There was danger in the kind of beauty I was desperate to achieve. At only eight months old, identical twin sisters Ariel and Zan Henley were diagnosed with Crouzon syndrome-a rare condition where the bones in the head fuse prematurely. They were the first twins known to survive it. Growing up, Ariel and her sister endured numerous medical procedures to keep them alive. Doctors expanded the twins' skulls and broke bones to make room for their growing organs. After each surgery, the sisters felt like strangers to each other, unable to recognize themselves in the mirror. Their case attracted international attention. A French fashion magazine said Ariel and Zan "resembled the works of Picasso," as if they were abstract paintings, not girls just trying to survive. Later, plastic surgeons cut and trimmed and tugged their faces toward a tenuous aesthetic ideal. The girls dreamed of appearing "beautiful" but would settle for "normal." Fighting for acceptance was a daily chore. Between besting middle school bullies, becoming a cheerleader in high school, and finding her literary voice in college, Ariel learned to navigate a beauty-obsessed world with a facial disfigurement to become the woman she is today. From a resonant new voice, here is an unforgettable young adult memoir about beauty, sisterhood, and the strength it takes to put your life-and yourself-back together, time and time again.

A decade ago, former military counterintelligence officer Terry Henry and his daughter started Paws4people. Drury captures the story of a year in the life of Paws4people and the broken bodies and souls the organization mends.

In this narrative history and memoir, journalist, musician, and Monctonian Jason Murray follows the rise of the band that put the Maritimes on the map.Eric's Trip was a band defined as much by its DIY ethos as its low-fi, discordant music. The four-piece formed in an early-'90s Moncton basement and in a few short years, went from recording themselves on a four-track and selling cassettes at local record stores to signing on Seattle's Sub Pop records, opening for Sonic Youth, and touring internationally. Twenty years after the band's breakup (1996), A Distorted Revolution is the ultimate nostalgia trip. Through personal recollections, interviews with band members and others integral to the early 90s scene, this highly anticipated book offers a rare glimpse inside the band's formation, success, and ultimate unravelling. Includes over 20 images.

The remarkable story of Princess Peggy Abkhazi, co-founder of the Abkhazi Gardens in Victoria, B.C. Adopted by a wealthy English taipan and his wife, she studied in Paris, lived in Shanghai in the racy 1930's, but also experienced the trauma of a Japanese internment camp. A true rags to riches story when she married Prince Nicholas Abkhazi.

A trailblazing biologist grapples with her role in the biggest scientific discovery of our era: a cheap, easy way of rewriting genetic code, with nearly limitless promise and peril. Not since the atomic bomb has a technology so alarmed its inventors that they warned the world about its use. Not, that is, until the spring of 2015, when biologist Jennifer Doudna called for a worldwide moratorium on the use of the new gene-editing tool CRISPR'a revolutionary new technology that she helped create'to make heritable changes in human embryos. The cheapest, simplest, most effective way of manipulating DNA ever known, CRISPR may well give us the cure to HIV, genetic diseases, and some cancers, and will help address the world's hunger crisis. Yet even the tiniest changes to DNA could have myriad, unforeseeable consequences'to say nothing of the ethical and societal repercussions of intentionally mutating embryos to create "better" humans. Writing with fellow researcher Samuel Sternberg, Doudna shares the thrilling story of her discovery, and passionately argues that enormous responsibility comes with the ability to rewrite the code of life. With CRISPR, she shows, we have effectively taken control of evolution. What will we do with this unfathomable power'

A "delightful, witty" memoir about starting over as a beekeeper in the Ozarks (Library Journal). Alone on a small Missouri farm after a thirty-year marriage, Sue Hubbell found a new love-of the winged, buzzing variety. Left with little but the commercial beekeeping and honey-producing business she started with her husband, Hubbell found solace in the natural world. Then she began to write, challenging herself to tell the absolute truth about her life and the things she cared about. Describing the ups and downs of beekeeping from one springtime to the next, A Country Year transports readers to a different, simpler place. In a series of exquisite vignettes, Hubbell reveals the joys of a life attuned to nature in this heartfelt memoir about life on the land, and of a woman finding her way in middle age. "Once in a while there comes along a book so calm, so honest, so beautiful that even the most jaded or cynical readers have to say thank you...' This is such a book" (TheSan Diego Union-Tribune).

Had he only saved the economy, Obama would be called a truly successful president. But he achieved so much more against great opposition that he can be counted as one of history's most consequential presidents. D'Antonio details achievements in health care, energy policies, climate-change efforts, and diplomacy abroad as proof that he delivered the hope and change he promised.

The beloved author of A Wrinkle in Time takes an introspective look at her life and muses on creativity in this memoir, the first of her Crosswicks Journals. Every so often I need OUT... . My special place is a small brook in a green glade, a circle of quiet from which there is no visible sign of human beings... . I sit there, dangling my legs and looking through the foliage at the sky reflected in the water, and things slowly come back into perspective. Set against the lush backdrop of Crosswicks, her family's farmhouse in rural Connecticut, this deeply personal memoir details Madeleine L'Engle's journey to find balance between her career as a Newbery Medal-winning author and her responsibilities as a wife, mother, teacher, and Christian. As she considers the roles that creativity, family, citizenship, and faith play in her life, L'Engle reveals the complexities behind the author whose works-honored with the National Book Award, the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, and countless other prizes-have long been cherished by children and adults alike. Written in simple, profound, and often humorous prose, A Circle of Quiet is an insightful woman's elegant search for the meaning and purpose of her life. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Madeleine L'Engle including rare images from the author's estate.

In late 1936, as Franco's armies stormed toward Madrid, Stalin famously termed the defence of Spain "the common cause of all advanced and progressive mankind." As a German emigrant to Winnipeg, Hans Ibing recognized the importance of the Spanish Civil War to the struggle against worldwide fascism in a way that most people in Canada did not--joining the International Brigades in their fight to defend the Spanish Republic was his "chance to fight Hitler." Drawing on interviews, Ibing's personal papers, and archival material, David Goutor recounts the powerful story of an ordinary man's response to extraordinary times.