Navigation menu
Search
Databases
All Databases
eBook
Refugee lives in the archives : a Pacific imaginary
Whitlock, Gillian
Bloomsbury Academic
, 2024
; English
; 185 Pages
This book introduces the unique archive of letters, textiles, hand-drawn maps, emails and photographs from asylum seekers held indefinitely in offshore detention at Topside Camp, Nauru 2001-5. These artefacts introduce the distinctive and creative forms of resistance produced by asylum seekers in the remote Pacific camps on Nauru and Manus Island, and they expose their experiential histories of radical suffering and trauma. Paying due deference to the creative and aesthetic agency of these various documents and artefacts created by the undocumented here, Gillian Whitlock generates a cultural biography of the Nauru camp that humanizes those who have remained unseen and unheard, and features the activist campaigns and the political resistance that assert the agency of witnessing refugees. Structured around the collections of various artefacts exchanged between detainees and humanitarian activists, Refugee Lives in the Archives draws on emerging theories from detention centres and the asylum seekers themselves in a distinctive and expansive Pacific imaginary of refugee life narrative.
Building on Whitlock's substantial body of work in testimonial, documentary and archive practices, this book focuses on the 'testimony of things' and probes an approach to archival studies that moves life writing in new directions, to respond collaboratively to the diverse materiality of story-telling and exchanges in the unique and creative forms of asylum seekers' voices, stories and epistemologies.
Whitlock, Gillian
Bloomsbury Academic
, 2024
; English
; 185 Pages
This book introduces the unique archive of letters, textiles, hand-drawn maps, emails and photographs from asylum seekers held indefinitely in offshore detention at Topside Camp, Nauru 2001-5. These artefacts introduce the distinctive and creative forms of resistance produced by asylum seekers in the remote Pacific camps on Nauru and Manus Island, and they expose their experiential histories of radical suffering and trauma. Paying due deference to the creative and aesthetic agency of these various documents and artefacts created by the undocumented here, Gillian Whitlock generates a cultural biography of the Nauru camp that humanizes those who have remained unseen and unheard, and features the activist campaigns and the political resistance that assert the agency of witnessing refugees. Structured around the collections of various artefacts exchanged between detainees and humanitarian activists, Refugee Lives in the Archives draws on emerging theories from detention centres and the asylum seekers themselves in a distinctive and expansive Pacific imaginary of refugee life narrative.
Building on Whitlock's substantial body of work in testimonial, documentary and archive practices, this book focuses on the 'testimony of things' and probes an approach to archival studies that moves life writing in new directions, to respond collaboratively to the diverse materiality of story-telling and exchanges in the unique and creative forms of asylum seekers' voices, stories and epistemologies.
Audiobook
Escape to the Tatras: A Boy, a War, and Life Interrupted
Sladek, Oscar; Monsef, Ramiz
Blackstone Publishing
, 2022
; English
A coming-of-age story set against the rise of fascism, the collapse of democracy in Slovakia and Hungary, the attempted genocide of the Jewish people, and the eventual conquest of the Allied Forces over Nazi Germany, ESCAPE TO THE TATRAS tells the story of one child's remarkable journey encompassing the essence of life before and throughout World War II.
During the terrifying years of deprivation, deportation, and imprisonment of Jews, many of whom were sent off to Nazi labor and extermination camps, the Štaub family (mother Irene, father Frici, and their young son Oskar), citizens of Prešov, Slovakia, fled for their lives in order to hide from the brutal Slovakian forces and their German operatives. Young Osi, who witnessed it all, found the courage and resiliency to cope with challenges far beyond his years. Written seven decades later with the precision of unfailing memory and the pain of personal experience, Oscar (Osi) (Staub) Sladek tells an unforgettable story of resilience and personal triumph.
Sladek, Oscar; Monsef, Ramiz
Blackstone Publishing
, 2022
; English
A coming-of-age story set against the rise of fascism, the collapse of democracy in Slovakia and Hungary, the attempted genocide of the Jewish people, and the eventual conquest of the Allied Forces over Nazi Germany, ESCAPE TO THE TATRAS tells the story of one child's remarkable journey encompassing the essence of life before and throughout World War II.
During the terrifying years of deprivation, deportation, and imprisonment of Jews, many of whom were sent off to Nazi labor and extermination camps, the Štaub family (mother Irene, father Frici, and their young son Oskar), citizens of Prešov, Slovakia, fled for their lives in order to hide from the brutal Slovakian forces and their German operatives. Young Osi, who witnessed it all, found the courage and resiliency to cope with challenges far beyond his years. Written seven decades later with the precision of unfailing memory and the pain of personal experience, Oscar (Osi) (Staub) Sladek tells an unforgettable story of resilience and personal triumph.
Audiobook
Thirty-Thousand Steps: A Memoir of Sprinting toward Life after Loss
Keefe, Jess; Hutchinson-Shaw, Mia
Blackstone Publishing
, 2022
; English
After Jess Keefe ended things with her long-term boyfriend, she moved in with her brother Matt in hopes that family could help her not only heal from the break-up but also evolve into a healthy adult. But that fantasy ended when Matt's heroin addiction came roaring back after lying dormant for years, leading to a fatal overdose on a warm October night.
Thirty-Thousand Steps is a powerful and transformative memoir that interweaves the author's obsessive training to becoming a distance runner, along with her singular, focused research into the science of addiction in the shadow of grief after the death of her brother.
In the year that followed Matt's death, Jess lived alone for the first time in her life while struggling with a loose, bereaved mind. She became obsessed with what happened to her brother and how things could have been different. She dove into research about addiction and drugs. She excavated their shared childhood and young adulthood for clues.
During this time, she was also learning how to become a distance runner. Jess pushed her body to its limits to quiet the chaos in her mind. After losing Matt, she knew she'd never be the same.
With a propulsive narrative, a unique voice, empathy, and even humor, Jess weaves her grieving experience together with explorations of the social, political, and scientific drivers that influenced what happened to her brother. Thirty-Thousand Steps explores the psychosocial risk factors that lead to addiction, the cudgel of Catholicism, the joy and shame in the early-aughts queer experience, and the extent to which one can push mind and body to regenerate after a major loss.
Keefe, Jess; Hutchinson-Shaw, Mia
Blackstone Publishing
, 2022
; English
After Jess Keefe ended things with her long-term boyfriend, she moved in with her brother Matt in hopes that family could help her not only heal from the break-up but also evolve into a healthy adult. But that fantasy ended when Matt's heroin addiction came roaring back after lying dormant for years, leading to a fatal overdose on a warm October night.
Thirty-Thousand Steps is a powerful and transformative memoir that interweaves the author's obsessive training to becoming a distance runner, along with her singular, focused research into the science of addiction in the shadow of grief after the death of her brother.
In the year that followed Matt's death, Jess lived alone for the first time in her life while struggling with a loose, bereaved mind. She became obsessed with what happened to her brother and how things could have been different. She dove into research about addiction and drugs. She excavated their shared childhood and young adulthood for clues.
During this time, she was also learning how to become a distance runner. Jess pushed her body to its limits to quiet the chaos in her mind. After losing Matt, she knew she'd never be the same.
With a propulsive narrative, a unique voice, empathy, and even humor, Jess weaves her grieving experience together with explorations of the social, political, and scientific drivers that influenced what happened to her brother. Thirty-Thousand Steps explores the psychosocial risk factors that lead to addiction, the cudgel of Catholicism, the joy and shame in the early-aughts queer experience, and the extent to which one can push mind and body to regenerate after a major loss.
Audiobook
Learning to Breathe: One Woman's Journey of Spirit and Survival
Wright, Alison
Blackstone Publishing
, 2021
; English
An extraordinary spiritual memoir about the will to survive … one breath at a time
Alison Wright covered humanitarian issues with her camera until her own life was nearly cut short during a horrific bus accident with a logging truck on a remote jungle road in Laos. Suffering from excruciating life-threatening injuries, she drew upon her years of meditation practice, concentrating upon each breath, believing it to be her last.
Wright's memoir, Learning to Breathe: One Woman's Journey of Spirit and Survival, chronicles this inspirational story of survival and years of rehabilitation, and her ongoing determination to recover and continue traveling the world as an intrepid photojournalist. The book details her ascent of Mount Kilimanjaro as well as her circumambulation of Mount Kailash in Tibet.
Wright, Alison
Blackstone Publishing
, 2021
; English
An extraordinary spiritual memoir about the will to survive … one breath at a time
Alison Wright covered humanitarian issues with her camera until her own life was nearly cut short during a horrific bus accident with a logging truck on a remote jungle road in Laos. Suffering from excruciating life-threatening injuries, she drew upon her years of meditation practice, concentrating upon each breath, believing it to be her last.
Wright's memoir, Learning to Breathe: One Woman's Journey of Spirit and Survival, chronicles this inspirational story of survival and years of rehabilitation, and her ongoing determination to recover and continue traveling the world as an intrepid photojournalist. The book details her ascent of Mount Kilimanjaro as well as her circumambulation of Mount Kailash in Tibet.
Audiobook
On Assignment: Memoir of a National Geographic Filmmaker
Larison, James R.; Burns, Traber
Blackstone Publishing
, 2021
; English
An exciting adventure story with personal drama and high stakes, as well as a glimpse behind the scenes of the highly regarded National Geographic brand
Jim and Elaine Larison spent years studying, exploring, and living in wild places, making more than thirty environmental films, most for the National Geographic Society. These films won more than forty international awards from leading environmental and broadcast organizations. This memoir tells the story behind the adventure and describes the rather substantial personal costs of this career.
While shooting film in Alaska, Jim Larison narrowly survived a devastating airplane crash in the Bering Sea. Later, while filming on the Great Barrier Reef, the Larisons fought off an aggressive twelve-foot tiger shark. Midway through their careers, the Larisons were nearly swept to their deaths by an icefall while filming on Mount Robson. Full of risk and personal conflict, On Assignment is also a touching look at the tender bonds that held the married couple together while they struggled to complete their many film assignments.
The Larisons were changed by what they saw and what they captured on film: the destruction of forests, the death of coral reefs, and global warming.
In the beginning, the Larisons wanted nothing more than to spend time in the wilderness. By the end, they were fighting for its very survival.
Larison, James R.; Burns, Traber
Blackstone Publishing
, 2021
; English
An exciting adventure story with personal drama and high stakes, as well as a glimpse behind the scenes of the highly regarded National Geographic brand
Jim and Elaine Larison spent years studying, exploring, and living in wild places, making more than thirty environmental films, most for the National Geographic Society. These films won more than forty international awards from leading environmental and broadcast organizations. This memoir tells the story behind the adventure and describes the rather substantial personal costs of this career.
While shooting film in Alaska, Jim Larison narrowly survived a devastating airplane crash in the Bering Sea. Later, while filming on the Great Barrier Reef, the Larisons fought off an aggressive twelve-foot tiger shark. Midway through their careers, the Larisons were nearly swept to their deaths by an icefall while filming on Mount Robson. Full of risk and personal conflict, On Assignment is also a touching look at the tender bonds that held the married couple together while they struggled to complete their many film assignments.
The Larisons were changed by what they saw and what they captured on film: the destruction of forests, the death of coral reefs, and global warming.
In the beginning, the Larisons wanted nothing more than to spend time in the wilderness. By the end, they were fighting for its very survival.
Audiobook
JANE DOE #9: A Surviving R. Kelly Victim Speaks Out
Martinez, Lizzette; MacGregor, Keelin; Katon-Donegal, Tamika
Blackstone Publishing
, 2021
; English
In January of 1995, seventeen-year-old Lizzette Martinez met Grammy-winning musician and record producer R. Kelly at Aventura Mall in Florida where he was performing. At first, it seemed that her hopes of becoming a professional singer were about to come true when he offered to help boost her career. However, this mentorship quickly turned into sexual grooming, leading to years of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse.
After struggling to free herself of the relationship and rebuild on her own, Lizzette's successful new life, far away from the entertainment industry, was interrupted in 2017 by allegations against R. Kelly by other women. This led her to coming forward to the authorities with her own history of abuse by the music icon.
In January 2019, Lizzette participated with other survivors in a documentary series with Lifetime called Surviving R. Kelly. It should have been a healing experience, but instead it left them feeling abandoned and fearful for their lives.
In August 2021, Kelly went on trial in New York on racketeering and sex trafficking charges and was found guilty of all charges.
In Jane Doe #9, listeners get a no-holds-barred look at Martinez's relationship with Kelly, her efforts to break free and pursue her dreams, and courage to take on her abuser and seek justice.
Martinez, Lizzette; MacGregor, Keelin; Katon-Donegal, Tamika
Blackstone Publishing
, 2021
; English
In January of 1995, seventeen-year-old Lizzette Martinez met Grammy-winning musician and record producer R. Kelly at Aventura Mall in Florida where he was performing. At first, it seemed that her hopes of becoming a professional singer were about to come true when he offered to help boost her career. However, this mentorship quickly turned into sexual grooming, leading to years of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse.
After struggling to free herself of the relationship and rebuild on her own, Lizzette's successful new life, far away from the entertainment industry, was interrupted in 2017 by allegations against R. Kelly by other women. This led her to coming forward to the authorities with her own history of abuse by the music icon.
In January 2019, Lizzette participated with other survivors in a documentary series with Lifetime called Surviving R. Kelly. It should have been a healing experience, but instead it left them feeling abandoned and fearful for their lives.
In August 2021, Kelly went on trial in New York on racketeering and sex trafficking charges and was found guilty of all charges.
In Jane Doe #9, listeners get a no-holds-barred look at Martinez's relationship with Kelly, her efforts to break free and pursue her dreams, and courage to take on her abuser and seek justice.
Audiobook
Thoreau, Henry David; Jones, Linda
Spoken Realms
, 2021
; English
"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately." And so it began. Henry David Thoreau, at twenty-seven, built a tiny, one-room cabin in the woods—on land owned by his friend, Ralph Waldo Emerson—and began his two-year experiment in frugality on the shore of Walden Pond. He wasn't seeking isolation so much as simplicity, to "live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms."
This book is his account of his time spent there. And yet it is so much more.
A keen observer, Thoreau is challenging, opinionated, funny, and sharp. E. B. White said of him, "Henry went forth to battle when he took to the woods, and Walden is the report of a man torn by two powerful and opposing drives—the desire to enjoy the world and the urge to set the world straight."
First published in 1854, these essays on politics, philosophy, humanity, and the natural world are at once deeply personal and strikingly universal. He writes with drive, hope, and frustration, with quick humor and exacting honesty. He is an astonishingly good writer. And his words and insights will stay with you long after the last page.
Audiobook
Thoreau, Henry David; Jones, Linda
Spoken Realms
, 2021
; English
"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately." And so it began. Henry David Thoreau, at twenty-seven, built a tiny, one-room cabin in the woods—on land owned by his friend, Ralph Waldo Emerson—and began his two-year experiment in frugality on the shore of Walden Pond. He wasn't seeking isolation so much as simplicity, to "live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms."
This book is his account of his time spent there. And yet it is so much more.
A keen observer, Thoreau is challenging, opinionated, funny, and sharp. E. B. White said of him, "Henry went forth to battle when he took to the woods, and Walden is the report of a man torn by two powerful and opposing drives—the desire to enjoy the world and the urge to set the world straight."
First published in 1854, these essays on politics, philosophy, humanity, and the natural world are at once deeply personal and strikingly universal. He writes with drive, hope, and frustration, with quick humor and exacting honesty. He is an astonishingly good writer. And his words and insights will stay with you long after the last page.
Audiobook
Soul of the Hurricane: The Perfect Storm and an Accidental Sailor
Simon, Nelson
Blackstone Publishing
, 2021
; English
The harrowing true story of an inexperienced crew member on a ship that sailed into the perfect storm.
Nelson Simon didn't want to sign up as a last-minute crew member to transport a Norwegian schooner from Brooklyn to Bermuda. But one thing led to another, and there he was. He told himself that it would be a sort of pleasure cruise: a week in the Gulf Stream with a gourmet chef on board, some down time on a tropical island, then a quick flight home.
What did it matter that he had practically no sailing experience? The eight other crew members had plenty—they just needed an extra pair of hands. What could possibly go wrong?
It was October 1991, and the ship was Anne Kristine, the oldest continuously sailing vessel in the world. What awaited them was Hurricane Grace, the southern end of what came to be known as the "Perfect Storm."
Soul of the Hurricane tells an unlikely tale that begins with an unexpected invitation and ends in the dead of night somewhere far from home, with a Coast Guard helicopter above and a dark, angry sea below.
Simon, Nelson
Blackstone Publishing
, 2021
; English
The harrowing true story of an inexperienced crew member on a ship that sailed into the perfect storm.
Nelson Simon didn't want to sign up as a last-minute crew member to transport a Norwegian schooner from Brooklyn to Bermuda. But one thing led to another, and there he was. He told himself that it would be a sort of pleasure cruise: a week in the Gulf Stream with a gourmet chef on board, some down time on a tropical island, then a quick flight home.
What did it matter that he had practically no sailing experience? The eight other crew members had plenty—they just needed an extra pair of hands. What could possibly go wrong?
It was October 1991, and the ship was Anne Kristine, the oldest continuously sailing vessel in the world. What awaited them was Hurricane Grace, the southern end of what came to be known as the "Perfect Storm."
Soul of the Hurricane tells an unlikely tale that begins with an unexpected invitation and ends in the dead of night somewhere far from home, with a Coast Guard helicopter above and a dark, angry sea below.
Audiobook
The Son of Seven Mothers: A True Story
Risha, Benjamin; Getman, Tim
Blackstone Publishing
, 2021
; English
As the adopted son of two cult leaders, Benjamin Risha was raised to someday assume a place of leadership in the Tony and Susan Alamo Christian Foundation with the Bible, and his parents' interpretation of it, as his guide. He believed the prophecies of his adoptive mother and father, which included them being the two prophets foretold in the Book of Revelations as preceding the second coming of Jesus Christ, then raising from the dead when they died, and such dire warnings as the ground opening up to swallow nonbelievers into hell. He was sure that Susan Alamo could raise the dead as promised.
However, when none of it happened, and the foundation slid from bucolic communal lifestyle to insufferable criminality that included absolute obedience to the Alamos, and polygamous marriages with girls as young as eight years old, Benjamin knew he had to escape. If he was caught trying to escape, he would be beaten nearly to death, forced to go without food and water for his sins, and he would be shamed in the community. He embarked on a journey to locate his birth parents, discover the truth about a world he knew nothing about … and find himself.
In The Son of Seven Mothers, Benjamin Risha takes listeners on a harrowing journey that few in the United States can imagine. And eventually he must choose between the life he knows—and was "chosen" to lead—and his freedom.
Audiobook
Risha, Benjamin; Getman, Tim
Blackstone Publishing
, 2021
; English
As the adopted son of two cult leaders, Benjamin Risha was raised to someday assume a place of leadership in the Tony and Susan Alamo Christian Foundation with the Bible, and his parents' interpretation of it, as his guide. He believed the prophecies of his adoptive mother and father, which included them being the two prophets foretold in the Book of Revelations as preceding the second coming of Jesus Christ, then raising from the dead when they died, and such dire warnings as the ground opening up to swallow nonbelievers into hell. He was sure that Susan Alamo could raise the dead as promised.
However, when none of it happened, and the foundation slid from bucolic communal lifestyle to insufferable criminality that included absolute obedience to the Alamos, and polygamous marriages with girls as young as eight years old, Benjamin knew he had to escape. If he was caught trying to escape, he would be beaten nearly to death, forced to go without food and water for his sins, and he would be shamed in the community. He embarked on a journey to locate his birth parents, discover the truth about a world he knew nothing about … and find himself.
In The Son of Seven Mothers, Benjamin Risha takes listeners on a harrowing journey that few in the United States can imagine. And eventually he must choose between the life he knows—and was "chosen" to lead—and his freedom.
Audiobook
Among the Remnants: Josh Gortler's Journey
Gortler, Joshua H., MSW, DHL; de Cuir, Gabrielle; Rudnicki, Stefan
Blackstone Publishing
, 2021
; English
When three-year-old Joshua Gortler and his family were forced from their hometown in Poland during World War II, they scrambled for safety across border after border, finding refuge at last in Europe's Displaced Persons Camps.
Undocumented and unschooled, Gortler spent his adolescence learning to survive. When his family eventually relocated to the United States, he found himself starting over as teenager in a foreign land with only his spunk and sharp wits to rely on.
After teaching himself English, Gortler managed to complete high school in three years, earn a master's degree in social work, and begin what would become a distinguished career in the field of eldercare. Acknowledged as a leading pioneer in his field, Gortler dedicated his professional life to helping others stitch their torn lives back together.
As a sought-after speaker, he has made it his personal mission to bring the lessons of his unique personal experiences—the value of perseverance, humor, ambition, faith, and the paramount importance education—to audiences as diverse as Rotary clubs, at-risk high schoolers, prisoners, and university students.
Gortler, Joshua H., MSW, DHL; de Cuir, Gabrielle; Rudnicki, Stefan
Blackstone Publishing
, 2021
; English
When three-year-old Joshua Gortler and his family were forced from their hometown in Poland during World War II, they scrambled for safety across border after border, finding refuge at last in Europe's Displaced Persons Camps.
Undocumented and unschooled, Gortler spent his adolescence learning to survive. When his family eventually relocated to the United States, he found himself starting over as teenager in a foreign land with only his spunk and sharp wits to rely on.
After teaching himself English, Gortler managed to complete high school in three years, earn a master's degree in social work, and begin what would become a distinguished career in the field of eldercare. Acknowledged as a leading pioneer in his field, Gortler dedicated his professional life to helping others stitch their torn lives back together.
As a sought-after speaker, he has made it his personal mission to bring the lessons of his unique personal experiences—the value of perseverance, humor, ambition, faith, and the paramount importance education—to audiences as diverse as Rotary clubs, at-risk high schoolers, prisoners, and university students.
