A new collection of stories from the Pushcart Prize-winning author of The Mysterious Secret of the Valuable Treasure. Glittering with mischief and perversity, Jack Pendarvis’s latest collection of short fiction introduces readers to a world of losers poised on the brink of all sorts of disaster – a world only a wink and a nod away from our own. In the title novella a fundamentalist teenager must single-handedly confront the horrors of a spiritual quest filled with secular humanists, an apocalyptic folk artist, and a couple of movie stars. The other stories deal poignantly with – among other things – a young millionaire pretending to be a detective, Alabamians getting violent in a New York bar, the good folks who invented diarrhea-inducing chewing gum, a man who becomes an impromptu drug mule, magnetic healers, and a candidate making a sad speech for office. Underlying each comedic gem and neurotic twist is an intelligence and empathy rarely found in modern satire. Like the best guidebooks, Your Body is Changing will invite you in with its zany humor and indict you with its moving truths.

A body-positive guide to help girls ages 8 to 12 navigate the changes of puberty and grow into women Puberty can be a difficult time for a young girl—and it's natural not to know who (or what) to ask. Celebrate Your Body is a reassuring puberty book for girls that encourages them to face puberty and their body's changes with excitement and empowerment. From period care to mysterious hair in new places, this age-appropriate sex education book has the answers young girls are looking for—in a way that they can relate to. Covering everything from bras to braces, this body-positive puberty book for girls offers friendly guidance and support for when it's needed most. In addition to tips on managing intense feelings, making friends, and more, this book provides advice on what to eat and how to exercise so your body is healthy, happy, and ready for the changes ahead. PUBERTY EXPLAINED: Explanations on what happens, when it happens, and why the body (and mind) is amazing in every way. SOCIAL SKILL DEVELOPMENT: Help your young girl discover how to use her voice to stand up to peer pressure, stay safe on social media, and keep the right kind of friends. SELF-CARE TIPS: This body book for girls 9-12 helps them discover how to choose the right food, exercise, and sleep schedule to keep their changing bodies at their best. This inclusive puberty book for girls is the ultimate guide to facing puberty with confidence.

Discusses the physical and emotional changes that occur as a boy goes through puberty, covering such topics as body image, hygiene, eating habits, voice changes, dating, the reproductive system, sex, birth control, and pregnancy.

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Humans have become much taller and heavier, and experience healthier and longer lives than ever before in human history. However it is only recently that historians, economists, human biologists and demographers have linked the changing size, shape and capability of the human body to economic and demographic change. This fascinating and groundbreaking book presents an accessible introduction to the field of anthropometric history, surveying the causes and consequences of changes in health and mortality, diet and the disease environment in Europe and the United States since 1700. It examines how we define and measure health and nutrition as well as key issues such as whether increased longevity contributes to greater productivity or, instead, imposes burdens on society through the higher costs of healthcare and pensions. The result is a major contribution to economic and social history with important implications for today's developing world and the health trends of the future.

THE KEY TO A BETTER BODY—in shape, energized, and youthful—is a healthy brain. With fifteen practical, easy-to-implement solutions involving nutritious foods, natural supplements and vitamins, positive-thinking habits, and, when neces­sary, highly targeted medications, Dr. Amen shows you how to: * Reach and maintain your ideal weight * Soothe and smooth your skin at any age * Reduce the stress that can impair your immune system * Sharpen your memory * Increase willpower and eliminate the crav­ings that keep you from achieving your exercise and diet goals * Enhance sexual desire and performance * Lower your blood pressure without medication * Avoid depression and elevate the enjoyment you take in life’s pleasures. Based on the latest medical research, as well as on Dr. Amen’s two decades of clinical practice at the re­nowned Amen Clinics, where Dr. Amen and his as­sociates pioneered the use of the most advanced brain imaging technology, Change Your Brain, Change Your Body shows you how to take the very best care of your brain. Whether you’re just coming to realize that it’s time to get your body into shape, or are already fit and want to take it to the next level, Change Your Brain, Change Your Body is all you need to start putting the power of the brain-body connection to work for you today.

These stories are linked by humor, setting, themes and recurring characters -- cat lovers, murderers, gamblers, ghosts and fools -- but mostly by the movie stars, gods and goddesses who look down on us struggling mortals with a mixture of benevolence and wrath. From Scarlett Johansson to Joan Crawford, Clint Eastwood to Jerry Lewis, they represent the impossible ideals to which lesser beings turn for hope in an otherwise baffling world.