An American Stairway

As the recession of 2008 unfolds, Richard Deatherage, an architectural draftsman with a three-decade career, faces the harsh reality that his beloved profession may soon become obsolete with the rise of computer-aided drafting.

Unemployed and grappling with an uncertain future, Richard finds solace in assisting his ailing father while reminiscing about their shared memories, sparked by the family photos adorning the stairway wall.

It is within this poignant context that Richard’s extraordinary coming-of-age journey unfolds, resurrecting tales lost in time and unveiling a story of resilience, love, and personal growth.

Anatomy of a Wrongful Death Lawsuit

In Anatomy of a Wrongful Death Lawsuit, journey alongside a determined man seeking justice against a healthcare provider responsible for his wife’s tragic end. Stemming from a heartbreaking fall in May 2017, this riveting account spans a relentless four-year legal battle, culminating in a pivotal wrongful death lawsuit settlement in August 2021.

Delving deep into Florida’s Sovereign Immunity Statutes, the narrative unravels the intricacies of a legal system designed to discourage victims by limiting potential damages. The story casts a glaring spotlight on a flawed healthcare system, where a Medicare facility, under the umbrella of these statutes, can prioritize profit over patient safety. Revelations like Medicare’s astonishing $55,000 bill for treatments and the audacious theft of a valuable wedding ring from an elderly patient underscore the gravity of systemic failures.

Although the initial medical malpractice case seemed promising, its evolution into a wrongful death suit drastically shifted the scales, placing a daunting burden of proof on the bereaved husband. While the eventual settlement wasn’t about financial gain, the core aim was to ensure acknowledgment of a wrongful death lawsuit. However, due to the secrecy of mediation, such misdeeds might remain cloaked, depriving the public of crucial awareness.

This poignant exploration is more than just a personal tale of resilience; it’s a deep dive into the complexities and challenges of confronting a seemingly impenetrable legal fortress.

And I'm Only 30

Ever pondered the shift from a tranquil town to the bustling streets of New York City? In her early twenties, Jess took the leap. Navigating a demanding industry where she often outpaces her male counterparts, yet earns significantly less, balancing life as a devoted dog mom, and navigating the complex terrain of NYC dating, Jess juggles it all while seeking meaningful connections and cherishing moments with friends. Amidst the city’s chaos, will she find the bond she’s searching for?

Anna and Darel

Who were these parents who had lived in a tent on an island in the Potomac River during the Depression while the father wrangled WPA guidebooks toward publication, and later wrote speeches for the Senator investigating cartels during World War II, wrote the book on foot-and-mouth disease, and crossed swords with Joe McCarthy’s inquisition? Who was the mother who hadn’t worked in thirty years yet fended off financial disaster after her husband’s early death?

At his mother’s death seventeen years later, the questions still lingered, leaving a void which Jim McConkey fills with a compelling narrative. From ‘drinking wet and voting dry’ during Prohibition to starving as a freelance writer in the Depression, the WPA Writer’s Project, the early days of commercial air travel, and the international cartels that thwarted America’s war mobilization and led to civilian rationing, McConkey’s story captivates and informs.

And finally, that gorgeous farm in the foothills of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains is vividly preserved. The family’s history, stored in a four-drawer filing cabinet stuffed with family papers, is brought to life in this loving parental biography.

Apex Blues

Apex Blues chronicles the extraordinary lives and musical legacies of two generation-spanning Jazz clarinet virtuosos: Jimmie Noone Sr. and his son Jimmy Noone Jr.

Jimmie Noone Sr. rose to fame in the 1910s New Orleans French Quarter jazz scene, forging his iconic ‘Sweet Lorraine’ style during the dawn of the genre. Later, his son Jimmy initially made waves as a San Diego local musician before feeling called to follow in his father’s footsteps. He set out to revive his dad’s New Orleans Jazz sound and mentorship.

As the author witnesses firsthand, Jimmy exceeds even his father’s musical heights through raw talent and relentless dedication to his craft. In his final days, he completes his quest: to honor Jazz history by propelling his father’s sound into the future. Jimmy cements the Noone legacy, ensuring the nation remembers what sublime Jazz can be.

Spanning generations, geographies, and evolutions of musical style, Apex Blues captures how two clarinet greats shepherded Jazz from regional obscurity into an acclaimed American art form.

Aristotle: Form and Matter Edification

Aristotle: Form and Matter Edification offers an in-depth exploration of Aristotle’s central metaphysical concepts. This scholarly work meticulously reconstructs Aristotle’s theories, presenting them through the rigorous lens of analytic geometry and metaphysics. Fortin successfully bridges ancient philosophical thought with modern scientific inquiry, making complex ideas accessible and relevant for contemporary scholars.

In this treatise, Fortin delves into the intricate relationship between form and matter, which lies at the heart of Aristotelian ontology. He thoroughly examines Aristotle’s notions of substance, expanse, and quantity, elucidating how these foundational principles underpin existence and change. The text traverses various dimensions of being, from the indivisible unity of numbers to the tangible perceptions of visual and auditory experiences, offering a comprehensive understanding of Aristotle’s enduring impact on both ancient and modern science and philosophy.

Fortin’s focus on the dynamic nature of human intellect underscores the timeless relevance of Aristotelian thought. Aristotle: Form and Matter Edification is an essential read for serious students of philosophy and science, providing a rigorous and thoughtful analysis of Aristotle’s work. This volume not only pays homage to Aristotle’s intellectual legacy but also invites readers to engage with the perennial questions of existence, substance, and the nature of reality.

Back to the Trees and Caves

After dedicating over three decades to managing wilderness areas for the USDA Forest Service, Jonathan Klein comes to a sobering realization: the wilderness within the lower forty-eight is, at best, a theatrical semblance of the real essence of wild. Upon retirement at age sixty, Klein embarks on a solo canoe journey across the untamed expanses of northern Canada, yearning to uncover the authentic wilderness that eludes him. Back to the Trees and Caves unfolds this riveting 700-mile adventure from Saskatchewan to Hudson Bay, across landscapes untouched by time.

The voyage is far from tranquil. Klein battles violent storms, navigates raging rapids, and crosses lake expanses that mirror oceans. After seven grueling weeks, an utterly exhausted Klein reaches Churchill, Manitoba, but not without facing a life-and-death encounter with an apex predator, a confrontation that brings him face to face with the harsh yet majestic reality of the wild.

As Klein paddles through the endless miles, the journey morphs into more than a physical quest; it becomes a conduit for profound reflections on the intrinsic value of wild places. Not just for the wandering souls of humans, but as irreplaceable havens for the myriad wild creatures that inhabit them. The narrative encapsulates Klein’s evolving insights on the sanctity of these landscapes and the imperative to shield them from the unrelenting grasp of human consumption.

Baseball Confidential

Baseball Confidential is a revealing look at behind the scenes communication between players, coaches, and managers at all levels of baseball. The book consists of stories and interviews with former players, coaches, and managers mostly at the Major League Baseball level.

This book is written for baseball fans. Every fan wants to know what is said on the mound, in the locker room, behind closed doors and more. With my exposures to coaches, players and fans that is all brought to light in Baseball Confidential. Readers are invited to come behind the closed doors.

The book reveals many funny and good stories related to the mentioned, behind-the-scenes communication. This is a baseball book that includes what coaches say to players: to pitchers on mound visits, pre- and post-game pep talks, and more.

Birthed Anew: From Pain to Passion to Purpose

We all have a part deep within us that is fighting to make its exit. Whether it’s hidden secrets, traumatic experiences, or soul wrenching memories, it no longer wants to reside there. Let me introduce you to Grace. She weaves us through the course of her life as she embarks upon this quest for freedom from life’s shackles. On this journey, we experience her deeply rooted pain, and her drive towards deliverance. We witness her attempts of resurrection from the dark pits of pain to the moment of her personal triumph.

Pursing growth commences through the identification of the who, what, where, when and why’s in our lives. Gaining a better understanding of how our past paves our future can help individuals make positive choices that will support authentic healing and restoration.

Birthed Anew: From Pain to Passion to Purpose will shed light on commonly hidden skeletons while simultaneously revealing the beauty of what it actually means to transition from a painful situation to a purposeful one and ultimately experience the gift of forgiveness.

Boy Refugee

Boy Refugee: A Memoir from a Long-Forgotten War is the story of a young refugee boy in the aftermath of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. The story chronicles his escape from war-ravaged Bangladesh to the relative safety of a barbed-wired internment camp in the foothills of the Himalayas, his day-to-day life as a civilian prisoner of war, and his thousand-mile, two-year-long journey back to Pakistan.

Breaking the Chains of Bondage

Thirty-four years ago, Charles Smith was incarcerated in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (or ‘Injustice,’ as he would say) with two life sentences. Now, he shares with us the harrowing and horrific experience of life in a Texas prison. Breaking the Chains of Bondage is his personal memoir that guides us through the fields and down the halls of everyday life, torture, and trauma in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison system. It is a read you won’t soon forget.

Despite facing numerous hardships and challenges during his 30+ years of incarceration, Charles persevered and achieved a master’s degree in psychology from UT-Clear Lake in Houston, earning widespread respect as a motivational speaker. He shares his passion for justice for all and his love for Esther and humanity at large. Breaking the Chains of Bondage is a riveting story of courage, resilience, and love. Open it up—take a walk inside.

Can Love and Talents Survive Opposite Political and Economic Environments?

Can Love and Talents Survive Opposite Political and Economic Environments?

This author believes that it is important to narrate how he has been affected by living under opposing political and economic systems.

This book shows how the command economy differs from the market economy through the example of a highly qualified Cuban economist and scholar who has lived for decades in developing and developed market economy and command economy countries.

Another very important and interesting aspect of this book is that it establishes the talents of this man’s two big loves’ –– his mother and his second wife –– as important and influential contributors in developing his behavior in the politico-socio-economic environment in which his life has so far taken place.

This book is divided into four sections: CHAPTER I contains an analytic summary of chaotic situations in Cuba and the United States, in which he had personally participated. CHAPTER II is a comparison of the political, social, and economic advantages and disadvantages existing between the market and the command economies, and the social democracy according to his international scholarly and personal experience, in developing and developed countries, especially during the last half of the twentieth and the first two decades of the twenty-first centuries. CHAPTER III explains in depth what is meant by each one of this author’s seven talents: reading and writing, pedagogy, tenacity, learning foreign languages, traveling around the world, singing, and being empathetic. CHAPTER IV explains how these talents are related to those of the two women who had considerably influenced the performance of his life.