Discover an "absurd, funny, and thought-provoking" book perfect for "anyone who has ever felt socially awkward or inadequate" (Louis Sachar, author of Holes and the Wayside School series). Dear weird toes, crooked nose, stressed out, left out, freaked out Dear missing parts, broken hearts, picked-on, passed up, misunderstood, Dear everyone, you are cordially invited, come as you are, this party's for you Welcome to Pity Party, where the social anxieties that plague us all are twisted into funny, deeply resonant, and ultimately reassuring psychological thrills. There's a story about a mood ring that tells the absolute truth. One about social media followers who literally follow you around. And one about a kid whose wish for a new, improved self is answered when a mysterious box arrives in the mail. There's also a personality test, a fortune teller, a letter from the Department of Insecurity, and an interactive Choose Your Own Catastrophe. Come to the party for a grab bag of delightfully dark stories that ultimately offers a life-affirming reminder that there is hope and humor to be found amid our misery.

This acclaimed graphic memoir that Kirkus calls “cathartic and uplifting” is the tale of losing a parent and what it feels like to grieve and to move forward. “I can’t recommend this kind, funny, and poignant memoir enough. It’s an intimate, life-affirming story of resilience that feels like a good friend.” —Mari Andrew, author of Am I There Yet? Tyler Feder had just white-knuckled her way through her first year of college when her super cool mom was diagnosed with late-stage cancer. Now, with a decade of grief and nervous laughter under her belt, Tyler shares the story of that gut-wrenching, heart-pounding, extremely awkward time in her life—from her mom’s first oncology appointment to her funeral through the beginning of facing reality as a motherless daughter. She shares the sting of loss that never goes away, the uncomfortable post-death firsts, and the deep-down, hard-to-talk-about feelings of the grieving process. Dancing at the Pity Party is a frank and refreshingly funny look at what it’s like to grieve—for anyone struggling with loss who just wants someone to get it.

When liberals don't have reason, authority, or the American people on their side, they turn to the one thing they never run out of: Pity. For decades, conservatives have chafed at being called "heartless" and "uncaring" by liberals who maintain that our essential choice as a nation is between the politics of kindness and the politics of cruelty. In The Pity Party, political scientist William Voegeli turns the tables on this argument, making the case that "compassion" is neither the essence of personal virtue nor the ultimate purpose of government. Over the years, liberals have built a remarkable edifice of government programs that are justified by appeals to compassion: Head Start, immigration reform, gun control, affirmative action, and entitlements, to name only some. As Voegeli amply demonstrates, the liberals who promote these massive programs are weirdly indifferent as to whether they succeed. Instead, when the problems they are intended to solve fail to disappear, liberals double down, calling for yet more programs and ever greater expenditures in the name of "compassion." Meanwhile, conservatives who challenge the effectiveness of these programs are slandered as "heartless right-wingers." Yet rather than challenge this tendentious liberal argument, the many conservatives it intimidates feel it necessary to insist that they really do "care." However, liberal compassion's good intentions consistently fail to translate into good results. Voegeli walks the reader through a plethora of programs that have become battlefields between conservatives fighting for more efficiency and liberals fighting for more budget-busting federal programs to address an ever-expanding catalog of social ills. Along the way, he explains the underpinnings of the liberal philosophy that reinforce this misapplied ideal and shows why today's self-described compassionate liberals are ultimately unfit to govern.

Nineteen year old Paula rubbed the mosquito bite she'd gotten at a family picnic. She expected it would go away in a day or two.But by the end of the week she lay in a coma, paralyzed from the waist down with a doctor's dire prognosis mapping out a bedridden future of hopelessness.Plucky Paula refused to accept life on these terms. She had two weapons at her disposal to defeat the enemy seeking to rob her of all she'd dreamed of in life: A praying parent and an unwavering resolve to persevere until victory was won!"I'm no victim. I will walk again. My life will be full. Failure is not an option!"

When Cass Levin, an orphaned eighth-grader at Elston Prep in New York City, begins a friendship with Rod Punkin, her world begins to change. By the author of Nobody Was Here.

Queer author of color brings together a collection of unapologetic, blunt and vulnerable poetry written throughout the course of their life.

Kerri Alston is a born again Believer who is devoted to God, her husband, her family, and to the Kingdom of God. Born and raised in Union City, TN., the author now resides in Dyersburg, TN. Having once been submerged in sin and generational curses, she is now an over comer. She is a loving mother, wife, and servant of the Lord. She is a Mentor to school-aged children, ministers to the elderly, and serves as Food Pantry Minister for the less fortunate. She is very passionate about writing, which began at an early age with poetry. She is especially fond of the beauty of nature, and also enjoys travel. She practices good health and wellness living and motivates others to do so. She is not ashamed to testify to: the goodness of God and how He desires to prove Himself strong in the lives of those who choose to trust in Him. Kerri Alston Community Outreach Ministry email address is: [email protected]