My Life on the Line: How the NFL Damn Near Killed Me and Ended Up Saving My Life

My Life on the Line: How the NFL Damn Near Killed Me and Ended Up Saving My Life
Author: Ryan O'Callaghan
Publisher: Akashic Books
Total Pages: 161
Release: 2019-09-03
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1617757705

A riveting account of life as a closeted professional athlete from gay NFL player O’Callaghan, against the backdrop of depression, opioid addiction, and the threat of suicide. “[O’Callaghan’s] story is one of beautiful vulnerability, and it further shows the importance of knowing you aren’t alone.” —Oprah Daily, recommended by Gayle King Ryan O’Callaghan’s plan was always to play football and then, when his career was over, kill himself. Growing up in a politically conservative corner of California, the not-so-subtle messages he heard as a young man from his family and from TV and film routinely equated being gay with disease and death. Letting people in on the darkest secret he kept buried inside was not an option: better death with a secret than life as a gay man. As a kid , Ryan never envisioned just how far his football career would take him. He was recruited by the University of California, Berkeley, where he spent five seasons, playing alongside his friend Aaron Rodgers. Then it was on to the NFL for stints with the almost-undefeated New England Patriots and the often-defeated Kansas City Chiefs. Bubbling under the surface of Ryan’s entire NFL career was a collision course between his secret sexuality and his hidden drug use. When the league caught him smoking pot, he turned to NFL-sanctioned prescription painkillers that quickly sent his life into a tailspin. As injuries mounted and his daily intake of opioids reached a near-lethal level, he wrote his suicide note to his parents and plotted his death. Yet someone had been watching. A member of the Chiefs organization stepped in, recognizing the signs of drug addiction. Ryan reluctantly sought psychological help, and it was there that he revealed his lifelong secret for the very first time. Nearing the twilight of his career, Ryan faced the ultimate decision: end it all, or find out if his family and football friends could ever accept a gay man in their lives.

Damn Near Dead

Damn Near Dead
Author: Duane Swierczynski
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2006-06
Genre: Mystery and detective stories
ISBN: 9780976715757

“Some [of the stories] are hilarious; many are sad; all are the kind of stuff that makes Miss Marple look like a Girl Scout.”—Dick Adler, Chicago Tribune An original anthology. A collection of twenty-seven original “geezer noir” stories by some of today’s top crime writers, including John Harvey, Laura Lippman, Ken Bruen, Colin Cotterill, and more. Bill Crider’s “Cranked” was nominated for the Edgar and Anthony awards and won the Derringer Award. Megan Abbott’s “Policy” was nominated for the Anthony Award and became the basis for her novel Queenpin, which won the 2008 Edgar Award.

Damn Near White

Damn Near White
Author: Carolyn Marie Wilkins
Publisher: University of Missouri Press
Total Pages: 202
Release: 2010-10-10
Genre: History
ISBN: 0826272401

Carolyn Wilkins grew up defending her racial identity. Because of her light complexion and wavy hair, she spent years struggling to convince others that she was black. Her family’s prominence set Carolyn’s experiences even further apart from those of the average African American. Her father and uncle were well-known lawyers who had graduated from Harvard Law School. Another uncle had been a child prodigy and protégé of Albert Einstein. And her grandfather had been America's first black assistant secretary of labor. Carolyn's parents insisted she follow the color-conscious rituals of Chicago's elite black bourgeoisie—experiences Carolyn recalls as some of the most miserable of her entire life. Only in the company of her mischievous Aunt Marjory, a woman who refused to let the conventions of “proper” black society limit her, does Carolyn feel a true connection to her family's African American heritage. When Aunt Marjory passes away, Carolyn inherits ten bulging scrapbooks filled with family history and memories. What she finds in these photo albums inspires her to discover the truth about her ancestors—a quest that will eventually involve years of research, thousands of miles of travel, and much soul-searching. Carolyn learns that her great-grandfather John Bird Wilkins was born into slavery and went on to become a teacher, inventor, newspaperman, renegade Baptist minister, and a bigamist who abandoned five children. And when she discovers that her grandfather J. Ernest Wilkins may have been forced to resign from his labor department post by members of the Eisenhower administration, Carolyn must confront the bittersweet fruits of her family's generations-long quest for status and approval. Damn Near White is an insider’s portrait of an unusual American family. Readers will be drawn into Carolyn’s journey as she struggles to redefine herself in light of the long-buried secrets she uncovers. Tackling issues of class, color, and caste, Wilkins reflects on the changes of African American life in U.S. history through her dedicated search to discover her family’s powerful story.

Damn Near Dead 2

Damn Near Dead 2
Author: Ace Atkins
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2010
Genre: Detective and mystery stories, American
ISBN: 9781935415404

The follow-up to the Edgar Award-nominated original "geezer noir" crime anthology Damn Near Dead.

Mama Might Be Better Off Dead

Mama Might Be Better Off Dead
Author: Laurie Kaye Abraham
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 308
Release: 2019-05-10
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 022662384X

“A provocative examination of our health care delivery for the poor. . . . Such an honest and candid account is essential.” —Alex Kotlowitz, national bestselling author of There Are No Children Here Mama Might Be Better Off Dead immerses readers in the lives of four generations of a poor, African-American family from North Lawndale, Chicago, who are beset with the devastating illnesses that are all too common in America’s inner-cities. Headed by Jackie Banes, who oversees the care of a diabetic grandmother, a husband on kidney dialysis, an ailing father, and three children, the Banes family contends with countless medical crises. From visits to emergency rooms and dialysis units, to trials with home care, to struggles for Medicaid eligibility, Laurie Kaye Abraham chronicles their access—or lack thereof—to medical care. Their story reveals an inadequate health care system that is further undermined by the effects of poverty. Mama Might Be Better Off Dead is an unsettling, profound look at the human face of health care in America. This new edition includes an incisive foreword by David Ansell, a physician who worked at Mt. Sinai Hospital, where much of the Banes family’s narrative unfolds. “Goes to the heart of today’s problem. Powerful . . . deeply searching.” —Washington Post “A powerful indictment of the big business of medicine.” —Los Angeles Times “Abraham . . . illuminates the problems with passion and skill.” —Kirkus Reviews “This personally observed, lucid chronicle and call for reform of our ailing health system covers all levels of responsibility in the medical establishment.” —Publishers Weekly “Clearly identifies in human and policy terms how [healthcare] programs have failed a population desperately in need of help.” —Library Journal

Dead and Buried

Dead and Buried
Author: Annie Anderson
Publisher: Annie Anderson
Total Pages: 208
Release: 2023-02-28
Genre: Fiction
ISBN:

Darby Adler is done. Done with the Council. Done with ancient evils popping up every five seconds. And especially done with her ex-boyfriend, Bishop. On the hunt for the slippery mage, she has teamed up with an unlikely ally in a Prince of Hell. The same prince that invades her thoughts, her space, and maybe her heart. But when the dreaded ex starts targeting those closest to Darby, all deals–demon or otherwise–are off. Darby’s going to bury Bishop La Roux… one way or another.

Dexter Is Dead

Dexter Is Dead
Author: Jeff Lindsay
Publisher: Vintage Crime/Black Lizard
Total Pages: 304
Release: 2015-07-07
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0385536542

Dexter Morgan—blood-spatter analyst, husband, father, serial killer—knew that he couldn’t burn the candle at both ends forever, and now, his dark deeds have finally ensnared him. • The Killer Character That Inspired the Hit Showtime Series Dexter He is in prison on multiple homicide charges, although, ironically, he did not commit any of the murders of which he is accused. He’s lost everything: his wife, kids, career, and the loyalty of his sister. Now his sole, small shot at redemption may come from his brother, Brian, a homicidal maniac who makes Dexter look like the angel in the family. By helping Brian through some serious trouble of his own making, Dexter sees a potential path to proving himself innocent. But the stakes are truly deadly. And, with nothing left to hold him back, Dexter hurtles into an epic showdown ... which may be his last.

Death Comes Too Late

Death Comes Too Late
Author: Charles Ardai
Publisher: Titan Books (US, CA)
Total Pages: 379
Release: 2024-03-12
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1803366273

CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF HARD CASE CRIME – 20 UNFORGETTABLE STORIES BY HARD CASE CRIME FOUNDER CHARLES ARDAI “A MASTER OF THE SHORT STORY.” – STEPHEN KING Since debuting 20 years ago, Hard Case Crime has won acclaim for publishing the best in hardboiled crime fiction – not least of all the work of founding editor Charles Ardai, which has won the Edgar, Shamus and Ellery Queen Awards, been selected for ‘Best of the Year’ anthologies, and earned praise from everyone from the Washington Post and Chicago Tribune to Megan Abbott and Stephen King. Collected here for the first time anywhere are the author’s 20 finest stories, including his Edgar-winning “The Home Front,” about death and repentance during World War II; the Shamus Award finalist “Nobody Wins,” about a brutal gangland enforcer searching for the woman he loves; and year’s-best selections such as “A Bar Called Charley’s,” about a traveling salesman’s most grueling night on the road. From Brazil at Carnival to Times Square at midnight, from Tijuana, Mexico to history’s first gunshot in 11th-century China, Ardai will take you to some of the most dangerous places in the world – and the darkest corners of the human heart.

Death's Realm

Death's Realm
Author: Stephen Graham Jones
Publisher: Grey Matter Press
Total Pages: 293
Release: 2015-01-06
Genre: Fiction
ISBN:

Immerse yourself in the unnerving world of the paranormal with these tales of horror curated by Bram Stoker Award-nominated Anthony Rivera and Sharon Lawson, editors of the #1 Amazon bestseller Peel Back the Skin and the critically acclaimed Dark Visions series. It’s here in Death’s Realm where the spirits of the dead and monstrosities that should never exist torment the souls of the living they’ve left behind in sixteen disquieting tales of the supernatural from horror's modern masters. From dangerous specters summoned from beyond the veil with treacherous intent on all of humankind, to a young boy with dangerous special powers that seem directed from beyond the grave, Death's Realm delves into the abnormal, the ghostly and the infernal. It's only here that a grieving son's demon can beckon him to a secluded cemetery plot in the dead of night, where a preternatural murder-for-hire has extreme supernatural repercussions, and when the revenant of a dead mother seeks vengeance on her dying daughter. And there is so much more. With horror fiction from two-time Bram Stoker Award-winning author and World Fantasy Award nominee Hank Schwaeble; the award-winning, Bram Stoker Award-nominated and Shirley Jackson Award-finalist Stephen Graham Jones; the Bram Stoker Award and Thriller nominated JG Faherty; editor-in-chief of the highly respected Jamais Vu magazine Paul Michael Anderson; critically-acclaimed authors Jay Caselberg and John F.D. Taff; emerging masters of modern horror Aaron Polson, Gregory L. Norris and Martin Rose; co-authors known for their extremely disturbing horror fiction, Simon Dewar and Karen Runge; critic favorites Brian Fatah Steele, John C. Foster and Jane Brooks; the twisted, Lovecraft-influenced Rhoads Brazos; and recognized authors of literary fiction Jay O'Shea and Matthew Pegg. Proudly presented by Grey Matter Press, the multiple Bram Stoker Award-nominated independent publisher. Rip open the veil to Death's Realm and let the wrong ones in.

The School on 103rd Street

The School on 103rd Street
Author: Roland S. Jefferson
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Total Pages: 196
Release: 1997
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780393316629

When Dr. Elwin Carter is confronted in his Watts clinic by two boys terrified by the brutal murder of their friend, his investigations lead him far beyond the usual suspicions of drugs or gang violence. This 1976 first and only novel (potentially an upcoming movie) of forensic psychiatrist Roland Jefferson presents a frighteningly prophetic picture of the subterranean war between the races in America.