Brace For Impact

A powerful and redemptive story of how the dazzling world of roller derby helped one young woman transform her fear and self-doubt into gutsy, big-hearted, adventurous living “A universal story of healing and triumph, made all the more beautiful, wild, and free by Gabe’s fierce love for roller derby and her team, who become her family.”—ABBY WAMBACH, Olympian, activist, and author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Wolfpack ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Book Riot Growing up queer in a conservative Midwestern town, Gabe Montesanti never felt comfortable in her own skin. A competitive swimmer, she turned to perfectionism and self-control to create a sense of safety, only to develop an eating disorder and constantly second-guess her instincts. When she enters graduate school in St. Louis, she is determined to put the baggage of her childhood behind her. With no prior experience, she joins Arch Rival, one of the top-ranked roller derby leagues in the world. Gabe instantly falls in love with the sport’s roughness, intensity, and open embrace of people who are literally and figuratively scarred. She soon finds community and a sense of belonging, reveling in the tattoos, glitter, and campiness. But when Gabe suffers a catastrophic injury, she can no longer ignore the parallels between the physicality of roller derby and the unresolved trauma of her upbringing. Rendered inactive, forced to be still, Gabe realizes she needs to heal her emotional wounds as much as her physical ones; she must confront her fear and self-diminishment in order to feel truly alive. Told with unflinching honesty and a giant dose of wonder, Brace for Impact is a tender, inspiring memoir about the everyday heroism of pursuing a life less ordinary, and the deeply human need to be at peace with who you are.

Collects the stories and life lessons learned by the survivors of US Airways Flight 1549 after its crash in the Hudson River in 2009, and celebrates the values of love, family, trust, and faith.

Two archenemies/best friends set off on a journey across America to save their friend. They have six days to reach San Francisco from Kentucky, but they have no money and few practical skills. Along the way, they encounter truckers, pro-wrestlers, love-crazed middle-aged Japanese women, robots, an insane smoothie maker, and a plan to bring down the Internet.

As an IBM executive, former pro bowling protégé, and friend to many of our nation’s most iconic celebrities and politicians, Joe Panko was leading what many would call a charmed life. Until the day in 1989 when a plane crash into New York’s East River altered the course of his life and triggered the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that he would have to navigate for the rest of his life. Joe shares his story so that it may help others recognize the signs of PTSD in themselves or someone they love and shorten their path toward recovery. “With raw honesty and vulnerability, Brace for Impact is a story of courage, resilience, and the power of the human spirit to overcome adversity.” - K. Ranga Rama Krishnan, MD “Brace for Impact will help countless people navigate life’s ups and downs.” - Jim Nantz, CBS Sports “There are different forms of PTSD, whether it’s as a civilian or military. Joe has figured out what works for him. It could work for you.” - Jason Morello, Staff Sergeant First Class, US Army Special Forces

USA Today–Bestselling Author: Bound by fate, a couple confronts danger and desire. Can she trust a stranger? The sole survivor of a deliberate plane crash, Maddy Kane has gone from protected witness to roaming target. Badly injured and lost in the wilderness, Maddy is forced to trust the stranger who came to her aid. No mere hiker, Will Gannon is former Delta Force. The battle-scarred medic knows he is Maddy’s only hope in a desperate situation. With survival a long shot, can the two become allies, and maybe more—before it’s too late?

“Surviving is a true blessing that few get to experience.” Being strapped in the seat of a plane as it plunges into a nosedive midair is everyone’s worst nightmare. Bracing for Impact’s compilers and contributors know. They have both lived out that fear and survived, albeit badly hurt, in their own plane crashes. In this collection of true-life survivor tales, people from all walks of life—a freelance writer, a crew member of the Lynyrd Skynyrd band, a naval flight surgeon, a teenager, and a newlywed on her honeymoon, among others—recount their traumatic narrow escapes as engines stalled, fuel ran out, hazardous weather conditions descended, and landings did not go according to plan. In the face of death, as life flashed before their eyes—or not, as some wryly note—these survivors encountered the terrific split of before and after the crash. Their lives, though preserved, would change forever. Perhaps more significant than the crash itself is how each story plays out in the aftermath of the ordeal. In heart-wrenching, unrelenting honesty, these stories explore the wide spectrum of impacts on survivors—ranging from debilitating fear, post-traumatic stress disorder, and substance abuse, to a renewed sense of urgency, where survivors swear to live each day to the fullest and rededicate their lives to helping others. Including the 1977 story of the Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash that killed lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, and vocalist Cassie Gaines, Bracing for Impact is as much a horrific account of air disasters as it is a celebration and recognition of the people who survived them. Fans of the 2016 Clint Eastwood film Sully starring Tom Hanks will enjoy this edge-of-your-seat read!

Bring Back the Late 90s and Early 2000s describes a time with the coolest music and movies ever made. The clothing was baggy, the girls were raw, and the boys were hard-core. Brace for impact, these next pages are a wild ride down memory lane, baby.

The first contemporary novel about a disease that bends the lives of ten percent of all teenagers: scoliosis. Rachel Brooks is excited for the new school year. She's finally earned a place as a forward on her soccer team. Her best friends make everything fun. And she really likes Tate, and she's pretty sure he likes her back. After one last appointment with her scoliosis doctor, this will be her best year yet.Then the doctor delivers some terrible news: The sideways curve in Rachel's spine has gotten worse, and she needs to wear a back brace twenty-three hours a day. The brace wraps her in hard plastic from shoulder blades to hips. It changes how her clothes fit, how she kicks a ball, and how everyone sees her -- even her friends and Tate. But as Rachel confronts all the challenges the brace presents, the biggest change of all may lie in how she sees herself.Written by a debut author who wore a brace of her own, Braced is the inspiring, heartfelt story of a girl learning to manage the many curves life throws her way.

2022 International Book Awards Finalist - Motivational2021 Career Book of the Year Finalist 2021 Living Now Book Awards Silver Medalist An award-winning guide to reducing fear and taking control of your life from Amazon bestselling author and renowned psychologist Dr Amy Silver.When fear looms as the loudest guest in your mind, it dominates your thoughts and controls your choices.Author and psychologist, Dr Amy Silver, believes that if you reduce the control that fear has on you, you take back control of your life. Fear is merely a guest in your mind, albeit a noisy one, and you are the host. In The Loudest Guest, you will learn the six essential steps to calm your fear so you can run your best life. This book is for you if you: * are prone to worrying or over-thinking * desire to do something new but feel you shouldn't or would fail * talk yourself down, either out loud or in your head * know there's a gap between what you're doing and what you could * do if you had more courage * spend too much time thinking about what people think of you * are too &‘in your head', full of doubt, regret or indecision.In this easy-to-read, practical book you'll learn to quieten your fear voice so you can be a more powerful version of yourself.

Do you have a story that you just have to tell? Do you seek to preserve your life history as a gift for loved ones, or to pay tribute to those who have meant the most to you? Do you yearn to write about one major life experience to inspire others? You're not alone. The desire to write our life story is a timeless, universal urge. Somewhere inside us we know that writing a book about our life will touch those we love, while enriching our lives in today's cell phone-laptop lifestyle. Life is a book, and women and men from 19 to 99 are hearing the call to write it. Someone is waiting to hear you tell your life story: who you are, how you've lived, what you've learned. They want to hear all the stories that have shaped your life. Your Life Is a Book - And It's Time to Write It! An A-to-Z Guide to Help Anyone Write Their Life Story will take you on the journey of creating your memoir, autobiography, or life story. It doesn't matter how old or how young you are, or whether you've written a lot, a little, or not at all. Through practical tools, lively writing exercises, engaging questions, and helpful illustrations, you'll receive the guidance and encouragement you need from an expert life-writing teacher. Start writing your life story today! Kevin Quirk, M.A., has been helping ordinary people of all ages and backgrounds write their life stories as ghostwriter, personal historian, and Writing Your Life Story teacher since 1998. A former journalist and founder of Life Is a Book, he is coauthor of Brace for Impact: Miracle on the Hudson Survivors Share Their Stories of Near Death and Hope for New Life.