Sweet Relief is the remarkable story of how twenty-eight-year-old Marla Ruzicka took on the US government, changed the world, and made the ultimate sacrifice. Marla Ruzicka was a free spirit, a savvy political operator, a wartime Erin Brockovich. Fiercely determined to improve the lives of the less fortunate, the twenty-something blonde was instrumental in convincing the U.S. government to pass historic legislation aiding civilian victims of war. Sweet Relief recounts Marla's journey from an idyllic childhood in a small California town, through Latin America and Africa, and finally to the war zones in Afghanistan and Iraq. Whether she was Rollerblading the halls of Congress to secure funds for civilians in Iraq or throwing parties for journalists in Kabul to raise awareness of her cause, no one who came within a hundred yards of Marla missed her. Her friendly smile and indefatigable pose were ubiquitous in Afghanistan and Iraq where Marla managed a door-to-door effort to identify war victims. While Marla worked tirelessly to care for others, in many ways she neglected herself. A diagnosed manic-depressive, Marla battled extreme emotional lows and an eating disorder. And although she brought love into the homes of the aggrieved, she often struggled to find a love of her own. Marla gave the invisible victims of war a voice and, in the process, helped to win them millions of dollars in unprecedented aid. Tragically, Marla was killed by a suicide bomber on Airport Road in Iraq in April 2005. Weeks later, the US government named the program she fought so hard to establish The Marla Ruzicka Fund. Her life and legacy are an inspiring reminder that love and determination can conquer all.

Two seemingly separate stories from different points in time interconnect and provide clues to the disappearance of a missing New York City girl.

Are your relationships at home or work causing you more distress than happiness Do the words "healthy partnership" sound ironic? If so, you might be involved with a narcissist-a self-absorbed spouse, family member, friend, boss, or coworker. Most of us don't realize it, but we encounter narcissists every day, in every walk of life. Surprisingly, even the people we hold nearest to our hearts could be narcissists. If you are in a difficult relationship, it's time to step back, get perspective and make healthy changes in your life. Sweet Relief is the book that shows how to put your feelings first, take charge of your emotional health, and make room for positive growth and emotional success in your life. Whether your problems happen at home or at work, Sweet Relief gives you guidance and tools to: - Learn how to spot narcissism - Identify unsatisfying relationships - Cope with any confusing feelings - Overcome fear or avoidance of conflict - Take care of your emotional needs - Improve your relationships - Move forward with confidence and compassion

Shortlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize "A magnificent debut filled with characters so vivid, strange, and richly imagined, you emerge feeling changed." —Sarah Shun-lien Bynum In New York City, a girl called Lenora vanishes without a trace. Years earlier and miles upstate, Goldie, a wild, negligent mother, searches for a man to help raise her precocious son, Paul, who later discovers that the only way to save his soul is to run away. The Sweet Relief of Missing Children is a suspenseful novel about the power of running and the desire for reinvention. It explores the terror and transcendence of our most central experiences: childhood, parenthood, sex, love.

Anxiety is a normal reaction to stress. It raises your energy to help you deal with a tense situation in the office, study hard for an exam, or stay focused on an important speech. In general, it helps you function. However, when anxiety becomes an excessive, irrational dread of everyday situations, it becomes a disabling disorder. In The Complete Idiot's Guide to Controlling Anxiety, readers will learn to- Understand the difference between what is normal anxiety and what's not. Spot anxiety triggers and boosters. Calm down with yoga and meditation. Make worries work in your favour.

CMJ New Music Monthly, the first consumer magazine to include a bound-in CD sampler, is the leading publication for the emerging music enthusiast. NMM is a monthly magazine with interviews, reviews, and special features. Each magazine comes with a CD of 15-24 songs by well-established bands, unsigned bands and everything in between. It is published by CMJ Network, Inc.

In a book that explores the phenomenon of stuttering from its practical and physical aspects to its historical profile to its existential implications, Shell, who has himself struggled with stuttering all his life, plumbs the depths of this murky region between will and flesh, intention and expression, idea and word. Looking into the difficulties encountered by people who stutter--as do fifty million world-wide--Shell shows that stutterers share a kinship with many other speakers, both impeded and fluent. This book takes us back to a time when stuttering was believed to be 'diagnosis-induced, ' then on to the complex mix of physical and psychological causes that were later discovered. Ranging from cartoon characters like Porky Pig to cultural icons like Marilyn Monroe, from Moses to Hamlet, Shell reveals how stuttering in literature plays a role in the formation of tone, narrative progression and character.--From publisher description.