Finalist for Best Book of 2017 by CLMP’s Firecracker Award Just your average New Jersey childhood? Not exactly. A circus tiger attack, a schoolmate’s abduction, heartbreaking addicts, and a few close encounters with the seedier sides of humanity. Scott Loring Sanders’ suburban adolescence overflowed with perils: bone-crushing water slides, hitchhiking serial killers, a chilling collision in a ’71 Impala. From his tough, complex father to Sanders’ own reckoning of fatherhood and alcohol after leaving the Garden State, Surviving Jersey is a tour-de-force exploration of the risks that shape America’s youth. Praise for SURVIVING JERSEY: “Scott Loring Sanders’ Surviving Jersey brings…perilous locations vividly to life in an absorbing amalgam of ravenous tigers, crazy coincidences, memorable characters, and human folly. A good read for anyone from New Jersey, or anyone seeking a few compelling reasons to steer clear.” —Dinty W. Moore, author of Between Panic & Desire “Exuberant, gritty, and laugh-out-loud funny.” —Matthew Vollmer, author of Permanent Exhibit “We realize by the time we close this wonderful book that we have been reading not only about fear and human mistakes and how to survive despite them…but also about the richness of life, its connections and joys —the very things that help us hold onto hope for the future.” —Arts Fuse “Sanders’ brutal honesty is a hallmark and strength of Surviving Jersey. The book also gives the reader hope: If Sanders can survive and thrive despite the difficulties he encountered…then we all can.” —The Roanoke Times “Surviving Jersey takes one of the most fundamental human endeavors, to survive the hazards of our world, and applies it to hardy characters, risky decisions, and life-altering events. Its magic goes beyond asking Where are we going? and reminds us to also wonder: How did we make it to here?” —Sweet: A Literary Confection

*Winner of four national awards for excellence in book publishing.*Superstorm Sandy was an epic storm, the greatest natural disaster in the Jersey Shore's recorded history. Throughout Southern Ocean County it disrupted lives and rearranged neighborhoods. It was a defining moment and, for many, a hard lesson about complacency, natural forces, and building castles on shifting sand.In this full-color book, readers experience the superstorm from its inception through the devastating impact of its tidal surge on the Long Beach Island area. And, like its survivors, you come away shaken but determined, with a new appreciation for the power of nature and the fragility of things we hold dear.This is the first book with a comprehensive narrative story of the storm -- not just photographs and captions. And although it focuses on the Long Beach Island community, that narrative also represents much of the experience of the entire Jersey Shore. Weather experts explore the incredible meteorology of Hurricane Sandy and its metamorphosis into a hybrid superstorm. Residents and first responders share their personal stories -- their fears, their bravery, their fortitude, and, ultimately, their acceptance.Because so few people actually remained on the front lines, these first-hand stories from inside the storm are an extraordinary look at landfall and human response. Each of us was affected by the tribulations our battered shore endured after landfall. And, in the end, the triumph of our spirit defines us all -- how we picked ourselves up, got to work on recovery, and generously helped others by lending a hand, donating, or offering a shoulder to cry on. The stories in Surviving Sandy help guide us to rebuild stronger -- and smarter.This softcover edition includes 256 color photographs from the height of the storm, the aftermath and the recovery; it includes a Foreword and Introduction from Great Storms of the Jersey Shore authors Margaret Thomas Buchholz and Larry Savadove.Winner of four national awards -- including a Gold Medal (Nature & Environment), and three Silver Medals (Political/Current Events; Cover Design; and Regional) -- in the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards.

In 2015, Patricia Roos’s twenty-five-year-old son Alex died of a heroin overdose. Turning her grief into action, Roos, a professor of sociology at Rutgers University, began to research the social factors and institutional failures that contributed to his death. Surving Alex tells her moving story—and outlines the possibilities of a more compassionate and effective approach to addiction treatment. Weaving together a personal narrative and a sociological perspective, Surviving Alex movingly describes how even children from “good families” fall prey to addiction, and recounts the hellish toll it takes on families. Drawing from interviews with Alex’s friends, family members, therapists, teachers, and police officers—as well as files from his stays in hospitals, rehab facilities, and jails—Roos paints a compelling portrait of a young man whose life veered between happiness, anxiety, success, and despair. And as she explores how a punitive system failed her son, she calls for a community of action that would improve care for substance users and reduce addiction, realigning public health policy to address the overdose crisis.

"Filled with examples of courage, wisdom, and innovation, Surviving the Shadows is a must-read for anyone in the military, anyone associated with the military, or anyone protected by the military." —Nate Self, Army Ranger, Captain (ret.), decorated Iraq and Afghanistan War hero, author of Two Wars: One Hero's Fight on Two Fronts—Abroad and Within "The news Bob Delaney brings...is poignant, up-to-date, well earned, and maybe lifesaving: You are not alone; sharing yourself with others can transform your very existence." —James S. Gordon , M.D., author of Unstuck: Your Guide to the Seven-Stage Journey Out of Depression "Bob Delaney was very effective in addressing our personnel...His perspective as a former law enforcement officer who suffered through PTSD was eye-opening and comforting for our men and women." —Jane E . Castor , Chief of Police, City of Tampa Police Department "Surviving the Shadows is a must-read for all those who serve their city, county, state, or country. Post-Traumatic Stress for too long has been treated like a secret—this book helps to remove that stigma and provides education, awareness, and hope." —Don O'Leary , New York City Fire Department Captain (retired) We are all touched by PTSD in some way—husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, families and friends. Too often we have questions without answers, or don't know where to turn for help. But the truth is, what we really need is each other. Surviving the Shadows is an uplifting journey through powerful and inspiring stories—marked by perseverance and personal courage—about an array of people who have suffered directly or indirectly from Post-Traumatic Stress. Along the way, PTSD education and awareness leader Bob Delaney introduces you to medical experts who have developed groundbreaking methods in dealing with the disorder, and profiles one-of-a-kind programs around the country devoted to assisting PTSD sufferers. The first step to healing is one person away. The stories within Surviving the Shadows will help you understand the truth about Post-Traumatic Stress, and how we can help each other overcome it every day.

To date there has not been a clear look at the home care experience of older African Americans. "Surviving Dependence: Voices of African American Elders" attempts to meet the need for recording and interpreting the ordinary life of elderly African Americans on their own terms, in their own surroundings, and in so far as possible, in their own words. Ball and Whittington's research is unique in two ways: it focuses on older people who are African American and poor, and it describes the viewpoint of care recipients and their relationships with the public programs designed to help them. This book provides an in-depth view of the experiences of these seven frail elders as both care receivers and as active participants in their own care. The two primary themes the significant disabilities that often accompany old age and the tenacious will and ability to cope possessed by our informants are reflected in the title: "Surviving Dependence."

“Karmela’s story is moving and inspirational, and one every young person should be reminded of.” —Mitch Albom, Author of The Little Liar Karmela Waldman is an eighty-something psychotherapist and Holocaust survivor. Her son, Joel Waldman, is a successful broadcast journalist. After a discontented Joel chooses to leave his network-news job, he gets a crazy idea for the next step in his career: What if he and his elderly mom did a podcast together? The two embark on creating a show together and name it Surviving the Survivor. Things get off to a bumpy start as the lovingly dysfunctional mother-son duo struggle to figure out the art of podcasting on the fly—sometimes feuding, sometimes laughing, and finally mastering the format and watching Surviving the Survivor break out as a wildly popular true-crime hit. Along the way, the two discover things about each other that they never knew. Joel is stunned to learn that Karmela survived World War II by hiding in a boys’ Catholic school. Karmela also sheds light on the emotional struggles she endured when Joel’s older brother, Rami, died of an incurable illness. She’s also struggling with the inevitable loss of her husband of sixty-three years, which she describes as the most difficult experience of her life. Mastering podcasting is one thing; figuring out the meaning of life is a challenge of an entirely different order. In real time and “on air,” mother and son engage frankly and movingly with each other for the first time as adults, discussing child-rearing, aging, illness, death, and the secrets to enjoying life no matter how complicated it gets.