Some Books about Despite - Happy Despite Reading!

He spent his childhood trapped within the confines of countless bizarre, strict rules. And lived to tell about it.

In this first-hand account, author Matthew Paul Turner shares amusing–sometimes cringe-worthy–and poignant stories about growing up in a fundamentalist household, where even well-intentioned contemporary Christian music was proclaimed to be “of the devil.”

churched is a collection of stories that detail an American boy’s experiences growing up in a culture where men weren’t allowed let their hair grow to touch their ears (“an abomination!”), women wouldn’t have been caught dead in a pair of pants (unless swimming), and the pastor couldn’t preach a sermon without a healthy dose of hellfire and brimstone. Matthew grapples with the absurdity of a Sunday School Barbie burning, the passionate annual boxing match between the pastor and Satan, and the holiness of being baptized a fifth time–while growing into a young man who, amidst the chaotic mess of religion, falls in love with Jesus..
Price: $9.40 [Notify me when price goes down.]

This method is a truly entertaining approach to learning how to play the piano. Written by Ward Cannel of the Piano Consortium, the method breaks down music theory into visual concepts which are fun and easy to grasp, so you can learn to play the music you want to play! Perfect for those piano lesson dropouts!.
Price: $11.90 [Notify me when price goes down.]

This book is a controversial skewering of how doctors and the medical industry turn healthy people into patients .
Price: $15.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]

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Price: $4.81 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Initially a showcase for underground music reviews, Cometbus has evolved to include interviews, essays, short stories, and reader forums. Covering everything from travel adventures to dumpster diving, Cometbus forms a literary soundtrack for the lives of its readers. Despite Everything contains dozens of photos, illustrations, and the best material from all 48 issues of Cometbus, one of the original punk zines. "One of the finest examples of self-publishing in the United States today.... [Cometbus] could be the best-loved zine ever." — San Francisco Bay Guardian.
Price: $10.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]

With all the razzle-dazzle technology around, there's still no more lively, informative, and audience-friendly way to make an impact than with flip charts. But using flip charts well is a skill. Here's a book that provides you with the proven techniques that will make you shine. You'll learn the basic design principles and artistic "tricks of the trade" that give a flip chart a professional look: Selecting and arranging lettering that makes an impact all the way to the back of the room … Transporting and setting up flip charts … Arranging the presentation room … Finding the best, most dependable equipment--including easels, paper, masking tape, and markers … Jazzing up your flip chart with "ready-to-copy" graphics … Devising flip chart activities that lead to brainstorming and team problem-solving. Soon, even the least artistic presenter will know how to develop pro-level flip charts that can make every presentation come alive..
Price: $15.77 [Notify me when price goes down.]

For more than thirty-five years, Thomas W. Dichter has worked in the field of international development, managing and evaluating projects for nongovernmental organizations, directing a Peace Corps country program, and serving as a consultant for such agencies as USAID, UNDP, and the World Bank. On the basis of this extensive and varied experience, he has become an outspoken critic of what he terms the "international poverty alleviation industry." He believes that efforts to reduce world poverty have been well-intentioned but largely ineffective. On the whole, the development industry has failed to serve the needs of the people it has sought to help.

To make his case, Dichter reviews the major trends in development assistance from the 1960s through the 1990s, illustrating his analysis with eighteen short stories based on his own experiences in the field. The analytic chapters are thus grounded in the daily life of development workers as described in the stories.

Dichter shows how development organizations have often become caught up in their own self-perpetuation and in public relations efforts designed to create an illusion of effectiveness. Tracing the evolution of the role of money (as opposed to ideas) in development assistance, he suggests how financial imperatives have reinforced the tendency to sponsor time-bound projects, creating a dependency among aid recipients. He also examines the rise of careerism and increased bureaucratization in the industry, arguing that assistance efforts have become disconnected from important lessons learned on the ground.

In the end, Dichter calls for a more light-handed and artful approach to development assistance, with fewer agencies and experts involved. His stance is pragmatic, rather than ideological or political. What matters, he says, is what works, and the current practices of the development industry are simply not effective..
Price: $19.80 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Respected psychologist Dr. Brad Sachs helps parents to recognize their unrealistic expectations for their teenagers and to love, accept and nurture the family they have to its full potential. His approach frees them to discover acceptance of themselves and of their children.

The ages twelve to eighteen are often the most challenging and trying years for adolescents––and their parents. No other phase of life is characterized by so much physical and psychological change happening so quickly. And frequently the child parents had loved and understood becomes a teenager they hardly recognize––the child who loved music grows into a teen who wants to play video games rather than the piano; or the little girl who loved dolls becomes a teen who loves staying out with her older, rebellious boyfriend. The Good Enough Teen, however, shows you how to see your child's evolution as a window of opportunity––for you, for your child, and for your entire family. Rather than having you brace for your offspring's adolescence with your eyes shut and your jaw clenched, this book will help you to understand the invisible transformation teens are experiencing, as well as the ways in which your own adolescence intimately influences this understanding. You will find yourself better able to see even your child's most exasperating behaviours as steps in his or her striving towards maturity, rather than chronic problems or mean–spirited efforts designed to make you miserable.

The Good Enough Teen presents a developmental overview of what parents can expect from their children during adolescence, then delineates the five stages in the journey towards accepting a child for who he or she is. With prescriptive tools and strategies for parents, including checklists, quizzes, and exercises, and numerous case studies from the author's own practice, The Good Enough Teen is vital help for any parent with a teenager.

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