You're Doing Just Fine


Book Description

Take a shower, wash off the day. Drink a glass of water. Make the room dark. Lie down and close your eyes. Notice the silence. Notice your heart. Still beating. Still fighting. You made it, after all. You made it, another day. And you can make it one more. You're doing just fine. Named after the poem that has been shared over 400,000 times on Tumblr, this is the third book from young author and songwriter Charlotte Eriksson. A collection of prose and poetry with the theme of hope, recovery and finding beauty in the darkness. An exploration of the life of a young artist with an aching heart, urged by a wanderlust that leads and directs, and the simple task of learning how to live with yourself. "Charlotte knows her reader so well that it feels like she's writing my very own journal."




I Like You Just Fine When You're Not Around


Book Description

"While trying to handle their own changing careers and personal issues, two sisters face more crisis when their mother develops Alzheimer's and a new baby enters their lives"--




Linh Ly is Doing Just Fine


Book Description

Told with deadpan humor and brutal honesty, this debut novel follows Vietnamese American Linh Ly’s unraveling as she reckons with the traumas of both her past and present, perfect for fans of Joan Is Okay and Luster. When twenty-seven-year-old Linh Ly’s recently divorced mother begins dating a coworker, Linh is determined to make sure he is worthy of her mother. She’s seen the kind of men her mother ends up with—she grew up watching her unreliable and volatile alcoholic father as her mother worked two jobs to make ends meet. Linh is certain that her mother can’t do this on her own, but what begins as genuine worry quickly turns obsessive. Following her mother and spying on her dates becomes part of Linh’s routine, especially after a university shooting at Linh’s work that leaves her feeling adrift—at least her mom’s dating life gives her something to focus on. Linh doesn’t exactly have a life of her own (dating or otherwise) and figures the best course of action is action—not how she handled the shooting: curl up in a ball and wait it out. Linh is slowly forced to reconcile the image of her mother from her childhood with the woman she’s getting to know as an adult. Growing up Vietnamese in the middle of Texas with a broken household taught Linh a certain guarded way of living—one she never quite left behind. Moving, insightful, and caustically funny all at once, Linh Ly Is Doing Just Fine depicts a quarter-life crisis in deeply relatable prose.




I Can See Just Fine


Book Description

Paige is just like every other kid. She goes to school. She practices her violin. She plays outside. The only problem is, she cannot quite see the chalkboard, her sheet music, or anything else! Despite Paige’s repeated refrain of “I can see just fine,” the comical illustrations portray a different story. Paige’s parents decide it’s time for her to visit the eye doctor, despite her protests. But Paige’s stubbornness quickly dissolves as she braves an enthralling eye checkup, enjoys a playful frame selection, and, most importantly, ends up with perfect eyesight! Barclay successfully depicts a very real and relevant issue with lightheartedness and gentle humor. Young readers will relate to Paige’s journey and celebrate her triumph of seeing clearly in the end. Praise for I Can See Just Fine "It’s a useful, non-didactic story for kids in Paige’s situation—and utterly fun, too.” --Publishers Weekly "A gentle way to introduce the topic of eyeglasses with a resistant child and what to expect in finding a solution." --Shelf Awareness for Readers "With an attractive, clean layout and big speech bubbles, this story is one that young readers will easily follow as Paige ultimately triumphs with her new glasses." --School Library Journal "This is an easy picture book for beginning readers with full-color illustrations. The stylized, pleasing illustrations are done well and a lot of children can relate to the situation." --Library Media Connection




Hand to Hold


Book Description

This heartwarming picture book reassures children that a parent’s love never lets go—based on the poignant lyrics of JJ Heller’s beloved lullaby “Hand to Hold.” “May the living light inside you be the compass as you go / May you always know you have my hand to hold.” With delightful illustrations and an engaging rhyme scheme, this book offers the promise of security and love every child’s heart longs to know. From skipping stones and counting stars to climbing trees and telling stories, every moment is wrapped snugly in the certain warmth of a parent’s presence and God’s blessing. With poignancy and joy, this bedtime read captures the unconditional love parents want their children to know but so often fail to express amid the chaos of daily life.




The First 20 Hours


Book Description

Forget the 10,000 hour rule— what if it’s possible to learn the basics of any new skill in 20 hours or less? Take a moment to consider how many things you want to learn to do. What’s on your list? What’s holding you back from getting started? Are you worried about the time and effort it takes to acquire new skills—time you don’t have and effort you can’t spare? Research suggests it takes 10,000 hours to develop a new skill. In this nonstop world when will you ever find that much time and energy? To make matters worse, the early hours of prac­ticing something new are always the most frustrating. That’s why it’s difficult to learn how to speak a new language, play an instrument, hit a golf ball, or shoot great photos. It’s so much easier to watch TV or surf the web . . . In The First 20 Hours, Josh Kaufman offers a systematic approach to rapid skill acquisition— how to learn any new skill as quickly as possible. His method shows you how to deconstruct com­plex skills, maximize productive practice, and remove common learning barriers. By complet­ing just 20 hours of focused, deliberate practice you’ll go from knowing absolutely nothing to performing noticeably well. Kaufman personally field-tested the meth­ods in this book. You’ll have a front row seat as he develops a personal yoga practice, writes his own web-based computer programs, teaches himself to touch type on a nonstandard key­board, explores the oldest and most complex board game in history, picks up the ukulele, and learns how to windsurf. Here are a few of the sim­ple techniques he teaches: Define your target performance level: Fig­ure out what your desired level of skill looks like, what you’re trying to achieve, and what you’ll be able to do when you’re done. The more specific, the better. Deconstruct the skill: Most of the things we think of as skills are actually bundles of smaller subskills. If you break down the subcompo­nents, it’s easier to figure out which ones are most important and practice those first. Eliminate barriers to practice: Removing common distractions and unnecessary effort makes it much easier to sit down and focus on deliberate practice. Create fast feedback loops: Getting accu­rate, real-time information about how well you’re performing during practice makes it much easier to improve. Whether you want to paint a portrait, launch a start-up, fly an airplane, or juggle flaming chain­saws, The First 20 Hours will help you pick up the basics of any skill in record time . . . and have more fun along the way.




The Last Lecture


Book Description

The author, a computer science professor diagnosed with terminal cancer, explores his life, the lessons that he has learned, how he has worked to achieve his childhood dreams, and the effect of his diagnosis on him and his family.




Empty Roads and Broken Bottles


Book Description

"Like a modern day vagabonding beat poet, the possible love-child of Patti Smith and Charles Bukowski - Eriksson is a rare soul in today's society. Carefully balancing between wanting to defy the world, and wanting nothing more than to be a part of it." At 18 years old she left her home in Sweden and took off on her own to embark on the long journey of creating a life for herself. A life she could be proud of. A life that made her excited to wake up every morning. With nothing but a guitar, her stories and a dream, she spent a year wandering in England, sleeping at train stations, airports and helpful fans' couches. Singing for whoever was willing to listen and collecting stories. Her first book Empty Roads & Broken Bottles; in search for The Great Perhaps, is Charlotte's own journey of fighting for her dream, living rootless, learning solitude, the difference between having a home and feeling at home and how she finally found a home in herself, in her music, in her words.An ordinary girl created a community, now with thousands of fans following her journey. Aspiring to inspire others to follow their hearts and go against the tide, showing that you can achieve and become exactly who you want to be, if you just want it bad enough. "She seems to have such a deep love for life and experience, both the good and the bad, this book made me want to go out and live my life to the fullest. I want to feel all of this too." This book is filled with philosophical explorations, inspiring stories of facing fear and doubts, words on love and loss, hurting and healing. The second part of the book is Charlotte's own journals, written during her wandering year in England. Bold and honest, raw from stream-of-consciousness. She doesn't cover up how hard life can really be, how deep love can cut, or how mesmerising a simple conversation can be. Now, a few years later, Charlotte has become a prolific songwriter and author. She's released 3 critically acclaimed albums, published 3 books, and had excerpts from her books shared on large platforms such as Thought Catalog, Bella Grace Magazine, Berlin ArtParasites and Word Porn. She's taken on the challenge of writing comforting words on mental illness, depression, wanting more, heartbreak, chasing a dream and losing people. But this, is where it all started. "I wanted to turn my life into art, my very existence into a poem. This is my story. It might not always be easy, but it will always be beautiful." ************************* "Instant coffee and a tip from the sound-guy. I'm learning sounds, lying wide awake on different sofas every night. I know the difference between a well built wall and broken strength. I'm learning mindfulness, reading about gurus and poets every day on different trains to nowhere. I don't know what I'm learning but I hope I will understand one day. I'm selling my heart with each album and a silent prayer that they'll be gentle with it, gentle with me. And then the concerned looks they throw when I point at my worn out bag and broken guitar case as the answer to where I live. Sure I could spend a year or two selling my days and time for money, and I could buy all these things people want to have without never really needing it. It's just that when I'm on that stage every night, it all just seems so stupid. My guitar, my voice, my words, my story. That's all I want, that's what makes my heart beat. What am I supposed to do with belongings and material stuff when all I want is this. The open road and a new beginning every day."




Another Vagabond Lost to Love


Book Description

A young writer's search for a place called home, what it means to be an artist, and finding peace with a restless heart. The follow up to Charlotte Eriksson's first book "Empty Roads & Broken Bottles; in search for The Great Perhaps", is the continued self-exploring quest of a young artist. Poetry, travel stories and journals that brings you in to this young girl's journey. ---------------- The journals and poetry explore the dreamer's fate of leaving and arriving, love and loss, and learning to go on on your own. It captures the city of Berlin, where I somehow ended up. The broken concrete, conversations with strangers, small moments of ache or clarity. The stories leads to the chapter of my Album Journals "Learning What It Means To Be An Artist," which is a series of journals and letters behind what came to be my second album "I Must Be Gone and Live, or Stay and Die". The album and this book go hand in hand and the lyrics and quotes blend into one another. The reader will find the book as a world of its own, and the listener of the album will find the musical world expanded into reality.




Just Fine


Book Description