Overcoming Tragedy

1963. Cape Kennedy, Florida. The world is watching the skies— but five women are fighting battles no one sees. When Josephine Booker’s husband is chosen for NASA’s elite astronaut program, she leaves behind snowy Minnesota for a life of sunshine, press conferences, and expectations she never asked for. In Stardust Beach—a brand-new town built to support the space race—Jo is expected to be the perfect wife, mother, and symbol of American grace. But behind the smiles and poolside interviews, her marriage is quietly cracking under the pressure. The danger isn’t just in space. ...

Everyone thinks Barbie Roman has it all. But this time, being perfect might cost her everything. With her picture-perfect looks, polished manners, and political pedigree, Barbie Roman was raised to play the role of the ideal daughter, wife, and mother. From an exclusive enclave in Connecticut to the sun-soaked shores of Stardust Beach, she’s spent her life smiling, supporting, and staying silent. But now, the stakes are too high—and Barbie’s time as the quiet good girl is running out. Her husband Todd is one of NASA’s rising stars, and with three young sons at home, Barbie should be...

She gave up the spotlight to protect her heart. Now the past is demanding an encore. Once destined for Broadway stardom, Francesca “Frankie” Lombardi left New York—and dancing—behind after a devastating betrayal stole her spark. Reinvented as the glamorous wife of NASA astronaut Ed Maxwell, Frankie plays the role of confident hostess and loyal friend in Stardust Beach. But behind her flawless façade is a woman still aching from loss… and terrified to hope for more. Her marriage is quietly unraveling under the weight of unspoken grief, and the life she’s built feels as fragile ...

When a bullet pierced a calm August evening, it forced one family into tragedy and fractured lives in the small Oklahoma community. In this powerful memoir, a mom recounts her family's grief, which was ignited by one seemingly harmless decision, resulting in the senseless and violent death of her five-year-old child. Full of haunting foreshadowing and ethereal experiences, this story traverses the barbed and foreign landscape of loss and the quest for justice.It entrenches the power and impact of one choice and of one life. Ultimately, this story is one of human resiliency that is rooted in...

They set out to reach the stars. Now they’re fighting to hold on to what matters most. July 1969. As the nation holds its breath for the moon landing, Jo and Bill Booker are quietly bracing for impact. Bill is on the cusp of making history—he’s been chosen for the most iconic mission of the space race—but the cracks in their marriage may be too wide to bridge. After a decade of sacrifice, secrets, and emotional entanglements neither of them fully escaped, Jo isn’t sure what’s left of the life they once dreamed of. Their children are nearly grown, with strong opinions and hearts ...

Addiction is a preventable, treatable disease, not a moral failing. As with other illnesses, the approaches most likely to work are based on science - not on faith, tradition, contrition, or wishful thinking. These facts are the foundation of Clean, a myth-shattering look at drug abuse by the author of Beautiful Boy. Based on the latest research in psychology, neuroscience, and medicine, Clean is a leap beyond the traditional approaches to prevention and treatment of addiction.

She’s always lived by her heart. Now the world is asking her to choose. Carrie Reed has never been like the other astronaut wives—and she’s never tried to be. She gardens barefoot, raises her kids on vitamins and whole foods, and dreams of a more peaceful, just world. While her husband Jay trains for space missions, Carrie’s passion is right here on Earth: protecting the planet, fighting for civil rights, and teaching her children to do the same. But the closer the country inches toward change, the more Carrie feels pulled in opposite directions. Voter registration drives in the ...

A hiker goes down in the rugged Cumberland Plateau. A sudden strike occurs in the remote Australian outback. A fatal encounter takes place in rural India. When the world’s most lethal predators strike, the human body becomes a battleground. This gripping collection of real-life clinical emergencies takes you to the bleeding edge of toxicology and human endurance. Featuring incredibly detailed case studies—from the devastating physiological effects of a Russell’s viper bite to the desperate scramble for African polyvalent antivenom in an American hospital—this book pulls back the ...

She’s building rockets for NASA— but can she build the life she truly wants? At just twenty-seven, Jeanie Florence is blazing a trail few women have ever walked—as one of NASA’s brightest young engineers. While America races to put a man on the moon, Jeanie is quietly making history behind the scenes, her calculations propelling astronauts into space. But when it comes to love? She’s still stuck firmly on the launchpad. Her heart belongs to Bill Booker—an older, married astronaut whose orbit she knows she has no business entering. But emotions don’t always follow logic, and ...

When catastrophic loss, profound betrayal, or the sudden sting of the grave strikes, the human mind shatters. Modern religious culture often responds to this devastation by placing a heavy, unbiblical burden on the grieving believer, whispering a toxic expectation that strong faith requires immediate praise and unyielding stoicism. Grieving souls are frequently handed empty platitudes and instructed to wear a plastic mask of sterile piety while boiling internally. The Valley and the Anchor shatters this artificial, man-made framework. Built exclusively upon the King James Bible, this ...

She’s mastered the art of hiding. Now she has to find the courage to be seen. Jude Majors seems to have it all: a handsome astronaut husband, beautiful twin daughters, and a house on Florida’s sparkling Stardust Beach. But behind the polished smile and perfect life, Jude is drowning. Haunted by a painful childhood shaped by wartime prejudice, she’s spent decades silencing the parts of herself that felt too different, too broken, too “other.” Now, the cracks are starting to show. Drinking has helped her cope—until it nearly kills her. Faced with terrifying consequences, Jude must...

Unmeasured Strength is a survivor's awe-inspiring story of how Lauren Manning overcame tragedy and re-created herself as a wife, mother, and woman She was a hardworking business woman, had a loving husband and an infant son, and a confidence born of intelligence and beauty. But on September 11...

Shep Carson got his last warning from Renke Stoltz but Master Carson isn't one to back down. His home, family and friends are being targeted and his patience is wearing thin. When Cody and Johnny are hurt, Shep's cop instincts kick in and he goes after Stoltz.

He’s trained to survive the deadliest conditions in space. But no one prepared him for the silence at home. Lieutenant Colonel Bill Booker is a decorated pilot, a respected astronaut, and a man unraveling by degrees. Beneath the surface of his perfect American life—his rising NASA career, his beautiful wife Jo, and their idyllic home on Stardust Beach—something is breaking. And when his temper flares one too many times, NASA gives him a choice: face therapy, or forfeit his place in the program. Haunted by his past, disconnected from the woman he once loved so fiercely, and quietly ...

This audiobook is passionately and strikingly read by the author, Mo Gawdat. 'He explains how even in the face of the unthinkable, happiness is still possible' – Stylist Solve for Happy is the equation for happiness. A startlingly original audiobook about creating and maintaining happiness...

An unexpected journey. An unbreakable spirit. At 26, Non Reyes had it all—a loving family, a promising future, and an adventurous spirit. But in a single instant, everything changed. A devastating accident left him paralyzed from the neck down, forcing him to rebuild his life in ways he never imagined. In An Unexpected Ride, Non shares his deeply personal journey of resilience and rediscovery of purpose after tragedy. With raw honesty and a touch of humor, he reflects on the struggles, triumphs, and everyday victories of life with a disability—offering hope to anyone facing their own ...

When the first funnel touches down, the residents of Red Creek Mobile Estates think they know how to ride out the storm. But nature has a different plan. Wade Harlan and his daughter Emerson barely make it to the underground concrete bunker as the neighborhood is ripped apart above them. Trapped in the dark with a handful of terrified neighbors, rising water, and rapidly depleting medical supplies, they are pushed to the absolute brink. Then, the unimaginable happens: the sirens start up again. With the shelter compromised and the structural integrity failing, staying underground is a death...

John Waltham was born in 1778 and was last seen in 2007. At one time a magistrate in England, after decades of service in the Army, he faked his own death, escaping to the jungles of India. He thought he had come there to die in peace. He was sixty three, then, in 1841. But instead he started a new life. He met Vina, the woman of his dreams and had three daughters. Just when they were of the age to get married, John traveled back to Britain to settle his sister's estate. On his return, he found the entire settlement where he and his family lived, a tribal one, of Semitic origin, wiped out ...

Helena "Harvard" Schmitt could not leave her life on the mountain soon enough. A life of academic rigor at Harvard was made possible by her extraordinary athletic gift: running. Thor Himmel was the Harvard equivalent of a movie star: attractive, intelligent, and unattainable. As Helena and Thor run from their demons, their paths inevitably and abruptly cross far from where they ever imagined forcing them to confront the past that might destroy their future.

This audiobook is passionately and strikingly read by the author, Mo Gawdat. 'He explains how even in the face of the unthinkable, happiness is still possible' – Stylist Solve for Happy is the equation for happiness. A startlingly original audiobook about creating and maintaining happiness...