“Twenty-two years ago, it appears, when John was eight years old, his brother shut him up in this manner in order to secure to himself certain property which should have been divided between them.” Manchester Weekly Times and Examiner, Manchester, England, 9 July 1870. When he rented a home to the Gibson family, a wealthy man fell from grace… The Herriges family consisted of a couple and their five children. Unforeseen circumstances permanently altered the trajectory of their family. The predicament of John B. Herriges could not have been predicted in 1850, when an accident occurred. Everyone in their community was aware of John B. and warned the Gibson’s to stay out of the situation. The Gibson’s were fearful, even horrified, about what would occur on that fateful June day in 1870.
Meet Billy D Manus II
Billy D Manus II is a former director of a small non-profit. He loves the written language on a page, the way that it can be shape and molded into any creation he wishes. A published writer since the year 2000, he writes on various topics and in multiple languages. He has a very short attention span and usually listens to music while writing to keep his focus. He enjoys spending time in nature and feeding feral cats. He lives in Texas.
I’m a psychologist and also a former victim of narcissistic abuse, and with this book I’m trying to raise awareness of what I think is the big pandemic of the 21st century: narcissistic personality disorder. The book is designed to help people who is about to go no contact (which is a usual last resort, extreme measure that a victims of narcissists are often forced to take after some time of living with them; a measure in many things akin to leaving a cult), but it can be of interest also for general public, as an educational work.
When a lavish lifestyle and controlling marriage left her broken, she traded the pressures of perfection for her sanity. Today, her southern farmhouse can’t compare to the mansion she left, but her family has peace. Until she’s blindsided.
The fog lifts, and she’s separated from two daughters she swore to protect. An ill child relies on Kristin’s medical skills, while luxurious promises lure her teen out of reach. Fighting to remain relevant to them wasn’t something she prepared for, but she’s here now.
It’s a familiar psychological hell. Only this time, the stakes are higher.
Can Kristin return to being the mother she always wanted, or will she give in to a twisted family past she vowed to bury?
Meet Roxanne Remy
Roxanne’s debut novel, They Can’t Eat You for Supper, is receiving high praise from readers all over the world.
In this painfully moving memoir, take a firsthand look at anorexia through the eyes of a young girl. Even in kindergarten, Rachel Richards knows something isn’t right. By leading us through her distorted thoughts, she shines a light on the experience and mystery of mental illness.
As she grows up, unable to comprehend or communicate her inner trauma, Rachel lashes out, hurting herself, running away from home, and fighting her family. Restricting food gives her the control she craves. But after being hospitalized and force-fed, Rachel only retreats further into herself.
With a driving perfectionism, she graduates college with honors. But at sixty-nine pounds, Rachel is a shell of nervous and obsessive behaviors that have controlled her life. Years of self-harm and self-loathing have fueled the inner battles between good and evil, health and sickness, and life and death.
Acting on stage offers her moments of freedom from the skewed perceptions she’s constructed over the years. But her dream of a career in theater is not enough to save her. What is the secret that will finally unleash her will to recover?
If you or someone you know suffers from an eating disorder or is a concerned parent, is anxious about weight and dieting, has an addiction, or wants to learn more about the mystery of how an eating disorder develops and the multifaceted and complex road to recovery, this book is a must-read!
Meet Rachel Richards
After years of struggling with an eating disorder, author Rachel Richards turned her life around and now helps others in pain.
Returning to school after earning her BFA in theater from Hofstra University, she graduated from the Swedish Institute College of Health Sciences and started her own private practice in Manhattan as a licensed and board-certified massage therapist. She hosts a popular YouTube channel, has spoken at the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has written several articles for Recovery Warriors, an online magazine dedicated to helping eating disorder sufferers get the treatment they need, and she has written numerous articles on health and self-care, which can be found at Rachel-Richards.com.
Ex musician, assembly line worker and alcoholic, John Coleman Sr. is a man with deferred and shattered dreams. Living in a Chicago housing project during the 60’s he is a father raising his eight-member family; four girls, two musical prodigy boys and a mentally unstable wife, in a drug, gang and gun infested environment among households with absent dads. During a competitive time of young musical prodigies, he fights for a pathway out of the projects through his talented sons. On a quest to find a way out, he drags his gifted boys on a whirlwind journey of hope, from talent shows to south side Blues clubs and observes their reputation growing with each performance. But along with the journey to see his boys “get great”, is his ongoing struggle with alcohol, his wife’s neurotic behavior and the fortified barrier of resentment from his jealous daughters all brought on by a family history of mental illness. Not only does John Coleman Sr. have to contend with the inner turmoil of his family, but a family tragedy shakes him to the core and threatens the sanctity of his high-spirited loved ones.
The ‘Great’ Kickin’dog is a Black experience during a turbulent time of civil rights in the 6o’s and free spirits of the 70’s embedded in the cradle of Chicago’s segregation. It is a coming of age saga of passion, perseverance and the courage to rise above; a compelling story of hope and the question of fate.
Meet Kenneth Allen Crutchfield, Sr.
Kenneth Allen Crutchfield, Sr. was born on the south side of Chicago into a family of musicians. During his formative years he worked as a professional drummer in Chicago then traveled globally after finishing high school. He received a Bachelors degree from the University of Southern California and a Masters degree from Queens College (CUNY) in New York City, both in music. He has written several plays, The Great Kickin’ Dog, Balloon on a String and Lorna’s L’Elegant Lounge; two musicals, All God’s Saints Go To Heaven-Not and Bones Brothers Brothel. All were produced in New York City as well as nationally. Ken is also a writer of prose and pens poetry as well. The ‘Great’ Kickin’ Dog’ is his first novel, loosely based on his family.
Everyone has a life singular. One…Unique…Extraordinary.
One true Love for Life…One act of fate changes a Life forever…
Jeff Diamond built a life of influence and wealth by making choices for all the right reasons. He lived by the law of reciprocity; a lesson learned on the streets as a teenager with nothing but an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Plagued by the scars of a violent childhood, he created his vision and fought for it.
And once he no longer needed to fight for himself, he fought for others. Yet when Jeff’s dream girl, Lynn, is taken from him by an act of a jealous misfit from his home town; the millionaire realises how he had succeeded in many ways and many like him were destined to fail? The secret, he discovers, lay in the pursuit of love and wisdom; life’s two magic ingredients.
Lynn was gone; his remaining days now only to account for their life together to inspire young people to make his type of choices, and not that of the desperate misfit named García.
Part One of Volume One – an amazing journey of discovery for life’s experiences through this fourteen-part series of love, passion and hope…
bare roots is a collection of poetry written for anyone that has ever buried parts of themselves away from the world. The book is divided into six parts– Pruning the Damage, Battling the Weeds, The Roses [and the Thorns], The Seedling Shall Blossom, Cultivating Wisdom, and Buds of Hope are delicately crafted segments that touch on the subjects of femininity, love and loss, trauma, mental illness, the search for meaning, and ultimately, how to grow from it all. Some portions of this book contain mature content and may be triggering.
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