Krashed

It was the fall of 1966. Of course, I had tasted alcohol briefly with a sip here and sip there, but this was different. This was the beginning of a lifelong battle with alcoholism. I had decided that I would attend the sock hop after the football game.

For more than three years I had dreamed of having a relationship with this one very special girl. I was a senior and she was a sophomore. I came into the dance and placed my shoes in a corner of the gymnasium. Some of my friends were lined up along the wall. All the girls were seated in the bleachers on the other side of the gym.

I came into the dance virtually unnoticed as I was not a really popular kid in high school. As usual at these festive occasions the music was playing but no one was dancing. This seemed to be common practice at these events. Oh, there was some mingling going on between football players and cheerleaders, however, the vast majority of us who wandered blindly through high school, incapable when it came to communication with the opposite sex.

We all thought about it but we didn’t act on it. This is my real first recollection that I had such a fear of rejection and would struggle for most of the rest of my life to try and overcome that fear. Addiction would somehow enter the scene and, for time, would cover the fear gently leaving me to believe I was the one in control. This would become a disastrous illusion.

Landing on a Star in Umbria

This is a true love story of a Dutch-Indonesian immigrant woman, married to an American man of Italian descent, and how they followed their unimaginable dream of buying a vacation home in Italy. Although many books have been written about similar experiences, this uniquely different story tells the heartwarming tale of the perils and the wonderful people they encountered during their search to find the perfect home in Morcella; a meticulously well-maintained medieval Borgo built in 975AD, in Italy’s beautiful green belt region of Umbria.

Learning, Healing, and Change: Notes on Teaching in Testing Times

Drawing on illuminating stories from thirteen years as a public school teacher, Ms. Coolidge challenges cultural assumptions about effecting learning and change, making a compelling case for a bigger-picture perspective in the classroom and in society at large. She shares personal insights about learning as an innate gift, similar to healing, which is fed by responsive interactions. Learning is at the core of all human endeavors and is essential for individual well-being, democracy, and social progress. Although rigid separation is our cultural habit, good teaching is embodied, integrated with the arts and play, and engaged with diverse perspectives. Ms. Coolidge offers food for thought on how 21st-century federal education reforms, by elevating the status of words and right answers at the expense of connection and meaning, have played a key role in a reactionary cultural backlash.

Leaving Patriarchy Behind

Can we fight, and win, against an ideology that has been established and practiced for decades? In Leaving Patriarchy Behind, Leticia recounts her father’s disappointment at the birth of each daughter: “After each birth, Papa would turn to Mama and ask, ‘Mama, es un niño?’ But, out of 18 babies, Mama only had four boys.” With some challenging years behind her, Leticia considers the culture that informed her parents’ principles, those she knew she could not accept as her own. She realized from childhood that she was not one to follow the disparate rules set for boys and girls.

In these short vignettes, Leticia Aguilar recalls her life as a child in Mexico in the 1960s and as an adult in America in the ‘70s and beyond. Looking back, she reflects on her struggles as a girl, then a young woman, and the men who told her what she could and could not do. Instead, Leticia turned away from Mexican patriarchy, even as she was criticized and warned of her shortcomings in being independent. In a small mountain community in California where Leticia raised her family, she joined a variety of local organizations where she provided young women with a career, education, and family resources. Leticia’s memoir inspires others to rise above misogyny and racism.

Lessons from Starfish

Lessons from Starfish is the story of a teacher who didn’t really plan to be a teacher – and the children who taught her the most about teaching and learning. The author shares this about her book: “I hope that my starfish stories are an invitation to practitioners and parents – and all those who work with children – to take the journey with our students that can lead to the heart of teaching and learning. I also hope that through these stories, parent readers, educators and community will gain insight into the many ways that we are all important educational partners who play significant roles in our children’s educational lives.”

In this memoir, you will meet seven children who inspired their teacher to “make a difference” – not just for the seven – but for all the children she taught.

Lessons Learned from the Men I Have Loved & a Few I Loathe

There are good men and bad men out there. I have loved and learned from both. The most important lesson I learned is that a man should be judged by the way he makes you feel, not by the way he looks, the size of his bank account, his hands, or his feet.

After you’ve read Lessons Learned, perhaps you will understand why I tend to shy away from rich, powerful men who treat women like trophies on their arms, or the prize in a box of Cracker Jacks, neither of which I am content to be. Give me a blue-collar worker that treats me like the queen of his universe, please!

As for you, my dear readers, go forth and strive to make your mate, your partner, your lover, your spouse, or your child feel like the most remarkable person on the planet, and they will respond ten-fold. If you have not as yet found that absolute match, that perfect person, your soulmate (I know it seems cliché but believe me, soulmates do exist; I know, I found mine), perhaps my lessons will help you find him or her before your time on this amazing Earth runs out.

But most importantly, I hope you learn to be good to yourself.

Look on the bright side.

Love like there is no tomorrow.

Make your dream a reality.

Write that book.

Run that marathon.

Eat that cake. (Sorry, that was for me, there’s some in the fridge).

Let Me Tell You a Story

Storytelling has been an art and form of entertainment for many cultures for thousands of years. Every family has their special stories. In this way culture is created and passed down to future generations. The stories in this collection represent five generations of our family. Our family would sit around a dinner table or a campfire and tell and retell these stories from the past. Our family loved the sharing of humor through this special communication. In this way we also shared each other’s lives. My family has asked that I record these so that they will be passed on to future generations so that they might enjoy them as well. All of the stories elicit laughter because of the humor. The stories are organized around themes. The one thing that is constant about the stories is that they are all “true stories”.

Letters to My Daughter

He feared escaping the daily terror of drug dealing and violence would overwhelm him, as it had so many other young men of color growing up in the housing projects. His life, and their lives, seemed destined to become more cruel statistics of the ghetto’s unforgiving reality.

Life After Divorce

Relationships are never easy to navigate, especially when they are in the process of disintegrating right before your eyes.

Have you ever wondered what you’re truly capable of? How do you face challenges like divorce, hurdles such as weight gain caused by stress, obstacles such as dealing with loneliness and explaining to family that you are fine and of course, friends who insist on setting you up on numerous blind dates?

These challenges work together to drive us. So, what if you’re divorced? That didn’t stop me. So, what if there happen to be a few extra pounds? Love it or leave it, I’m still a better me. How far are you willing to push yourself?

Some tests that we face are brought on by others, while some, we choose ourselves. Know that no matter what type of test you face, the result is a new empowered you. This book is about conquering your own doubts and rediscovering who you truly are and about knowing that you ultimately are in control. You have the power. It’s your world, everyone else is just visiting!

Life of the Party Girl

Life of the Party Girl is a raw and inspiring debut memoir of a top wedding planner reflecting on the moments that define us as human beings, both the traumatic and fantastic.

The author and subject, Megan Estrada, isn’t your typical wedding planner. She is tattooed, assertive, stylish, and doesn’t take no for an answer. She is reflective and decisive, in bringing a fresh and unique perspective to the special events industry. Estrada is a trailblazer in the event industry and harnesses her past experiences to create momentous occasions.

Before Megan Estrada became a nationally recognized wedding and event planner, she spent forty-years navigating a life of unexpected circumstances, one that was dictated by a twisted series of trauma and celebration. From enduring a school shooting, an unsuccessful suicide attempt, and a difficult marriage, to landing a record deal, becoming a mother of two, and leading the special events industry through the Covid-19 pandemic, Life of the Party Girl follows Estrada’s journey to self-worth and self-discovery.

Life on Ice

Ever wonder what life is like on a touring ice-skating show? How many people travel with the show, how do you pack two fifty-pound suitcases with a year’s worth of clothes, shoes, and supplies? Do you pay your own hotel and transportation? Speaking of pay, what do they pay? How do you cook in a hotel room? And who is hooking up with whom? This semi autobiography is a humorous look into the world of a traveling show about how to live this type of life on the road. It is a coming-of-age story where quirky characters become family, fall into and out of bed—I mean love—go on adventures, and grow up.

Like a Lotus

Veronica seemed to have what so many strive for: a good home, a wonderful fiancé, a well-paying job. But none of that gave her the purpose and joy she longed for. So in 2013, she began a journey of self discovery, adventure, and freedom.

Running a guesthouse in dusty and blissful Cambodia; climbing to mountain peaks in Indonesia and Nepal; even getting lost in the depths of Chinese countryside, she learned that the path you choose to follow doesn’t have to be the one laid out in front of you.