Forgiveness is the most difficult thing to give but the most cherished thing to receive.A story from "The Perfect Gift"Beloved mate to two wolves, Heather lived an idyllic life until hunters destroyed the pack s peaceful existence. Believing their mate betrayed them and was responsible for their father s death, Cael and Riyu cut Heather from their lives. But when they realize their terrible mistake, can they ever gain her forgiveness and win back her love?Warning: Warning, this title contains the following: References to m/f/m relationship."

Tales of love and loneliness in which the author blends reality and illusion. “The quirkiness and grace of the writing, the originality of the imagination at work,...and a certain lovable nuttiness make this collection well worth reading” (Margaret Atwood). Translated by William Weaver, Peggy Wright, and Archibald Colquhoun. A Helen and Kurt Wolff Book

In this, her second book of poetry, Ashley Rebecca Kingston draws back a curtain for her readers. She takes them on a journey - a jarring, dramatic journey full of love and woe, fraught with twists and turns. Each line invokes a feeling, each poem paints a picture. Light and dark, night and day. All is here for all to see with such cold, dark, difficult truths laid bare in 51 different poems.In this, her second book of poetry, Ashley Rebecca Kingston draws back a curtain for her readers. She takes them on a journey - a jarring, dramatic journey full of love and woe, fraught with twists and turns. Each line invokes a feeling, each poem paints a picture. Light and dark, night and day. All is here for all to see with such cold, dark, difficult truths laid bare in fifty-one different poems.

Grappling with his son's death, the painter David explores his grief through art and writing, etching out the rippled landscape of his loss.Over twenty years after his son's death, nearly blind and unable to paint, David turns to writing to examine the deep shades of his loss. Despite his acute pain, or perhaps because of it, David observes beauty in the ordinary: in the resemblance of a woman to Egyptian portraits, in the horseshoe crabs that wash up on Coney Island, in the foam gathering behind a ferry propeller; in these moments, González reveals the world through a painter's eyes. From one of Columbia's greatest contemporary novelists, Difficult Light is a formally daring meditation on grief, written in candid, arresting prose.

Maria is, in no particular order: a concept artist at one of Canada's biggest videogame studios, the goddess of Mount Makiling in the Philippines, and in love. And right now, being in love is her biggest problem. Because when Maria falls in love, tragedy and death follow—and always have. For hundreds of years. If she wants to break the cycle, it's going to take everything a goddess, her newly-befriended, anime-obsessed demon-horse, and Canadian national treasure Margaret Atwood have to make it happen.

Successful people confront well. They know that setting healthy boundaries improves relationships and can solve important problems. They have discovered that uncomfortable situations can be avoided or resolved through direct conversation. But most of us don't know how to have difficult conversations, and we see confrontation as scary or adversarial.Authors Henry Cloud and John Townsend take the principles from their bestselling book, Boundaries, and apply them to a variety of the most common difficult situations and relationships in order to: Show how healthy confrontation can improve relationships Present the essentials of a good boundary-setting conversation Provide tips on preparing for the conversation Show how to tell people what you want, stop bad behavior, and deal with counterattack Give actual examples of conversations to have with your spouse, your date, your kids, your coworker, your parents, and...

DON’T LET PROBLEM PEOPLE GET TO YOU!Whether it’s a manager who keeps moving the goal posts, an uncooperative colleague, negative friend, or critical family member, some people are just plain hard to get along with.Often, your immediate response is to shrink or sulk, become defensive or attack. But there are smarter moves to make when dealing with difficult people. This book explains how to cope with a range of situations with difficult people and to focus on what you can change.This book will help you to:Understand what makes difficult people tick and how best to handle themLearn ways to confidently stand up to others and resist the urge to attack backDevelop strategies to calmly navigate emotionally-charged situationsDeal with all kinds of difficult people – hostile, manipulative and the...The EPUB format of this title may not be compatible for use on all handheld devices.

"I can't really believe this is actually happening," said Bobby. "It was only this afternoon that everything seemed wonderful ..." A terrible freak air accident destroys part of Bracken stables, and leaves owner Guy Mathews in hospital, badly injured. Bobby and Heath are left to try and keep the stables going. It is a battle. Bobby has a new horse to school: Phoenix, but she also needs to teach his owner how to ride him. And then there is a disastrous ride where one of their promising young pupils has a fall and loses her nerve ... Bracken Stables's local reputation is taking knocks from which it might not recover. And Bobby is slowly realising Guy means more to her than she realised. With a new introduction by the author, Gillian Baxter, this is the second of the much-loved Bracken Stables series, out of print for 40 years.

"Alouette, gentille alouette. Alouette, je te plumerai..." The jack-in-box began to play against the impact of his finger tips, its cloth body spasming on its spring in laughter at the terror in his eyes. "You wouldn't want to get locked in now would you?" ~Jayden doesn't belong, he has never belonged. An old soul born in the wrong age, plagued by undefined dreams bleeding into his reality."Alouette, gentille alouette. Alouette, je te plumerai..." The jack-in-box began to play against the impact of his finger tips, its cloth body spasming on its spring in laughter at the terror in his eyes. "You wouldn't want to get locked in now would you?"Jayden doesn't belong, he has never belonged. An old soul born in the wrong age, plagued by undefined dreams bleeding into his reality.

Praise For *Toxic People*"From corporate America to the smallest business owner, this book should be mandatory reading because it provides toxic relief that will put money in your pocket and calm in your personality. A dose of this reading would enhance the success of business school students and smooth out a few bumps in a rocky marriage."—Richard L. Labrum, Vice President, Wealth Management, Smith Barney"If you're just sick to death of those people who zap the energy right out of you, Marsha has the cure! In no-nonsense terms, she gives us the prescription for dealing with toxic people. She mixes in the right dosage of personal experience, humor, and practical advice to create a compelling message that is highly relevant in our personal and professional lives. I highly recommend this book to everyone interested in cleaning up toxic behaviors!"—John Ryan, Vice President, American Express"Marsha Petrie Sue is the Muhammad Ali of communicators. She can dance and look pretty, and she uses the entire ring, but she knows how and when to land a knockout punch. If you have bad relationships, you'll learn why. This is charm school with live ammunition!"—David Rawles, founder and President, Career Solutions, Inc."Marsha Petrie Sue's 'take the bull by the horns' approach to self-realization and, if so chosen, self-improvement, is the antidote to today's wimpy leadership malaise. She takes readers by their collars, looks them straight in the eyes, and tells them in no uncertain terms that their key to both personal and professional happiness is attainable only through critical self-evaluation and the will to transcend their current situations."—Randy O'Neill, Senior Vice President, Lancer Insurance Company"She has done it again! She gives us permission to 'sack the toxic people' who suck out our energy. Take Marsha's ticket to freedom: give yourself permission to send the toxic people on their not-so-merry way!"—Dr. Geoff Haw, Consultant, Sagacity Services, Australia"Marsha always finds a way to deliver the most difficult messages in a humorous way (this book is one example). You will be able to apply this book in everyday life and anywhere you encounter people!"—Tina Aguirre, Senior IT Manager, oil and energy companyReview"...provides an array of strategies that will help to decontaminate the most toxic person or situation in a non-aggressive way." Personal Success June 2008 From the Inside FlapThe work world is full of toxic people—whine and cheesers, backstabbers, steamrollers, zipper lips, needy weenies, and know-it-alls. Life is just too short to let difficult people drive you nuts in the office. If you want to decontaminate the toxic people in your workplace, this practical guide to office survival will show you how to do it before they suck the life out of you.This enlightening guide gives you the skills you need to deal with toxic people. Stop doubting your own capabilities and sanity. Don't let them win! Instead, use the survival tactics you'll find here to turn ugly situations with toxic people into a tolerable day at the office—without resorting to hostile or aggressive tactics.In Toxic People, Marsha Petrie Sue offers unique and practical solutions for dealing with difficult people and the conflict and miscommunication they often aggravate. Using real-life case studies and real-world strategies, Sue shows managers and employees alike how to take personal responsibility for their work environment and take the lead in fostering teamwork, morale, and success. Take charge and decontaminate your office with:Seven simple lessons for office survivalSix major types of toxic people and how to recognize themKeys to identify the behaviors that drive you crazy and what to doThe right words to defuse situations and defang toxic typesTips on recognizing lies and insincere behaviorCase studies and true stories on dealing with almost any toxic situationGuidance on developing a positive attitude that rubs off on othersTools to develop a dynamic, productive environment And other skills and tips to keep you and your office conflict-freeDealing with toxic people is a part of life, at work and everywhere else. Using the strategies, tactics, and real-world advice you'll find here, you'll learn to change the way you respond to their toxic waste and stop them from affecting your mood or your work. For happier teams, a happier workplace, and a happier you, put down the duct tape and the stapler, take a deep breath, and read Toxic People.

Manipulators and liars, egomaniacs, bullies, interrupters, condescenders, ice queens, backstabbers, hypocrites, withholders, belligerents, self-deceivers, whiners, know-it-alls, nitpickers: these are some of the characters you'll encounter in Difficult People, a collection of stories that investigates and celebrates difficult people (and some animals). As these characters fumble through their quests for YouTube fame, stand-up glory, romantic love, stable employment or anyone who can tolerate them, they reveal that we are all, in our own ways, difficult people. Praise for Catriona Wright's recent book of poetry, Table Manners: "... a baroque feast of juicy diction and inventive wordplay that explores food as social ritual and slippery signifier of desire." —Barb Carey, The Toronto Star "Deft, dark, and unflinching, Catriona Wright's work is stand-up comedy for the mind." —Emily Schultz, author of The Blondes "If you've...

In the spring of 2005, the gruesome murder of two teenagers in Great Falls Park -a majestic, heavily forested national park near Washington, D.C.-begins an investigation by U.S. Park Police Detective M.J. Powers that will lead her into the darkest corners of the human mind and test her both professionally and personally. A lifelong distance runner, M.J. begins doing her daily runs in the park believing that the murderer may frequent its trails. When she learns of a strange figure seen moving through the park at night during a thunderstorm, the otherwise scenic landscape becomes an ominous backdrop as she seeks to solve the mystery.Driven to find the killer before he strikes again, she enlists the help of a homeless Vietnam veteran, a dedicated park ranger and her partner-who is also her lover-in uncovering the dark secret behind the murders.

A refreshing and fun read with terrific characters and plenty of surprises along the way – the perfect treat' Trisha Ashley Three friends. One surprise inheritance. And the perfect plan to deal with troublesome husbands... Newly divorced Lorna is struggling to adjust to life on her own. When she discovers that her beloved godfather has left her the grand (and crumbling) Ravenscourt House in the heart of Sussex, she soon has a project on her hands. Nathan sells delicious goodies at Mulberry Farm. When he meets Lorna at a Christmas market, neither of them can ignore the chemistry. But as they get to know one another, Lorna wants to know one thing – is he after her or the house? Together with Gloria – whose marriage to alcoholic Adrian has hit rock bottom, and Rosalind – struggling to deal with her womanising husband Ivan, the three friends hatch a plan. They'll ditch their difficult husbands at Ravenscourt House and enjoy stress-free Christmases with their families. But nothing is...

Winner, Australian Literature Society Gold Medal in 1956. Introduction by Sonya Hartnett."Nearly everyone between the ages of eighteen and thirty turns against his family and wants to escape from it. When he is sixty he wants to creep back to the nursery fireside, but it is no longer there."Handsome, proud, reprehensible, misunderstood. Dominic Langton is the dark heart of A Difficult Young Man. His brother Guy can scarcely understand where he fits into the pattern of things or what he might do next. Martin Boyd's much loved novel is an elegant, witty and compelling family tale about the contradictions of growing up.

HE WAS AN OFFICER...BUT NO GENTLEMANOnce a dashing, decorated test pilot, embittered Major Hollis "Griff" Griffin no longer gave a damn about anything--except fulfilling his late aunt's eccentric last request, then leaving all lingering, loving memories behind. But he'd need help, dammit, from one Rose Davenport--surely a fluttery old antiques addict.Yet Rose proved leggy, delectable and mulishly optimistic about restoring castoffs--even unshaven, arrogant, former flyboys like him. Despite her fear of macho males, she bravely evoked Griff's random acts of tenderness, sentimentally spotting a hero beneath his bitterness. But Griff was no hero. So dare he wheedle this wary, wonderful woman into believing they'd share a bed of roses...forever?

It is 1839. Nine-year-old Ethan does not want to be an indentured servant, but his family has no other way to pay off their debt, so Ethan must work for Mr. Lyman, a wealthy shopkeeper in their Massachusetts town. At first, Ethan tries to make friends with the other indentured servant, Daniel, a moody Irish teenager. But Daniel, as everyone says, is a difficult boy, and wants nothing to do with him. Ethan is shocked to see Mr. Lyman beat Daniel. Soon he too is suffering Mr. Lyman's blows. Self-preservation finally drives the two boys together and they begin to form a friendship, but when the boys discover a dark secret about the past, their lives may be changed forever. Set against the exciting backdrop of American history, this stunning first novel from a talented new voice shows what it takes to be a friend.

David Plante's dazzling portraits of three influential women in the literary world, now back in print for the first time in decades.Difficult Women, the book with which David Plante made his name, presents three portraits—each one of them as detailed, textured, and imposing as the those of Lucian Freud—of three extraordinary, complicated, and, yes, difficult women, while also raising intriguing and in their own way difficult questions about the character and motivations of the keenly and often cruelly observant portraitist himself. The book begins with Plante's portrait of Jean Rhys in her old age, when after years of silence that had left her great novels of the 1920s and '30s virtually unknown, she published The Wide Sargasso Sea and became a minor celebrity. Rhys, however, can hardly be said to be enjoying her new success. A terminal alcoholic, she curses and staggers and rants in the hotel room she has chosen to live in like King Lear on...

Nine loosely connected, hypnotic stories about memory and desire showcase one of fiction's bright new voices.In the Scotiabank Giller Prize–winning author Johanna Skibsrud’s new book, nine loosely connected and hypnotic stories introduce an unforgettable cast of characters. A young maid at a hotel in France encounters a man who asks to paint her portrait, only later discovering that the man is someone other than who she thinks. A divorced father, fearing estrangement from his thirteen-year-old daughter, allows her to take the wheel of his car, realizing too late that he’s made a grave mistake. A Canadian girl and her French host stumble on the one story that transcends their language barrier. Youth confronted with the mutterings of old age, restlessness bounded by the muddy confines of a backyard garden, callow hope coming up against the exigencies of everyday life—these are life-defining moments that weave throughout the everyday lives of the remarkable characters in this book. Time and again they find themselves confronted with what they didn’t know they didn’t know, at the exact point of intersection between impossibility and desire. In This Will Be Difficult to Explain Skibsrud has created a series of masterful, perceptive tales.Review“[Johanna Skibsrud’s] prose is as taut as Alice Munro’s, her plots as spare as Mavis Gallant’s. Her characters have startlingly vivid inner lives…Skibsrud’s new book is just as assured [as her novel], and it has the same emotional punch.” (Toronto Life ) About the AuthorJohanna Skibsrud is the author of two collections of poetry. The Sentimentalists, her first novel, won the 2010 Scotiabank Giller Prize, Canada’s most prestigious literary award. She lives in Tucson, Arizona.

How do you know who's on your side, if you don't know whose side you're on? 'Chilling' Erin Kelly, author of He Said/She Said 'Compulsive read' Harriet Tyce, author of Blood Orange 'Enigmatic' Louise Candlish, author of Our House 'Brilliant' Jon Snow, Channel 4 News "I thought it would really take something to kiss my children goodbye one morning and walk out the front door, knowing I wouldn't be back. But in the end, it was simple. The door had already been opened; all I had to do was walk." David is the heir to global company TradeSmart, run by his philanthropic father, Clive Witherall. Meg is an ambitious intern at a national newspaper, determined to break into the media world. Anna is hiding a dark secret, desperately clinging onto her new identity. When the three friends meet Harry, everything changes... As Anna finds herself drawn into the dark and highly controlled world of intelligence, she is forced to question everything she thinks she knows about the people who have...

Lillian Hellman was a giant of twentieth-century letters and a groundbreaking figure as one of the most successful female playwrights on Broadway. Yet the author of The Little Foxes and Toys in the Attic is today remembered more as a toxic, bitter survivor and literary fabulist, the woman of whom Mary McCarthy said, "Every word she writes is a lie, including 'and' and 'the.'" In A Difficult Woman, renowned historian Alice Kessler-Harris undertakes a feat few would dare to attempt: a reclamation of a combative, controversial woman who straddled so many political and cultural fault lines of her time.Kessler-Harris renders Hellman's feisty wit and personality in all of its contradictions: as a non-Jewish Jew, a displaced Southerner, a passionate political voice without a party, an artist immersed in commerce, a sexually free woman who scorned much of the women's movement, a loyal friend whose trust was often betrayed, and a writer of memoirs who repeatedly...

Award-winning author and powerhouse talent Roxane Gay burst onto the scene with An Untamed State and the New York Times bestselling essay collection Bad Feminist (Harper Perennial). Gay returns with Difficult Women, a collection of stories of rare force and beauty, of hardscrabble lives, passionate loves, and quirky and vexed human connection.The women in these stories live lives of privilege and of poverty, are in marriages both loving and haunted by past crimes or emotional blackmail. A pair of sisters, grown now, have been inseparable ever since they were abducted together as children, and must negotiate the elder sister's marriage. A woman married to a twin pretends not to realize when her husband and his brother impersonate each other. A stripper putting herself through college fends off the advances of an overzealous customer. A black engineer moves to Upper Michigan for a job and faces the malign curiosity of her colleagues and the...

In book three in this charming illustrated series, we discover Mr Badger is not only the Special Events Manager of London's grand Boubles Grand Hotel - he is also the Manager of Special Guests.Mr Badger is used to dealing with guests good and bad. But one day - the day of the Philatelic Society Annual Dinner - an extremely difficult guest arrives, demanding the Royal Suite. Just who is this tall and troublesome woman, and why does she look a little familiar?Look out for all the Mr Badger books and follow his adventures at the Boubles Grand Hotel.

A riveting and revealing look at the shows that helped cable television drama emerge as the signature art form of the twenty-first century.In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the landscape of television began an unprecedented transformation. While the networks continued to chase the lowest common denominator, a wave of new shows, first on premium cable channels like HBO and then basic cable networks like FX and AMC, dramatically stretched television’s narrative inventiveness, emotional resonance, and artistic ambition. No longer necessarily concerned with creating always-likable characters, plots that wrapped up neatly every episode, or subjects that were deemed safe and appropriate, shows such as The Wire, The Sopranos, Mad Men, Deadwood, The Shield, and more tackled issues of life and death, love and sexuality, addiction, race, violence, and existential boredom. Just as the Big Novel had in the 1960s and the subversive films of New Hollywood had in 1970s, television shows became the place to go to see stories of the triumph and betrayals of the American Dream at the beginning of the twenty-first century.This revolution happened at the hands of a new breed of auteur: the all-powerful writer-show runner. These were men nearly as complicated, idiosyncratic, and “difficult” as the conflicted protagonists that defined the genre. Given the chance to make art in a maligned medium, they fell upon the opportunity with unchecked ambition.Combining deep reportage with cultural analysis and historical context, Brett Martin recounts the rise and inner workings of a genre that represents not only a new golden age for TV but also a cultural watershed. Difficult Men features extensive interviews with all the major players, including David Chase (The Sopranos), David Simon and Ed Burns (The Wire), Matthew Weiner and Jon Hamm (Mad Men), David Milch (NYPD Blue, Deadwood), and Alan Ball (Six Feet Under), in addition to dozens of other writers, directors, studio executives, actors, production assistants, makeup artists, script supervisors, and so on. Martin takes us behind the scenes of our favorite shows, delivering never-before-heard story after story and revealing how cable TV has distinguished itself dramatically from the networks, emerging from the shadow of film to become a truly significant and influential part of our culture.Review"Following what the journalist Brett Martin identifies as a first burst of literary energy in the 1950s (when the medium was young) and a second in the 1980s (when the forward-thinking television executive Grant Tinker’s MGM Enterprises begat the groundbreaking Hill Street Blues), this moment of ascendancy has become television’s 'Third Golden Age.'”  And in ‘Difficult Men,’ Martin maps a wonderfully smart, lively and culturally astute survey of this recent revelation—starting with a great title that does double duty….Martin writes with a psychological insight that enhances his nimble reporting."—New York Times Book Review"Difficult Men is grand entertainment, and will be fascinating for anyone curious about the perplexing miracles of how great television comes to be."—Wall Street Journal"Martin is a thorough reporter and artful storyteller, clearly entranced with, though not deluded by, his subjects…  In between the delicious bits of insider trading, the book makes a strong if not terribly revelatory argument for the creative process."—Los Angeles Times"Martin offers sharp analysis of the advances in technology and storytelling that helped TV become the 21st century's predominant art form. But his best material comes from interviews with writers, directors, and others who dish about Weiner's egomania, Milch's battles with substance abuse, and Chase's weirdest acid trip ever."—Entertainment Weekly"Enjoyable, wildly readable."—Boston Globe"Martin operates with an enviable fearlessness, painting warts-and-all portraits of autocratic showrunners such as David Milch (Deadwood), David Simon (The Wire) and Matthew Weiner (Mad Men)… Anyone interested in television should read this book, no matter how much or how little they know about the shows it chronicles."—Newsday"Martin's analysis is intelligent and his culture commentary will be of interest to fans of many of today's better-written shows."—Christian Science Monitor"Difficult Men, with its vigorous reporting and keen analysis, is one of those books that crystallizes a cultural moment and lets you savor it all the more."—*Dallas Morning News"Masterful… unveils the mysterious-to-all-but-insiders process that takes place in the rooms where TV shows are written."—New Orleans Times-Picayune“Difficult Men delivers what it promises. Martin had good access to actors, writers and producers . . . Difficult Men is an entertaining, well-written peek at the creative process.”—Fort Worth Star Telegram“A vastly entertaining and insightful look at the creators of some of the most highly esteemed recent television series… Martin’s stated goal is to recount the culmination of what he calls the 'Third Golden Age of Television.'  And he does so with his own sophisticated synthesis or reporting, on-set observations, and critical thinking, proving himself as capable of passing judgment, of parsing strengths and weaknesses of any given TV show, as any reviewer who covers the beat… in short, the sort of criticism that must now extend to television as much as it does to any other first-rate art.”—Bookforum *"[Showrunners are] as complex and fascinating in Martin’s account as their anti-hero protagonists are on the screen…. Breaking Bad, The Shield, and Six Feet Under have dominated the recent cultural conversation in the way that movies did in the 1970s…. Martin thrillingly explains how and why that conversation migrated to the erstwhile 'idiot box.' A lucid and entertaining analysis of contemporary quality TV, highly recommended to anyone who turns on the box to be challenged and engaged."—Kirkus (starred)"Martin deftly traces TV's evolution from an elitist technology in a handful of homes, to an entertainment wasteland reflecting viewers' anomie, to 'the signature American art form of the first decade of the twenty-first century."—*Publishers Weekly*"The new golden age of television drama—addictive, dark, suspenseful, complex, morally murky—finally gets the insanely readable chronicle it deserves in Brett Martin's Difficult Men. This group portrait of the guys who made The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, The Wire, Deadwood, Mad Men and Breaking Bad is a deeply reported, tough-minded, revelatory account of what goes on not just in the writers' room but in the writer's head—the thousand decisions fueled by genius, ego, instinct, and anger that lead to the making of a great TV show. Here, at last, is the real story, and it's a lot more exciting than the version that gets told in Emmy acceptance speeches."—Mark Harris, New York Times bestselling author of Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood"This book taught me a thing or two about how a few weird executives enabled a handful of weirder writers to make shows I still can't believe were on TV. But what I found more interesting—and disturbing—is how it helped me understand why an otherwise lily-livered, civic-minded nice girl like me wants to curl up with a bunch of commandment-breaking, Constitution-trampling psychos—and that's just the cops."—Sarah Vowell, New York Times bestselling author of Unfamiliar Fishes, The Worldly Shipmates, and Assassination Vacation"Aptly titled, and written with verve, humor and constant energy, Difficult Men is as gripping as an episode of The Sopranos or Homeland. Any addict of the new 'golden' television (or extended narratives on premium cable) will love this book. Along the way, it is also one of the smartest books about American television ever written. So don't be surprised if that great creator, David Chase (of The Sopranos), comes out as a mix of Rodney Dangerfield and Hamlet."—David Thompson, author of The Big Screen and The New Biographical Dictionary of Film"Sometime in the recent past the conversation changed. My friends were no longer talking about what movie they'd been to see, but what television show was their latest obsession. Brett Martin's smart and entertaining book illuminates why and how this happened—while treating fans to the inside scoop on the brilliant head cases who transformed a low-brow medium into a purveyor of art."—Julie Salamon, New York Times Bestselling author of The Devil’s Candy and Wendy and the Lost Boys"Brett Martin has accomplished something extraordinary: he has corralled a disparate group of flawed creative geniuses, extracted their tales of struggle and triumph, and melded those stories into a seamless narrative that reads like a nonfiction novel. With characters as rich as these, you can't help but reach the obvious conclusion—Difficult Men would itself make one heck of a TV series."—Mark Adams, New York Times bestselling author of Turn Left at Machu PicchuAbout the AuthorBrett Martin is a Correspondent for GQ and a 2012 James Beard Journalism Award winner. His work has appeared in Vanity Fair, Gourmet, Bon Appetit, The New York Times, The New Yorker, Esquire, Food and Wine, and multiple anthologies. He is a frequent contributor to This American Life. He is the author of The Sopranos: The Book (2007).

From Amelia Earhart to Carrie Fisher, this witty narrative explores what we can learn from the imperfect and extraordinary legacies of 29 iconic women who forged their own unique paths.Smart, sassy, and unapologetically feminine, this elegantly illustrated book is an ode to the bold and charismatic women of modern history. Best-selling author Karen Karbo (The Gospel According to Coco Chanel) spotlights the spirited rule breakers who charted their way with little regard for expectations: Frida Kahlo, Nora Ephron, Hillary Clinton, Amy Poehler, Shonda Rhimes, Elizabeth Taylor, and Helen Gurley Brown, among others. Their lives—imperfect, elegant, messy, glorious—provide inspiration and instruction for the new age of feminism we have entered. Karbo distills these lessons with wit and humor, examining the universal themes that connect us to each of these mesmerizing personalities today: success and style, love and authenticity, daring and courage....