Adult Essay

When Jackie Schuld’s therapist suggested she might be autistic, she scoffed. She knew there was no way she could be autistic. She was in her mid-30s and ran her own therapy private practice. Everything she learned about autism in her Master’s program in mental health counseling didn’t apply to her. She could make excellent eye contact. She could engage in deep conversations. She could attend social gatherings. She could make it through abrupt changes and remain flexible. How could she be autistic? The more she learned about autism — how it internally impacts autistics and how it can...

Natalie Beach became an internet sensation when her essay on her toxic friendship with Instagram influencer Caroline Calloway went viral. Now, for the first time, and in her own indelible voice, Beach offers a revelatory glimpse into her own life alongside a broader cultural criticism of the world we live in today. Through stories of heartbreak, odd jobs, political activism, existential crises and low-rise jeans, Natalie Beach explores the high stakes and absurdist comedy of coming of age in a world gone mad.

Those who have had a narcissistic parent can testify to how damaging it can be to one's psyche. Narcissistic parents lack empathy, show a severe sense of entitlement to micromanage the lives of their children, and often subject their children to neglect, as well as emotional, psychological, and physical abuse. From the unique challenges daughters of narcissistic fathers face to the ways in which adverse childhood experiences affect our brains, Shahida Arabi's insightful essays resonate deeply with those who have been raised by narcissistic parents.

Jimmy Lee Hickam grew up along Red Dog Road, a dead-end strip of gravel and mud buried deep in the bowels of Appalachian Ohio. It is the poorest road, in the poorest county, in the poorest region of the state. To make things worse, the name Hickam is synonymous with trouble. Jimmy Lee hails from a heathen mix of thieves, moonshiners, drunkards, and general anti-socials that for decades have clung to both the hardscrabble hills and the iron bars of every jail cell in the region. This life, Jimmy Lee believes, is his destiny, someday working with his drunkard father at the sawmill, or sitting next to his arsonist brother in the penitentiary.

The extraordinarily evocative stories depict the generation born in a small-town America during the Depression and growing up in a world where the old sexual morality was turned around and material comforts were easily had. Yet, as these stories reflect so accurately, life was still unsettling, and Updike chronicles telling moments both joyful and painful. The texts are taken from his recent omnibus, The Early Stories, 1953-1975.

Most high school students never have received any instruction in how to write a personal essay. Yet at a time when getting admitted to their dream college is more competitive than ever, the admissions essay may turn out to be the single most important thing they will ever write. The stakes are high. In Writing Tools for the College Essay, veteran journalist and writing coach Roy Peter Clark shows how any student can showcase their unique achievements, intellect, and attributes to stand out from the crowd.

How do you navigate a world that wasn’t made for you? A Good Calamity: Useful Essays and Poems on Living with a Disability is a sharp, heartfelt collection that examines the complexities of life with a disability. Through witty essays and poignant poems, the award-winning author offers a raw, humorous, and thought-provoking exploration of resilience, identity, and the often invisible struggles faced in everyday life. With unflinching honesty, this collection challenges societal perceptions, providing a unique perspective on the triumphs and frustrations of living in a body that doesn't ...

From beloved family companions to therapy animals, search and rescue canines, and other animals who help their human partners heal, learn, and grow, there are compelling reasons to believe that animals and people are inextricably and deeply connected to one another. With stories and research about horses who heal, dogs who help children read, cats who save the lives of their owners, and pigs, sheep, ducks, and llamas who help reduce stress and lift the spirits of people, Beall shows how animals are in action across the United States at nursing homes, at hospitals, and at rehabilitation ...

Turner Classic Movies offers an endlessly fascinating look at 52 beloved screen adaptations and the great reads that inspired them. Some films, like Clueless—Amy Heckerling’s interpretation of Jane Austen’s Emma—diverge wildly from the original source material, while others, like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, shift the point of view to craft a different experience within the same story. Author Kristen Lopez explores just what makes these works classics of both the page and screen, and why each made for an exceptional adaptation.

Dogs have masters; cats have staff. That old saying reflects the conventional wisdom about our favorite pets. Cats are described as independent and aloof. But that stereotype clashes with the reality of untold cat companions, who know that their felines can be just as affectionate, devoted, and trainable as any dog. Like Henry who rescued lost cats. Or Basil, a licensed therapist who comforts hospital patients and staff, hospice-care residents, and trauma victims. Or Belle, who repaid being rescued from a sewer in Costa Rica by becoming a devoted nurse during his caretaker's lengthy illness...

You know those people who always seem calm, organized, and emotionally stable? Yeah. This book is not about them. Welcome to the unfiltered confessions of someone who has spent a lifetime pretending to be normal—and failing spectacularly. From turning therapy into stand-up comedy, to surviving public meltdowns in Costco, to attempting yoga while emotionally unwell and allergic to spandex, this is your backstage pass to one person’s absurd journey through modern life. Equal parts chaos and charm, this book doesn’t teach you how to fix your life. It just lets you laugh so hard you ...

These essays recount his adventures alone and with friends, taking listeners through the seasons. In Paulsen’s north country, every expedition is a major one, and often hilarious. Once again Gary Paulsen demonstrates why he is one of America’s most beloved writers, for he shows us fishing and hunting as pleasure, as art, as companionship, and as source of life’s deepest lessons.

Andrew Sean Greer can’t wait to get home to San Francisco after a writer’s residency in Kansas. But when his mother, Sandra, decides to come along for the ride, he has a new goal: get her to crack a smile at every stop, whether breathtaking or breathtakingly kitschy. He’s always known his mother to be as efficient and serious as a chemist (which she happens to be), always in gray, eyebrow cocked, and handling challenges with grace. To mix things up, Andrew develops an elaborate itinerary of planned chaos.

I was gonna write a more detailed description but I got drunk instead and pissed myself. I'm still gonna write it tho /\ /\ DOWNLOAD TODAY /\ /\

Author Lucy-Anne Holmes has spoken to women from around the globe, ranging in age from 19-75, as they reveal their innermost thoughts and feelings during sex. The result is an incredible compendium of true disclosures that are funny and sad, shocking and tender. Women on Top of the World will be a provocative collection of female voices. It promises to contribute to the changing way women are now talking about their sexuality, and their journeys toward self-discovery.

Books are disappearing from shelves across the country. What does this mean for authors, illustrators, and—most crucially—for young readers? This bold collection of fiction, memoir, poetry, graphic narratives, essays, and other genres explores book bans through various lenses, and empowers teens to fight back. From moving personal accounts to clever comebacks aimed at censorship, fifteen legendary YA authors and illustrators confront the high-stakes question of what is lost when books are kept from teens.

Jiordan's family was never quite like everyone else's, with her father's mood swings, her mother's attempts at normalcy, and her two older sisters with a different last name. But on the surface, they fit in. Until the day the FBI came knocking on the door. After that, her father's mood plunged to a dangerous new low. After that, there was an investigation into his business and a sentencing in court. Soon Jiordan's father would have to leave home, and her family would change forever.

1,000 Sentence Starters: A Writer’s Essential Toolkit Unlock the power of the perfect opening line! Whether you’re a student, teacher, novelist, blogger, or business writer, this comprehensive collection of 1,000 carefully crafted sentence starters will help you banish writer’s block and spark fresh ideas instantly. Organized into 10 specialized chapters—from academic and persuasive writing to creative storytelling, personal reflection, and descriptive scenes—this book offers ready-to-use prompts for every writing situation. Each sentence starter is designed to: Inspire creativity...

This short story chronicles one particular night in Samantha's life where she attended an ugly Christmas sweater party and crossed paths with a boy she went to high school with. Throughout her senior year, he seemed to linger on the peripherary of her life, though he never seemed interested enough to take action. Now that they find themselves alone in a mutual friend's kitchen at the party, adrift in a sea of strangers, defenses crumble and a true human connection sparks. This short story is told from the perspective of an older Smantha reflecting on her past and wondering what could have ...

Limit Breaker and Tough Love are collections of stories designed to help you improve your communication skills.