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Set in Sydney and Melbourne between 1932 and 1955, Divided Houses depicts the doomed relationship of Eddie and Vivien, two people whose lives have already been affected by the Great Depression and its aftermath. Eddie takes advantage of Vivien; pregnancy, marriage and children follow. As World War II begins, and the fear of a Japanese invasion grips Australia, Eddie evacuates his family. In 1942, the Bertoli family moves into an Edwardian villa in Toorak which is shared by two other families. Its elegant façade is in sharp contrast with its rat-infested, overcrowded interior. A partition which runs the length of the kitchen is the only physical division. The battles and betrayals of World War II are paralleled in the lives of its inhabitants. Footscray-born Eddie Bertoli is a survivor: clever, brash and opportunistic. His Italian name, a legacy from his grandfather, attracts racist taunts. He makes decent, though flawed attempts to improve his circumstances. He sells condoms. The rubber is perished. He pickles onions. They rot. His battler optimism is undermined by his angry and violent responses to stress, rejection, and life's hardships. Vivien, beautiful, impulsive and rebellious, is trapped by Eddie, but consoled by motherhood. She nurtures and encourages her son John and daughter Cathy who delight in her stories. In response to Eddie's violence and control she seeks relief in self-destructive activities and escapades. John and Cathy are resilient and clear-eyed; their imaginative, amusing games and commentaries are a tender contrast to the family's trials.

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When Michael Mewshaw receives a call from a stranger who says she has reason to believe he is her biological father, Mewshaw realizes he has been half dreading, half hoping for this to happen for over thirty years. Just like the young woman who wants to find the last piece to the puzzle of her life, he thinks it’s possible that in the same process he will discover the answer to questions that have plagued him for decades. But first he has to make sure that she is who she claims to be.In this fascinating memoir, Mewhsaw confronts his own past, the chaos of his family, and complicated memories of the woman he once loved who went on to success as an ambassador, Under Secretary of State and a member of one of America’s most influential families. His unusual role in the baby’s birth, her adoption and, now, her search for her biological parents sets the stage for a revealing personal odyssey that offers a quest for identity and a journey of discovery, an obsession with recapturing the past and righting old wrongs, the constant potential for disappointment balanced against the possibility of redemption. As he finds his old flame and her old lover, rediscovering who he was and who he has become, he finds his life enriched in the process.

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In light of the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in Japan, the remarkable personal story that comprises Fear Itself becomes a cautionary tale.Unwittingly exposed to low-level radiation in the 1940s, Candida Lawrence has lived courageously with its effects throughout her life. Fear Itself traces her years struggling to have a child and her slow waking to the secrets that governments and institutions withheld from the women of her generation. The task for her—and for women who have shared her experience—has always been to believe herself into wholeness and to survive her losses and her illnesses until there is nothing left to fear. As always, Lawrence’s writing is filled with smart, gentle anger, sweet sadness and the most private sense of what is vital and important.In Fear Itself, Lawrence’s deeply felt remembrances grant us an honest account of what it is to live in an unstable world. It is a truly personal account that sheds wide light on the world’s ongoing nuclear decisions.What personal life story could be more timely?

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Does a man fall in love with a country first or the woman he finds there?And which love is finally the greatest?In this elegant account of his falling for the Spanish woman he married 30 years ago, Lamar Herrin opens his heart, his natural skepticism, and an American’s awe of history to a complex nation that is both rich in tradition and astoundingly foreign.Portraying himself as a Quixote in love with Romance, Herrin allows us to watch as he struggles to win the woman who will finally open her arms to him in a world where the Church and Bureaucracy are unwilling to.By turns comic and moving — and always lyrical — there are beauty and good heart enough in this eloquent book for travelers and lovers alike.

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After her divorce, Kate Kindred decided that she would live her life without children. But then she fell in love with Jim, a handsome, caring man who had custody of his two-year-old son, Michael. And she fell in love with the boy, too. During the six years they all lived together, Kate learned the deep joys of motherhood—that was the gift that Michael gave her. But when her relationship with Jim ended, he denied her any contact with Michael.And her heart was broken.An Accidental Mother beautifully describes the joys of mothering a young boy through complicated times. With sweet simple anecdotes and complex emotions, Kate Kindred marks every page with tears, including those that the most loving laughter can bring to any parent.

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Kisses, even the ones that don’t happen, can be the trace of what’s constant when life changes. In childhood, when what seems to define everything is competition—for style, for knowing, for experience—a kiss is the first first. When a girl’s father moves out and chooses a new family, a kiss on the head from him may be the trace of constancy that she wants most.Later, such things take on a different flavor. Sometimes the kiss she wants doesn’t come. Sometimes the one she wouldn’t have is forced upon her. From time to time, the one she has kissed before is lost to her.Some kisses are final. When things are most hectic a kiss can be a celebration. And when circumstances grow threatening—to a woman, her family, her sister—a kiss becomes the reassertion of the most vital connections.The rich story in these essays rings with good humor and with moving wistfulness. Throughout, Sternbach maintains a perfect balance between them as her story moves from the bittersweet desires of childhood on through loss and love.Reading Lips is the tale of one woman who is just trying to get life right.

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On a hot summer day in August of 1892, a double murder took place in Fall River, Massachusetts. Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Borden were killed in their own home by a person or persons unknown who attacked them with an axe or hatchet-type implement. As of today, the case is still unsolved and open. Many millions of words have been written about the events of that day, and people still go to the home (now a Bed and Breakfast) on Second Street and think about the bloody crime that happened there so long ago.<br> This book will take you back to the crime scene and bring to light the name and face of the one who stood over those victims with a bloody hatchet in her hand&mdash;Emma Borden!<br> In folklore, however, it is Lizzie and not Emma that killed their father. Except for Prof. Masterton who maintained Lizzie&#39;s innocence in his book Lizzie Didn&#39;t Do It!, with Elaine Watson, Emma Borden now takes center stage. Did Emma do it?

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Jim Clark shares his experiences as a highly successful film editor at a time when films were a true collaboration of talented individuals.<br><br>The legendary &quot;Doctor&quot; Clark was the man who could make sick films healthy again. The role of editor in the collective, collaborative process that is the making of any film is massively important but not one that is generally recognized outside the small pond that is the filmmaking community. In this wonderfully enjoyable memoir, this point becomes steadily obvious, but it is made with subtlety, discretion, and modesty. The book is also a history of the post-war film industry in England and America as well as an autobiography. As William Boyd wrote in his Introduction, &quot;The trouble with writing an autobiography is that you can&#39;t really say what a great guy you are, what fun you are to work with and hang out with, what insight and instinct you have about the art form of cinema, and how much and how many film directors are indebted to you.&quot;

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