Jan Blackburn grew up watching Harriet Nelson, June Cleaver, and Marion Cunningham. These women, who joyfully cleaned their houses in pantyhose and heels, embodied the characteristics of the wife and mother Jan believed she would become one day. Unfortunately, somewhere along the line, Jan thinks she may have been misinformed. Unlike her television heroines of the fifties, she is perpetually late, constantly dieting, and always busy; she cannot remember the last time she enjoyed a bubble bath. Luckily, she is not alone. Apparently millions of parents never received a complimentary instruction manual with their little bundles of joy either. Covering a span of more than twenty years, Jan offers a humorous and sometimes poignant look at the joys and sorrows of parenting while comparing a simpler time with the realities of todays world. As she reveals her secret battles with culinary mishaps, dieting, and parenting her children through changing times, Jan helps women realize that we are all in this together, even as Mom-isms, school fundraisers, and guts that leave an eighteen-hour girdle quaking in its Spandex begin to take over our lives. Motherhood and Other Natural Disasters shares one womans journey through the mythical, magical mystery of motherhood, proving that none of us are alone as we navigate through the roller coaster ride called parenting.

Jan Blackburn grew up watching Harriet Nelson, June Cleaver, and Marion Cunningham. These women, who joyfully cleaned their houses in pantyhose and heels, embodied the characteristics of the wife and mother Jan believed she would become one day. Unfortunately, somewhere along the line, Jan thinks she may have been misinformed. Unlike her television heroines of the fifties, she is perpetually late, constantly dieting, and always busy; she cannot remember the last time she enjoyed a bubble bath. Luckily, she is not alone. Apparently millions of parents never received a complimentary instruction manual with their little bundles of joy either. Covering a span of more than twenty years, Jan offers a humorous and sometimes poignant look at the joys and sorrows of parenting while comparing a simpler time with the realities of today's world. As she reveals her secret battles with culinary mishaps, dieting, and parenting her children through changing times, Jan helps women realize that we are all in this together, even as Mom-isms, school fundraisers, and guts that leave an eighteen-hour girdle quaking in its Spandex begin to take over our lives. Motherhood and Other Natural Disasters shares one woman's journey through the mythical, magical mystery of motherhood, proving that none of us are alone as we navigate through the roller coaster ride called parenting.

Having fallen in love with the divorced mother of his sometimes-date, nineteen-year-old Bubber finds his life is further complicated by his approaching parenthood.

The witty yet poignant story of a woman in her early thirties who discovers that her seemingly devoted husband has been having an emotional affair for the past year. Eve is eight months pregnant and in the middle of a Thanksgiving celebration when she discovers that her husband Jonathan has developed an intimate relationship with a woman over the past year. Jonathon asserts his innocence (an affair involves physical intimacy, and he didn't have any), while Eve feels deeply betrayed by the emotional connection he shared with someone else. What Jon has done seems so terrifyingly out of character that Eve finds herself questioning her entire reality. Did she ever really know Jon at all? Was their happiness together a lie? Is emotional intimacy more forgivable than sexual intimacy? And can their marriage survive?

When Hurricane María unleashed its devastation onto Puerto Rico, thousands of lives were lost to the storm in what was the island's worst natural disaster on record. With so much of the recovery still underway and the scars still fresh, its citizens continue to contend with the reality that life on the island has fundamentally changed. In his first collection of poems written in English, La Torre Lagares journeys through his memory in an effort to recompose his shattered land. Together, these poems form a poignant, personal account of a man facing the tragic destinies of his family and his country in the aftermath of a natural disaster. For example, the deaths of the mother and the father are resignified as the death of the poet's personal relationship, which at the same time evokes the rupture between individuals and their sense of place. Drawing from both American and Latin American poetry, as well as global influences, to articulate a language of loss and devastation in search of a new identity, this collection illuminates a chaotic and confusing landscape that is not only physical but also cultural, social, and political. Taken together, this work serves as a stirring reminder of the dislocation and fractured attachment that speaks to many Americans, including transnationals and immigrants. Ultimately it speaks to coping with physical loss and emotional pain in the face of human adversity.

We spent a year collecting the most incredible photography, facts, and true-life survival stories imaginable and then combined them with a variety of hands-on experiences. The most eye-catching is the twister in a tube - it's an amazing gizmo that puts the power of a twister in the palm of your hand. This book is completely disastrous, but this time it's deliberate.

Nearly half of all farmland in the U.S. is owned by women--295,000 of them. In an enterprise traditionally dominated by men, they are taking a lead role in overhauling a complex, often dysfunctional food system. This book features eight stories of women farmers who persevere despite treacherous weather and erratic commodities markets. Smart, independent, hard-working and politically astute, they explain in their own words how and why they chose, and continue to choose, farming.