Was I Ever Normal...


Book Description

Was I Ever Normal… By: Becca Pava Was I Ever Normal invites us into the head of Cassie, a young girl growing up with childhood-onset schizoaffective disorder. She is desperately trying to cover up her psychosis by creating a web of lies so intricate that they only serve to further entangle her in her world of mental illness. Cassie has no idea how to respond to the chaos in her head and instead creates mass chaos for herself in her external life in the form of multiple, repetitive suicide attempts in response to command hallucinations, cutting, pulling out her hair in clumps, biting herself, starving herself for fear her food is poisoned and more. This leads to a revolving door of psychiatric hospital admissions. Was I Ever Normal demonstrates how the mental health system has failed so many children with severe psychiatric diagnoses. It introduces readers to the realities of the taboo world of childrens’ inpatient psychiatric treatment units and takes some of the stigma out of the for-so-long-forbidden world of psychiatric illnesses and treatments.




No Such Thing As Normal


Book Description

No Such Thing As Normal speaks to the curiosities and difficult questions that arise in a world full of diversity. Equipped with discussion questions, this story provides a creative, honest, and interactive way to instill dignity and respect for all people.




Absolutely Normal Chaos


Book Description

"By turns sarcastic, tender, and irreverent, this will quickly make its way into the hands of readers who loved Walk Two Moons." —Kirkus This beloved prequel to bestselling author Sharon Creech's Newbery Medal winner Walk Two Moons chronicles the life of a thirteen-year-old during her most chaotic and romantic summer ever via journal entries, filled with hilarious observations on love, death, and the confusing mechanics of holding hands. Mary Lou is less than excited about her assignment to keep a journal over the summer. Boring! Then cousin Carl Ray comes to stay with her family, and what starts out as the dull dog days of summer quickly turns into the wildest roller-coaster ride of all time. Named one of the New York Public Library’s 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing!




No Such Thing As Normal


Book Description

'Mental illness has led to some of the worst times of my life... but it has also led to some of the most brilliant. Bad things happen, but good things can come from them. And strange as it might sound, my mental health has been vastly improved by being mentally ill.' From depression and anxiety to personality disorders, one in four of us experience mental health issues every year and, in these strange and unsettling times, more of us than ever are struggling to cope. In No Such Thing As Normal, Bryony offers sensible, practical advice, covering subjects such as sleep, addiction, worry, medication, self-image, boundary setting, therapy, learned behaviour, mindfulness and, of course - as the founder of Mental Health Mates - the power of walking and talking. She also strives to equip those in need of help with tools and information to get the best out of a poorly funded system that can be both frightening and overwhelming. The result is a lively, honest and direct guide to mental health that cuts through the Instagram-wellness bubble to talk about how each of us can feel stronger, better and just a little bit less alone.




Nothing Was Ever Normal


Book Description

In the heady days of the early 1960s, the United States found itself perched on the edge of technological, sociological, and societal precipices. Advances made by its enemies with offensive ballistic-missile systems put America in catch-up mode, both on Earth and in orbit. Others were leading the race to space, and that was an affront to American safety, status, and national pride. For the men and women employed as top-secret research workers at the General Motors Division, secrecy was a way of life. The projects they worked onincluding Project Jennifer, Big Bird, Thor, Titan missiles, Matador, Regulus, the stealth fighter, and the Fastest Gun in the Westwere cloaked in the highest security possible. In their labs, the Lunar Rover, Apollo Guidance, and the complex, multinational F-16 systems were born. Don Peeler was a typical engineer in this high-stress environment, but his personal experiences were atypical. During his years at the General Motors Division, he experienced events that ran from the humorous to the heroic, and in Nothing Was Ever Normal, he shares his best memories of those days. For Don and his peers, there was no normal or any such thing as standard operating procedures, because what was occurring had never been experienced before. Compared to NASAs Manned Space Program, their glory came from knowing that what they were doing was essential to the security of the United States. Now that their classification designations have lapsed, the stories of the Band of Others can finally be told. Don Peeler was one of thousands of bright engineers who helped America dominate space during the Cold War and beyond. He endured sleepless nights fueled by coffee and cigarettes to troubleshoot technical problems and meet launch deadlines, because every project was new and nothing was normal meant nothing was typical or predictable. In this book, he looks back on his storied career. Peelers pride is palpable, whether hes describing an early missile launch at Cape Canaveral or the laborious, hands-on process of solving a new guidance systems glitch. But overall, Peelers memoir covers decades of wide-ranging projects Several Air Force Strategic missiles, Mercury, Apollo, several CIA programs, the F-16 aircraft and ends up with several automotive applications. The recollections Peeler fleshes out the most occur later in his career, when he has moved up to management and contract negotiation for his employer, a highly regarded division of General Motors. (The astronauts, as depicted in documentaries and film, drove Corvettes: They were gifts from GM, Peeler notes.) His stories of his greatest negotiating successes demonstrate how the author earned the nickname Wheeler Dealer Peeler. Peeler wrote this memoir to give credit to the men who toiled behind the scenes of the dramatic rocket launches and to tell the younger generation what his peers accomplished. In that, he has succeeded. The book will likely appeal mostly to people who have worked in the industry, but it may also whet readers appetites to read up more on the projects covered, or revisit films such as Apollo 13. The Book is available in hardcover, paperback and eBook. Review made by BlueInk,




Normal Norman


Book Description

What is "normal?" That's the question an eager young scientist, narrating her very first book, hopes to answer. Unfortunately, her exceedingly "normal" subject--an orangutan named Norman--turns out to be exceptionally strange. He speaks English, sleeps in a bed, and goes bananas over pizza! What's a "normal" scientist to do? A humorous look at the wackiness that makes us all special.




Never Settle for Normal


Book Description

Discover the personal meaning and gladness you hunger for—without settling for normal! Every human wants to matter and be happy, which is as it should be. God made us to resemble and reflect His worth as we enjoy our true identity in Him. But we too often swap that calling for the trifles of this world, pursuing cheap substitutes to fill the craving of our souls. As Jonathan Parnell puts it, we settle for “stupid normal” over the transcendent, even though this world can never satisfy our hopes and dreams. In Never Settle for Normal Jonathan speaks to the heart of both skeptics and searchers by addressing their deepest longings. With insight and passion, he examines the key tenets of Christian faith—creation, fall, redemption, new creation—and reveals the life-changing glory of the Christian story in a fresh, new light.







Nobody's Normal: How Culture Created the Stigma of Mental Illness


Book Description

A compassionate and captivating examination of evolving attitudes toward mental illness throughout history and the fight to end the stigma. For centuries, scientists and society cast moral judgments on anyone deemed mentally ill, confining many to asylums. In Nobody’s Normal, anthropologist Roy Richard Grinker chronicles the progress and setbacks in the struggle against mental-illness stigma—from the eighteenth century, through America’s major wars, and into today’s high-tech economy. Nobody’s Normal argues that stigma is a social process that can be explained through cultural history, a process that began the moment we defined mental illness, that we learn from within our communities, and that we ultimately have the power to change. Though the legacies of shame and secrecy are still with us today, Grinker writes that we are at the cusp of ending the marginalization of the mentally ill. In the twenty-first century, mental illnesses are fast becoming a more accepted and visible part of human diversity. Grinker infuses the book with the personal history of his family’s four generations of involvement in psychiatry, including his grandfather’s analysis with Sigmund Freud, his own daughter’s experience with autism, and culminating in his research on neurodiversity. Drawing on cutting-edge science, historical archives, and cross-cultural research in Africa and Asia, Grinker takes readers on an international journey to discover the origins of, and variances in, our cultural response to neurodiversity. Urgent, eye-opening, and ultimately hopeful, Nobody’s Normal explains how we are transforming mental illness and offers a path to end the shadow of stigma.




Searching for Normal


Book Description

Searching for Normal is the second book in a series that travels alongside four friends as they deal with teen life in Riverbend, Indiana. The novel inspires girls and young women to deepen their relationships with God and solve their problems in God-honoring ways. Six months ago Shay Mitchell’s life changed forever. Now she’s just trying to survive school bullies, drama class, and living with her Aunt Laura above the bookstore. No one, not even her new friends, knows her real story or the reason she’s living with her aunt in the first place. When Shay learns the truth about her biological father, she jumps at the chance to meet him. This could be her chance! Maybe she’ll finally find the normal life she’s longed for―a life where she feels loved and wanted―you know, part of a real family.




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