I live in Palm Beach County, Florida and as you can see on this map, we are expecting to be at the epicenter of the storm.
I’ve lived through more hurricanes than I care to think about, starting with David in 1979, Andrew in 1992, Wilma in 2005 and many more in between all those.
We took a direct hit from Wilma eleven years ago, also an October storm. Lost our roof, which landed on our cars – lots of damage, and the landscape of the community was forever changed. Lost our electricity for over a week. That one hit towards the end of the month and it was cool and lovely afterwards. It’s still pretty hot now, high 80’s, low 90’s.
But we were safe. And that is all I wish for this storm, too.
Hurricane Matthew is expected to hit as a Cat 4; Wilma was a Cat 3 so I admit to being a little bit scared. Plus the fact that it will making its presence known around midnight and it is always more frightening to hear that ruckus during the night.
My husband has been working on making us safe since yesterday. The hurricane shutters are up. He’s bringing in the patio furniture now. We have enough water and chemically laden food to last at least a week. And lots of comforting snacks, too. Last load of laundry is in the drier. We are as ready as we can be.
Mara Wilson (author of WHERE AM I NOW? and star of the films Matilda and Mrs. Doubtfire) talks about her ideal writing environment—it involves lots of tea.
WHERE AM I NOW?
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True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame
“Growing up, I wanted to be Mara Wilson. Where Am I Now? is a delight.” —Ilana Glazer, cocreator and star of Broad City
“Genuine and authentic, funny and heartbreaking.” —Jenny Lawson, author of Let’s Pretend This Never Happened and Furiously Happy
Named a best book of the month by GoodReads and Entertainment Weekly
A former child actor best known for her starring roles in Matilda and Mrs. Doubtfire, Mara Wilson has always felt a little young and out of place: as the only kid on a film set full of adults, the first daughter in a house full of boys, a Valley girl in New York and a neurotic in California, and a grown-up the world still remembers as a little girl. Tackling everything from what she learned about sex on the set of Melrose Place, to discovering in adolescence that she was no longer “cute” enough for Hollywood, these essays chart her journey from accidental fame to relative (but happy) obscurity. They also illuminate universal struggles, like navigating love and loss, and figuring out who you are and where you belong. Candid, insightful, moving, and hilarious, Where Am I Now? introduces Mara Wilson as a brilliant new chronicler of the experience that is growing up female.
WHERE AM I NOW? by Mara Wilson. Penguin Books (September 13, 2016). ISBN: 978-0143128229. 272p.
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Brad Meltzer in a Lucille Ball wig with Barbara Bush recreating the famous I Love Lucy chocolate conveyor belt scene, to raise awareness for family literacy. From Brad: “And God bless her, she let me eat 300 chocolates in the President’s office.” Need I say more? Enjoy!
If you would like to share this book with someone you love, click on the cover below.
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Ordinary People Change the World
“We can all be heroes” is the message of this picture-book biography series from #1New York Times Bestselling author Brad Meltzer.
“Kids always search for heroes, so we might as well have a say in it,” Brad Meltzer realized, and so he envisioned this friendly, fun approach to biography—for his own kids, and for yours. Each book tells the story of one of America’s icons in a vivacious, conversational way that works well for the youngest nonfiction readers, those who aren’t quite ready for the Who Was biography series. Each book focuses on a particular character trait that made that role model heroic. For example, Lucille Ball could make any situation funny. By making people around the world laugh, she proved that humor can take on anything.
This engaging series is the perfect way to bring American history to life for young children, providing them with the right role models, supplementing Common Core learning in the classroom, and best of all, inspiring them to strive and dream.
I am Lucille Ball by Brad Meltzer, illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulos. Dial Books; First Edition/First Printing edition (July 14, 2015). ISBN: 978-0525428558. 40p.
Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence
Longlist 2017
Congratulations to the 47 titles, 24 fiction and 23 nonfiction, that made the 2017 Carnegie Medals for Excellence Longlist! Six finalists, three fiction and three nonfiction will be announced on October 26. The winners are announced at the RUSA Book and Media Awards Ceremony, Sunday, January 22, 5-7:00 p.m. EST, at the American Library Association’s Midwinter Meeting in Atlanta.
Click on the links below to read the Booklist reviews!
The Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction were established in 2012 to recognize the best fiction and nonfiction books for adult readers published in the U.S. the previous year. The winners (one for fiction, one for nonfiction) are announced at an event at the ALA Midwinter Meeting; winning authors receive a $5,000 cash award, and two finalists in each category receive $1,500. For more information on award seals, please visit the ALA store.
The Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction are made possible by a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York on the occasion of the foundation’s centennial and in recognition of Andrew Carnegie’s deep belief in the power of books and learning to change the world. These awards are cosponsored by Booklist and the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA).
The Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), a division of the American Library Association, represents librarians and library staff in the fields of reference, specialized reference, collection development, readers’ advisory and resource sharing. RUSA is the foremost organization of reference and information professionals who make the connections between people and the information sources, services, and collection materials they need. Learn more about the association at http://www.ala.org/rusa.
Two new short videos from one of my favorite authors! First, the introduction to the next Harry Bosch book, The Wrong Side Of Goodbye, which comes out Nov.1 – mark your calendar, or better yet, click on the cover below to preorder!
Next, About The Title:
The Wrong Side Of Goodbye
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Detective Harry Bosch must track down someone who may never have existed in the new thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly.
Harry Bosch is California’s newest private investigator. He doesn’t advertise, he doesn’t have an office, and he’s picky about who he works for, but it doesn’t matter. His chops from thirty years with the LAPD speak for themselves.
Soon one of Southern California’s biggest moguls comes calling. The reclusive billionaire is nearing the end of his life and is haunted by one regret. When he was young, he had a relationship with a Mexican girl, his great love. But soon after becoming pregnant, she disappeared. Did she have the baby? And if so, what happened to it?
Desperate to know whether he has an heir, the dying magnate hires Bosch, the only person he can trust. With such a vast fortune at stake, Harry realizes that his mission could be risky not only for himself but for the one he’s seeking. But as he begins to uncover the haunting story–and finds uncanny links to his own past–he knows he cannot rest until he finds the truth.
At the same time, unable to leave cop work behind completely, he volunteers as an investigator for a tiny cash-strapped police department and finds himself tracking a serial rapist who is one of the most baffling and dangerous foes he has ever faced.
Swift, unpredictable, and thrilling, The Wrong Side of Goodbye shows that Michael Connelly “continues to amaze with his consistent skill and sizzle” (Cleveland Plain Dealer).
About the Author
Michael Connelly is the bestselling author of twenty-eight novels and one work of nonfiction. With over sixty million copies of his books sold worldwide and translated into thirty-nine foreign languages, he is one of the most successful writers working today. A former newspaper reporter who worked the crime beat at the Los Angeles Times and the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, Connelly has won numerous awards for his journalism and his fiction. His very first novel, The Black Echo, won the prestigious Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for Best First Novel in 1992. In 2002, Clint Eastwood directed and starred in the movie adaptation of Connelly’s 1998 novel, Blood Work. In March 2011, the movie adaptation of his #1 bestselling novel, The Lincoln Lawyer, hit theaters worldwide starring Matthew McConaughey as Mickey Haller. His most recent #1 New York Times bestsellers include The Crossing, The Burning Room, The Gods of Guilt, The Black Box, and The Drop. Michael is the executive producer of BOSCH, an Amazon Studios original drama series based on his bestselling character Harry Bosch, starring Titus Welliver. He is also the executive producer of the documentary film, SOUND OF REDEMPTION: The Frank Morgan Story. He spends his time in California and Florida and is currently at work on his next Harry Bosch novel, THE WRONG SIDE OF GOODBYE, which will be published on November 1, 2016.
The Wrong Side Of Goodbye by Michael Connelly. Little, Brown and Company (November 1, 2016). ISBN: 978-0316225946. 400p.
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Bestselling author Amor Towles (A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW and RULES OF CIVILITY) discusses how he honed his craft—with lots of reading.
A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW
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From the New York Times bestselling author of Rules of Civility—a transporting novel about a man who is ordered to spend the rest of his life inside a luxury hotel
“In all ways a great novel, a nonstop pleasure brimming with charm, personal wisdom, and philosophic insight . . .this book more than fulfills the promise of Towles’ stylish debut, Rules of Civility.” – Kirkus Reviews (starred)
With his breakout debut novel, Rules of Civility, Amor Towles established himself as a master of absorbing, sophisticated fiction, bringing late 1930s Manhattan to life with splendid atmosphere and a flawless command of style. Readers and critics were enchanted; as NPR commented, “Towles writes with grace and verve about the mores and manners of a society on the cusp of radical change.”
A Gentleman in Moscow immerses us in another elegantly drawn era with the story of Count Alexander Rostov. When, in 1922, he is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, the count is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors. Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances provide him a doorway into a much larger world of emotional discovery.
Brimming with humor, a glittering cast of characters, and one beautifully rendered scene after another, this singular novel casts a spell as it relates the count’s endeavor to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a man of purpose.
A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW by Amor Towles. Viking (September 6, 2016). ISBN 978-0670026197. 480p.
Amor Towles was born and raised near Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from Yale College and received an MA in English from Stanford University. For over twenty years he was an investment professional until he retired in 2013 in order to write full time. He lives with his wife and two children in Manhattan and serves on the boards of the Library of America, the Yale Art Gallery, and the Wallace Foundation.
Published in July 2011, his novel RULES OF CIVILITY has been translated into 15 languages. In America it was on the bestseller lists of the New York Times, Boston Globe, and Los Angeles Times. The book was ranked by the Wall Street Journal as one of the ten best works of fiction in 2011 and its French translation received the 2012 Prix Fitzgerald. His second novel, A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW, was published in September 2016.
Mr. Towles is an ardent fan of early 20th century painting, 1950’s jazz, 1970’s cop shows, rock & roll on vinyl, obsolete accessories, manifestoes, breakfast pastries, pasta, liquor, snow-days, Tuscany, Provence, Disneyland, Hollywood, the cast of Casablanca, 007, Captain Kirk, Bob Dylan (early, mid, and late phases), the wee hours, card games, cafés, and the cookies made by both of his grandmothers.
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Abbi & Ilana give readings from YOU CAN’T TOUCH MY HAIR by Phoebe Robinson (comedian/author/2 Dope Queens podcaster). Hilarity/tension ensues.
YOU CAN’T TOUCH MY HAIR
“A must-read…Phoebe Robinson discusses race and feminism in such a funny, real, and
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specific way, it penetrates your brain and stays with you.” –Ilana Glazer, co-creator and co-star of Broad City
A hilarious and timely essay collection about race, gender, and pop culture from upcoming comedy superstar and 2 Dope Queens podcaster Phoebe Robinson
Being a black woman in America means contending with old prejudices and fresh absurdities every day. Comedian Phoebe Robinson has experienced her fair share over the years: she’s been unceremoniously relegated to the role of “the black friend,” as if she is somehow the authority on all things racial; she’s been questioned about her love of U2 and Billy Joel (“isn’t that . . . white people music?”); she’s been called “uppity” for having an opinion in the workplace; she’s been followed around stores by security guards; and yes, people do ask her whether they can touch her hair all. the. time. Now, she’s ready to take these topics to the page—and she’s going to make you laugh as she’s doing it.
Using her trademark wit alongside pop-culture references galore, Robinson explores everything from why Lisa Bonet is “Queen. Bae. Jesus,” to breaking down the terrible nature of casting calls, to giving her less-than-traditional advice to the future female president, and demanding that the NFL clean up its act, all told in the same conversational voice that launched her podcast, 2 Dope Queens, to the top spot on iTunes. As personal as it is political,You Can’t Touch My Hair examines our cultural climate and skewers our biases with humor and heart, announcing Robinson as a writer on the rise.
YOU CAN’T TOUCH MY HAIR by Phoebe Robinson. Plume (October 4, 2016). ISBN 978-0143129202. 320p.
PHOEBE ROBINSON is a stand-up comedian, writer, and actress whom Vulture.com, Essence, and Esquire have named one of the top comedians to watch. She has appeared on NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers and Last Call with Carson Daly; Comedy Central’s Broad City, The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, and @midnight with Chris Hardwick; as well as TBS’s Full Frontal with Samantha Bee. Robinson’s writing has been featured in The Village Voice and on Glamour.com, TheDailyBeast.com, VanityFair.com, Vulture.com, and NYTimes.com. She was also a staff writer on MTV’s hit talking head show, Girl Code, as well as a consultant on season three of Broad City. Most recently, she created and starred in Refinery29’s web series Woke Bae and, alongside Jessica Williams of The Daily Show, she is the creator and costar of the hit WNYC podcast 2 Dope Queens as well as the creator and host of the new WNYC podcast Sooo Many White Guys. Robinson lives and performs stand-up in Brooklyn, NY, and you can read her weekly musings about race, gender, and pop culture on her blog, Blaria.com (aka Black Daria).
Comments Off on Readings from YOU CAN’T TOUCH MY HAIR by Phoebe Robinson | Ramblings | Permalink Posted by Stacy Alesi
Life Fail #1: Coloring outside the lines | Author Gayle Forman –
When she was in kindergarten, author Gayle Forman’s teachers thought she might have future trouble with reading and writing because Gayle was “bad” at coloring. Can testing performance turn passions into a chore?
Leave Me
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Every woman who has ever fantasized about driving past her exit on the highway instead of going home to make dinner, and every woman who has ever dreamed of boarding a train to a place where no one needs constant attention–meet Maribeth Klein. A harried working mother who’s so busy taking care of her husband and twins, she doesn’t even realize she’s had a heart attack.
Surprised to discover that her recuperation seems to be an imposition on those who rely on her, Maribeth does the unthinkable: she packs a bag and leaves. But, as is often the case, once we get where we’re going we see our lives from a different perspective. Far from the demands of family and career and with the help of liberating new friendships, Maribeth is able to own up to secrets she has been keeping from herself and those she loves.
With bighearted characters–husbands, wives, friends, and lovers–who stumble and trip, grow and forgive, Leave Me is about facing the fears we’re all running from. Gayle Forman is a dazzling observer of human nature. She has written an irresistible novel that confronts the ambivalence of modern motherhood head on and asks, what happens when a grown woman runs away from home?
About the Author
Gayle Forman is an award-winning author and journalist whose articles have appeared in numerous publications, including Seventeen, Cosmopolitan and Elle in the US. She lives in Brooklyn with her family.
Comments Off on Author Gayle Forman on Life Fail #1 | Ramblings | Permalink Posted by Stacy Alesi
Audible, The National Archives and Bloomsbury released In Their Own Words, an exclusive audio collection of largely unpublished letters from throughout history. The collection is narrated by some of Britain’s best loved performers and most famous voices, including Miriam Margolyes, Daniel Mays and Martin Shaw.
The letters included span some 500 years and mark iconic moments in history including the start of Nelson Mandela’s trial and Churchill asking Roosevelt for America’s support during WWII.
In Their Own Words: A History in Letters
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AUDIBLE, THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES & BLOOMSBURY DEBUT
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
Exclusive collection of lettersfeatures writing from Churchill, Catherine Howard, ‘Jack the Ripper’, the Ford Dagenham women and more
Correspondence narrated by some of Britain’s best loved performers including Miriam Margolyes, Indira Varma, Martin Shaw and Daniel Mays amongst others
London, embargoed until 00:01am 25thAugust 2016 – Audible, The National Archives and Bloomsbury today debut In Their Own Words, an exclusive collection of largely unpublished letters from throughout history. Covering centuries of protest, scandal, cultural revolution and technological innovation the series gives audiences an intimate window into the past, documenting momentous events through personal letters from well-known figures and ordinary citizens alike. Bringing together some of the world’s most shocking, funny and poignant writing, the collection spans some 500 years including everything from Catherine Howard’s adulterous love notes, to the letter that marked the start of Nelson Mandela’s trial.
With around 80 pieces expertly curated by Dr Hester Vaizey, the collection is grouped into six, thematic chapters: ‘Companions, Comrades, Lovers’, ‘Espionage & Deception’, ‘Allies, Diplomacy & Foreign Relations’, ‘Protest, Revolution & Rebellion’, ‘Scandals, Loopholes & Murder’ and ‘Cultural, Technological Change’. Notable highlights include (full contents in Notes to Editors):
– A letter from Churchill to Roosevelt asking for America’s support during WWII
– Letters from the Ford Dagenham women rallying one another to strike for equal pay
– A letter sent to the Houses of Parliament warning MPs of the gunpowder plot
– Letters sent to the Home Office urging for the decriminalization of homosexuality in the 1960s
– Letters lamenting ‘class antagonism’ aboard the Titanic after its fateful maiden voyage
– Cryptic letters sent to the police from ‘Jack The Ripper’
– A letter from Idi Amin to Queen Elizabeth II inviting her to celebrate Ugandan independence
Working with some of Britain’s best loved performers, In Their Own Words has been beautifully brought to life by a BAFTA and Tony award winning cast including Miriam Margolyes (Harry Potter), Indira Varma (Game Of Thrones), Martin Shaw (Judge John Deed), Daniel Mays (Mrs Biggs), David Haig (Four Weddings & A Funeral), Robert Bathurst (Downton Abbey) and Rhashan Stone (Desmond’s) amongst others (full list in Notes to Editors).
Tracey Markham, UK Country Manager at Audible, said: “We’re thrilled to have worked with the National Archives and Bloomsbury to bring such a unique and compelling collection of letters to life. From Churchill to the Kray Twins, it’s packed with a weird and wonderful selection of writings, narrated by some of Britain’s finest performers. Whether you fancy a bit of history on the way home from work, or want something to make you feel inspired on your morning run, it’s a great listen for every occasion.”
Dr Hester Vaizey, Publishing Manager at The National Archives, said: “Reading old letters can feel like stepping into a time machine, taking us back to the moment when the author set down their thoughts and feelings on paper. Letters contain the full array of human emotions, from love to hate, from fear to excitement. This anthology of letters has been selected from the 126 shelf-miles of documents held in The National Archives and offers a fascinating insight into the lives of men and women who are no longer with us.”
Contents
–Companions, Comrades, Lovers
o Medieval family politics: Letter from Isabelle of Angoulême to Henry VIII
o A doomed queen: Catherine Howard’s letter to her lover Culpepper
o Lean meals for the Earl of Leicester: Elizabeth I drafts a playful thank-you letter
o ‘Slaving during master’s pleasure’: Bonded labour in eighteenth century Maryland
o Britain versus the South Pole: Telegram sent to Captain Oates’ mother announcing his death
o Letter from India: K B W Sharland, 26 July 1917, Pashan Camp, Kirkee, India
o Medals into munitions: The fight at home: Funding the First World War
o An appeal from Pioneer Baggs: A tragic attempt to keep a son from war
o The Caravan Club: Raids on homosexual clubs in the 1930s
o Children of the Overseas Reception Board: The sinking of the SS City of Benares
o ‘Tell her my grief has no end’: Ken ‘Snakehips’ Johnson: a life, from Guiana to Soho
– Espionage & Deception
o Digging for King and Country: Leonard Woolley and T E Lawrence
o Carl Lody, the spy in the Tower: Letter from a convicted German on the eve of his execution
o From bank clerk to British spy: The origins of Britain’s leading Second World War spy
o Operation Mincemeat: How a dead body deceived the Axis in the Second World War
o Animals and the War effort: GI Joe the hero carrier pigeon
o The Gerson Secret Writing Case: J O Peet and coded correspondence in the Second World War
o The first female British spy: Christine Granville: a female Second World War agent
o Double agents and the Cold War: The disappearance of Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean
– Allies, Diplomacy & Foreign Relations
o Reburying the hatchet: The return of Napoleon Bonaparte’s remains to France
o Nationality and naturalisation: Karl Marx’s application to become British citizen refused
o ‘Wonderful things’: Discovering Tutankhamun’s tomb
o The end of ‘peace in our time’: Lord Halifax and the declaration of war
o Operation Pied Piper: what to feed the children?: Government guidelines for caring for evacuated children
o The most unsordid act in history: The origins of Lend-Lease
o Nuclear weapons and the new world order: Letter from Attlee to Truman
o An invitation to the Queen: Idi Amin invites Elizabeth II to celebrate Ugandan independence
– Protest, Revolution & Rebellion
o Braveheart: A letter from the King of France regarding William Wallace
o ‘Terrible blow this Parliament’: A warning about the Gunpowder Plot
o ‘Ye have not yet done as ye ought’: A letter from ‘Captain Swing’ – the agricultural unrest of 1830
o ‘… we may lie and die in a land of plenty …’: Thomas Henshaw’s demand for redress in the ‘Hungry 40s’
o Class antagonism onboard the Titanic: Did your class affect your chances of survival?
o ‘Wrong and wicked punishment’: Sir Douglas Haig defends Field Punishment No. 1
o A letter of farewell to his mother: Patrick Pearse: executed for being a leader of the Easter Rising
o Animals in a cage: Women’s petitions for equal participation in Parliament
o The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising: Dedication to the Jewish people of Poland
o The League of Coloured Peoples: The mixed-race babies of the Second World War
o ‘Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika’: Notes on the trial of Nelson Mandela
o Sexual Offences Act 1967: The decriminalisation of homosexual acts
o Shooting at the Berlin Wall: The Cold War and the fight to stop the flow of people to the West
o For ‘all women everywhere’: Ford Dagenham women strike for equal pay
– Scandals, Loopholes & Murder
o Can a child be deemed an animal?: The case of James Stannard – child welfare in the 19th century
o Copycat Rippers: Letters to the police from ‘Jack the Ripper’
o A pattern emerges and a serial killer is uncovered: The case of the ‘Brides in the Bath’ murders
o A storm in a whiskey tumbler: Diplomatic drinking in prohibition America
o ‘Impassioned Obscenity’: The Cerne Abbas Giant
o Commander of the death camps: Josef Kramer, commandant of Bergen-Belsen, writes to his wife
o Christine Keeler and Stephen Ward: The scandal that rocked the early 1960s
o ‘The Kray twins done it’: Murder at the Blind Beggar
o ‘One for the pot’: The World Cup is stolen
– Cultural, Technological Change
o The cantankerous father of computing: Charles Babbage and street music noise
o Electric trains: Seashore sabotage
o ‘A flyer capable of carrying a man’: The Wright brothers’ negotiations with the British government
o No women drivers allowed: Men from the London Trades Council threaten to strike
o Disappointed fiancées: The right of married women to work in the civil service
o The introduction of the contraceptive pill: Allowing ‘improper demands’ by women?
o ‘A good thing to be laughed at’: Harold Macmillan approves of his TV satirisation
o Aliens in the Mendip Hills: Correspondence to and from the Ministry of Defence
Narrators
– Miriam Margolyes
– Indira Varma
– Martin Shaw
– Daniel Mays
– David Haig
– Robert Bathurst
– Rhashan Stone
– Arthur Smith
– Stephen Critchlow
– Jessica Dennis
– Nicholas Boulton
– Simon Kane
– Adam Hall
About Audible Ltd.
Audible, an Amazon.com, Inc. subsidiary (NASDAQ:AMZN), is the leading provider of premium digital spoken audio information and entertainment, offering customers a new way to enhance and enrich their lives every day. Audible was created to unleash the emotive music in language and the habituating power and utility of verbal expression. Audible content includes more than 200,000 audio programs from leading audiobook publishers, broadcasters, entertainers, magazine and newspaper publishers, and business information providers. Audible is also the preeminent provider of spoken-word audio products for Apple’s iTunes Store.
About The National Archives
The National Archives is one of the world’s most valuable resources for research and an independent research organisation in its own right. As the official archive and publisher for the UK government, and England and Wales they are the guardians of some of the UK’s most iconic national documents, dating back over 1,000 years. Their role is to collect and secure the future of the government record, both digital and physical, to preserve it for generations to come, and to make it as accessible and available as possible. The National Archives brings together the skills and specialisms needed to conserve some of the oldest historic documents as well as leading digital archive practices to manage and preserve government information past, present and future.
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Sister Abegail Ntleko (activist and author of EMPTY HANDS) discusses the path we can take to lead a fuller life, and shares stories from her own journey.
Empty Hands: A Memoir: One Woman’s Journey to Save Children Orphaned by AIDS in South Africa
Empty Hands is the inspiring memoir of Zulu nurse and healthcare activist Sister Abegail Ntleko. Growing up poor in a rural village with a father who didn’t believe in educating girls, against seemingly insurmountable odds Sister Abegail earned her nursing degree and began work as a community nurse and educator, dedicating her life to those in need. “Her story tells us,” says Desmond Tutu, who wrote the foreword to the book, “what a single person can accomplish when heart and mind work together in the service of others.”
Overcoming poverty and racism within the apartheid South African system, she adopted her first child at a time when it was unheard of to do so. And then she did it again and again. In forty years she has taken in and cared for hundreds of children who had nothing, saving babies—many of them orphans whose parents died of AIDS—from hospitals that were ready to give up on them and let them die.
Empty Hands describes the harshness of Ntleko’s circumstances with wit and wisdom in direct, beautifully understated prose and will appeal not only to activists and aid workers, but to anyone who believes in the power of the human spirit to rise above suffering and find peace, joy, and purpose.
“Ntleko’s story, which she tells in simple language, is inspiring and moving. She neither dwells in nor dramatizes the hardships she has faced, preferring instead to focus on ‘fill[ing] her hands with love and then spend[ing] all that love until [her] hands are empty again.’ A brief, genuine, heartfelt memoir of an awe-inspiring life.”—Kirkus Reviews
“A tenaciously hopeful memoir by a South African nurse who mothered hundreds of children orphaned by AIDS, all in the spirit of ubuntu—the Zulu belief that you are only a person because of other people.” —O, the Oprah Magazine
About the Author
Born into extreme poverty in KwaZulu-Natal, Sister Abegail Ntleko overcame tremendous obstacles to obtain an education and become a nurse, eventually becoming one of South Africa’s preeminent community activists. She received an Unsung Heroes of Compassion award presented by the Dalai Lama in 2009. Now 79 years old, Sister Abe has built and managed two orphanages serving hundreds of young people and has helped thousands of children and families affected by HIV. She has also personally adopted and fostered more than 30 children, and her latest project, the Kulungile Care Centre in Underberg, has become home for her large family.
Comments Off on Sister Abegail Ntleko on why we should let go of worry and embrace life | Ramblings | Permalink Posted by Stacy Alesi
ive in Palm Beach County, Florida and as you can see on this map, we are expecting to be at the epicenter of the storm.
Posted by Stacy Alesi 
Michael Connelly is the bestselling author of twenty-eight novels and one work of nonfiction. With over sixty million copies of his books sold worldwide and translated into thirty-nine foreign languages, he is one of the most successful writers working today. A former newspaper reporter who worked the crime beat at the Los Angeles Times and the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, Connelly has won numerous awards for his journalism and his fiction. His very first novel, The Black Echo, won the prestigious Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for Best First Novel in 1992. In 2002, Clint Eastwood directed and starred in the movie adaptation of Connelly’s 1998 novel, Blood Work. In March 2011, the movie adaptation of his #1 bestselling novel, The Lincoln Lawyer, hit theaters worldwide starring Matthew McConaughey as Mickey Haller. His most recent #1 New York Times bestsellers include The Crossing, The Burning Room, The Gods of Guilt, The Black Box, and The Drop. Michael is the executive producer of BOSCH, an Amazon Studios original drama series based on his bestselling character Harry Bosch, starring Titus Welliver. He is also the executive producer of the documentary film, SOUND OF REDEMPTION: The Frank Morgan Story. He spends his time in California and Florida and is currently at work on his next Harry Bosch novel, THE WRONG SIDE OF GOODBYE, which will be published on November 1, 2016.
Amor Towles was born and raised near Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from Yale College and received an MA in English from Stanford University. For over twenty years he was an investment professional until he retired in 2013 in order to write full time. He lives with his wife and two children in Manhattan and serves on the boards of the Library of America, the Yale Art Gallery, and the Wallace Foundation.
PHOEBE ROBINSON is a stand-up comedian, writer, and actress whom Vulture.com, Essence, and Esquire have named one of the top comedians to watch. She has appeared on NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers and Last Call with Carson Daly; Comedy Central’s Broad City, The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, and @midnight with Chris Hardwick; as well as TBS’s Full Frontal with Samantha Bee. Robinson’s writing has been featured in The Village Voice and on Glamour.com, TheDailyBeast.com, VanityFair.com, Vulture.com, and NYTimes.com. She was also a staff writer on MTV’s hit talking head show, Girl Code, as well as a consultant on season three of Broad City. Most recently, she created and starred in Refinery29’s web series Woke Bae and, alongside Jessica Williams of The Daily Show, she is the creator and costar of the hit WNYC podcast 2 Dope Queens as well as the creator and host of the new WNYC podcast Sooo Many White Guys. Robinson lives and performs stand-up in Brooklyn, NY, and you can read her weekly musings about race, gender, and pop culture on her blog, Blaria.com (aka Black Daria).
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