At the heart of Waiting for First Light is a no-holds-barred self-portrait of a top political and military figure whose nights are invaded by despair, but who at first light faces the day with the renewed desire to make a difference in the world. Roméo Dallaire, traumatized by witnessing genocide on an imponderable scale in Rwanda, reflects in these pages on the nature of PTSD and the impact of that deep wound on his life since 1994, and on how he motivates himself and others to humanitarian work despite his constant struggle. Though he had been a leader in peace and in war at all levels up to deputy commander of the Canadian Army, his PTSD led to his medical dismissal from the Canadian Forces in April 2000, a blow that almost killed him. But he crawled out of the hole he fell into after he had to take off the uniform, and he has been inspiring people to give their all to multiple missions ever since, from ending genocide to eradicating the use of child soldiers to revolutionizing officer training so that our soldiers can better deal with the muddy reality of modern conflict zones and to revolutionizing our thinking about the changing nature of conflict itself.

John Armstrong has worked as a paperboy, a caddy, and a Bible camp counsellor; as a janitor at the Regal Theatre, a shipper of video porn, and a real live punk rock star. As if those jobs weren't punishment enough, at the tender age of thirty he entered the trenches of journalism. Armstrong's first job -- a slave-labour gig shovelling rabbit shit from a gigantic barn -- teaches him a valuable lesson. Every subsequent working experience, he learns, will contain the following unavoidable and mind-numbing elements. "Get up, get dressed so you can hurry to a place you don't want to be, and do things you don't want to do for people you don't like, all for very little money at some far distant point in the future." Armstrong doesn't let it get him down. Whether he's writing about the Bobbsey Twins, a pair of strippers who really love their vegetables, the Golden Road personal fulfillment seminar, where you learn that you choose your own cancer, or the literal bowels of hometown paper the Picayune-Standard, Armstrong simultaneously excoriates and delights. Wages is a laugh-til-you-cry account of one man's remarkable working life or attempt at a lack thereof. This eccentric, irreverent, and witty chronicle is vintage John Armstrong.

Arthur Ney, a twelve-year-old smuggler outside the Warsaw ghetto walls when the ghetto uprising began in the spring of 1943, fled to the countryside with false papers to work on a farm. Almost a year later, he returned to Warsaw and faced the realization that his family was gone. Under the protection of the Salesian Fathers as a “Christian” boy, he struggled with loneliness, guilt, fear and indecision regarding his “dual identity.” When the Warsaw Uprising began on August 1, 1944, then fourteen-year-old Arthur Ney joined the barricades and fought the Germans – W Hour is the code name for the Uprising.

Four of the most important and enduring American slave narratives together in one volume. Until slavery was abolished in 1865, millions of men, women, and children toiled under a system that stripped them of their freedom and their humanity. Much has been written about this shameful era of American history, but few books speak with as much power as the narratives written by those who experienced slavery firsthand. The basis for the film of the same name, Twelve Years a Slave is Solomon Northup's heartrending chronicle of injustice and brutality. Northup was born and raised a freeman in New York State-until he was kidnapped and sold into slavery in the Deep South. Before returning to his family and freedom, he suffered smallpox, the overseer's lash, and an attempted lynching. Perhaps the most famous of all slave chronicles, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass immediately struck a chord with readers when it was first released in 1855. After escaping to freedom, Douglass became a well-known orator and abolitionist, drawing on his own experiences to condemn the evils of slavery. One of the few female slave narratives, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl was originally published under a pseudonym by Harriet Jacobs. After she escaped to freedom in North Carolina, where she became an abolitionist, Jacobs described the particular suffering of female slaves, including sexual harassment and abuse. Published in 1850, The Narrative of Sojourner Truth is Truth's landmark memoir of her life as a slave in upstate New York and her transformation into a pioneer for racial equality and women's rights. These narratives serve as a timeless testament to the strength and bravery, and as a voice to the millions of people enslaved in this dark period of American history. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.

Many have tried to silence her, but Mozhdah Jamalzadah remains the most powerful female voice of her generation in Afghanistan, boldly speaking out about women's rights. This book charts her incredible journey - from arriving in Canada as a child refugee to being invited to host her own show in Afghanistan. The Mozhdah Show earned her the nickname "The Oprah of Afghanistan" and tackled taboo subjects like divorce and domestic violence for the first time in the country's history. This is the first-ever biography of Mozhdah Jamalzadah: refugee, pop singer, and champion of women's rights.

In Voice, Adam Pottle explores the crucial role deafness has played in the growth of his imagination, and in doing so presents a unique perspective on a writer's development. Born deaf in both ears, Pottle recounts what it was like growing up in a world of muted sound, and how his deafness has influenced virtually everything about his writing, from his use of language to character and plot choices. Salty, bold, and relentlessly honest, Voice makes us think about writing in entirely new ways and expands our understanding of deafness and the gifts that it can offer.

Ce livre raconte mon histoire, celle d'une fille atteinte d'Ostéogénèse Imparfaite. On dit que j'ai écrit une histoire de détermination et de persévérance empreinte d'humour et de dignité. Si me raconter aide une seule personne à avancer dans la vie, alors ce travail n'aura pas été en vain. « Nous, les gens dits sans handicap, devrions tous faire la lecture de ce genre de témoignage, ne serait-ce que pour vraiment réaliser que les gestes que nous posons au quotidien peuvent tellement avoir une signification différente, tout dépendant notre état. Et pour ceux qui vivent avec un handicap, la lecture de ce vécu ne peut être qu'inspirante. » Linda Plouffe.

After her friend fatally stabbed his ex-girlfriend due to what psychiatrists later dubbed an acute psychotic break, Amy Butcher became obsessed with finding an explanation for the crime. This is her deeply personal account of the consequences of failing a friend when he needed one most.

THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED SPOKEN WORD POETRY COLLECTION FROM LANA DEL REY, VIOLET BENT BACKWARDS OVER THE GRASS " Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass is the title poem of the book and the first poem I wrote of many. Some of which came to me in their entirety, which I dictated and then typed out, and some that I worked laboriously picking apart each word to make the perfect poem. They are eclectic and honest and not trying to be anything other than what they are and for that reason I'm proud of them, especially because the spirit in which they were written was very authentic." — Lana Del Rey Lana Del Rey brings her breathtaking poetry to life in an unprecedented audiobook. In this stunning spoken word performance, Lana Del Rey reads fourteen poems from her debut book Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass accompanied by music from Grammy Award–winning musician Jack Antonoff. Lana's debut book solidifies her further as "the essential writer of her times" ( The Atlantic ). This audiobook features Lana reading select poems from the book, including LA Who Am I to Love You?, The Land of 1,000 Fires, Past the Bushes Cypress Thriving, Never to Heaven, Tessa DiPietro, Happy, and several others. The result is an extraordinary poetic landscape that reflects the unguarded spirit of its creator.