A memoir of spiritualism and self-discovery from the acclaimed, award-winning author At fifty, Alix Kates Shulman, author of the celebrated feminist novel, Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Queen , left a city life dense with political activism, family and literary community, and went to live alone on an island off the coast of Maine. On a windswept beach, in a cabin with no plumbing, power, or telephone, she found that she was learning to live all over again. In this luminous, spirited book, she charts her subsequent path as she learned not simply the joys of meditative solitude, but to integrate her new awareness into a busy, committed, even hectic mainland life. “A ten-year voyage of discovery . . . Shulman's honesty and sense of inquiry carry us with her all the way--could even, if we were willing, change our lives.” — San Francisco Sunday Examiner & Chronicle

Joseph Epstein demonstrates time and again his talent for taking nearly any subject and polishing it into a gem of sparkling wit and fascination. In Narcissus Leaves the Pool, he displays his signature verve and charm in sixteen agile, entertaining pieces. Among his targets in this collection are name-dropping, talent versus genius, the cult of youthfulness, and the information revolution.

Argentina is the only country in the Americas that has successfully erased the presence of Indians, Africans, and mestizos from its national story. Official documents, reports, and censuses have largely omitted any references to the country's non-European inhabitants, mirroring official policies that once included the extermination of indigenous peoples and continued to encourage Europeanization well into the twentieth century. In Captive Women, Susana Rotker exposes this concerted act of forgetting by looking at a historical phenomenon that has been expunged from the national record: the widespread kidnapping of white women by Argentine Indians in the nineteenth century.Captivity narratives form a major part of the early colonial literature of the United States, but Argentina has no such tradition. These narratives contradict Argentina's carefully shaped self-image, one historically based on the absence of aboriginal peoples and the impossibility of miscegenation. Captive Women uses close and imaginative readings of military documents, government treaties, travel journals, essays, and memoirs to explore the foundations of Argentina's strategies of silence and its negation of uncomfortable historical realities.

A study based on ca. 700 personal stories of Jewish survivors of Ravensbrück, including ca. 200 testimonies held in the Yad Vashem archives; information from memoirs; and interviews conducted with survivors after the war or during 1997-2005 by Agassi and the team of scholars from Israel and Germany who worked with her, as well as with relatives of survivors who are no longer alive. The percentage of Jews among Ravensbrück prisoners was small, thus this camp was sometimes neglected by scholars of the Holocaust. Divides the history of the Ravensbrück camp (1939-45) into five periods, and presents a sociological portrait of the Jewish population in each period. Gives the distribution of the Jewish prisoners by countries of origin, reasons for arrest and incarceration, age, marital status, etc. Dwells on the prisoners in the satellite camps, the evacuation marches in the last stage of the war, and the rescue of some of the prisoners by Count Bernadotte in February-March 1945. Notes manifestations of antisemitism on the part of some non-Jewish prisoners. There was little group-wide social organization among non-political Jewish prisoners in Ravensbrück, only small group relationships. Resistance was limited to small-scale sabotage at in work places. Nonetheless, the very survival in Ravensbrück constituted a type of heroism.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: A Cultural Memoir and Other Essays is a collection of previously unpublished writing by National Post columnist Barbara Kay. This wide-ranging selection includes original essays - notably the title essay, a mini-memoir of the cultural and intellectual influences that shaped Kay's worldview - as well as a discursive ramble through the bizarre subculture of the pit bull advocacy movement. In between, readers familiar with Kay's weekly columns over the last ten years will find elaborated commentaries on her niche subjects: the negative impact of feminism on our public institutions and families, the erosion of academic integrity in the universities and our politically correct "rights" culture's sub-version of social and civic reciprocity in Canadian communities.

Kim Chernin is renowned for her prolific writing -- including fiction and memoir -- on issues affecting women's lives, ranging from eating disorders and sex to relationships. In The Woman Who Gave Birth to Her Mother, she offers readers a culmination of that work -- a fully integrated vision that will help women resolve their lifelong struggles with their mothers and become fully independent, capable people. Exploring six compelling case histories of women who have resolved these issues in unique and creative ways, Chernin offers her own insights based on years of working with women in therapy, and on her own problematic relationship with her daughter. A tour de force of analysis, compassion, and erudition, this exciting, important work is further evidence that Chernin is "blessed with the eloquence of a poet and the gifts of a born therapist" (San Francisco Chronicle).

Part memoir, part commentary, Life on the Fringes charts a startling Jewish feminist journey both solitary and engaging. Haviva Ner-David draws us into the many facets of her life's story: a complex modern Orthodox childhood (including a battle with anorexia); adherence to a unique combination of Jewish observances; the emergence of her feminist commitments and support of gays and lesbians in Jewish life; a serious engagement with Jewish texts -- and now, studying for rabbinic ordination with an Orthodox rabbi in Israel, where Ner-David and her family have made their home. Over time, we see Ner-David take on both traditionally male practices -- donning a tallit and tefillin every day, wearing tzitzit at all times -- as well as those of traditional Jewish women -- covering her head, and observing in great detail the laws of niddah which govern a woman's separation from her husband in the days surrounding her menstrual period. Her personal wrestling and her halakhic analysis help us see Jewish tradition in new, more textured ways -- and lets us see new possibilities for our own lives. Writing with warmth, vision, and passion, Ner-David unwraps her often startling package of Jewish choices, inviting readers into her many worlds, even as she challenges us to examine and deepen our own allegiances and Jewish feminist journeys. No one who takes seriously the intersection of feminism and traditional Judaism will be able to ignore this book.

Molly Picon began as a child actor in the Yiddish Theatre at age six. Picon went on to appear in many films, beginning with silent movies. In 1934, Picon had her own musical comedy radio show, Picon went on to appear in many TV shows and her final role was as Roger Moore's mother in cameo appearances in the comedies Cannonball Run and its sequel Cannonball Run II. In "So Laugh a Little" the famous Yiddish actress, has written a funny and poignant book describing her life journey all the while paying homage to the many life lessons learned from her grandmother. Molly's grandmother came to Philadelphia from Russia and helped raise Molly and encourage her in her career in show business. Part autobiography, part common-sense wisdom, this book will engage and entertain you through every chapter. Starting with Molly's early start in Yiddish to her later success in her own stage show and on to many TV and film roles, Molly shares life advice that is just as important to hear today as it was when the book was originally published in 1962.

"Here is a singular story of survival, an earthly miracle wrought by family devotion, gardens, horses, guts. A compelling read."—Carolyn Heilbrun In July 1998, when Maxine Kumin's horse bolted at a carriage-driving clinic, she was not expected to live. Yet, less than a year later, her progress pronounced a miracle by her doctors, she was at work on this journal of her astonishing recovery. She tells of her time "inside the halo," the near-medieval device that kept her head immobile during weeks of intensive care and rehabilitation, of the lasting "rehab" friendships, and of the loving family who always believed she would heal. "[S]he resonates wisdom while announcing a triumph of body and soul."—Anne Roiphe, New York Times Book Review "Maxine Kumin brings the sensitivity and imagination of a poet to her extraordinary ordeal."—Richard Selzer, author of Mortal Lessons: Notes on the Art of Surgery "From a singular experience she has created a lesson that is universal, which, it seems to me, is the essence of being a poet."—Abraham Verghese, author of The Tennis Partner

"What amazes about this book is not only the wonderful writing and passionate honesty, but the fact that it is so much fun to read." -Erica Jong "Fans of Birstein's work will not be disappointed by this memoir, which expands on much of the colorful narrative found in her superb biography of her father. The Rabbi on Forty-seventh Street, and delves deeper into her Hell's Kitchen Childhood, college life the heady world of New York intellectuals her turbulent marriage to (Alfred) Kazin." - Publishers Weekly "Birstein is a graceful writer, and she's also very funny." - Jewish Week

At twenty, Alix Kates Shulman wrenched herself from her middle-class family and staked a claim to a fierce independence. Through her bestselling writings she has chronicled what it means to defy the expectations of family and society in order to map one's own life. Now, in this unflinching but tender memoir, she explores what it means to do what is expected of a daughter -- discovering in the process the unexpected, complicated joys of going home.

Explore the life and legacy of one of France's most celebrated women writers with "Famous Women: George Sand," a biography by Bertha Thomas. This meticulously prepared edition offers a window into the 19th century and the extraordinary life of Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin, known to the world as George Sand. Delve into the story of a woman who defied societal expectations and carved her own path as a novelist, challenging conventions and captivating readers with her passionate prose. This biography examines Sand's literary contributions and her significant role in French literature. Discover the key moments and influences that shaped Sand's life and work, solidifying her place as a prominent figure and enduring symbol of female authorship. "Famous Women: George Sand" is a valuable resource for those interested in biography, women's studies, and the rich tapestry of 19th-century literary history. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

It is no secret that happiness was spread a little thinly in Claire Rayner's far from easy childhood. Born in Stepney, East London, in the early 30s during the Depression, she was evacuated during the war. Choosing nursing as a career, she lied about her age in order to enrol as a cadet in the Epsom Cottage Hospital in Surrey, after which she studied at the Royal Northern, winning their gold medal for achievement. Thus began a lifetime's passion for proper medical care for all, a passion that has made Rayner one of Britain's most important and successful campaigners. She is a patron of more than 60 social and charitable organisations, but it is as advice columnist extraordionaire that she is most famous. columns in The Sun and later The Sunday Mirror. At one point Rayner was receiving 1000 letters a week. Working from home, with six secretaries, she read every single letter that came to her.

Book by Aharoni, Ada

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.