Suicide Affair

The 1960s are coming to a close. Some relationships will end and others will begin. After a dark childhood of isolation and loneliness—her only friend being invisible—the pretty Rita Pierce, coming of age, learns of her true identity and a door of magic opens. Rita’s monster pa, Homer—teetering between yesterday and today, between sanity and madness—has new friends of his own. While it gives his life meaning, for others, it means nightmares. MedicineGirl rethinks her life and calling, but a kiss from Lucifer changes everything. Declared a national hero, Garth is given a new job. For him, opportunity knocks. Dark are the days. Scary are the nights. A witch doctor’s conjure goes rogue and death goes stalking. Though NuSprings, Missouri, invokes a curfew, no one is safe and not everyone will survive. However, with Storm Clouds comes a silver lining: his name is StormDancer.

A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice • A Good Morning America Recommended Book • A LitReactor Best Book of the Year • A BuzzFeed Most Anticipated Book of the Year • A Lit Hub Most Anticipated Book of the Year • A Rumpus Most Anticipated Book of the Year • A Bustle Most Anticipated Book of the Month "A pathbreaking feminist manifesto, impossible to put down or dismiss. Gina Frangello tells the morally complex story of her adulterous relationship with a lover and her shortcomings as a mother, and in doing so, highlights the forces that shaped, silenced, and shamed her: everyday misogyny, puritanical expectations regarding female sexuality and maternal sacrifice, and male oppression." —Adrienne Brodeur, author of Wild Game Gina Frangello spent her early adulthood trying to outrun a youth marked by poverty and violence. Now a long-married wife and devoted mother, the better life she carefully built is emotionally upended by the death of her closest friend. Soon, awakened to fault lines in her troubled marriage, Frangello is caught up in a recklessly passionate affair, leading a double life while continuing to project the image of the perfect family. When her secrets are finally uncovered, both her home and her identity will implode, testing the limits of desire, responsibility, love, and forgiveness. Blow Your House Down is a powerful testimony about the ways our culture seeks to cage women in traditional narratives of self-sacrifice and erasure. Frangello uses her personal story to examine the place of women in contemporary society: the violence they experience, the rage they suppress, the ways their bodies often reveal what they cannot say aloud, and finally, what it means to transgress "being good" in order to reclaim your own life.

There is a way that seems right unto a person, but the way thereof is the way of death. It is the 1960’s. Above the rich Native American city of NuSprings, Missouri, the sky is turning dark with a deadly storm brewing on the horizon. Suicide Affair is a multi-book story of how lives crisscross and intertwine. Some affairs, no matter how exciting or appealing, are suicidal when pursued. Dark, intriguing, and sometimes chilling, Dark Skies pulls you down a path you would never wish to go: Rita, a child lost on the path, wanders a dark stormy world of loneliness and survival. Her worst fear is not being raised by the monster who murdered her mother, but the shadows that threaten to eat her soul. Garth, a boy with a good soul, is pushed onto the path and pulled into its darkness through revenge and murder. RiverDawg, an aging witch doctor, plays on the path and toys with those who venture down it. People are his entertainment. Quillpen Jack, a Native American boy hoping one day to become a great warrior, discovers the path is not only dark, but deadly. Will he survive? Will any of them survive the coming storm?

How can a marriage survive an affair? Infidelity is one of life's most painful experiences for everyone involved--the betrayed spouse, the children, the extended family members, and even the lover and the wayward spouse. Once trust is broken, how can a couple ever hope to reconcile? In Surviving an Affair, Drs. Harley and Chalmers help you understand every aspect of infidelity--from the beginning of an affair through the restoration of the marriage. They describe: - why affairs begin and end - how to end an affair - how to restore the marriage - how to manage resentment and rebuild trust Surviving an Affair guides you step-by-step from the devastating blow of infidelity to a loving and trusting marriage. All questionnaires mentioned within this book are available in a fillable pdf format from the authors' websites identified on the last page.

NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2020! NPR BEST BOOK OF 2020 PEOPLE MAGAZINE TOP TEN BOOKS OF THE YEAR BOOKPAGE BEST BOOK OF 2020 GOOD HOUSEKEEPING BEST BOOK OF 2020 “A sensual and perceptive novel. . . . With humor and humanity, Miller resists the simple scorned-wife story and instead crafts a revelatory tale of the complexities—and the absurdities—of love, infidelity, and grief.” —O, the Oprah Magazine A brilliantly insightful novel, engrossing and haunting, about marriage, love, family, happiness and sorrow, from New York Times bestselling author Sue Miller. Graham and Annie have been married for nearly thirty years. Their seemingly effortless devotion has long been the envy of their circle of friends and acquaintances. By all appearances, they are a golden couple. Graham is a bookseller, a big, gregarious man with large appetites—curious, eager to please, a lover of life, and the convivial host of frequent, lively parties at his and Annie’s comfortable house in Cambridge. Annie, more reserved and introspective, is a photographer. She is about to have her first gallery show after a six-year lull and is worried that the best years of her career may be behind her. They have two adult children; Lucas, Graham’s son with his first wife, Frieda, works in New York. Annie and Graham’s daughter, Sarah, lives in San Francisco. Though Frieda is an integral part of this far-flung, loving family, Annie feels confident in the knowledge that she is Graham’s last and greatest love. When Graham suddenly dies—this man whose enormous presence has seemed to dominate their lives together—Annie is lost. What is the point of going on, she wonders, without him? Then, while she is still mourning Graham intensely, she discovers a ruinous secret, one that will spiral her into darkness and force her to question whether she ever truly knew the man who loved her.

An NPR Best Book of 2017 Heiress to the nearly forty-billion-dollar L’Oréal fortune, Liliane Bettencourt was the world’s richest woman and the fourteenth wealthiest person. But her gilded life took a dark yet fascinating turn in the past decade. At ninety-four, she was embroiled in what has been called the Bettencourt Affair, a scandal that dominated the headlines in France. Why? It’s a tangled web of hidden secrets, divided loyalties, frayed relationships, and fractured families, set in the most romantic city—and involving the most glamorous industry—in the world. The Bettencourt Affair started as a family drama but quickly became a massive scandal, uncovering L’Oréal’s shadowy corporate history and buried World War II secrets. From the Right Bank mansions to the Left Bank artist havens; and from the Bettencourts’ servant quarters to the office of President Nicolas Sarkozy; all of Paris was shaken by the blockbuster case, the shocking reversals, and the surprising final victim. It all began when Liliane met François-Marie Banier, an artist and photographer who was, in his youth, the toast of Paris and a protégé of Salvador Dalí. Over the next two decades, Banier was given hundreds of millions of dollars in gifts, cash, and insurance policies by Liliane. What, exactly, was their relationship? It wasn’t clear, least of all to Liliane’s daughter and only child, Françoise, who became suspicious of Banier’s motives and filed a lawsuit against him. But Banier has a far different story to tell... The Bettencourt Affair is part courtroom drama; part upstairs-downstairs tale; and part characterdriven story of a complex, fascinating family and the intruder who nearly tore it apart.

"When Brian told me of his affair, my whole world was shattered. Since the affair, and since the difficult recovery period, I have excelled in amazing ways in every area of my life. I look and feel better than I did when I was in my twenties. I have more energy, more zeal and more enthusiasm for life. Since I have gotten over my insecurities, I experience far better relationships with my husband, children and others. I also have more fun. No matter what tragedies happen in our lives, we always have a choice, not a choice over what will happen to us, but a choice over how we will react to it. Will we become bitter or better? I chose to become better, and now my greatest tragedy has also become my greatest personal victory." – Anne Bercht "Would I want to go back to our marriage before the affair? Not a chance! Would I have liked to have gotten to this point some other way? Absolutely! Would I recommend an affair to others so they can reach a greater love and better marriage? Absolutely not! If you have experienced an affair, is rebuilding your marriage worth it? You bet it is! As long as you love each other and are willing to do the work." – Brian Bercht

This book gives insights into the pain and suffering involved when people are grieving for someone who has committed suicide, but it also offers hope without diminishing the significance of the suffering involved. As such, it has a lot to offer, and is therefore to be welcomed.' - Well-Being 'This book provides deep and valuable insight into the experiences of "suicide survivors" - those who have been left behind by the suicide of friend, family member or loved one.' - Therapy Today 'The personal stories are full of pathos interest and will clarify where the death leaves those left behind. The list of self-help groups is world wide and it will be useful that you can point the bereaved and traumatized in the right direction.' - Accident and Emergency Nursing Journal 'The authors describe powerfully the effect of suicide on survivors and the world of silence, shame, guilt and depression that can follow. Author Christopher Lake is a suicide survivor and co-author Henry Seiden is an experienced therapist and educator. They use sensitive and unambiguous language to provide an understanding of what it is like to live in the wake of suicide and the struggle to make sense of the world. They also look at how survivors might actively respond to their situation, rather than being passive victims. This book should be read by any professional who is likely to come into contact with people affected by suicide.' - Nursing Standard, October 2007 'The book is well written and relevant to both survivors and professionals concerned for the welfare of those bereaved by suicide.' - SOBS (Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide) Newsletter 'Silent grief is a book for and about "suicide survivors," defined as people who have experienced the death of a friend or relative through suicide, and for anyone who wants to understand what survivors go through. The book explains the profound, traumatic effect suicide has on individuals bereaved in such circumstances. Using verbatim quotes from survivors it explains how they experience feelings of shame, guilt, anger, doubt, isolation and depression. This book provides good insight into the experience of individuals affected by suicide and can be a useful resource to anybody working with such people - be it prisoners who have lost someone close through suicide or the family of a prisoner following a self-inflicted death in prison. - National Offender Management Service. Safer Custody News. Safer Custody Group. May/June 2007 Silent Grief is a book for and about "suicide survivors" - those who have been left behind by the suicide of a friend or loved one. Author Christopher Lukas is a suicide survivor himself - several members of his family have taken their own lives - and the book draws on his own experiences, as well as those of numerous other suicide survivors. These inspiring personal testimonies are combined with the professional expertise of Dr. Henry M. Seiden, a psychologist and psychoanalytic psychotherapist. The authors present information on common experiences of bereavement, grief reactions and various ways of coping. Their message is that it is important to share one's experience of "survival" with others and they encourage survivors to overcome the perceived stigma or shame associated with suicide and to seek support from self-help groups, psychotherapy, family therapy, Internet support forums or simply a friend or family member who will listen. This revised edition has been fully updated and describes new forms of support including Internet forums, as well as addressing changing societal attitudes to suicide and an increased willingness to discuss suicide publicly. Silent Grief gives valuable insights into living in the wake of suicide and provides useful strategies and support for those affected by a suicide, as well as professionals in the field of psychology, social work, and medicine.

Like a spider on a web, sit I, in a spiritual realm, on a spiritual web, covering earth's globe. Peering down, I watch my puppet and toy: I am a shadow. A dark entity. I am Simon, the Crow. Having grown up in a world of abuse, isolation, and poverty, Rita Pierce, convinced she's a daughter of darkness, a witch from birth, is now seventeen and living on her own. Upon the advice of a dear friend, she decides to take charge of her future: to strike a course, create a destiny, conquer a dream. Rita frees Deysi's Blakk's book, Blakk Magick, from its prison. The book came with a warning: Undisciplined knowledge can be dangerous and destructive. Ignoring the warning, she opens it with anticipation of a touch from the dark lover. The table of contents were titled, Revelations, Principles, and Recipes. Underneath the titles were subtitles. The book was a manual not meant to be read from beginning to end, but according to need and knowledge. The title, Colors of Magick, grabbed Rita's attention. She reads, "Dark lovers have dark intentions..." Conquering her dream will come at a cost Rita never anticipated. With little to loose and so much to gain, will she pay the Crow's price?

Albert Windemere had many enemies, but only one hated him enough to commit murder. The Windemere Affair is a compelling multilayered plot brimming with emotional power and composed with intensity. Psychotherapist Jennifer Trevor is placed in the cross-hairs of a killer when she's hired by her deceased client's lawyer to counsel the dead man's family. Mending hurts won't be easy. Al Windemere's list of enemies is long, and his untimely death is celebrated. But Jennifer knows that the once unscrupulous businessman had recently begun a changed life as a Christian. As Jennifer delves deeper into the dynamics of Albert's shattered relationships, she becomes the next target. It will require all her intuition and knowledge of human behavior in order to stay safe and solve the mystery, but Jennifer is determined to restore Al's reputation and find his murderer. The stakes couldn't be higher. If Jennifer's wrong, she dies.