Not a Poster Child

Not a Poster Child
Author: Francine Falk-Allen
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 374
Release: 2018-08-07
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1631523929

2019 Living Now Book Awards Gold Medal Winner in Inspirational/Memoir (Female) 2018 Sarton Women's Book Awards finalist in Memoir Kirkus Reviews' Best Books of 2018 2018 Sarton Women's Book Awards Silver Medal in Memoir Francine Falk-Allen was only three years old when she contracted polio and temporarily lost the ability to stand and walk. Here, she tells the story of how a toddler learned grown-up lessons too soon; a schoolgirl tried her best to be a “normie,” on into young adulthood; and a woman finally found her balance, physically and spiritually. In lucid, dryly humorous prose, she also explores how her disability has affected her choices in living a fulfilling (and amusing) life in every area—relationships, career, religion (or not), athleticism, artistic expression, and aging, to name a few. A clear-eyed examination of living with a handicap, Not a Poster Child is one woman’s story of finding her way to a balanced life—one with a little cheekiness and a lot of joy.

Poster Child

Poster Child
Author: Emily Rapp
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2008-12-02
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1596918896

Emily Rapp was born with a congenital defect that required, at the age of four, that her left foot be amputated. By the time she was eight she'd had dozens of operations, had lost most of her leg, from just above the knee, and had become the smiling, indefatigable "poster child" for the March of Dimes. For years she made appearances at church suppers and rodeos, giving pep talks about how normal and happy she was. All the while she was learning to live with what she later described as "my grievous, irrevocable flaw," and the paradox that being extraordinary was the only way to be ordinary. Praise for Poster Child: "Rapp's precise and forthright descriptions of her exhausting physical ordeals and complex psychic wounds are simultaneously harrowing and fascinating, and they foster a strong bond between writer and reader...Rapp approaches the memoir as a supple, revelatory, involving and generous genre....She offers a fresh perspective on our obsession with physical perfection, especially the crushing expectations for women, and she writes delicately about the fears that disability engenders regarding intimacy and sex. Rapp's insider's view of the history of prostheses deepens our empathy and admiration for those who depend on artificial limbs, a growing population, once again, in yet another time of war and horrific injuries. Memoir, the conduit from the personal to the universal, is the surest way into the kind of significant psychological, sociological and spiritual truth Rapp is engaged in articulating. And there isn't one false note here. Not one inauthentic moment. No cheap manipulation. No self-importance...Her cauterizing specificity is compelling, her candor incandescent and her intelligence, courage and spiritual diligence stupendous."-Donna Seaman, Los Angeles Times "You can't put down this excellent memoir ...Poster Child beautifully illustrates every human being's sometimes overt, sometimes co

Poster Child, the Kemba Smith Story

Poster Child, the Kemba Smith Story
Author: Kemba Smith
Publisher: First Edition Design Pub.
Total Pages: 207
Release: 2013-07-18
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 162287370X

In this long-awaited memoir, Kemba Smith shares her dramatic story, as it has never been told. Poster Child: The Kemba Smith Story chronicles how she went from college student to drug dealer's girlfriend to domestic violence victim to federal prisoner. Kemba shares her story of how making poor choices blinded by love and devotion can have long-term consequences. In 1994, Kemba was sentenced to a mandatory 24 1/2 years in federal prison, with no chance for parole, despite being a first-time, non-violent offender. Fortunately, she regained her freedom when President Clinton granted her executive clemency in December 2000 after having served 6 1/2 years. Kemba's case drew support from across the nation and the world. Often being labeled the "poster child" for the campaign to reverse a disturbing trend in the rise of lengthy sentences for first-time, non-violent drug offenders, Kemba's story has been featured on CNN, Court TV, "Nightline," "Judge Hatchett," "The Early Morning Show" and a host of other television programs. In addition, Kemba's story has been featured in several publications, such as The Washington Post, The New York Times and Emerge, JET, Essence, Glamour, and People magazines. Author Bio: Kemba Smith Pradia is a wife, mother, national motivational speaker, consultant, author, and criminal justice advocate. She has received numerous awards and recognition for her courage and determination to educate the public about the devastating social, economic, and political consequences of current drug policies. Ultimately, Kemba knows there is a lesson in each experience in life, and she has embraced her experience, learned from it, and is now using that experience to teach others. For more information about Kemba, visit www.kembasmith.com. Monique W. Morris is a researcher, author, and social justice advocate who has nearly twenty years of professional and volunteer experience as a scholar advocate in the areas of civil rights and social justice. Monique is the CEO of MWM Consulting Group, LLC, a research and technical assistance firm that advances concepts of fairness, diversity, and inclusion. She is the author of Too Beautiful for Words and thirty-five published articles, book chapters, and other documents on social justice issues. She is also a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and a regular contributor to MSNBC's TheGrio.com. For more information about Monique, visit www.moniquewmorris.com . keywords: Kemba Smith, Clinton Pardon/Clemency, Criminal Justice Issues, Mandatory Minimum Sentencing, Drug Dealer Girlfriend, Women in Prison, First-time offender, Domestic Violence, Women's Issues, Teen Choices/Consequences

No Spring Chicken

No Spring Chicken
Author: Francine Falk-Allen
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 284
Release: 2021-06-29
Genre: Self-Help
ISBN: 1647421217

2022 Foreword Indies Finalist in Travel As we age, we all begin to have physical difficulties to contend with. In No Spring Chicken, Francine Falk-Allen—a polio survivor who knows a thing or two about living with a disability—offers her own take on how to navigate the complications aging brings with equanimity (and a sense of humor). The handbook is divided into three sections: Part I is a jaunt through accessible travel pleasures and pitfalls in several parts of the world; Part II addresses the adaptation people who love a handicapped or aging person could make in order to have a lighter, more mutually rewarding relationship with him or her, as well as advice for physically challenged and aging persons themselves regarding self-care, exercise, pain management, healthcare, and more; and Part III discusses the challenges, rewards and logistics of engaging with groups of people who share similar issues. Accessible and wryly funny, No Spring Chicken is a fun and informative guide to living your best and longest life—whatever your physical challenges, and whatever your age.

Poster Boy

Poster Boy
Author: Peter Drew
Publisher: Black Inc.
Total Pages: 230
Release: 2019-08-06
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1743820844

When you’re sneaking around the city at night you feel like a kid again. The seriousness of the world is unmasked as a series of facades, dead objects just waiting to be painted. I was immediately hooked. Out on the street I could say anything I wanted. So what did I want to say? Peter Drew’s posters are a familiar sight across Australia – his ‘Real Australians Say Welcome’ and ‘Aussie’ campaigns took on lives of their own, attaining cult status and starting conversations all over the country. But who made them, and why? In this irresistible and unexpected memoir, Peter Drew searches for the answers to these questions. He traces the links between his creative and personal lives, and discovers surprising parallels between Australia’s dark, unacknowledged past and the unspoken conflict at the core of his own family. Packed full of Peter Drew’s memorable images, Poster Boy is an intelligent, funny and brutally honest dive into the stew of individual, family and national identity. It’s about politics and art, and why we need them both. And it’s about making a mark. ‘Peter Drew’s work changes how we see our streets and country, as well as activism and art. Be warned: This galvanising book might propel you to start a movement yourself.’ —Benjamin Law 'An unflinching look at modern Australia, Poster Boy is a tale literally told from the streets. It is a stark story where the villains blend in with those devoted to pushing for change. This book floored me.' —Osher Günsberg ‘To read Poster Boy is to experience the life-enriching idea that one person can make real change. Then wait for the minute, the day, the week, when the afterglow of his story works its magic on your own simple deeds. From little things, big things truly grow.’ —Megan Morton ‘An insightful look into the life and mind of one of Australia's most progressive and forthright artists of our generation.’ —Nick Mitzevich, director of the National Gallery of Australia

The Giver

The Giver
Author: Lois Lowry
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2014
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 054434068X

The Giver, the 1994 Newbery Medal winner, has become one of the most influential novels of our time. The haunting story centers on twelve-year-old Jonas, who lives in a seemingly ideal, if colorless, world of conformity and contentment. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory does he begin to understand the dark, complex secrets behind his fragile community. This movie tie-in edition features cover art from the movie and exclusive Q&A with members of the cast, including Taylor Swift, Brenton Thwaites and Cameron Monaghan.

World Book Day 2015 Dork Diaries

World Book Day 2015 Dork Diaries
Author: Rachel Renée Russell
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's
Total Pages: 128
Release: 2015-03-05
Genre:
ISBN: 9781471124495

A dorktastic new DORK DIARIES book for World Book Day 2015! Nikki Maxwell is the Queen of the Dorks and in this adorkable book she's ready to spill all her top tips to living life the dorky way! Coping with crushes, avoiding BFF dramas, planning pop-star sleepovers, surviving embarrassing families, how to start your very own dork diary, Nikki's here with advice on EVERYTHING you need to know. So whether you're already dorkalicious or a dorky-diva in training, HOW TO BE A DORK is the ultimate guide to being a true dork!

Girl in Black and White: The Story of Mary Mildred Williams and the Abolition Movement

Girl in Black and White: The Story of Mary Mildred Williams and the Abolition Movement
Author: Jessie Morgan-Owens
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Total Pages: 279
Release: 2019-03-12
Genre: History
ISBN: 0393609251

An “engrossing narrative history” (Joanna Scutts, The Lily) of the enslaved girl whose photograph transformed the abolition movement. When a decades-long court battle resulted in her family’s freedom in 1855, seven-year-old Mary Mildred Williams unexpectedly became the face of American slavery. Due to generations of sexual violence, Mary’s skin was so light she “passed” as white—a fact abolitionist Senator Charles Sumner knew would be the key to his white audience’s sympathy. Girl in Black and White restores Mary to her rightful place in history, “probing issues of colorism and racial politics” (New York Times Book Review) that still affect us profoundly today.

A Rule is to Break

A Rule is to Break
Author: John Seven
Publisher: Manic D Press
Total Pages: 47
Release: 2013-09-03
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1933149825

"A Rule Is To Break says: Go ahead and throw your best self a party! So glad it exists."—Kristin Hersh, Throwing Muses "After encountering the lively little anarchist in John and Jana's delightful A Rule is To Break, I will always remember the playful little devil with a mind of her own. A children's book on anarchy seems somehow just right: an instinctive, intuitive sense of fairness, community, and interdependence sits naturally enough with a desire for participatory democracy, self-determination, and peace and global justice."—Bill Ayers, author of To Teach: The Journey in Comics and Fugitive Days Simply celebrating childhood: the joy, the wonder of discovery, the spontaneity, and strong emotions. . . . Wild Child is free to do as she pleases. A Rule Is To Break: A Child's Guide to Anarchy follows Wild Child as she learns about just being herself and how that translates into kid autonomy. It presents the ideas of challenging societal expectations and tradition and expressing yourself freely in kid-terms that are both funny and thought provoking—it even functions as a guidebook for adults to understand what it is to be a critically thinking, creative individual. Wild Child is the role model for disobedience that is sometimes civil. John Seven and Jana Christy's previous collaboration The Ocean Story won Creative Child magazine's 2011 Creative Child Award Seal of Excellence and was shortlisted for the 2012 Green Earth Book Award.

Monday's Not Coming

Monday's Not Coming
Author: Tiffany D. Jackson
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 351
Release: 2018-05-22
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0062422693

"Jackson’s characters and their heart-wrenching story linger long after the final page, urging readers to advocate for those who are disenfranchised and forgotten by society and the system." (Publishers Weekly, "An Anti-Racist Children's and YA Reading List") From the critically acclaimed author of Allegedly, Tiffany D. Jackson, comes a gripping novel about the mystery of one teenage girl’s disappearance and the traumatic effects of the truth. Monday Charles is missing, and only Claudia seems to notice. Claudia and Monday have always been inseparable—more sisters than friends. So when Monday doesn’t turn up for the first day of school, Claudia’s worried. When she doesn’t show for the second day, or second week, Claudia knows that something is wrong. Monday wouldn’t just leave her to endure tests and bullies alone. Not after last year’s rumors and not with her grades on the line. Now Claudia needs her best—and only—friend more than ever. But Monday’s mother refuses to give Claudia a straight answer, and Monday’s sister April is even less help. As Claudia digs deeper into her friend’s disappearance, she discovers that no one seems to remember the last time they saw Monday. How can a teenage girl just vanish without anyone noticing that she’s gone?