Becoming Him

In April 1981, Landa Mabenge enters this world, trapped in a girl's body. From the start, Landa is aware that he does not relate to his female form, despite being socialised as a girl. At age 11 his world is shattered, when an angry woman and her zombie-like husband arrive in Umtata to force him to accompany them to Port Elizabeth. Life in PE with 'The Parents' soon morphs into a Dickensian nightmare. Landa is subjected to horrific abuse as he descends into a world of isolation and shame. At 18 Landa is finally able to escape PE to study at UCT, where he tries to embrace life as a butch lesbian, but he remains tortured by his female body. After a close-to-death break down, Landa finds strength to embark on an arduous four-year-long journey to physically and legally become "Him". In 2014, he makes history by becoming the first known transgender man in South Africa to successfully motivate a medical aid to pay for his surgeries. Both heartbreaking and uplifting, Becoming Him is a groundbreaking story of torture and triumph, bravely opening the lid on cultural shame and abuse against those who choose a path less travelled.

The first memoir for young readers by sports legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. At one time, Lew Alcindor was just another kid from New York City with all the usual problems: He struggled with fitting in, with pleasing a strict father, and with overcoming shyness that made him feel socially awkward. But with a talent for basketball, and an unmatched team of supporters, Lew Alcindor was able to transform and to become Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. From a childhood made difficult by racism and prejudice to a record-smashing career on the basketball court as an adult, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's life was packed with ""coaches"" who taught him right from wrong and led him on the path to greatness. His parents, coaches Jack Donahue and John Wooden, Muhammad Ali, Bruce Lee, and many others played important roles in Abdul-Jabbar's life and sparked him to become an activist for social change and advancement. The inspiration from those around him, and his drive to find his own path in life, are highlighted in this personal and awe-inspiring journey. Written especially for young readers, Becoming Kareem chronicles how Kareem Abdul-Jabbar become the icon and legend he is today, both on and off the court.

A “scrupulously honest” (O, The Oprah Magazine) debut memoir that explores one man’s gender transition amid a pivotal political moment in America. Becoming a Man is a “moving narrative [that] illuminates the joy, courage, necessity, and risk-taking of gender transition” (Kirkus Reviews). For fifty years P. Carl lived as a girl and then as a queer woman, building a career, a life, and a loving marriage, yet still waiting to realize himself in full. As Carl embarks on his gender transition, he takes us inside the complex shifts and questions that arise throughout—the alternating moments of arrival and estrangement. He writes intimately about how transitioning reconfigures both his own inner experience and his closest bonds—his twenty-year relationship with his wife, Lynette; his already tumultuous relationships with his parents; and seemingly solid friendships that are subtly altered, often painfully and wordlessly. Carl “has written a poignant and candid self-appraisal of life as a ‘work-of-progress’” (Booklist) and blends the remarkable story of his own personal journey with incisive cultural commentary, writing beautifully about gender, power, and inequality in America. His transition occurs amid the rise of the Trump administration and the #MeToo movement—a transition point in America’s own story, when transphobia and toxic masculinity are under fire even as they thrive in the highest halls of power. Carl’s quest to become himself and to reckon with his masculinity mirrors, in many ways, the challenge before the country as a whole, to imagine a society where every member can have a vibrant, livable life. Here, through this brave and deeply personal work, Carl brings an unparalleled new voice to this conversation.

In April 1981, Landa Mabenge enters this world, trapped in a girl's body. From an early age, Landa is aware that he does not relate to his female form, despite being socialised as a girl. In this groundbreaking and brutally honest memoir, Landa Mabenge establishes himself as a resounding and inspirational voice for anyone fighting to define themselves on their own terms. In mesmerising detail, Becoming Him lays bare Landa's tortured world, growing up trapped in the wrong body, while unflinchingly tracing his transition from female to male. His childhood in Umtata is brutally shattered, when at age 11 an angry woman and her zombie-like husband unexpectedly arrive to force him to accompany them to Port Elizabeth. Life in PE with "The Parents" soon morphs into a Dickensian nightmare. Landa is subjected to horrific physical, emotional and psychological abuse as he descends into a world of isolation and shame. He recalls his prison of powerlessness: "I count the years I will have to remain a slave. There are seven before my redemption: 7 x 365 = 2555 days. Today is nearly at an end. By the end of tomorrow there will be 2554. By the end of the week, 2548. And so I will myself on. Eventually the day will come when I will be free." At 18 Landa is finally able to escape PE to study at UCT, where he tries to embrace life as a butch lesbian, but he remains tortured by his female body. After a close-to-death break down, Landa finally finds strength to embark on an arduous four-year-long journey to physically and legally become "him," relentlessly researching what it will entail to embark on gender alignment. In 2014, Landa makes history by becoming the first known transgender man in South Africa to successfully motivate a medical aid to pay for his surgeries through the Groote Schuur Transgender Clinic. Both heartbreaking and uplifting, Becoming Him is a unique story of torture and triumph, bravely opening the lid on cultural shame and abuse against those who choose a path less travelled. In 2017 Landa was selected out of over 60,000 African applicants for the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders. Today Landa lives a transformed and happy life as a transgender educationalist and consultant.

* Practical, step-by-step help for building life-changing relationships * Selections from Jane Austen novels bring clarity, humor

A Hugo Award Nominee! Featuring an introduction by Neil Gaiman! “J. Michael Straczynski is, without question, one of the greatest science fiction minds of our time.” -- Max Brooks (World War Z) For four decades, J. Michael Straczynski has been one of the most successful writers in Hollywood, one of the few to forge multiple careers in movies, television and comics. Yet there’s one story he’s never told before: his own. In this dazzling memoir, the acclaimed writer behind Babylon 5, Sense8, Clint Eastwood’s Changeling and Marvel’s Thor reveals how the power of creativity and imagination enabled him to overcome the horrors of his youth and a dysfunctional family haunted by madness, murder and a terrible secret. Joe's early life nearly defies belief. Raised by damaged adults—a con-man grandfather and a manipulative grandmother, a violent, drunken father and a mother who was repeatedly institutionalized—Joe grew up in abject poverty, living in slums and projects when not on the road, crisscrossing the country in his father’s desperate attempts to escape the consequences of his past. To survive his abusive environment Joe found refuge in his beloved comics and his dreams, immersing himself in imaginary worlds populated by superheroes whose amazing powers allowed them to overcome any adversity. The deeper he read, the more he came to realize that he, too, had a superpower: the ability to tell stories and make everything come out the way he wanted it. But even as he found success, he could not escape a dark and shocking secret that hung over his family’s past, a violent truth that he uncovered over the course of decades involving mass murder. Straczynski’s personal history has always been shrouded in mystery. Becoming Superman lays bare the facts of his life: a story of creation and darkness, hope and success, a larger-than-life villain and a little boy who became the hero of his own life. It is also a compelling behind-the-scenes look at some of the most successful TV series and movies recognized around the world.

In this deeply compassionate work, Jean Vanier shares his profoundly human vision for creating a common good that radically changes our communities, our relationships and ourselves. He proposes that by opening ourselves to others, those we perceive as weak, different, or inferior, we can achieve true personal and societal freedom. The 10th anniversary edition includes a new Introduction by the author.

The prominent political theorist William E. Connolly outlines a political philosophy for the contemporary world: a world whose powers of creative evolution include and exceed the human estate.

A heartwarming, closed-door romance for readers 16 and up. Country star Brian Lakes abandoned his career when his ex-wife died so he could raise his estranged son Nick. He finds a little town far away from the music scene, but connecting with a grieving pre-teen proves a lot harder than he’d expected. Celia Baker retired early to recover from the stress of counseling at-risk kids. She struggles against loneliness and reactions honed in a city that seem so out of place in the sleepy town of Foster’s Way. Then she befriends an unhappy boy at the park, and all her instincts go on alert. Celia has little reason to trust and Brian has his hands full, but a twelve-year-old kid and a beloved guitar keep drawing them together. If they listen to the music of their hearts, they just might earn a second chance at life. Pick up your copy of Becoming Home to join a good-hearted woman and a struggling single dad in their quest for love and life in a small town.

What does power and responsibility look like for Christian men in our world today? Becoming a King offers men a guide to becoming one to whom God can entrust his kingdom. Journey with Morgan Snyder as he walks alongside men (and the women who love and encourage them) to rediscover the path of inner transformation. Becoming a King is an invitation into a radical reconstruction of much of what we’ve come to believe about God, masculinity, and the meaning of life. Curated and distilled over more than two decades and drawn from the lives of more than seventy-five men, Morgan shares his discovery of an ancient and reliable path to restoring and becoming the kind of man who can wield power for good. With examples from the lives of the great heroes of faith as well as wise men from Morgan’s own life, break through doubt and discover the power of restoration. In Becoming a King, you will: Reconstruct your understanding of masculinity and who God truly intended you to be Learn to become a man of unshakable strength and courage Reclaim your identity, integrity, and purpose Traveling this path isn’t easy. But the heroic journey detailed within the pages of Becoming a King leads to real life—to men becoming as solid and mighty as oak trees, teeming with strength and courage to bring healing to a hurting world; and to sons, husbands, brothers, and friends becoming the kind of kings to whom God can entrust his kingdom.