Catching Stories

In neighborhoods, schools, community centers, and workplaces, people are using oral history to capture and collect the kinds of stories that the history books and the media tend to overlook: stories of personal struggle and hope, of war and peace, of family and friends, of beliefs, traditions, and values—the stories of our lives. Catching Stories: A Practical Guide to Oral History is a clear and comprehensive introduction for those with little or no experience in planning or undertaking oral history projects. Opening with the key question, “Why do oral history?” the guide outlines the stages of a project from idea to final product—planning and research, the interviewing process, basic technical principles, and audio and video recording techniques. The guide covers interview transcribing, ethical and legal issues, archiving, funding sources, and sharing oral history with audiences. Intended for teachers, students, librarians, local historians, and volunteers as well as individuals, Catching Stories is the place to start for anyone who wants to document the memories and collect the stories of community or family.

In this astounding account, Wall Street’s notorious bad boy—the original million-dollar-a-week stock chopper—leads us through a drama worthy of The Sopranos, from the FBI raid on his estate to the deal he cut to rat out his oldest friends and colleagues to the conscience he eventually found. With his kingdom in ruin, not to mention his marriage, the Wolf faced his greatest challenge yet: how to navigate a gauntlet of judges and lawyers, hold on to his kids and his enraged model wife, and possibly salvage his self-respect. It wasn’t going to be easy. In fact, for a man with an unprecedented appetite for excess, it was going to be hell. But the man at the center of one of the most shocking scandals in financial history soon sees the light of what matters most: his sobriety, and his future as a father and a man.

Catching Homelessness is the compelling true story of a nurse's work with--and young adult passage through--homelessness.

The result of an oral history project, which began in 1993, to record the lives of those involved in the Brighton Fishing Community. It is a living record of the way in which some members of the community remember their own past, and shows the traditions kept alive by the fishermen and their families.

Birth, and death. Two ends of the same spectrum. And sometimes the only person standing between is a tired, overworked resident with personal problems of her own. Welcome to the world of Catching Babies. In the halls of a busy metropolitan teaching hospital, a group of OB/GYN doctors complete their residencies and embark on ambitious careers, all while trying to hold their lives together at the seams. Jay is running from a life he’s tried to leave behind, while Katie sacrifices everything she has to serve an endless parade of needy patients. Anna is out trying to save the world, while Tracy is trying to save twins dying in utero. Based on true stories from delivery rooms and labor decks, Catching Babies spins the doctors’ stories into a gripping mosaic of the obsessions, the anxieties, and the heroism of doctors who have chosen to preside over life’s greatest medical drama—high-risk childbirth.

Fiction. In his collection of short stories, CATCHING THE BULLET, Daniel Hawks explores the realms of "the ordinary" with extraordinary aptness. "Is elegant the right term for a world of fold-up baby strollers, big-time wrestling, and misplaced pants? These stories trace the awkward surfaces and clarify depths in parenthood, working life, and love. They move with the assurance of a long forward pass, soaring and dropping right on target, its trajectory graceful and exact." Don Bogen"

The spirited story of Marcenia Lyle, the African American girl who grew up to become "Toni Stone," the first woman to play for an all-male professional baseball team.

How do I reject thee? Let me count the ways... Rejected and broken-hearted, Genesis Fairchild turns to her best friends and come up with a plan to give Logan, the school's major player, and future alpha, a taste of his own medicine. One Operation Payback later, a silver-gray eyed lycan joins in the picture and like a moth to a flame, Genesis feels the instant connection between her and the Lycan Constantine. When she is introduced into the pack of lycan royalty, she not only deals with her changing identity, but also the arrogant future Alpha's retracted rejection and determination to finally claim her, leaving her life a bit more interesting and a whole lot more complicated. Will Genesis allow her one true mate to complete the mating bond?Or will she follow her heart and become the erasthai that she has been long destined to be? If you want something fun and light to devour in one sitting, then get lost in Genesis' world of arrogant werewolves, royal brats, and an irresistible lycan god. Grab a copy now!

"Story is the heart of language. Story moves us to love and hate and can motivate us to change the whole course of our lives. Story can lift us beyond our individual borders to imagine the realities of other people, times, and places. Storytelling - both oral tradition and written word - is the foundation of being human. In this powerful book, Christina Baldwin, one of the visionaries who started the personal writing movement, explores the vital necessity of re-creating a sacred common ground for each other's stories. Each chapter in Storycatcher is carried by a fascinating narrative - about people, family, or community - intertwined with practical instruction about the nature of story, how it works, and how we can practice it in our lives. Whether exploring the personal stories revealed in our private journals, the stories of family legacy, the underlying stories that drive our organizations, or the stories that define our personal identity, Christina's book encourages us all to become storycatchers - and shows us how new stories lay the framework for a new world."--Publisher.

This bright tale of a girl determined to escape a negative thought that keeps following her around encourages mindfulness and equips kids with the tools they need to successfully manage their emotions. Have you ever had an unwelcome thought that you just couldn't get rid of, no matter how hard you tried to push it away? In Catching Thoughts, a girl is plagued by an unwanted thought. No matter what she does--ignore it, yell at it, cry about it--the thought won't go away. Frustrated and discouraged, she finally looks that bad thought in the face and says, "Hello." At last, she is able to notice other more beautiful, positive thoughts all around her. As she catches hold of new thoughts, the girl discovers she can fill her mind with whatever she chooses. For every child who has been weighed down by sadness or anxiety, this story teaches kids how to acknowledge unwanted thoughts, show them compassion, then actively replace them with positive thoughts instead. Catching Thoughts is a quiet, thoughtful story that teaches readers how to practice mindfulness, focusing on thoughts that bring beauty, joy, and calm into their lives.