'I wasn't depressed because I was gay. I was depressed *and* gay.' Shaun David Hutchinson was nineteen. Confused. Struggling to find the vocabulary to understand and accept who he was and how he fit into a community in which he couldn't see himself. The voice of depression told him that he would never be loved or wanted, while powerful and hurtful messages from society told him that being gay meant love and happiness weren't for him. A million moments...

"The companion to Rex Ogle's award-winning Free Lunch is a searing account of adolescence in a household torn by domestic violence. Punching Bag is the compelling true story of a high school career defined by poverty and punctuated by outbreaks of domestic abuse. Rex Ogle, who brilliantly mapped his experience of hunger in Free Lunch, here describes his struggle to survive; reflects on his complex, often paradoxical relationship with his passionate,...

Soon after the sexual misconduct allegations against film producer Harvey Weinstein became public in late 2017, the #MeToo movement went viral, opening up an explosive conversation about rape culture around the globe. In the US, someone is sexually assaulted every 98 seconds. More than 320,000 Americans over the age of twelve are sexually assaulted each year. Men are victims too. One in thirty-three American men will be sexually assaulted or raped...

Forging a deep, complex relationship with the sister who cares for her when their dysfunctional mother and absent father cannot, Gem organizes a short trip to avoid their father when he returns unexpectedly.

Tyler Feder had just white-knuckled her way through her first year of college when her super cool mom was diagnosed with late-stage cancer. Now, with a decade of grief and nervous laughter under her belt, Tyler shares the story of that gut-wrenching, heart-pounding, extremely awkward time in her life—from her mom's first oncology appointment to her funeral and shiva week through the beginning of facing reality as a motherless daughter. She shares...

Ryan Smithson joined the Army Reserve when he was seventeen. Two years later, he was deployed to Iraq as an Army engineer. In this extraordinary and harrowing memoir, readers march along one GI's tour of duty. Smithson avoids writing either prowar propaganda or an antimilitary polemic, providing instead a fascinating, often humorous-and occasionally devastating-account of the motivations and life of a contemporary soldier.

"Seventeen-year-old Elena is vanishing. Every day means renewed determination, so every day means fewer calories. This is the story of a girl whose armor against anxiety becomes artillery against herself as she battles on both sides of a lose-lose war in a struggle with anorexia"--Amazon.com.

Documents the burial process throughout the centuries and in different cultures.

Chris Crutcher, author of young adult novels such as "Ironman" and "Whale Talk," as well as short stories, tells of growing up in Cascade, Idaho, and becoming a writer.

"Behind the fame of big-time sports lies a complex web of controversy and deceit. Doping-- the use of banned performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) to gain a competitive athletic edge -- is common in many sports. While doping can improve performance, it poses huge risks for athletes' health and careers. Some of the world's top athletes, from cyclist Lance Armstrong to professional baseball player Alex Rodriguez, have seen their images tarnished by doping...