The Surprise of My Life

The Surprise of My Life
Author: Claire Drainie Taylor
Publisher: Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press
Total Pages: 303
Release: 2010-10-30
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1554586720

“It’s an autobiography! If I tell you what’s in it you won’t read the book.” — Claire Drainie Taylor Or would you? Maybe you’d be intrigued by the progression of a life begun as an unexceptional little girl born to a middle-class Jewish Canadian couple in a small prairie town who, at age sixteen, married a refined Englishman, and survived the Great Depression, partly alone in a shack in the woods of Vancouver Island. Or how, only a few months after returning to Vancouver, with no training and minimal education, this same young woman walked on stage at one of Canada’s finest old theatres, and went on to a successful thirty-year career as an actress and radio dialogue writer. Having been compelled by her family to write her memoir, it wasn’t until she’d finished and reread her manuscript that Claire Drainie Taylor realized what an extraordinary life she’d led. Her descriptions of the many fascinating incidents that make up her story, and how she dealt with them, revealed herself to herself in a way that illuminates what she calls “The Surprise of My Life.”

How to Surprise a Dad

How to Surprise a Dad
Author: Jean Reagan
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Total Pages: 26
Release: 2019-03-26
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 198484959X

From the creators of the New York Times bestsellers HOW TO BABYSIT A GRANDPA and HOW TO BABYSIT A GRANDMA comes a charming HOW TO... book that's all about surprises! So you want to surprise your dad? You’re in luck! The pages of this book are full of tips on how to become a super dad surpriser, including tips for things you can make, do, or find—just for your dad. Be sure to read up on: · Yummy treats and presents for a dad · What to do if he starts getting suspicious · How to prepare for the big moment (where to hide everyone, and how to practice whispering “Surprise!”) From the author-illustrator team behind the New York Times bestselling HOW TO... series comes an adorable, funny, surprising celebration of dads! Praise for the HOW TO... series: “A silly take on role reversal.” –Kirkus Reviews (How to Babysit a Grandma) “Laugh-out-loud funny. . . .” –Kirkus Reviews (How to Raise a Mom) “. . . laugh-out-loud scenes and funny hidden details.” –Kirkus Reviews (How to Babysit a Grandpa) “Touches of humor in each of the digitally rendered illustrations.” –Kirkus Reviews (How to Surprise a Dad) The fun doesn't stop! Check out more HOW TO... picture books: How to Babysit a Grandma How to Catch Santa How to Get Your Teacher Ready How to Raise a Mom How to Surprise a Dad

The Power of Surprise

The Power of Surprise
Author: Michael Rousell, PhD
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 283
Release: 2021-09-15
Genre: Self-Help
ISBN: 1538152428

Rousell examines the rich and complex nuances of the science of surprise and shows us how we can use it strategically to enrich lives. Random events transform us. After studying formative events, moments that define us, for over three decades, Michael Rousell discovered that most of them took place during a spark of surprise. This breakthrough launched a fascinating journey from neuroscience to stand-up comedy. Rousell draws on research from a wide variety of brain science disciplines (cognition, motivation, neuroscience, psychology, artificial intelligence, persuasion, evolution, and learning), then examines those who already use surprise strategically (comedians, film directors, entertainers, magicians, and novelists). This examination illustrates the hidden, yet critical features inherent in surprise, while demystifying the complexities. Surprise evolved as a mechanism to instantly change our beliefs. Rousell shows how surprising events produce invisible influence because they open a window to spontaneous belief change with no warning or conscious awareness. You’ll see how seemingly minor features of surprise create profound differences and can be used to strategically enrich lives, create positive mindsets, and maximize influence.

Surprised by Joy

Surprised by Joy
Author: C. S. Lewis
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 159
Release: 2017-02-14
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0062565443

A repackaged edition of the revered author’s spiritual memoir, in which he recounts the story of his divine journey and eventual conversion to Christianity. C. S. Lewis—the great British writer, scholar, lay theologian, broadcaster, Christian apologist, and bestselling author of Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, The Chronicles of Narnia, and many other beloved classics—takes readers on a spiritual journey through his early life and eventual embrace of the Christian faith. Lewis begins with his childhood in Belfast, surveys his boarding school years and his youthful atheism in England, reflects on his experience in World War I, and ends at Oxford, where he became "the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England." As he recounts his lifelong search for joy, Lewis demonstrates its role in guiding him to find God.

The Surprise Wedding

The Surprise Wedding
Author: Jean Oram
Publisher: Oram Productions
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2017-05-25
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1928198333

Surprise Me

Surprise Me
Author: Sophie Kinsella
Publisher: Dial Press
Total Pages: 433
Release: 2018-02-13
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 039959289X

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Party Crasher and Love Your Life comes a witty and emotionally charged novel that delves into the heart of a marriage, and how those we love and think we know best can sometimes surprise us the most “Sophie Kinsella keeps her finger on the cultural pulse, while leaving me giddy with laughter.”—Jojo Moyes, author of The Giver of Stars and The Last Letter from Your Lover After ten years together, Sylvie and Dan have a comfortable home, fulfilling jobs, and beautiful twin girls, and they communicate so seamlessly they finish each other’s sentences. They have a happy marriage and believe they know everything there is to know about each other. Until it’s casually mentioned to them that they could be together for another sixty-eight years . . . and panic sets in. They decide to bring surprises into their marriage to keep it fresh and fun. But in their pursuit of Project Surprise Me—from unexpected gifts to restaurant dates to sexy photo shoots—mishaps arise, with disastrous and comical results. Gradually, surprises turn to shocking truths. And when a scandal from the past is uncovered, they begin to wonder if they ever really knew each other at all. With a colorful cast of eccentric characters, razor-sharp observations, and her signature wit and charm, Sophie Kinsella presents a humorous yet moving portrait of a marriage—its intricacies, comforts, and complications. Surprise Me reveals that hidden layers in a close relationship are often yet to be discovered. Praise for Surprise Me “Genuinely funny.”—The New York Times Book Review “A delightful take on the mixed blessings of marital longevity.”—People “Unexpected and wholly satisfying.”—USA Today “In her signature fashion, Sophie Kinsella brings a cast of quirky, funny characters to this new work. [She] keeps the laughs coming. . . . Readers will follow the story with bated breath as the couple struggle to make their marriage right after everything they thought they knew about each other proves wrong.”—Library Journal “Heartfelt . . . What at first seems like a light novel about familiar woes turns into a deeper story about trust, family, and perception.”—Publishers Weekly “Winsome and zesty, Kinsella’s latest delivers all the hallmarks her many fans have come to expect.”—Booklist “Pure fun . . . a hilariously moving look at marriage and the power of mixing things up.”—Kirkus Reviews

Surprise

Surprise
Author: Tania Luna
Publisher: National Geographic Books
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2015-04-07
Genre: Self-Help
ISBN: 0399169822

Surprise: Embrace the Unpredictable and Engineer the Unexpected is a fascinating look at how we can handle and harness surprise in our work, relationships, and everyday lives. Pop Quiz! Do you prefer when: A) Things go according to plan? B) When the unexpected happens? Most of us pick control and predictability. Yet research reveals a counterintuitive truth: surprise is the key that unlocks growth, innovation, and connection. It is also the secret ingredient in our best memories. Through colorful narratives and compelling scientific findings, authors Tania Luna and Dr. LeeAnn Renninger shine a light on the world's least understood and most intriguing emotion. They reveal how shifting our perception of surprise lets us thrive in the face of uncertainty. And they show us how surprise acts as a shortcut that turns a typical product into a meaningful experience, a good idea into a viral one, awkward small talk into engaging conversation, and daily life into an adventure.

Christianity's Surprise

Christianity's Surprise
Author: C. Kavin Rowe
Publisher: Abingdon Press
Total Pages: 130
Release: 2020-10-20
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1791008216

At its beginning Christianity was surprising, powerful, creative, world-shaking. Today in the West it is many times familiar, common, and expected, losing its power to surprise and transform. We have developed societal amnesia and ignorance of what Christianity originally was – and what it still can be. We need to recover the surprise of Christianity. We need to ask the same fundamental questions as the early Christians, which will help us rediscover the surprising power of Christianity in our midst. Focusing on the surprise of the gospel message takes us into the heart of what it is to understand Christianity at all, and thus what it is to remember and relearn the life-giving power and witness that went with being Christian at the beginning. This remembering and relearning can, in turn, surprise us all over again and chart a course for our witness today.

Stairway of Surprise

Stairway of Surprise
Author: Michael Lipson
Publisher: SteinerBooks
Total Pages: 132
Release: 2002
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 9780880105071

This book will open your life to the surprising depth of the simple and ordinary. For most of us, life is often a humdrum course of the same-old and the nothing-new. We may dream about running away to exotic lands or retreating to distant monasteries, but the whirligig of life won't let us out of its clutches. Stairway of Surprise has become a new classic of anthroposophic spiritual practice. Dr. Michael Lipson re-visions Rudolf Steiner's six basic exercises to make them relevant to our lives today. With examples drawn from world literature and from his psychotherapy practice, Lipson shows how these exercises stretch from common events in daily life to the depths of spiritual experience. The path of meditation offered here is experiential from start to finish: not something to think only, but something to live. By practicing these exercises for a few minutes each day, we can discover the surprise in the universe, which is usually hidden from us by our stale, habitual attitudes. CONTENTS: Introduction I. Thinking II. Doing III. Feeling IV. Loving V. Opening VI. Thanking

Living Water

Living Water
Author: Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Publisher: Crossway
Total Pages: 732
Release: 2009-01-14
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1433552027

This substantial volume includes more than fifty never-before-published expository sermons on John 4 from one of the twentieth century's greatest preachers. It was just a conversation between two people by the side of a well in Samaria. One, a local woman, came to perform her daily task of drawing water. Another, a Jewish man tired from traveling, sat down for a drink. But he wasn't just any Jewish man, and this wasn't just any conversation. The man, Jesus, revealed himself as the Messiah, leading to the conversion of not only the Samaritan woman but many from her town. Now, for the first time, fifty-six sermons by Martyn Lloyd-Jones on this passage of Scripture are available in Living Water. Lloyd-Jones, known for his ability to clearly communicate profound theological concepts, digs into this familiar passage from the fourth chapter of the Gospel of John, exposing fresh layers of truth. His perceptive analysis is helpful for all who thirst for the living water that only Jesus can provide.