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“Papa explains the war like this: ‘When the elephants dance, the chickens must be careful.’ The great beasts, as they circle one another, shaking the trees and trumpeting loudly, are the Amerikanos and the Japanese as they fight. And our Philippine Islands? We are the small chickens.” Once in a great while comes a storyteller who can illuminate worlds large and small, magical and true to life. When the Elephants Dance introduces us to the incandescent voice of Tess Uriza Holthe, who sets her remarkable first novel in the waning days of World War II, as the Japanese and the Americans engage in a fierce battle for possession of the Philippine Islands. The Karangalan family and their neighbors huddle for survival in the cellar of a house a few miles from Manila. Outside the safety of their little refuge the war rages on—fiery bombs torch the beautiful Filipino countryside, Japanese soldiers round up and interrogate innocent people, and from the hills guerillas wage a desperate campaign against the enemy. Inside the cellar, these men, women, and children put their hopes and dreams on hold as they wait out the war, only emerging to look for food, water, and medicine. Through the eyes of three narrators, thirteen-year-old Alejandro Karangalan, his spirited older sister Isabelle, and Domingo, a passionate guerilla commander, we see how ordinary people must learn to live in the midst of extraordinary uncertainty, how they must find hope for survival where none seems to exist. They find this hope in the dramatic history of the Philippine Islands and the passion and bravery of its people. Crowded together in the cellar, the Karangalans and their friends and neighbors tell magical stories to one another based on Filipino myth and legend to fuel their courage, pass the time, and teach important lessons.

In a fusion of fact and fiction, nineteenth-century women institutionalized as hysterics reveal what history ignored “ City of Incurable Women is a brilliant exploration of the type of female bodily and psychic pain once commonly diagnosed as hysteria—and the curiously hysterical response to it commonly exhibited by medical men. It is a novel of powerful originality, riveting historical interest, and haunting lyrical beauty.” — Sigrid Nunez , author of The Friend and What Are You Going Through “Where are the hysterics, those magnificent women of former times?” wrote Jacques Lacan. Long history’s ghosts, marginalized and dispossessed due to their gender and class, they are reimagined by Maud Casey as complex, flesh-and-blood people with stories to tell. These linked, evocative prose portraits, accompanied by period photographs and medical documents both authentic and invented, poignantly restore the humanity to the nineteenth-century female psychiatric patients confined in Paris’s Salpêtrière hospital and reduced to specimens for study by the celebrated neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot and his male colleagues. Maud Casey is the author of five books of fiction, including The Man Who Walked Away , and a work of nonfiction, The Art of Mystery: The Search for Questions . A Guggenheim Fellow and recipient of the St. Francis College Literary Prize, she teaches at the University of Maryland.

After living under the same roof with his in-laws for four devastating years, Zayn Larson finally realized who it was that made all his sacrifices worthwhile. One day he would return the top, and none would stand in his way. It was all because he had his true love who wanted to lay in his arms beneath the sparkling sky.

Dylan Moore did not marry Nora Smith out of love. Their vows were exchanged under his sheer desperation and imminent need for survival after being kicked out of his own family after investing in a venture deemed futile by the rest of his family. Despite being viewed as less than a man by his wife, Dylan found himself falling in love with her during the two years of their union. Now that things are finally looking up for him again financially, he has one and only one goal: He would obliterate the people who once considered him the lowest of the low, people who'd offered him nothing but derision and ridicule while he waded through the most difficult time of his life. Dylan will make his name known again, and this time, he will not fail.

A simple step-by-step guide that allows you to realistically apply the Law of Attraction to improve your life and achieve the next level of practical understanding. Why is it that we see very young people becoming millionaires these days? Or older athletes in the Olympics winning medals when people thought they didn’t have a chance? And how about former Senator Barack Obama running for president and being the first African American in US history to win the presidency when many thought it was impossible? It is because these individuals have learned how to use the Law of Attraction—they have learned how to believe something is possible, even while others don’t. Whether it is presidential elections, sports, or anything, for that matter, what we believe directly determines our destiny. In these pages, for the first time ever, you will find the Law of Attraction explained in a simple and practical manner. While so many other books claiming to explain the Law of Attraction have cajoled their readers with inspiring statements and complicated theorizing, this book will actually teach you how to apply it to your daily life. So, are you ready to start attracting good things into your life? You are only pages away from finding out the real secret ...

They say librarians are old-fashioned. I’m anything but. As a 23-year-old woman I have my whole life ahead of me, and I’m in no rush to settle down. But my favorite patron of the Golden Creek Library has a different opinion … and at 72, Charles McArthur is hard to argue with. He wants to set me up with his grandson and I don’t have the heart to say no. When my date comes to my door, I am oh-so-glad I said yes. Chuck McArthur is a tall, dark, and handsome man who happens to love books as much as I do. He calls me Cookie, just like his gramps, and I’m more than eager for him to have a taste. Luckily for me, he likes a woman with some curves, and lucky for him, his dirty talk is quickly becoming my favorite sound. Best part? Chuck and I want the exact same thing: a no strings attached relationship But when tragedy strikes, everything changes. I may like it when he talks wordy to me … but maybe I need more than talk. Maybe I need forever.

Kaze Lee just married the woman of his life, Darcy Quint, but on the night of their wedding, his family sent him to fight in a war on behalf of his brother. Forced to leave his wife alone, he fought many brutal battles and won many of them, ultimately winning the war. He returned with glory and honor, but his wicked brother poisoned him because of jealousy, turning him into a retard. Fortunately, an intimate session with his wife cured him. Never forgetting the oppression of his family and the insults he received from the world, he ought to take revenge on those who hurt him and his wife now that he had awakened.

Customer Success Leads to Your Success If you liked Crucial Conversations , The Challenger Sale or books by Grant Cardone, you’ll love Closing the Sale . Guide the conversation. Closing is a process, not an event. In the closing process, there are inevitably many conversations with a variety of potential clients. Closing the Sale will teach you how to influence good decisions to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes from these conversations. Turn talking into decision making. For clients, decision making can seem daunting. They may often favor the noncommittal "maybe" over the decisive "yes" or "no." Essential Secrets to Closing the Sale will teach you how to help your clients make the best possible decisions for both their business goals and your own. Customer success is your success. Closing the Sale will show you how to attain the only real success. the win-win situation. Because the more you focus on creating success for your clients, the more successful you will be. Closing the Sale will teach you the five essential skills to the sale closing process: Identify the End in Mind Decision Address Client Key Beliefs Resolve Objections Prepare the Conditions for Good Decision Making Open Purposefully, Close Powerfully

Anyone who opts for self-employment quickly learns that succeeding as your own boss is no walk in the park. While professional freedom has many, many joys, it also involves significant risks. If you’re considering self-employment, or you’re already self-employed, The Self-Employment Survival Guide: Proven Strategies to Succeed as Your Own Boss alerts you to the challenges involved and provides proven strategies for surmounting these obstacles and succeeding. You’ll also learn what you need to put in place before taking the leap to being your own boss to help assure your success. Working for yourself offers personal freedoms and rewards, but the road can curve or travel uphill at times. Here, Jeanne Yocum shares eight key behaviors that impede success and provides proven solutions for the various obstacles that might cross your path, including unreasonable client demands, slow payers, unexpected client defections, daily schedules, health and financial planning, and the feelings of isolation that can sometimes accompany working on your own. Unlike many books that provide only a rose-colored view of self-employment, this book gives a full, realistic view of what being your own boss is actually like. By learning about the ups and downs that come with being in charge of your own livelihood, you will be better able to handle the demands of self-employment and succeed on your own terms.

When the cynic... Fredi doesn’t believe in love. She might be a successful bridal gown designer but that’s just business. Sure, she’s watched her three best girlfriends fall head over heels with the men of their dreams but she’s certain that’s not in the cards for her. That doesn’t mean that she’s not interested in some fun with a handsome movie star––one who just happens to be her assigned date for her best friend’s wedding in Monaco. Meets the movie star... Zayn’s used to women falling at his feet so he’s utterly captivated by Fredi’s quick wit and her refusal to be impressed by him. Their chemistry is off the charts and their connection is something unexpected. Sparks are about to fly... With only a few days before Fredi disappears back to her life, Zayn is determined to convince her that she can trust him with the one thing she swore to never give anyone–her heart. Each book in the Girls Weekend Away series is STANDALONE: * What Happens in Vegas * Meet Me In San Francisco * The Nashville Bet * A Match Made in Monaco