Two Kisses for Maddy

Two Kisses for Maddy
Author: Matt Logelin
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2011-04-14
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9781455500079

Matt Logelin writes a courageous and searingly honest memoir about the first year of his life following the birth of his daughter and the death of his wife. Matt and Liz Logelin were high school sweethearts. After years of long-distance dating, the pair finally settled together in Los Angeles, and they had it all: a perfect marriage, a gorgeous new home, and a baby girl on the way. Liz's pregnancy was rocky, but they welcomed Madeline, beautiful and healthy, into the world. Just twenty-seven hours later, Liz suffered a pulmonary embolism and died instantly, without ever holding the daughter whose arrival she had so eagerly awaited. Though confronted with devastating grief and the responsibilities of a new and single father, Matt did not surrender to devastation; he chose to keep moving forward-to make a life for Maddy. In this memoir, Matt shares bittersweet and often humorous anecdotes of his courtship and marriage to Liz; of relying on his newborn daughter for the support that she unknowingly provided; and of the extraordinary online community of strangers who have become his friends. In honoring Liz's legacy, heartache has become solace.

Be Glad Your Dad...(Is Not an Octopus!)

Be Glad Your Dad...(Is Not an Octopus!)
Author: Matthew Logelin
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Total Pages: 41
Release: 2016-05-03
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0316392545

Be glad your dad is not a dog, because he would lick your face to say hello! Most of the time, you're glad your dad is your dad, until he gets grouchy, bossy, or just totally gross. Then you wish you could swap him for something else. But be careful what you wish for, because it could be way worse.... In this silly what-if story, kids will roar with laughter at the misadventures of a monkey dad, an alligator dad, a whale dad, and even a unicorn dad! But nothing can replace the dads who love them more than anything in the whole wide world. Be sure to check out the fun facts about the animals in the story in the back of the book!

Fatherhood

Fatherhood
Author: Matt Logelin
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2015-11-05
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1473632862

***Now a major motion picture on Netflix, starring Kevin Hart*** 'It will make you cry... for the beauty of love and its miraculous power to heal.' John Grogan, author of Marley & Me Matt and Liz Logelin had it all: a perfect marriage, a gorgeous new home in LA, and a baby girl on the way. Just twenty-seven hours after they welcomed a healthy Madeline into the world, Liz suffered a pulmonary embolism and died instantly, without ever holding the daughter whose arrival she had so eagerly awaited. Though confronted with devastating grief and the responsibilities of being a new and single father, Matt did not give in. He chose to keep moving forward - to make a life for Maddy. In his memoir, Matt shares bittersweet and often humorous anecdotes of his courtship and marriage to Liz, of relying on his newborn daughter for the support that she unknowingly provided, and of the extraordinary online community of strangers who have become his friends. In honouring Liz's legacy, heartache has become solace. *** Including a Q&A with Kevin Hart

The Group

The Group
Author: Donald Rosenstein
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 193
Release: 2018
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0190649569

On a mid-October evening, a group of fathers gathered around a conference table and met each other for the first time. None of the men had ever thought of himself a "support group kind of guy" and each felt entirely out of place. In fact, nothing about their lives felt normal anymore. The Group: Seven Widowed Fathers Reimagine Life chronicles the challenges and triumphs of seven men whose wives died from cancer and were left to raise their young children entirely on their own. Brought together by tragedy, the fathers - Neill, Dan, Bruce, Karl, Joe, Steve, and Russ - forged an uncommon bond. Over time, group meetings evolved into a forum for reinvention and transformed the men in unexpected ways. Through the fathers' poignant interactions, The Group illustrates that while some wounds never fully heal, each of us has the potential to construct a new and meaningful future. Rosenstein and Yopp, co-leaders of the support group, weave together the fathers' stories with contemporary research on grief and adaptation. The Group traces a compelling journey of healing and personal discovery that no book has ever captured before. The men's touching efforts to care for their families, grieve for their wives, and reimagine their futures will inspire anyone who has suffered a major loss.

I'll See You Again

I'll See You Again
Author: Jackie Hance
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2014-03-04
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 147675800X

In this “wonderful and courageous” (Jeannette Walls) memoir, Jackie Hance shares her story of unbearable loss, darkest despair, and—slowly, painfully, and miraculously—her cautious return to hope and love. Until the horrific car accident on New York’s Taconic State Parkway that took the lives of her three beloved young daughters, Jackie Hance was an ordinary Long Island mom, fulfilled by the joyful chaos of a household bustling with life and chatter and love. After the tragedy, she was “The Taconic Mom,” whose unimaginable loss embodied every parent’s worst nightmare. Suddenly, her lifelong Catholic faith no longer explained the world. Her marriage to her husband, Warren, was ravaged by wrenching grief and recrimination. Unable to cope with the unfathomable, she reinvented reality each night so that she awoke each morning having forgotten the heartbreaking facts: that Emma, age 8; Alyson, age 7; and Katie, age 5, were gone forever. They were killed in a minivan driven by their aunt, Jackie’s sister-in-law, Diane Schuler, while returning from a camping weekend on a sunny July morning. I’ll See You Again chronicles the day Jackie received the traumatizing phone call that defied all understanding, and the numbed and torturous events that followed—including the devastating medical findings that shattered Jackie to the core and shocked America. But this profoundly honest account is also the story of how a tight-knit community rallied around the Hances, providing the courage and strength for them to move forward. It’s a story of forgiveness, hope, and rebirth, as Jackie and Warren struggle to rediscover the possibility of joy by welcoming their fourth daughter, Kasey Rose Hance. The story that Jackie Hance shares for the first time will touch your heart and warm you to the power of love and hope.

Bloom

Bloom
Author: Kelle Hampton
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2013-04-02
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9780062045041

“In her tender and genuinely beautiful memoir, Kelle Hampton encourages us to not simply accept the unexpected circumstances of our lives, but to embrace them like the things we wished for all along.” —Matthew Logelin, New York Times bestselling author of Two Kisses for Maddy Bloom is an inspiring and heartfelt memoir that celebrates the beauty found in the unexpected, the strength of a mother’s love, and, ultimately, the amazing power of perspective. The author of the popular blog Enjoying the Small Things—named The Bump’s Best Special Needs Blog and The Blog You’ve Learned the Most From in the 2010 BlogLuxe Awards—Kelle Hampton interweaves lyrical prose and stunning four-color photography as she recounts the unforgettable story of the first year in the life of her daughter Nella, who has Down syndrome. Poignant, eye-opening, and heart-soaring, Hampton’s Bloom is ultimately about embracing life and really living it.

The Girl's Guide to Homelessness

The Girl's Guide to Homelessness
Author: Brianna Karp
Publisher: Harlequin
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2011-04-26
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1459201671

Brianna Karp entered the workforce at age ten, supporting her mother and sister throughout her teen years in Southern California. Although her young life was scarred by violence and abuse, Karp stayed focused on her dream of a steady job and a home of her own. By age twenty-two her dream became reality. Karp loved her job as an executive assistant and signed the lease on a tiny cottage near the beach. And then the Great Recession hit. Karp, like millions of others, lost her job. In the six months between the day she was laid off and the day she was forced out onto the street, Karp scrambled for temp work and filed hundreds of job applications, only to find all doors closed. When she inherited a thirty-foot travel trailer after her father's suicide, Karp parked it in a Walmart parking lot and began to blog about her search for work and a way back.

My Maddy

My Maddy
Author: Gayle E. Pitman
Publisher: American Psychological Association
Total Pages: 18
Release: 2020-06-02
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 143383426X

ALA’s 2021 Rainbow Book List Top Ten Title for Young Readers Most mommies are girls. Most daddies are boys. But lots of parents are neither a boy nor a girl. Like my Maddy. My Maddy has hazel eyes which are not brown or green. And my Maddy likes sporks because they are not quite a spoon or a fork. Some of the best things in the world are not one thing or the other. They are something in between and entirely their own. Randall Ehrbar, PsyD, offers an insightful note with more information about parents who are members of gender minority communities, including transgender, gender non-binary, or otherwise gender diverse people.

Daddy's Rules

Daddy's Rules
Author: Rachel Sontag
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
Total Pages: 275
Release: 2009
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0007257295

As Rachel's family slowly crumbles under the pressure of a man who refuses to accept his children for what they are, Rachel is forced to ever greater extremes in order to free herself from his crushing grip, in this compelling and beautifully written memoir.

The Boy Next Door

The Boy Next Door
Author: Katie Van Ark
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 369
Release: 2015-01-06
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1250061784

Maddy Spier's been in love with the boy next door forever. As his figure skating partner she spends time in his arms every day. But she's also seen his arms around other girls—lots of other girls. How can she make him realize that they can be partners off the ice as well? Gabe's relationship with Maddy is vital. He can't imagine skating with anyone else, and together they have a real chance at gold–maybe even making it to the Olympics! So he's decided to think of her as a sister. After all, family is forever, but he's never dated anyone for more than two weeks. Then their coach assigns a new romantic skating program, and everything changes. Will this be the big break that Maddy's been hoping for or the big break-up that Gabe has always feared?