Non Fiction

A memoir that braids the evolution of one of America’s most iconic branding campaigns with the stirring tales of the women who lived behind its facade–told by the inheritor of their stories. In 1899, Allie Rowbottom’s great-great-great-uncle bought the patent to Jell-O from its inventor for $450. The sale would turn out to be one of the most profitable business deals in American history, and the generations that followed enjoyed immense privilege–but they were also haunted by suicides, cancer, alcoholism, and mysterious ailments. More than 100 years after that deal was struck, Allie’s mother Mary was diagnosed with the same incurable cancer, a disease that had also claimed her own mother’s life. Determined to combat what she had come to consider the “Jell-O curse” and her looming mortality, Mary began obsessively researching her family’s past, determined to understand the origins of her illness and the impact on her life of Jell-O and the traditional American values the company championed. Before she died in 2015, Mary began to send Allie boxes of her research and notes, in the hope that her daughter might write what she could not. Jell-O Girls is the liberation of that story. A gripping examination of the dark side of an iconic American product and a moving portrait of the women who lived in the shadow of its fractured fortune, Jell-O Girls is a family history, a feminist history, and a story of motherhood, love and loss. In crystalline prose, Rowbottom considers the roots of trauma not only in her own family, but in the American psyche as well, ultimately weaving a story that is deeply personal and deeply connected to the collective female experience.

There can be joy in the midst of suffering. Your dreams are never too big. There will always be laundry. We should celebrate the normal shit. These sentiments and so many others are what Ashli Brehm, the voice behind www.babyonthebrehm.com, collected as life lessons after receiving her breast cancer diagnosis at age 33. A mother of three little boys and a wife to her favorite guy, Brehm had been blogging for five plus years when a small lump caused a large uproar in her life as she had always known it. With the help and healing of writing, chemotherapy, prayer, prescription drugs, and an army of people, she went through treatment and is now cancer-free. The lessons in this book are not just for those who have or have had cancer. They are not only for people who have breasts. The book begins with a foreword by Pamela Buffett and ends with a thank you from Ashli to so many who helped her through cancer and life. Everything in-between is a mixed bag of life happenings that Brehm penned in order to never forget them as she lives life as a survivor. Each chapter, an essay that tells how Brehm learned that particular lesson, walks through a part of treatment, life during cancer, or her life after. Wear the Damn Swimsuit is a very personal and real collection of words that Ashli wrote to tell her own story and provide hope, humor, and chutzpah to those who read it. With the biggest lesson of all that there can be joy found, even in suffering.

Beginning with a single dealer who lands in a small Virginia town and sets about turning high school football stars into heroin overdose statistics, journalist Beth Macy endeavors to answer a grieving mother’s question–why her only son died–and comes away with a harrowing story of greed and need. From the introduction of OxyContin in 1996, Macy parses how America embraced a medical culture where overtreatment with painkillers became the norm. The unemployed use painkillers both to numb the pain of joblessness and pay their bills, while privileged teens trade pills in cul-de-sacs, and even high school standouts fall prey to prostitution, jail, and death. Through unsparing, yet deeply human portraits of the families and first responders struggling to ameliorate this epidemic, each facet of the crisis comes into focus.

The must-have cookbook for any air fryer, with flavorful recipes that are healthy, convenient, and quick to prepare. #1 New York Times bestselling author Gina Homolka is beloved for her incredible recipes that transform your favorite, comforting foods into healthy, low-cal dishes with tons of flavor. Now, she brings her expertise to the game-changing air fryer appliance. Using high-powered, super hot, circulating air like a convection oven, air fryers crisp up your favorite “fried” foods with barely any oil needed. Cook times are shorter than traditional oven methods and the process requires little clean-up–meaning less time spent cooking and cleaning. In The Skinnytaste Air Fryer Cookbook, Gina shares 75 of her best recipes that work in every type of air fryer, including basket models and countertop ovens with air fryer settings. You’ll of course find crave-worthy recipes for traditionally fried foods, such as Chicken-Vegetable Spring Rolls, Crispy Coconut Shrimp, Za’atar Chickpeas, and Pickle-Brined Chicken Tenders, but Gina also shows you how versatile the appliance can be. Perfectly roasted meats and vegetables like Korean Pork Lettuce Wraps, Roasted Fish with Lemon-Almond Crumbs, Sugar and Spice Acorn Squash, and Charred Sesame Green Beans, along with baked goods like Homemade Bagels and Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing are all executed beautifully in the compact air fryer. For those of us with a sweet tooth, The Skinnytaste Air Fryer Cookbook even offers low-cal desserts, including Churros, Very Berry Mini Pie, and Baked Apples with Streusel Topping. Many dishes are vegetarian, gluten-free, and keto-friendly–all called out with helpful icons–and every recipe includes nutritional information (with the most up-to-date Weight Watchers points found on the blog).

A poignant and transporting cross-cultural love story set against the lush backdrop of the Sicilian countryside, where one woman discovers the healing powers of food and family in her darkest hour. It was love at first sight when Tembi met professional chef, Saro, on a street in Florence. There was just one problem: Saro’s traditional Sicilian family did not approve of him marrying a black American woman, an actress no less. However, the couple, heartbroken but undeterred, forges on. They build a happy life in Los Angeles, with fulfilling careers, deep friendships and the love of their lives: a baby girl they adopt at birth. Eventually, they reconcile with Saro’s family just as he faces a formidable cancer that will consume all their dreams. From Scratch chronicles three summers Tembi spends in Sicily with her daughter, Zoela, as she begins to piece together a life without her husband in his tiny hometown hamlet of farmers. Where once Tembi was estranged from Saro’s family and his origins, now she finds solace and nourishment–literally and spiritually–at her mother in law’s table. In the Sicilian countryside, she discovers the healing gifts of simple fresh food, the embrace of a close knit community, and timeless traditions and wisdom that light a path forward. All along the way she reflects on her and Saro’s incredible romance–an indelible love story that leaps off the pages. In Sicily, it is said that every story begins with a marriage or a death–in Tembi Locke’s case, it is both. Her story is about loss, but it’s really about love found. Her story is about travel, but it’s really about finding a home. It is about food, but it’s really about chasing flavor as an act of remembrance. From Scratch is for anyone who has dared to reach for big love, fought for what mattered most, and needed a powerful reminder that life is…delicious

Are leaders born or made? Where does ambition come from? How does adversity affect the growth of leadership? Does the leader make the times or do the times make the leader? Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin draws upon the four presidents she has studied most closely — Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson (in civil rights) — to show how they recognized leadership qualities within themselves and were recognized as leaders by others. By looking back to their first entries into public life, we encounter them at a time when their paths were filled with confusion, fear, and hope. They all collided with dramatic reversals that disrupted their lives and threatened to shatter forever their ambitions. Nonetheless, they all emerged fitted to confront the contours and dilemmas of their times. No common pattern describes the trajectory of leadership. Although set apart in background, abilities, and temperament, these men shared a fierce ambition and a deep-seated resilience that enabled them to surmount uncommon hardships. At their best, all four were guided by a sense of moral purpose. At moments of great challenge, they were able to summon their talents to enlarge the opportunities and lives of others.

The author reopens the unsolved mystery of the most catastrophic library fire in American history. This book chronicles the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) fire, and its aftermath, to showcase the crucial role that libraries play in our lives. The author delves into the evolution of libraries around the world, from their humble beginnings to their status as a cornerstone of the community; brings the departments of the library to life through on-the-ground reporting; reflects on her own experiences in libraries; and reexamines the case of Harry Peak, the actor long suspected of setting fire to the LAPL. The fire was disastrous: it reached 2000 degrees and burned for more than seven hours. By the time it was extinguished, it had consumed four hundred thousand books and damaged seven hundred thousand more. Investigators descended on the scene, but more than thirty years later, the mystery remains: Did someone purposefully set fire to the library? In addition to examining the circumstances of the fire, the author delves into the history of the LAPL. The book introduces us to a cast of characters from libraries past and present – from Mary Foy; who in 1880 at eighteen years old was named the head of the LAPL at a time when men still dominated the role, to Dr. C.J.K. Jones, “The Human Encyclopedia,” who roamed the library dispensing information. The book introduces readers to Charles Lummis, an eccentric journalist and adventurer who was determined to make the L.A. library one of the best in the world, and to the staff in the twenty-first century, who work every day to ensure that their institution remains a vital part of the city it serves.–adapted from publisher’s description and end-papers.

A conversation between friends Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark about what they’ve learned from their biggest mistakes, their most triumphant successes, their favorite therapists, and their mutual obsession with true crime. From growing up as latchkey kids to their formative years working at the Gap and Hot Topic to their struggles with substances and mental health, Karen and Georgia share some of the most significant moments in their lives. Together they inspect their own hard-earned wisdom with brutal and hilarious candor. In a culture that mythologizes killers, celebrates ‘personality-corrupting toxic masculinity bullshit,’ and holds victims responsible for the violence committed against them, Karen and Georgia preach self-advocacy, self-love, and freedom from responsibility for other people’s choices. Guided by their own experiences and revelations with a little help from the Riot Grrrl movement, Ann Rule, and ‘billions of hours of therapy,’ Karen and Georgia are here to encourage you to put your own needs first and become unfuckwithable. Part dual memoir, part life manual, this is an account of two lives that collided over the dark stuff. Inspired by the empowering and offbeat battle cries made famous on their hit podcast, Karen and Georgia recount the formative moments of their lives that taught them everything they know, and everything they don’t, about life, friendship, and various pancake situations.

The Complete Keto Diet Plan that will Help you Lose Weight Fast!** Have you decided that the keto diet will probably be the best one to help you lose weight? Do want to know everything there is to give yourself the best chance of success? This amazing offer will provide all you need! The ketogenic diet is the one that is going to help you lose weight. You’ve made the choice, but the bewildering range of books on the subject is confusing and you don’t know which one to pick. So why not choose 4? This book bundle, The Complete Keto Diet Plan for Beginners, will provide you with everything you need and includes these amazing titles: The Art of the Keto Diet for Beginners The Science of the Keto Diet for Beginners The 15-Minute Keto Meal Plan Mastering the Keto Meal Prep Inside them you will get an overview of the ketogenic diet, the science behind it that shows you how you can succeed, a book that shows you how to prepare great tasting keto meals in 15 minutes or less, PLUS information on how to meal prep so you’ll always have something for dinner. The Complete Keto Diet Plan for Beginners is a great deal for anyone who is serious about losing weight and provides all the answers you could ever want.

Meredith May recalls the first time a honeybee crawled on her arm. She was five years old, her parents had recently split and suddenly she found herself in the care of her grandfather, an eccentric beekeeper who made honey in a rusty old military bus in the yard. That first close encounter was at once terrifying and exhilarating for May, and in that moment she discovered that everything she needed to know about life and family was right before her eyes, in the secret world of bees

Paying a professional to prune your trees and shrubs is an unnecessary expense. You can tackle most trees and shrubs on your own, and Pruning Simplified shows you exactly how to do it. This useful guide offers expert advice on the best tools for the job, specific details on when to prune, and clear instructions on how to prune. Profiles of the 50 most popular trees and shrubs–including azaleas, camellias, clematis, hydrangeas, and more–include illustrated, easy-to-follow instructions that will ensure you make the right cut the first time.

Documents the adventures and legacy of nineteenth-century botanist and food explorer David Fairchild to reveal the stories of how diverse crops ranging from avocadoes and mangoes to seedless grapes and pomegranates were introduced to America from faraway cultures.

Father Boyle started Homeboy Industries nearly 20 years ago, which has served members of more than half of the gangs in Los Angeles. This collection presents parables about kinship and the sacredness of life drawn from Boyle’s years of working with gangs.