Unexpected Stories

Presents a collection of creepy, mind-bending stories including "Baby from Outer Space," "Marked for Death," and "The Telltale Croak."

Offers ten stories that provide a look into adventures of discovery.

Master storyteller Diana Wynne Jones presents ariveting collection of unpredictable tales, including: A cat tells how the kindhearted wizard she owns is suddenly called upon to defeat a horrific Beast. When Anne has mumps, her drawings come to life, and she must protect her home from them. Four children become involved in the intrigue surrounding an innocent prince, an evil count, and a brave outlaw. These fifteen stories and one novella will enchant, startle, and surprise!

Originally written and pressed as Christmas cards for friends and family, An Unexpected Gift: Three Christmas Stories collects and presents three funny, tender, modern tales from Marcel Theroux. A hard-pressed barber gets an angelic last-minute customer, a struggling retailer finds un-looked for freedom, and a grieving anthropologist procures a new piece for her collection. These stories are beautifully crafted and underpinned with a wit, charm and light touch that provide perfect seasonal reading.

Three people's lives intersect in a tumultuous yet redeeming way that none of them could have ever predicted. Jenny is a young professional from the South with an upbringing she wants to forget. She meets Roshan, an Indian immigrant who has moved to the United States with his mother, Esha, to escape family ghosts. With strong cultural tradition, Esha has devoted her entire life to her only child, both for his own good and for her personal protection from a painful past. Roshan understands his role as his mother's refuge, and from an early age, he commits himself to caring for her. But when Jenny and Roshan embark on a forbidden, intercultural relationship, all three get tangled into an inseparable web-betrayal, violence, and shame-leaving them forced to make choices about love and family they never wanted to make while finding peace where they never expected to look.

This book stems primarily from the intention to make public the seminar entitled "Narratives and Cultural Psychology" held by J. Bruner and C. Feldman in May 2000 in Florence. This seminar represents the point of view of these two authors, at an important moment in their scientific and human careers, on two themes: narratives and interpretative communities. The central concept on which this book works is the Aristotelian concept of peripeteia which, born in the world of art, is developed by Bruner in the field of cognitive and cultural psychology and by Feldman in the concept of interpretative community. Thus the first purpose of this book is to analyze the role and usefulness of this concept in the study of the world of stories and culture The second aim of this book is to explain, clarify and comment on the concept, the theoretical assumptions and the key words used by the two authors, while also exploring the issues addressed. In this way, the author wanted to reflect on what contribution this seminar offers today to the theme of narratives and cultural psychology and what the future prospects might be. This book is aimed at students and scholars interested in exploring the role that stories play in human culture.

‘The book to recommend to patients when they face coming to terms with unavoidable childlessness.' – British Medical Journal In Living the Life Unexpected, Jody Day addresses the experience of involuntary childlessness and provides a powerful, practical guide to help those negotiating a future without children come to terms with their grief; a grief that is only just beginning to be recognized by society. This friendly, practical, humorous and honest guide from one of the world’s most respected names in childless support offers compassion and understanding and shows how it’s possible to move towards a creative, happy, meaningful and fulfilling future – even if it’s not the one you had planned. Millions of people are now living a life without children, almost double that of a generation ago and the numbers are rising still. Although some are childfree by choice, many others are childless due to infertility or circumstance and are struggling to come to terms with their uncertain future. Although most people think that those without children either 'couldn't' or 'didn't want’ to be parents, the truth is much more complex. Jody Day was forty-four when she realized that her quest to be a mother was at an end. She presumed that she was through the toughest part, but over the next couple of years she was hit by waves of grief, despair and isolation. Eventually she found her way and in 2011 created Gateway Women, the global friendship and support network for childless women which has now helped almost two million people worldwide. This edition, previously titled Rocking the Life Unexpected, has been extensively revised and updated, with significant additional content and case studies from forty involuntarily childless people (mostly women) from around the world.

In the last few decades, Western medicine has seen incredible advances in technology to treat the sick. That's the good news. The bad news is that with the demands on their time, falling reimbursements from the government, improved medications, and restrictions imposed by insurance carriers, doctors often depend more on computers than on their own instincts and experience in caring for their patients. As a neurologist who deals daily with crippling and sometimes fatal conditions, Dr. Bhupendra Khatri has become increasingly aware of the mind-body connection and the incredible power of the subconscious to heal, postpone death, and deal with unspeakable circumstances. The many stories in Healing the Soul: Unexpected Stories of Courage, Hope, and the Power of Mind describe the lessons the author has learned from his patients, as well as current research about the resiliency of the human spirit. Within these pages are stories of courage, inexplicable medical miracles, and disappointing transactions with intractable insurance companies. Dr. Khatri has been encouraged many healthcare providers, journalists, and patients to share these stories, as well as his research into issues he raises in the book, in hopes of inspiring patients and their families and shedding light on little-known contradictions in the U.S. healthcare system.

A wildly entertaining and surprisingly educational dive into art history as you've never seen it before, from the host of the beloved ArtCurious podcast We're all familiar with the works of Claude Monet, thanks in no small part to the ubiquitous reproductions of his water lilies on umbrellas, handbags, scarves, and dorm-room posters. But did you also know that Monet and his cohort were trailblazing rebels whose works were originally deemed unbelievably ugly and vulgar? And while you probably know the tale of Vincent van Gogh's suicide, you may not be aware that there's pretty compelling evidence that the artist didn't die by his own hand but was accidentally killed--or even murdered. Or how about the fact that one of Andy Warhol's most enduring legacies involves Caroline Kennedy's moldy birthday cake and a collection of toenail clippings? ArtCurious is a colorful look at the world of art history, revealing some of the strangest, funniest, and most fascinating stories behind the world's great artists and masterpieces. Through these and other incredible, weird, and wonderful tales, ArtCurious presents an engaging look at why art history is, and continues to be, a riveting and relevant world to explore.