Showing results by narrator "Lesa Lockford" in All Categories

On the morning of Isabella's birthday in 1944, she and her family were deported to Auschwitz, the Nazi extermination camp. There she and her siblings fought the greatest evil in human history with the only weapon they had: love. Isabella's Pulitzer-nominated memoir will take you into a world of darkness where she will reveal humanity described in the voice of a poet.

Former North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation agent Rachel Carver blames herself for the collateral death of an innocent woman in her last case. Unable to accept her superior’s attempts to cover up the incident, she turned in her badge. But when a former partner asks her to consult on a new murder case, she reluctantly agrees, traveling to a small remote mountain community, where she’s tasked with leading a group of inexperienced detectives on a hunt for the killer.

Hope Tantry arrives at cottage in England's pastoral Lake District where her mother, Ally, spent the last years of her life. Ally - one of a group of women who called themselves the Wednesday Sisters - had used the cottage while she worked on her unpublished biography of Beatrix Potter. Traveling with Hope are friends Anna Page and Julie, first introduced in The Wednesday Sisters, now grown women grappling with issues of a different era.

Liberate yourself from the life purpose trap. Leading life coach, regular contributor to Psychology Today, and renowned author Eric Maisel presents a contemporary philosophy that challenges the conventional wisdom surrounding how to live.

Gates' characters, young or old or neither, are well educated, broadly knowledgeable, often creative, and variously accomplished, whether as a doctor or a composer, an academic or a journalist. And every one of them carries a full supply of the human condition: parents in assisted-living - or assisted-dying - facilities, too many or too few people in their families and marriages, the ties that bind a sometimes messy knot, age an implacable foe, impulses pulling them away from comfort into distraction or catastrophe.

When the gentle woodcarver Geppetto builds a marionette, Pinocchio, to be his son, a fairy brings the toy to life. But Pinocchio is not yet a human boy. He must earn the right by proving that he is brave, truthful, and unselfish. But even with the help of Jiminy, a cricket who the fairy assigns to be his conscience, Pinocchio goes astray. He joins a puppet show instead of going to school, he lies instead of telling the truth, and he travels to Pleasure Island instead of going straight home.

Meet Nives: widow, Tuscan through and through, survivor. Nives recently lost her husband of 50 years. She didn’t cry when she found him dead in the pig pen, and she didn’t cry at the funeral, but now loneliness has set in. When she decides to bring her favorite chicken inside for company, she is shocked, confused, and a little bit guilty to discover that the chicken’s company is a more-than-adequate replacement for her dead husband.

The fascinating lives of the characters in Almost Famous Women have mostly been forgotten, but their stories are burning to be told. Nearly every story in this dazzling collection is based on a woman who attained some celebrity - she raced speed boats or was a conjoined twin in show business; a reclusive painter of renown; a member of the first all-female, integrated swing band.

From the snow-covered prairie to the remote Australian Outback, a cowboy's loving kiss makes this Christmas merry and bright in each of these novellas.

Caught between a greedy corporation and a desperate love of the land, Maria Porterfield barely has time to mourn her father's death. If her family is to survive, it'll be up to her to take charge - but she can't do it alone. When a mysterious drifter rides into town, the handsome cowboy seems like an answer to her prayers. But Chet isn't interested in settling down, no matter how tempting the offer.... Chet made his way West looking for a fresh start - the last thing he wants is to get involved in someone else's fight.

Whisked from office obscurity to overnight fame as The Nightstar Girl, the ultimate model for Rayven Cosmetics' sensational new perfume, Caren Ainsley felt that at any moment the dream would vanish, that devastating Marc Rayven would cast her aside once she had served her purpose. But Caren was determined to hold on to her dream despite Moira Evans, Marc's ravishing assistant who attempted to sabotage her at every turn. She'd fight fire with fire again Moira, but how would she handle Marc?

Two imposing literary figures are at the center of this captivating novel: Shirley Jackson, best known for her short story "The Lottery," and her husband, Stanley Edgar Hyman, a literary critic and professor at Bennington College. When a young graduate student and his pregnant wife, Fred and Rose Nemser, move into Shirley and Stanley's home in the fall of 1964, they are quickly cast under the magnetic spell of their brilliant hosts.

Lakshmi is worshipped as the goddess of wealth. Her arrival is considered auspicious, while her departure is bad and inauspicious. In temples, gods are bedecked with jewels; during festivals, our houses are decorated with flowers, lamps and Lakshmi’s footprints. Clearly, she is a much-desired goddess. Yet, some friends and relatives—even gurus—tell us not to be money-minded. How to Become Rich is a simple retelling of the stories of Lakshmi found in the Vedas and Puranas. Devdutt Pattanaik deftly explains what Hinduism says about economics at a personal level as well as at the social level.

When she inherits a ranch in Arizona, Jan Warren puts all her money and dreams into making a success of it. But she soon finds that with Rancho Arroyo comes a heap of problems - problems not helped by the commanding presence of Derek Bannon, owner of the Golden Lasso, the neighboring ranch and vacation hotspot. Derek is determined to buy Jan out - but as the battle becomes increasingly personal, Jan realizes that it's not just her business that's at stake, but also her heart...

When Clara arrived in America, she couldn't speak English. She didn't know that young women had to go to work, that they traded an education for long hours of labor, that she was expected to grow up fast. But that didn't stop Clara. She went to night school, spent hours studying English, and helped support her family by sewing in a shirtwaist factory. Clara never quit, and she never accepted that girls should be treated poorly and paid little.

Will true artificial intelligences be able to appreciate or even create art? Explore dystopian societies, where AI generates most of the content and human artists must eke out an existence, and utopias where artificial minds help unlock and enhance human creativity.

April 1910. Women's rights activist Alvera Fields mysteriously vanishes from her home one night, leaving her newborn baby and husband behind, and the case is never solved.

Rachel Carver’s career with the North Carolina Bureau of Investigation came to a shuddering halt after her last case led to the collateral death of an innocent woman and a shameful cover-up by her superiors. She’s turned in her badge and is settling into a new life as a legal investigator - but Rachel’s past won’t leave her alone. An anonymous tip leads her to investigate a possible link between a recent grizzly murder and the case that ruined her career.

Alice Dickinson, a young advertising executive in London, decides to take time off work to research her idea for a screenplay: the true story of the scandalous, adulterous love affair that took place between a young, Amherst college faculty wife, Mabel Loomis Todd, and the college's treasurer, Austin Dickinson, in the 1880s. Austin, twenty-four years Mabel's senior and married, was the brother of the reclusive poet Emily Dickinson, whose house provided the setting for Austin and Mabel's trysts.

Mister Rogers is one of the most beloved television personalities, but before he was the man who brought us Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, he was just little Freddie Rogers. Although he was often sick and had trouble making friends as a child, his mom and grandfather encouraged him to ask for help and explore the world. With their support, he learned how to better say what he was feeling and see the beauty around him. As he grew up, he realized he could spread the message of compassion, equality, and kindness through television.