IRON WILL: AN AMPUTEE'S JOURNEY TO ATHLETIC EXCELLENCE

Author : Roderick Sewell

Roderick Sewell was an active kid. Born without tibias in both of his legs Roderick wrestled with his cousins and climbed every surface of his grandmother’s home. When he was two years old his mother, Marian, made the incredibly tough choice to have his legs amputated to save his life. That didn’t stop Roderick, a rambunctious toddler who could hardly sit still while his body healed.
 
But when his mother's modest income couldn’t cover Roderick’s prosthetics, she made another impossible decision: to leave her demanding job working for the US Navy and go on unemployment. That way California Children’s Services would pay for Roderick’s prosthetics that would enable him to walk. Roderick and his mother were left homeless and moved from California to Alabama. All the while she instilled in him the lessons of gratitude, love, and patience that aided him as he built confidence in his disability and pursued his passion: sports.
 
 Roderick was still homeless in Alabama when he met coaches from the Challenged Athletes Foundation, which helps athletes with disabilities. They gave him his running legs, and his life quickly changed for the better. He learned how to swim, how to challenge his body, and how to be a fierce competitor and athlete—all with him mom cheering from the sidelines.
 
Iron Will is the story of an athlete with an indomitable spirit and proof that an athlete’s mindset is about more than physical and mental endurance. It’s about enduring love, support, and the willingness to try.

THE ENTIRELY TRUE STORY OF THE FANTASTICAL MESMERIST NORA GREY

Author : Kathleen Kaufman

As spiritualism reaches its fevered pitch at the dawn of the 20th century, a Scottish girl crosses the veil to unlock a powerful connection within an infamous asylum in this thrillingly atmospheric, exquisitely evocative exploration of feminine rage and agency for readers of Sarah Penner, Alice Hoffman, and Hester Fox.

Leaving behind a quiet life of simple comforts, Nairna Liath traverses the Scottish countryside with her charlatan father, Tavish. From remote cottages to rural fairs, the duo scrapes by on paltry coins as Tavish orchestrates “encounters” with the departed, while Nairna interprets tarot cards for those willing to pay for what they wish to hear.

But beyond her father’s trickery, Nairna possesses a genuine gift for communicating with the spirit world, one that could get an impoverished country girl branded a witch. A talent inherited from her grandmother, Lottie Liath, widow of a Welsh coalminer, whose story of imprisonment and exploitation in a notorious asylum is calling out to Nairna from four decades past—a warning to break free from the manipulations, greed, and betrayals of others.

What do the cards hold for Nairna’s future?

Rescued from homelessness by a well-connected stranger, Nairna is whisked into a new life among Edinburgh’s elite Spiritualist circle, including visiting American star Dorothy Kellings. Researchers, doctors, psychics, and thrill-seekers clamor for the rising young medium. But after a séance with blood-chilling results, a shocking scandal ensues, and Nairna flees to a secluded community near Boston, where she assumes a new identity: Nora Grey.

But Nora can’t stay hidden when Dorothy Kellings offers her the chance to face all comers and silence skeptics at a spectacular séance at Boston’s Old South Meeting Hall, where Nora will come face to face at last with her spiritual guide: the courageous Lottie Liath, whose heart-wrenching story and profound messages are indelibly tied to Nora’s destiny.

SEX MAGIC

Author : Dr. Laura Berman

Curate your sexual reality and disrupt everything you think you know about sex with this bewitching guidebook for better intimacy

Learning how to tap into your sexual power first requires an undoing. From New York Times bestselling author Dr. Luara Berman, Sex Magic shows readers how to challenge their beliefs about their sexuality, their self-worth, and their potential for healing, meaningful intimacy.

In this innovative, ultra-modern guide, Dr. Berman reveals a refreshing new way of approaching pleasure. Combining metaphysical wisdom with practical tips, Sex Magic will gently steer readers to bring excitement back into the bedroom. From deepening your orgasmic potential to building a sexual connection with your partner, Dr. Berman uses her 30+ years of experience as a sex therapist to empower readers to stop settling for “good enough” sex.

You have the power to create the sex life you’ve always wanted. In Sex Magic, Dr. Berman shares techniques and exercises that teach you how to:

• Connect to your energetic body to master the pleasure that is available to you
• Confidently create deeper arousal and pleasure in yourself and your partner
• Build more sexual energy and desire within and between you and another
• Apply accessible strategies for improving emotional and physical intimacy
• Remove the blocks of trauma and inhibition standing in the way of maximum pleasure
• Move pleasurable sensations throughout your body to achieve mind-blowing orgasms
• Use ancient techniques for sexual healing and manifesting your dreams

Are you ready for your sexual awakening? Call beautiful, sensual love into your life, turn up the sexual intensity in your relationship, and create the reality you desire—in and out of the bedroom.

WHERE THERE'S ROOM FOR US

Author : Hayley Kiyoko

The next YA novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of GIRLS LIKE GIRLS.

Praise for GIRLS LIKE GIRLS:

“If Hayley Kiyoko is lesbian Jesus, Girls Like Girls is the Bible.”– INTERVIEW MAGAZINE

“[T]his is a book that feels like a glass of water when you are parched...thank you for writing it.” – TAYLOR JENKINS REID

"Musician Kiyoko crafts a pitch-perfect tale about a grieving teen in 2006 grappling with first love in this touching debut, inspired by the viral music video of the same name...[A] powerfully romantic read." - PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

THE NEW SCIENCE OF MOMENTUM

Author : Don Yaeger and Bernard B. Banks

Learn how to capture the awesome power of momentum!

Despite overwhelming belief among leaders in sports, business, politics, and the military that momentum is a real, non-random occurrence and that a decisive edge can be gained through it, there has been no comprehensive effort to elucidate the shared aspects of momentum, or to bring to light what can be done to manipulate its causes and effects.

In other words: while most believe that momentum is real – nobody has articulated how teams can recognize the initial “spark” of momentum, nurture it, and ultimately shape its course.

Now, in this groundbreaking new book, bestselling author Don Yaeger and leadership expert Bernie Banks reveal the forces behind turning a moment into momentum. This book is an exploration of lessons learned from highly accomplished leaders on the topic of momentum in four sectors: sports, business, politics, and military. There are more than 250 leader interviews included, more than 2,000 leaders who have been surveyed on the topic and that primary research is bolstered by the results of numerous academic and scientific papers. From the six years spent gathering data, they have created a working model that can help the reader build momentum in their organization.

THE BATTLE FOR THE BLACK MIND

Author : Dr. Karida L. Brown

A gripping chronicle of the relentless fight for Black educational freedom—and the bold strategies to protect, nourish, and empower Black minds.

The Battle for the Black Mind is an explosive historical account of the struggle for educational justice in America. Drawing on over a decade of archival research, personal reflection, and keen sociological insight, this book traces a century of segregated schooling, examining how early efforts to control Black minds through education systems has laid the foundation for the systemic inequities we still live with today. NAACP Image Award-winning author Dr. Karida L. Brown, takes readers from the rural South to the bustling cities of the North and connects the dots between the experiences of Black students and educators across the nation. From the founding of early Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), such as Hampton, Atlanta, and Tuskegee University, to the rise of the Black freedom struggle, The Battle for the Black Mind weaves together the stories of pioneering Black leaders and the institutions they built to educate future generations.

Far from dwelling solely on oppression, this book offers powerful insight into how Black people have always fought to create environments where Black minds could thrive. Brown concludes with an urgent and empowering call to action, equipping everyday Americans with practical steps—both big and small—to ensure that Black minds can continue to flourish, even as our education system itself comes under attack.

Grounded in both historical rigor and astute social commentary, The Battle for the Black Mind speaks directly to today’s national fight over the American classroom, making it clear that the battle for Black minds is far from over. This book will resonate deeply if one comprehends the transformative power of education and is invested in understanding how education has always played a role in shaping the moral conscience of America.

CHIEF RONDO

Author : Medaria "Rondo" Arradondo with Jennifer Amie

Upon the fifth anniversary of the murder of George Floyd comes a landmark book on leadership, justice, and race by the first Black police chief in the history of the Minneapolis Police Department, the man who led through and beyond the crime, the historic protest movement, and the nationwide reckoning on race and policing

On May 25, 2020, at a neighborhood convenience store, George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police. In the weeks that followed, the city and the entire nation erupted with the most destructive and costly civil unrest in the United States since the Los Angeles riots 28 years earlier. Standing steadfast in the middle was Medaria “Rondo” Arradondo, the first Black police chief in the 152-year history of the Minneapolis Police Department.

Growing up in Minneapolis, Rondo understood from an early age that while police could be heroes, they could also be threats, especially to Black men like himself. When he became an officer, his purpose was clear: he would serve the loving community that raised him and would always treat others with dignity and respect, no matter the color of their skin. In 2020 when Chief Rondo found himself at the helm of a troubled department facing a national crisis, he put accountability first. Instead of walking the line between Black and Blue, he drew a line between right and wrong.

Chief Rondo is a first-hand account of these pivotal events, offering new insights into his leadership and the broader impact on American policing. He reveals the challenges of working within a flawed system and provides inspiration for all leaders.

Chief Rondo’s decisive and courageous actions led to one of the greatest social justice victories in our time: the State and Federal convictions of Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng, and Tou Thao, who were responsible for George Floyd’s murder, challenging the "blue wall” that shielded police from accountability. It was an outcome so rare that Chauvin is one of just eleven non-Federal officers convicted of murder out of the 13,000 on-duty killings since 2005.

THE CHURCH OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY

Author : John Lee Bishop

For thirty years, John Bishop was a pastor. Along the way, he learned that everyone does stupid things. We lie to our families. We lie to ourselves. We take long lunch breaks and sneak cigarettes when we said we’d quit. Sometimes, we take a sabbatical from our nice, comfortable life as a pastor and start running drugs for the Sinaloa Cartel, then get caught and spend five years in federal prison.

Okay, that last one might just apply to John. But it does make for one hell of a story.

In The Church of Living Dangerously, John tells that story in full for the first time—and you don’t know the half of it. Along the way, he brings readers along for the harrowing ride from the rough small town in Washington where he was born all the way to the dirty villages in Mexico where he fell in with some of the most dangerous criminals on the planet. There are backyard fight clubs where John learned to take a punch, the abandoned K-Mart where he used to preach every Sunday (sometimes with the help of wild animals), and the drug dens where he almost lost my life ten times over. It’s a story that seems too wild to be true.

But it is true—and John has the scars, both literal and figurative, to prove it.

Ride along with John as he gets arrested at the U.S.-Mexico border and learn the story of his life in all its rough, stupid glory of guns, drugs, tigers, bare-knuckle boxing matches, and prison riots. John has learned a lot of important lessons about hardship and redemption and family, and what it means to live dangerously—and to experience another chance at life.

IT SEEMED LIKE A BAD IDEA AT THE TIME

Author : Bruce Vilanch

“Bruce Vilanch, a storyteller without peer, has written a tell-all . . . on himself! And it’s hilarious! He’s finally coming clean and owning up to his part in creating some of the worst television of the twentieth century, and that’s saying a lot. There’s no one like him. As they’ve been saying since I discovered him as a cub reporter at the Chicago Tribune, when you’re in a pinch . . . Get Bruce!” —BETTE MIDLER

Bruce Vilanch is known as a go-to comedy writer for award shows, sitcoms, and top-heavy variety specials, but he has also been responsible for quite a few of the worst shows ever put on television—legendarily bad productions.
Some of his work lives in infamy—The Star Wars Holiday Special, The Paul Lynde Halloween Special, Rob Lowe dancing with Snow White at the Oscars, and The Brady Bunch Variety Hour. How did these ever seem like a good idea?
Well, everyone has screwed up a few times, or had their work screwed up by others. It Seemed Like a Bad Idea at the Time is a lifetime reflection of what Vilanch has experienced, learned, forgotten, dismissed, and embraced in decades of working in show business, specifically the south forty acres known as comedy. It involves very famous people and people who were not very famous but should have been.
And it explains to the person in the audience who says to himself, once he has gotten his jaw off the floor, “’How did this ever get made?”
Don’t we all want to know?

BIRDS OF A FEATHER

Author : Kate Stewart

Kate Stewart's sizzling, darkly seductive Ravenhood saga continues in the second in the spin-off Ravenhood Legacy series. The book that fans of this internationally bestselling series have been clamoring for—Tyler’s story, in his own words . . .

Tyler Carter Jennings is an enigma. Charged with the task of guarding the Ravenhood as well as every secret of those who belong to it, he keeps those burdens, along with his past and personal heartbreak, to himself. A highly trained Marine and tactical reckoning force, there’s never been a situation he couldn’t handle . . . until her.

Larissa DiCicco is all too familiar with the weight of secrets and their consequences. A member of one of the most powerful and influential families in the world, she was just a teenager when her older brother disappeared. Charged with the responsibility of maintaining her family’s legacy, she has no choice but to seek refuge in the only man who may be able to help her escape her fate.

It’s when Larissa and Tyler collide that they both recognize just how powerful of adversaries they are. And that losing their hearts to one another while unveiling their secrets might be the most damning and dangerous thing they’ve ever done.

ETERNAL FLAME: THE AUTHORIZED BIOGRAPHY OF THE BANGLES

Author : Jennifer Otter Bickerdike

SON OF BIRMINGHAM

Author : Mayor Randall Woodfin

The youngest mayor in the modern history of Birmingham, Alabama, and a rising star in the Democratic Party weaves a memoir of a Southern Black man’s hard-earned life lessons, a family struck by gun violence, his determined public servitude, his forward-thinking government leadership, and his country’s ongoing fight against systemic racism from the Birmingham streets to all points of the urban South and beyond

At once a moving memoir of a Black kid and his family persevering in a city central to the Civil Rights struggle, yet still battling systemic racism and senseless gun violence, Son of Birmingham is also the inspirational story of modern history’s youngest Mayor of Birmingham and a progressive call-to-action to citizens across America—an appeal to servant leadership and responsive government for all people.

Informed by the street-wisdom of his generation’s Southern rap music; nurtured by family, friends, and faith; educated at the historically Black Morehouse College, Mayor Randall Woodfin has become a paragon of the strength, youthful hunger, and progress our nation clamors for right now. In Son of Birmingham, he walks readers through the streets of the urban South, the neighborhoods of his Birmingham then, now, and in the future. He brings to light the daily joys and struggles of fellow Americans and shows what spurred him to turn his Morehouse education and Capitol Hill experience to the city of his youth, armed with a vision of responsive government, public servitude, and what it will take to give all Americans—south, north, east, and west—equitable, inclusive, and prosperous cities where everyone has the opportunity to reach their full potential. His work earned him a keynote speaker role at the 2020 Democratic National Convention, as well as endorsements from President Joe Biden, Senators Bernie Sanders and Corey Booker, and Stacey Abrams.

Mayor Randall Woodfin is a proud son of Birmingham, yes, but his life story and leadership principles apply to all corners of a country fighting to be the best version of American it can be.