the three main characters and the scene setting, all just perfect.' Reader Review ***** 'It is rare to find a book that is purely about female friendships. I absolutely adored this book.' Reader Review ***** 'An ideal summer read that will make you appreciate your friends and what you have.' Reader Review ***** 'I raced through the book, desperate to see what happened... I loved this immersive read.' Reader Review ***** 'A beautiful story of adult friendships that really resonated... I absolutely loved the setting and characters.' Reader Review ***** 'I love all things Paris, and I also love female friendships. This book had all of that and more!' Reader Review *****




The Reckonings


Book Description

“Unflinching and honest…both timely and timeless” (Houston Chronicle), this extraordinary collection of essays by the award-winning writer of The Other Side—rooted in her own experience with sexual assault—pursues questions that strike at the heart of our national conversation about the justness of society. In 2014, Lacy Johnson was giving a reading from The Other Side, her “instant classic” (Kirkus Reviews) memoir of kidnapping and rape, when a woman asked her what she would like to happen to her rapist. This collection “attempts to parcel out several knotted problems and suggests forms of meaningful justice” (Booklist, starred review). Drawing from philosophy, art, literature, mythology, anthropology, film, and her own experience of violence, Johnson considers how our ideas about justice might be expanded beyond vengeance and retribution to include acts of compassion, patience, mercy, and grace. “The Reckonings is not a book about changing the world. It’s philosophy in disguise, equal parts memoir, criticism, and ethics…The twelve essays deserve great consideration, while you read it and long after” (NPR). From “Speak Truth to Power,” about the condition of not being believed about rape and assault; to “Goliath,” about the ways evil is used as a form of social control; to “The Fallout,” about ecological and generational violence, Johnson creates masterful, elaborate, gorgeously written essays that speak incisively about our current era. She grapples with justice and retribution, truth and fairness, and sexual assault and workplace harassment, as well as the broadest societal wrongs: the BP Oil Spill, government malfeasance, police killings. The Reckonings is a powerful and necessary work, ambitious in its scope, which “challenges our culture’s expectations of justice and expose the limits of vengeance and mercy” (Ms. Magazine).




Unlocked


Book Description

Unlocked tells the stories of ten different people in therapy in various cultural and geographical contexts - from Saudi Arabia to Venice or New York. Each narrative explores a unique presenting situation and uncovers the complexities of the therapeutic experience. All therapeutic work described in this book happens online. Inspired by real client sessions, the therapist narrator and the clients' stories are fictionalized for privacy. Rather than presenting a barrier, Unlocked demonstrates how a curious and skilled therapist can make the most of the unexpected gifts that the 'screen' offers--be it the intrusion of a pet, a parent breaking into the session, or a client taking her therapist for a ride outside. Therapeutic conversations that happen on the screen have a surprising close-up quality; these stories convey the renewed intimacy and intensity of such practice and present new possibilities for the therapeutic process. They will be of interest not only to therapists who are transitioning their practice online but also to those considering therapy or curious about the therapeutic process.




Pink Lies in Paris


Book Description

As you know by now, Scarlett Hanes has mastered the art of ""pink"" lying to everyone around her; including the people she loves dearly. She continues to lack the acumen to remain 100% honest with Hugh, despite promising him otherwise. After a surprise romantic getaway, Scarlett feels dubious about her relationship with Hugh and where their future is headed. During Paris Fashion Week, she lets all of her inhibitions dissipate. Scarlett once again has to clean up the mess she has created for herself. Back home in Charleston, the Hanes-Riley family is trying their hand at pink lying. They decided withholding major life events from Scarlett would protect her while abroad. The one person Scarlett depends on more than anyone, her grandfather, Frank, finds himself in a very challenging position when he keeps life altering news from her to ensure that she stays in France. Scarlett must take responsibility for her less-than-lofty behavior, and find out where the chips may fall; even if it's too late.