Bears Tears

Already a number-one London Sunday Times best seller, Mud, Sweat, and Tears is the adrenaline-fueled autobiography of the mega-popular star of the hit survival series Man vs. Wild, adventurer Bear Grylls. A former British Special Forces commando, a man who has always sought the ultimate in dangerous challenges, Bear's true story reads like an outdoors action-and-adventure novel. But Bear's story is true - full of breathtaking escapes and remarkable exploits that would make any Jack London or H. Ryder Haggard hero proud.

In 1838, 13,000 Cherokee were forced to leave their home in the Southeast and walk 900 miles to present-day Oklahoma. Hunger, cold, and disease threatened their very survival. Their grueling trek - the Trail of Tears - takes on new immediacy and meaning with this stunning work of fiction. Maritole loses not only her home and her settled life in North Carolina, but also many of the people closest to her. A chorus of voices joins hers to vividly recreate the tragic story of the Cherokee removal.

Bear Grylls is a man who has always sought the ultimate in adventure. Growing up on the Isle of Wight, he was taught by his father to sail and climb at an early age. As a teenager he found identity and purpose through both mountaineering and martial arts, which led the young adventurer to the foothills of the mighty Himalaya and a grandmaster's karate training camp in Japan.

Beverly Washburn was one of Hollywood's most familiar child actors during the 1950s and '60s, a consummate performer who excelled at both comedy and drama with equal ease. Renowned for her uncanny ability to cry on cue, she appeared in countless television shows during the medium's Golden Age, and many of the era's best-loved movies, including Walt Disney's Old Yeller, The Greatest Show on Earth, Shane, and Spider Baby, just to name a few.

For 15 year-old Natasha Smithson-Blair, life couldn't get any worse. The shocking news of her parents' divorce on top of her own deep, dark secret threatens to tip her over the edge-until her best friend suggests joining her on a mission trip in Mexico. Intrigued by this absurd, yet strangely enticing notion, Natasha tentatively agrees to leave her spoiled-rich-girl life behind and embarks upon an emotional journey of both devastation and joy. Facing ugly truths and beautiful promises, Natasha's ice-princess facade is penetrated by a love so compelling it cannot be ignored.

Budding ballerina, Bethany St.Clair wakes up in a hospital bed, confused and in pain. After celebrating her fourteenth birthday at the Nutcracker ballet with her parents, she remembers beginning the car ride home to unwrap her final birthday present. Her life unravels before her when she realizes she is the sole survivor from the vehicle. With a severely broken leg and a crushed spirit, Bethany is left in the loving care of her aunt Alice, and the young ballerina's desperate struggles begin.