From Simon & Schuster, Miss Manners' Guide to Rearing Perfect Children is a primer for everyone worried about the future of civilization. In her inimitable, arch, no-nonsense style, Miss Manners provides etiquette guidance for every social situation from school dances to conversations at the family dinner table, explains how to impress a college admissions officer, and offers rules for divorced parents and weekend parents

In 1989, Dr. Joyce Brothers's husband of more than thirty years, Dr. Milton Brothers, passed away. As a widow, Dr. Brothers found herself emotionally lost and alone, at sea in an ocean of grief -- until she dealt with her despair, overcame her loneliness, and, gradually, put her life back together again. In WIDOWED, Dr. Brothers shares this intimate journey and offers the knowledge she has gained along the way. In her personal, comforting way, Dr. Joyce Brothers describes the very real incidents and feelings that every woman who has lived through the death of a spouse will immediately recognize. Here is compassionate insight on confronting grief and loss, coping with the myriad emotions that bombard a widow, and handling the pain and self-pity that ultimately lead to change. This is the book you can turn to for support, strength, and, most importantly, a glimpse of hope. "Crammed with good advice, generously coated with genuine compassion, WIDOWED is must reading." -- The Pittsburgh Press

A young boy sitting on a piano bench realizes one day that he will never marry. At the time this seems merely a simple, if odd, fact, but as his attraction to boys grows stronger, he is pulled into a vortex of denial. Not just for one year or even ten, but for 25 years, he lives in an inverted world, a place like a photographic negative, where love is hate, attraction is envy, and childhood never ends. He comes to think of himself as a kind of monster--until one day, seemingly miraculously, the world turns itself upright and the possibility of love floods in. Equal parts Oliver Sacks and George Orwell, with a dash of Woody Allen, Jonathan Rauch's memoir is by turns harrowing and funny, a grippingly intimate journey through a bizarre maze of self-torment that ends with an unexpected discovery. Many people, gay and straight, have lived through their own versions of this story, seeking to twist their personality in directions it just wouldn't go. Not all have been lucky enough to escape. First published in 2013, Denial has been revised for this new edition, which includes a new afterword by the author.

A Real Housewife of New York City reveals the Jewish mother's secrets to life, love and happiness. The Jewish Mother knows what she wants-and what you should want too. Here, readers will learn how to make her methods their own, and give and get love and happiness in great amounts. Jill Zarin, the breakout star of Bravo's hit series The Real Housewives of New York , teams up with her sister, Lisa Wexler, award-winning host of the daily radio program The Lisa Wexler Show , and her mother, the estimable Gloria Kamen, who made a splash on Jill's series last year. With real-life stories from the mother/daughter trio illustrating their wise and witty tips on dating, marriage, money, and more, Secrets of a Jewish Mother is all the advice readers didn't know they needed but will never forget.

Journalist Jesse Green's delightful memoir makes it quite clear that the pleasures and perils of parenting are always the same--even for a gay 37-year-old man who stumbles into it by falling in love with a person who has an adopted son. As Green puts it in a typically well-turned phrase, "fatherhood trumps gayness," which is to say that heterosexual parents at the playground sometimes find it easier to relate to Green, his boyfriend, Andy, and son, Erez (soon joined by baby brother Lucas), than do the well-buffed, perennially youthful male guests at a Fire Island party--they flinch at the sight of diapers and baby bags. As the author searchingly and intelligently considers what it means to gay people to become parents, and the ways in which it does and does not pull them closer into the mainstream, his narrative is often extremely funny. (Joking about Erez's apparently heterosexual inclinations, Green deadpans, "We tried our We played him Judy Garland records and showed him tapes of West Side Story .") A very moving examination of identity and the making of a meaningful adult life that resonates profoundly for people of every sexual orientation. --Wendy Smith

"A collection of comedic essays about the author's life as a reluctant adult"--

"Avital Cohen isn't wearing underpants--woefully, for unsexy reasons. Chronic pelvic pain has forced her to sideline her photography dreams and her love life. It's all she can do to manage her family's kosher bakery, Best Babka in Brooklyn, without collapsing. She needs hired help. And distractingly handsome Ethan Lippmann seems the perfect fit. Except Ethan isn't there to work--he's undercover, at the behest of his ironfisted grandfather. Though Lippmann's is a household name when it comes to mass-produced kosher baked goods, they don't have the charm of Avital's bakery. Or her grandfather's world-famous pumpkin spice babka recipe. As they bake side by side, Ethan soon finds himself more interested in Avital than in stealing family secrets, especially as he helps her find the chronic pain relief--and pleasure--she's been missing. But perfecting the recipe for romance calls for leaving out the lies...even if coming clean means risking everything"--

Someone puts his hand on my shoulder, and when I turn around my knees almost crumble. It's him. Victoria Martin's in a bad way. Falling for Jim, the school hottie, was just the start of it; now she finds herself caught up in major plots to win him over, while at the same time getting rid of his annoyingly gorgeous girlfriend, Gloria. So when she hears that Jim's going to be spending the whole summer on Fire Island, Victoria knows that this is her chance to be noticed and signs herself up for a summer as a mother's helper there. It's got to work! But Victoria's about to learn that first love can easily collapse into sheer disaster...

When lonely, ten-year-old Hal learns that his wealthy but neglectful parents only rented Fleck, the dog he always wanted, he and new friend Pippa take Fleck and four other dogs from the rental agency on a trek from London to Scotland, where Hal's grandparents live.

I believe this book you hold in your hands can help you do two things. First, it can help you recall that ancient conversation we have all had with our Creator, enabling you to recall your life's mission and the gifts you've been given to complete it. And second, it can help you rearrange your gifts for the part of that mission you'll be working on in the next phase of your life. --- foreword by richard bolles

Case histories, demonstrating ways in which parents of gay children have dealt with their fears and guilt are included in this discussion of the problems that often follow the discovery of a son's or daughter's homosexuality.

Covering topics as diverse as the hysteria of competitive parenting (Whose toddler can recite the planets in order from the sun?), the relentless pursuits of the Bad Mother police, balancing the work-family dynamic, and the bane of every mother's existence (homework, that is), Bad Mother illuminates the anxieties that riddle motherhood today, while providing women with the encouragement they need to give themselves a break.

The heartwarming and hilarious part-memoir, part-guide from comedian and father-of-six Ashley Blaker, on parenting, adoption and raising children with special needs. 'A funny, irreverent and loving book' Daily Express 'We had such a variety of experts visiting our home, we really needed a revolving door. All these professionals would watch our son playing while shaking their heads and making tutting sounds, like builders considering a bad job you wanted them to fix. "Tut tut tut. No speech, disordered social skills, sensory issues. This is going to cost you!!"' Ashley Blaker has six children, three of whom have an SEN diagnosis. Between endless meetings, countless therapists, public humiliations, failed playdates, surreal monologues and occasional violence, it's certainly not what anyone would call a 'normal' household - but would he want it any other way? Normal Schmormal is part-memoir, part how-to guide, highlighting the many challenges, as well as the hugely rewarding elements, of parenting children with additional needs. Written with humour, compassion and a lot of love, it's a must-read for parents, carers and teachers of children with SEN, either looking for a bit of support or in need of a very big laugh.

Start this at birth, wrap it up at eighteen, fill it out each year in between. This is not anything like a baby book. It's a birthday book! It was born from the simple idea that birthdays provide the perfect annual opportunity to preserve a sweet moment in time as your child changes from year to year. So it's a multi-layered confection- annual touchstone, cherished ritual, and eternal keepsake. This journal provides fun, fast, and casual birthday activities for ages 1-18 as well as space to stick birthday photos and a random picture from each year, amusing and thought-provoking questions to ask your kid, and a time-capsule envelope for stashing away odds and ends (artwork, school papers, hand tracings, birthday cards, invitations, and other memorabilia). From toddler hood to young adulthood to every hood in between, you'll return to the same four activities for each birthday. The questions prompts, and tone may shift each year, but the essence intentionally remains intact.

Peggy Guggenheim tells of her bourgeois and eccentric family, her pre-war years in Europe, her relationships with Laurence Vail, Samuel Beckett, and other famous people, and her renowned New York gallery

Wrestling with God and Men is the product of Rabbi Steven Greenberg's ten-year struggle to reconcile his homosexuality with Orthodox Judaism. Employing traditional rabbinic resources, Greenberg presents readers with surprising biblical interpretations of the creation story, the love of David and Jonathan, the destruction of Sodom, and the condemning verses of Leviticus. But Greenberg goes beyond the question of whether homosexuality is biblically acceptable to ask how such relationships can be sacred. In so doing, he draws on a wide array of nonscriptural texts to introduce readers to occasions of same-sex love in Talmudic narratives, medieval Jewish poetry and prose, and traditional Jewish case law literature. Ultimately, Greenberg argues that Orthodox communities must open up debate, dialogue, and discussion-precisely the foundation upon which Jewish law rests-to truly deal with the issue of homosexual love. This book will appeal to all people of faith struggling to merge their belief in the scriptures with a desire to make their communities more open and accepting to gay and lesbian members. -- From the back cover

For millennia, two biblical verses have been understood to condemn sex between men as an act so abhorrent that it is punishable by death. Traditionally Orthodox Jews, believing the scripture to be the word of God, have rejected homosexuality in accordance with this interpretation. In 1999, Rabbi Steven Greenberg challenged this tradition when he became the first Orthodox rabbi ever to openly declare his homosexuality. Wrestling with God and Men is the product of Rabbi Greenberg’s ten-year struggle to reconcile his two warring identities. In this compelling and groundbreaking work, Greenberg challenges long held assumptions of scriptural interpretation and religious identity as he marks a path that is both responsible to human realities and deeply committed to God and Torah. Employing traditional rabbinic resources, Greenberg presents readers with surprising biblical interpretations of the creation story, the love of David and Jonathan, the destruction of Sodom, and the condemning verses of Leviticus. But Greenberg goes beyond the question of whether homosexuality is biblically acceptable to ask how such relationships can be sacred. In so doing, he draws on a wide array of nonscriptural texts to introduce readers to occasions of same-sex love in Talmudic narratives, medieval Jewish poetry and prose, and traditional Jewish case law literature. Ultimately, Greenberg argues that Orthodox communities must open up debate, dialogue, and discussion—precisely the foundation upon which Jewish law rests—to truly deal with the issue of homosexual love. This book will appeal not only to members of the Orthodox faith but to all religious people struggling to resolve their belief in the scriptures with a desire to make their communities more open and accepting to gay and lesbian members. 2005 Finalist for the Lambda Literary Awards, for Religion/Spirituality

From the bestselling author of the The House of God comes an ambitious novel about the complicated relationships between mothers and sons, doctors and patients, the past and the present, and love and death... Settled into a relationship with an Italian yoga instructor and working in Europe, Dr. Orville Rose's peace is shaken by his mother's death. On his return to Columbia, a Hudson River town of quirky people and “plagued by breakage,” he learns that his mother has willed him a large sum of money, her 1981 Chrysler, and her Victorian house in the center of town. There's one odd catch: he must live in her house for one year and thirteen days. As he struggles with his decision—to stay and meet the terms of the will or return to his life in Italy—Orville reconnects with family, reunites with former friends, and comes to terms with old rivals and bitter memories. In the process he’ll discover his own history, as well as his mother’s, and finally learn what it really means to be a healer, and to be healed.