The Concrete Surfer

Sent home to Britain after her parents fail to establish a new life in Australia, Jean Everidge is forced to rely on family charity, moving in with her Aunt, Uncle and cousin Carol, successful gymnast, beloved of teachers and pupils alike, and all round charming "top girl". Jean has one solace left to her - skateboarding, surfing the concrete pavement, while forgetting all her troubles, and feel free. But Jean's freestyling talent soon attracts attention, and if there's one thing Carol can't stand, it's being out of the spotlight. With the new skatepark freestyle contest coming up, just how far will Carol go to stay number one?

The inspirational story of one woman learning to surf and creating a new life in gritty, eccentric Rockaway Beach Unmoored by a failed marriage and disconnected from her high-octane life in the city, Diane Cardwell finds herself staring at a small group of surfers coasting through mellow waves toward shore--and senses something shift. Rockawayis the riveting, joyful story of one woman's reinvention--beginning with Cardwell taking the A Train to Rockaway, a neglected spit of land dangling off New York City into the Atlantic Ocean. She finds a teacher, buys a tiny bungalow, and throws her not-overly-athletic self headlong into learning the inner workings and rhythms of waves and the muscle development and coordination needed to ride them. As Cardwell begins to find her balance in the water and out, superstorm Sandy hits, sending her into the maelstrom in search of safer ground. In the aftermath, the community comes together and rebuilds, rekindling its bacchanalian spirit as a historic surfing community, one with its own quirky codes and surf culture. And Cardwell's surfing takes off as she finds a true home among her fellow passionate longboarders at the Rockaway Beach Surf Club, living out "the most joyful path through life." Rockawayis a stirring story of inner salvation sought through a challenging physical pursuit--and of learning to accept the idea of a complete reset, no matter when in life it comes.

On the morning of September 11 2001 Pasquale Buzzelli was working on the 64th floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center. His wife Louise was at home, seven months pregnant with their first child. She was woken that morning by a call from Pasquale who asked her to put on the television as his building was on fire. As Louise watched in horror, the events of 9/11 unfolded over the next few hours. Pasquale called her again and told her he was about to evacuate the building but, just minutes later, Louise watched as the North Tower collapsed with Pasquale still inside. She was sure she had watched her husband and father of her unborn child die in front of her eyes... Pasquale was in the middle of evacuating and reached the stairwell on the 22nd floor when the North Tower collapsed. He remembers thinking "this is how Im going to die" as he fell with the building. Miraculously, he survived the fall and awoke three hours later perched on a pile of rubble on a concrete slab 4ft by 4ft sticking out over a huge 60ft drop. Eventually, firemen managed to get him down and he was taken to the hospital. Louise was at home being consoled by family and friends, still thinking he was dead, until late that afternoon, when the phone rang, and it was him on the other line! Pasquale was one of only 16 people to have survived the collapse of the North Tower. Although Pasquale escaped with bruising and a fractured foot, virtually unscathed, the mental scars took a lot longer to heal. In the months after 9/11 Pasquale found it hard to come to terms with what happened that he had survived and his friends and colleagues had not. He became distant from his wife and newly born baby as the guilt made it impossible for him to be happy. At the same time Louise was experiencing her own PTSD. As joyous as she was to find out her husband survived, she equally felt pain and sorrow for those whose husbands were not as fortunate. Stories in the press would show widows and babies of men who had died in the attacks. "It is hard to imagine the pain they suffered and the strength they needed to carry out their pregnancy." Louise wrote A Song for Hope (named after their newborn daughter) and the money from the sale of the CD was shared among the widows and their babies born after 9/11. 'We All Fall Down: The True Story of the 9/11 Surfer' is the story of how Pasquale dealt with the horrific events of 9/11, with the PTSD and survivor guilt that followed, and ultimately with his road to recovery. For Pasquale, 9/11 will always be with him and he thinks about it every day but now, 10 years on, he has realised the best way to respect the memory of those who died, he needs to live for his life again ... "I could not control what had happened to me but now I can control how I would lead my life. How I would be the father and husband that my family deserved and to help and respect my fellow man as I was taught to do by my father".

[BookStrand Contemporary Romantic Suspense] Quincy Holt, a world champion surfer, was in love with a police officer, Fennimore Smith. He dumped her over a rumor that she cheated on him. Two years later, she’s moved on and is engaged to Percy Hicks, a British man that she believes could make her happy. Quincy thinks her fiance is an antiques dealer but he’s actually a firearms smuggler. A smuggler being investigated by her former lover, now an ATF agent. When Percy’s private plane full of weapons is confiscated while Quincy is aboard and she’s arrested for arms dealing, Fennimore Smith flies to Bali to rescue her and get her to testify against Percy. She turns him down as she has plans of her own. She sets off to London on a quest to trap her fiance and bring him down. Will she survive her mission? Will her former lover have to rescue her again? ** A BookStrand Mainstream Romance

Corona del Mar was once California's premier surfing spot, holding the sport's first Pacific Coast competition in 1928. Attempts to tame Corona and to make the Newport Beach harbor mouth safe for watercraft drastically altered board riding, destroying the great "wave-making machine" of Corona and creating the surf giant of today known as the "Wedge." Read about Newport before World War II: experience the Great Rescue of 1925 by Duke Kahanamoku and others, the rum runners of Balboa and the evolution of Newport Bay. Pioneering surfers such as George Freeth, Tom Blake, the Vultee brothers and Pete Peterson helped make a name for the city in surf culture. Authors Claudine Burnett and her surfer husband, Paul, have delved deeply into the past, sharing stories that will give readers never-before-revealed facts not only about surfing but Newport Beach and Corona del Mar history as well.

City Surf tells the story of City Surf Project, a group of San Francisco surfers connecting underrepresented youth to the ocean and themselves through surfing. Featuring powerful stories from CSP's students and a plurality of characters from the city's fringe saltwater society - surfers who come from all walks of life - this beautiful hardcover coffee table book documents San Francisco's unique urban surf culture and its impact on the city's youth. Shot entirely on film by Nathan Lawrence and filled with more than 200 original photos, City Surf is a celebration of what it means to be a city surfer and how surfing and the ocean are changing young lives in San Francisco.

"Roth Family Foundation music in America imprint"--First printed page.

Selections from Taiyu John Robertson's earlier works, plus newly published poetry.

A beginner's guide to surfing, discussing gear, water conditions, safety, etiquette, paddling out, angling, and other topics.

The beach has long been a privileged site in Australian culture, and surfers have become its icons. For many surfers, young and old, surfing isn't simply a hobby or sport but a treasured way of life. Notes for a Young Surfer taps into the beauty of surfing and also tells the truth about the dark side of surf culture where young men come into contact with violence, misogyny, sex, racism, turf wars and homophobia. This book reveals the unwritten codes and rituals that rule all aspects of a young man's life in surf culture, from body image and notions of national identity, to politics and mateship. Notes for a Young Surfer uses real stories from the surfing world. It provides surfing tips but is also full of funny, reassuring and practical advice about how to handle the challenges and decisions that young men face. Read more about this book in author's website: http://www.cliftonevers.net/