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| the writing on my forehead: The Writing On My Forehead Nafisa Haji, 2010-04-13 Free-spirited and rebellious, Saira has grown up in California with her beautiful, obedient sister Ameena. From childhood, she has broken the boundaries between her desire for independence and her family's traditions - in particular, her Bombay-bred mother's idea of how girls should behave. Now, hungry for experience and curious about the world, Saira travels to Karachi for a wedding, and stumbles on family secrets that will shape the rest of her life. It's the beginning of a journey of understanding and reconciliation that goes back three generations. Further surprises are to come as Saira visits London and discovers the political forces that have driven her father's family, in India and in England. As her background gradually reveals itself, Saira finds that the battles she faces - over love, belonging and fulfilment - have faced others before, and comes to realise that her many-layered inheritance is a thing to be treasured. In a beautifully written and deeply moving narrative, Nafisa Haji explores issues of displacement and belonging and the lure of family, home and tradition versus career and the excitement of the wider world - for men as well as women. |
| the writing on my forehead: The Writing on My Forehead Nafisa Haji, 2010-03-02 A free-spirited and rebellious Muslim-American of Indo-Pakistani descent, willful, intelligent Saira Qader rejected the constricting notions of family, duty, obligation, and fate, choosing instead to become a journalist, making the world her home. But when tragedy strikes, throwing Saira's life into turmoil, the woman who circled the globe to uncover the details of other lives must confront the truths of her own. In need of understanding, she looks to the stories of those who came before—her grandparents, a beloved aunt, her mother and father. As Saira discovers the hope, pain, joy, and passion that defined their lives, she begins to face what she never wanted to admit: that choice is not always our own, and that faith is not merely an intellectual preference. |
| the writing on my forehead: The Writing on My Forehead Nafisa Haji, 2009 Expect a Miracle is the compelling story of a young girl growing up in the Deep South during the 1950s. The Arkansas Delta is fertile for plants, not so much for young girls. Marianne shares provocative memories of her upbringing in a middle-class family caught up in the racial attitudes of the place and time. Ironically, the person who matters most in Marianne's young life is her nanny, who happens to be black. With unpretentious candor, Marianne readily admits, I came from a family that looked good but felt bad. This is a story of a fighting spirit: a young girl institutionalized for most of her adolescent life, a survivor of physical and psychological violence. Everybody knew that she would never become anything worthwhile in life. They knew she would waste away sooner or later. But she fools them all. You will meet a resilient Southern girl driven to find her place in the world-a process that almost claims her life. She does not always say or do what is expected of her and she has the audacity to be herself. You will find Marianne's journey and experiences to be a source of enthusiasm, hope, and inspiration |
| the writing on my forehead: Blood on the Forehead M. E. Kerr, 1998 Using examples from five novels and five short stories, young adult writer M. E. Kerr offers insights into ways writers can get ideas and create successful stories. |
| the writing on my forehead: Pounding Nails in the Floor with My Forehead Eric Bogosian, 1994 Annotation In his brashest solo show, performer and playwright Eric Bogosian once again aims his searing social commentary at the contemporary urban and suburban scene. Never miss Bogosian, because the sharp-tongued, sharp-shooting Bogosian never misses.--Clive Barnes, New York Post. |
| the writing on my forehead: The Cactus on My Forehead Alicia Davila De Laurie, 2011-12-01 These fiction stories are about families and how history shaped their ethnicities, lives, and culture. The characters are my actual ancestors who spread out throughout Mexico, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and other parts of the USA. Covering a span of 425 years, family histories come alive along with the historical events of their time. The ethnic groups in these stories are: Native Americans, Spanish, African, French, and Mexican mestisos who lived in Northern Mexico and the Southwestern United States. The “cactus on the forehead' is mostly used as a condescending identity. I chose to use this phrase as valued identity.The stories start in 1563 with the arrival of the explorer Francisco Ibarra, the beginning of the cattle industry in Chihuahua, and the cultural traditions brought on by this industry. It ends in 1988 with a trip to a “Genealogy Museum” with a brief window as to how these characters helped shaped history.All families have stories to tell. Patterns of values and traditions exist in all families. I hope that these stories inspire you to write your own stories and discover the wealth of information available about your ancestors.Alicia Dávila De Laurie |
| the writing on my forehead: The Wheelman Duane Swierczynski, 2010-04-01 “An enigmatic getaway driver chases, and is chased by, cops and mobsters” in this action-packed hard-boiled thriller debut (Kirkus Reviews). Meet Lennon, a mute Irish getaway driver who has fallen in with the wrong heist team on the wrong day at the wrong bank. Betrayed, his money stolen and his battered carcass left for dead, Lennon is on a one-way mission to find out who is responsible—and to get back his loot. But the robbery has sent a violent ripple effect through the streets of Philadelphia. And now a dirty cop, the Russian and Italian mobs, the mayor’s hired gun, and a keyboard player in a college rock band maneuver for position as this adrenaline-fueled novel twists and turns its way toward its explosive conclusion. One thing’s for sure: this cast of characters wakes up in a much different world by novel’s end—if they wake up at all. Praise for The Wheelman “If you are partial to fast-paced thrillers that present this world as an unforgiving, blood-soaked wasteland, you should love Duane Swierczynski’s first novel. Swierczynski’s novel, like those of [Elmore] Leonard, offers an undertow of humor beneath the churning sea of man’s inhumanity.” —The Washington Post “[A] promising debut. . . . The gripping tale of a heist gone wrong.” —Robert Wade, San Diego Union-Tribune “A great heist story in the rich tradition of Richard Stark’s Parker novels and Stanley Kubrick’s The Killing . . . keeps readers holding their breath to see what’s going to happen next. It is clearly the work of a maturing writer who is possessed of a keen style and abundant talent.” —Philadelphia Inquirer |
| the writing on my forehead: My Face in the Light Martha Schabas, 2023-04-04 NAMED A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK BY THE CBC AND THE GLOBE AND MAIL “Brilliant, provocative, and moving. —Johanna Skibsrud, Giller Prize-winning author of The Sentimentalists A novel like cut crystal. —Jordan Tannahill, Giller Prize-nominated author of The Listeners “My mother is an artist and I am a liar. Or, if I scratch the surface, my mother is a sick woman and I am an actress . . . Justine feels uneasy in her marriage, her theatre career and her relationship with her estranged mother, a famous painter. An intuitive and uncanny mimic, distinguished by a pronounced scar across her forehead (the result of a childhood accident), Justine has made acting the centre of her life since she was a teenager, but lately her outwardly charmed life in Toronto has begun to ring false. After a disastrous audition in London, England, a chance encounter with a stranger leads to an unorthodox business proposition that would allow Justine to abandon the world she knows indefinitely. As the complications and contradictions of leaving a life behind swell to the point of crisis, Justine must confront the collateral damage of a traumatic, long-repressed past. In psychologically astute prose full of provocative insights, My Face in the Light is a piercing, poignant novel about truth in art and identity. It’s the story of a young woman owning up to the lies she’s fallen in love with, and figuring out if she can still recognize herself when she finally lets them go. |
| the writing on my forehead: Say it to My Face Francine Pascal, 1999 Jessica Wakefield tries to deal with nasty rumors about her which are circulating around her school. |
| the writing on my forehead: Another Day in the Frontal Lobe Katrina Firlik, 2007-06-12 Katrina Firlik is a neurosurgeon, one of only two hundred or so women among the alpha males who dominate this high-pressure, high-prestige medical specialty. She is also a superbly gifted writer–witty, insightful, at once deeply humane and refreshingly wry. In Another Day in the Frontal Lobe, Dr. Firlik draws on this rare combination to create a neurosurgeon’s Kitchen Confidential–a unique insider’s memoir of a fascinating profession. Neurosurgeons are renowned for their big egos and aggressive self-confidence, and Dr. Firlik confirms that timidity is indeed rare in the field. “They’re the kids who never lost at musical chairs,” she writes. A brain surgeon is not only a highly trained scientist and clinician but also a mechanic who of necessity develops an intimate, hands-on familiarity with the gray matter inside our skulls. It’s the balance between cutting-edge medical technology and manual dexterity, between instinct and expertise, that Firlik finds so appealing–and so difficult to master. Firlik recounts how her background as a surgeon’s daughter with a strong stomach and a keen interest in the brain led her to this rarefied specialty, and she describes her challenging, atypical trek from medical student to fully qualified surgeon. Among Firlik’s more memorable cases: a young roofer who walked into the hospital with a three-inch-long barbed nail driven into his forehead, the result of an accident with his partner’s nail gun, and a sweet little seven-year-old boy whose untreated earache had become a raging, potentially fatal infection of the brain lining. From OR theatrics to thorny ethical questions, from the surprisingly primitive tools in a neurosurgeon’s kit to glimpses of future techniques like the “brain lift,” Firlik cracks open medicine’s most prestigious and secretive specialty. Candid, smart, clear-eyed, and unfailingly engaging, Another Day in the Frontal Lobe is a mesmerizing behind-the-scenes glimpse into a world of incredible competition and incalculable rewards. |
| the writing on my forehead: Call If You Need Me Raymond Carver, 2015-05-25 The complete uncollected fiction and nonfiction, including the five posthumously discovered “last” stories, published here in book form for the first time—from “one of the great short story writers of our time—of any time” (The Philadelphia Inquirer). Call If You Need Me includes all of the prose previously collected in No Heroics, Please, four essays from Fires, and those five marvelous stories that range over the period of Carver’s mature writing and give his devoted readers a final glimpse of the great writer at work. The pure pleasure of Carver’s writing is everywhere in his work, here no less than in those stories that have already entered the canon of modern literature. |
| the writing on my forehead: No Love Without Poetry Ariadna Efron, 2022-07-15 The memoirs of Ariadna Efron provide an intimate and indispensable perspective on the poet Marina Tsvetaeva's life and work, told from the point of view of her daughter. |
| the writing on my forehead: When It Happens to You Molly Ringwald, 2012-08-09 A stunning novel in stories in the tradition of Jennifer Egan by the iconic actress Molly Ringwald Tales of love, loss, and betrayal are at the heart of When It Happens to You, the debut novel in stories from actress and author Molly Ringwald. A Hollywood icon, Ringwald defined the teenage experience in the eighties in such classic films as Pretty in Pink, The Breakfast Cluband Sixteen Candles. Ringwald brings the compelling candour she displayed in her film roles to the unforgettable characters she has created in this series of intertwined and linked stories about the particular challenges, joys and disappointments of adult relationships. Her characters grapple with infertility and infidelity, fame and familial discord in a magnificent debut that will resonate broadly, particularly with fans of Melissa Banks, Meg Wolitzer and Lorrie Moore. 'When It Happens to Youis absolutely lovely, a smart, emotionally sophisticated, intricately dovetailed novel of stories. World, I'm telling you now: Molly Ringwald is the real deal' Lauren Groff, author of Arcadia 'Molly Ringwald understands how families work and uses her considerable talents to make them come alive on the page' Gary Shteyngart |
| the writing on my forehead: Goal! Mina Javaherbin, 2021-03-30 “Uplifting and inspiring, this beautifully written and illustrated book reminds us of the joys and saving grace of friendship and sport.” — Archbishop Desmond Tutu In a dusty township in South Africa, Ajani and his friends have earned a brand-new, federation-size soccer ball. They kick. They dribble. They run. They score. These clever boys are football champions! But when a crew of bullies tries to steal their ball, will Ajani and his friends be able to beat them at their own game? |
| the writing on my forehead: One Day I Will Write About This Place Binyavanga Wainaina, 2011-07-19 *A New York Times Notable Book* *A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice* *A Publishers Weekly Top Ten Book of the Year* Binyavanga Wainaina tumbled through his middle-class Kenyan childhood out of kilter with the world around him. This world came to him as a chaos of loud and colorful sounds: the hair dryers at his mother's beauty parlor, black mamba bicycle bells, mechanics in Nairobi, the music of Michael Jackson—all punctuated by the infectious laughter of his brother and sister, Jimmy and Ciru. He could fall in with their patterns, but it would take him a while to carve out his own. In this vivid and compelling debut memoir, Wainaina takes us through his school days, his mother's religious period, his failed attempt to study in South Africa as a computer programmer, a moving family reunion in Uganda, and his travels around Kenya. The landscape in front of him always claims his main attention, but he also evokes the shifting political scene that unsettles his views on family, tribe, and nationhood. Throughout, reading is his refuge and his solace. And when, in 2002, a writing prize comes through, the door is opened for him to pursue the career that perhaps had been beckoning all along. A series of fascinating international reporting assignments follow. Finally he circles back to a Kenya in the throes of postelection violence and finds he is not the only one questioning the old certainties. Resolutely avoiding stereotype and cliché, Wainaina paints every scene in One Day I Will Write About This Place with a highly distinctive and hugely memorable brush. |
| the writing on my forehead: The Face-Changers Thomas Perry, 1999-03-29 Jane Whitefield, legendary half-Indian shadow guide who spirits hunted people away from certain death, has never had a client like Dr. Richard Dahlman. A famous plastic surgeon who has dedicated his life to healing, the good doctor hasn't a clue why stalkers are out for his blood. But he knows Jane Whitefield's name--and that she is his only hope. Once again Jane performs her magic, leading Dahlman in a nightmare flight across America, only a heartbeat ahead of pursuers whose leader is a dead ringer for Jane: a raven-haired beauty who has stolen her name, reputation, and techniques--not to save lives, but to destroy them. . . . |
| the writing on my forehead: Bindu's Bindis Supriya Kelkar, 2021-03-02 A companion to Kelkar's The Many Colors of Harpreet Singh, this picture book features a little girl named Bindu whose bindis connect her to family and help her find courage to compete in the school talent show. This charming picture book is about a little girl who loves her bindis (and the many creative shapes they come in!). The bindis are also a connection to her Nani who lives in India. When Nani comes to visit Bindu and brings the bindis to her, it is just in time to wear something new to the school talent show. Bindu and Nani work together to shine their brightest and embrace their sparkle, even when they stand out from the crowd. |
| the writing on my forehead: Boom Town Sam Anderson, 2018-08-21 A brilliant, kaleidoscopic narrative of Oklahoma City—a great American story of civics, basketball, and destiny, from award-winning journalist Sam Anderson NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • NPR • Chicago Tribune • San Francisco Chronicle • The Economist • Deadspin Oklahoma City was born from chaos. It was founded in a bizarre but momentous “Land Run” in 1889, when thousands of people lined up along the borders of Oklahoma Territory and rushed in at noon to stake their claims. Since then, it has been a city torn between the wild energy that drives its outsized ambitions, and the forces of order that seek sustainable progress. Nowhere was this dynamic better realized than in the drama of the Oklahoma City Thunder basketball team’s 2012-13 season, when the Thunder’s brilliant general manager, Sam Presti, ignited a firestorm by trading future superstar James Harden just days before the first game. Presti’s all-in gamble on “the Process”—the patient, methodical management style that dictated the trade as the team’s best hope for long-term greatness—kicked off a pivotal year in the city’s history, one that would include pitched battles over urban planning, a series of cataclysmic tornadoes, and the frenzied hope that an NBA championship might finally deliver the glory of which the city had always dreamed. Boom Town announces the arrival of an exciting literary voice. Sam Anderson, former book critic for New York magazine and now a staff writer at the New York Times magazine, unfolds an idiosyncratic mix of American history, sports reporting, urban studies, gonzo memoir, and much more to tell the strange but compelling story of an American city whose unique mix of geography and history make it a fascinating microcosm of the democratic experiment. Filled with characters ranging from NBA superstars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook; to Flaming Lips oddball frontman Wayne Coyne; to legendary Great Plains meteorologist Gary England; to Stanley Draper, Oklahoma City's would-be Robert Moses; to civil rights activist Clara Luper; to the citizens and public servants who survived the notorious 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building, Boom Town offers a remarkable look at the urban tapestry woven from control and chaos, sports and civics. |
| the writing on my forehead: Emotional Beats Nicholas Rossis, 2016-09-10 Because of the way our brains are wired, readers empathize more strongly if you don't name the emotion you are trying to describe. As soon as you name an emotion, readers go into thinking mode. And when they think about an emotion, they distance themselves from feeling it.A great way to show anger, fear, indifference, and the whole range of emotions that characterize the human experience, is through beats. These action snippets that pepper dialogue can help describe a wide range of emotions, while avoiding lazy writing. The power of beats lies in their innate ability to create richer, more immediate, deeper writing.This book includes hundreds of examples that you can use for your inspiration, so that you, too, can harness this technique to easily convert your writing into palpable feelings. |
| the writing on my forehead: Phantoms Dean Koontz, 2002-02-05 “Phantoms is gruesome and unrelenting…It’s well realized, intelligent, and humane.”—Stephen King They found the town silent, apparently abandoned. Then they found the first body, strangely swollen and still warm. One hundred fifty were dead, 350 missing. But the terror had only begun in the tiny mountain town of Snowfield, California. At first they thought it was the work of a maniac. Or terrorists. Or toxic contamination. Or a bizarre new disease. But then they found the truth. And they saw it in the flesh. And it was worse than anything any of them had ever imagined... |
| the writing on my forehead: Muslim American Hyphenations Mahwash Shoaib, 2021-05-19 Muslim American Hyphenations presents critical perspectives on the diverse compositions of hyphenated Muslim American identities in literary, artistic, and performative texts. Scholars analyze the intersections of faith and culture in the expressive modes used by Muslim Americans to contest the domains of secularity, nation, race, gender, and class. |
| the writing on my forehead: The Memoir Project Marion Roach Smith, 2011-06-09 An extraordinary practical resource for beginners looking to write their own memoir—now new and revised (Kirkus Reviews)! The greatest story you could write is one you've experienced yourself. Knowing where to start is the hardest part, but it just got a little easier with this essential guidebook for anyone wanting to write a memoir. Did you know that the #1 thing that baby boomers want to do in retirement is write a book—about themselves? It's not that every person has lived such a unique or dramatic life, but we inherently understand that writing a memoir—whether it's a book, blog, or just a letter to a child—is the single greatest path to self-examination. Through the use of disarmingly frank, but wildly fun tactics that offer you simple and effective guidelines that work, you can stop treading water in writing exercises or hiding behind writer's block. Previously self-published under the title, Writing What You Know: Raelia, this book has found an enthusiastic audience that now writes with intent. |
| the writing on my forehead: Between the Lines Jodi Picoult, Samantha van Leer, 2013-06-25 Told in their separate voices, sixteen-year-old Prince Oliver, who wants to break free of his fairy-tale existence, and fifteen-year-old Delilah, a loner obsessed with Prince Oliver and the book in which he exists, work together to seek his freedom. |
| the writing on my forehead: I Was Anastasia Ariel Lawhon, 2018-03-27 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the bestselling author of The Frozen River comes an enthralling feat of historical suspense that unravels the extraordinary twists and turns in Anna Anderson's fifty-year battle to be recognized as Anastasia Romanov. Is she the Russian Grand Duchess or the thief of another woman's legacy? Tantalizing, surprising, compelling, and utterly fascinating.—Lisa Wingate, New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours Countless others have rendered their verdict. Now it is your turn. Russia, July 17, 1918: Under direct orders from Vladimir Lenin, Bolshevik secret police force Anastasia Romanov, along with the entire imperial family, into a damp basement in Siberia, where they face a merciless firing squad. None survive. At least that is what the executioners have always claimed. Germany, February 17, 1920: A young woman bearing an uncanny resemblance to Anastasia Romanov is pulled shivering and senseless from a canal. Refusing to explain her presence in the freezing water or even acknowledge her rescuers, she is taken to the hospital where an examination reveals that her body is riddled with countless horrific scars. When she finally does speak, this frightened, mysterious young woman claims to be the Russian grand duchess. As rumors begin to circulate through European society that the youngest Romanov daughter has survived the massacre at Ekaterinburg, old enemies and new threats are awakened. The question of who Anna Anderson is and what actually happened to Anastasia Romanov spans fifty years and touches three continents. This thrilling saga is every bit as moving and momentous as it is harrowing and twisted. Don't miss Ariel Lawhon's new book, The Frozen River! |
| the writing on my forehead: That's what Brothers Do-- Derekica Snake, 2010-02-03 To save his family, he sold his innocence. To save his sisters, he sold his body. To save his love, he sold his soul. Why? That's what brothers do... 2009 Rainbow Award Winner - 3rd place in Contemporary Novel category |
| the writing on my forehead: The Kokilas Ābadullāh Āla Māmuna, 1993 The Kokilas Is A Two-Hour Protest Play Highlighting The Injustics Meted Out To Women In A Male-Dominant Society. |
| the writing on my forehead: Before and Again Barbara Delinsky, 2018-06-26 From Barbara Delinsky, the New York Times bestselling author of Blueprints and Sweet Salt Air, a brand-new novel about a woman in hiding finding the courage to face the world again. Mackenzie Cooper took her eyes off the road for just a moment but the resulting collision was enough to rob her not only of her beloved daughter but ultimately of her marriage, family, and friends—and thanks to the nonstop media coverage, even her privacy. Now she lives in Vermont under the name Maggie Reid, in a small house with her cats and dog. She’s thankful for the new friends she’s made—though she can’t risk telling them too much. And she takes satisfaction in working as a makeup artist at the luxurious local spa, helping clients hide the visible outward signs of their weariness, illnesses, and injuries. Covering up scars is a skill she has mastered. Her only goal is to stay under the radar and make it through her remaining probation. But she isn’t the only one in this peaceful town with secrets. When a friend’s teenage son is thrust into the national spotlight, accused of hacking a powerful man’s Twitter account, Maggie is torn between pulling away and protecting herself—or stepping into the glare to be at their side. As the stunning truth behind their case is slowly revealed, Maggie’s own carefully constructed story begins to unravel as well. She knows all too well that what we need from each other in this difficult world is comfort. But to provide it, sometimes we need to travel far outside our comfort zones. From a multimillion-selling master of women’s fiction, Before and Again is a story of the relationships we find ourselves in—mothers and daughters, spouses and siblings, true companions and fair-weather friends—and what kind of sacrifices we are or aren’t willing to make to sustain them through good times and bad. |
| the writing on my forehead: Scars Like Wings Erin Stewart, 2019-10-01 Relatable, heartbreaking, and real, this is a story of resilience--the perfect novel for readers of powerful contemporary fiction like Girl in Pieces and Every Last Word. Before, I was a million things. Now I'm only one. The Burned Girl. Ava Lee has lost everything there is to lose: Her parents. Her best friend. Her home. Even her face. She doesn't need a mirror to know what she looks like--she can see her reflection in the eyes of everyone around her. A year after the fire that destroyed her world, her aunt and uncle have decided she should go back to high school. Be normal again. Whatever that is. Ava knows better. There is no normal for someone like her. And forget making friends--no one wants to be seen with the Burned Girl, now or ever. But when Ava meets a fellow survivor named Piper, she begins to feel like maybe she doesn't have to face the nightmare alone. Sarcastic and blunt, Piper isn't afraid to push Ava out of her comfort zone. Piper introduces Ava to Asad, a boy who loves theater just as much as she does, and slowly, Ava tries to create a life again. Yet Piper is fighting her own battle, and soon Ava must decide if she's going to fade back into her scars . . . or let the people by her side help her fly. A heartfelt and unflinching look at the reality of being a burn survivor and at the scars we all carry. This book is for everyone, burned or not, who has ever searched for a light in the darkness. --Stephanie Nielson, New York Times bestselling author of Heaven Is Here and a burn survivor |
| the writing on my forehead: Ugly Robert Hoge, 2016-09-06 A funny, moving, and true story of an ordinary boy with an extraordinary face that's perfect for fans of Wonder—now available in the U.S. When Robert Hoge was born, he had a tumor the size of a tennis ball in the middle of his face and short, twisted legs. Surgeons removed the tumor and made him a new nose from one of his toes. Amazingly, he survived—with a face that would never be the same. Strangers stared at him. Kids called him names, and adults could be cruel, too. Everybody seemed to agree that he was “ugly.” But Robert refused to let his face define him. He played pranks, got into trouble, had adventures with his big family, and finally found a sport that was perfect for him to play. And Robert came face to face with the biggest decision of his life, he followed his heart. This poignant memoir about overcoming bullying and thriving with disabilities shows that what makes us “ugly” also makes us who we are. It features a reflective foil cover and black-and-white illustrations throughout. |
| the writing on my forehead: The Bruise Magdalena Zurawski, 2008-08-10 A young woman living in a dormitory on an American university is bruised in a strange encounter with an angel and must decide whether the event was real or imagined--a task she accomplishes through writing. |
| the writing on my forehead: The Frangipani Hotel Violet Kupersmith, 2015-02-17 An extraordinarily compelling debut—ghost stories that grapple with the legacy of the Vietnam War A beautiful young woman appears fully dressed in an overflowing bathtub at the Frangipani Hotel in Hanoi. A jaded teenage girl in Houston befriends an older Vietnamese gentleman she discovers naked behind a dumpster. A trucker in Saigon is asked to drive a dying young man home to his village. A plump Vietnamese-American teenager is sent to her elderly grandmother in Ho Chi Minh City to lose weight, only to be lured out of the house by the wafting aroma of freshly baked bread. In these evocative and always surprising stories, the supernatural coexists with the mundane lives of characters who struggle against the burdens of the past. Based on traditional Vietnamese folk tales told to Kupersmith by her grandmother, these fantastical, chilling, and thoroughly contemporary stories are a boldly original exploration of Vietnamese culture, addressing both the immigrant experience and the lives of those who remained behind. Lurking in the background of them all is a larger ghost—that of the Vietnam War, whose legacy continues to haunt us. Violet Kupersmith’s voice is an exciting addition to the landscape of American fiction. With tremendous depth and range, her stories transcend their genre to make a wholly original statement about the postwar experience. Praise for The Frangipani Hotel “[A] subversively clever debut collection . . . These stories—playful, angry, at times legitimately scary—demonstrate a subtlety of purpose that belies [Kupersmith’s] youth.”—The New York Times Book Review “Magical, beautiful, modern stories, all based on traditional Vietnamese folktales, [The Frangipani Hotel] invokes the ghosts of the land that was left behind.”—San Francisco Chronicle “[A] sparkling debut . . . playful and wise, an astonishing feat for a young writer.”—Chicago Tribune “A series of short stories that are as fresh as they are mesmerizing, The Frangipani Hotel will haunt you long after the last words have drifted off the page.”—Lisa See “Auspicious . . . wildly energetic.”—Elle “Enthralling stories . . . teeming with detail and personality.”—Asian Review of Books “Chilling and lovely . . . Kupersmith has combined traditional storytelling with a post-modern sense of anxiety and darkness, and the result is captivating.”—Bookreporter “The stories shimmer with life. . . . Kupersmith [is] one to watch.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review) |
| the writing on my forehead: Face Value Alexander Todorov, 2017-05-30 The scientific story of first impressions—and why the snap character judgments we make from faces are irresistible but usually incorrect We make up our minds about others after seeing their faces for a fraction of a second—and these snap judgments predict all kinds of important decisions. For example, politicians who simply look more competent are more likely to win elections. Yet the character judgments we make from faces are as inaccurate as they are irresistible; in most situations, we would guess more accurately if we ignored faces. So why do we put so much stock in these widely shared impressions? What is their purpose if they are completely unreliable? In this book, Alexander Todorov, one of the world's leading researchers on the subject, answers these questions as he tells the story of the modern science of first impressions. Drawing on psychology, cognitive science, neuroscience, computer science, and other fields, this accessible and richly illustrated book describes cutting-edge research and puts it in the context of the history of efforts to read personality from faces. Todorov describes how we have evolved the ability to read basic social signals and momentary emotional states from faces, using a network of brain regions dedicated to the processing of faces. Yet contrary to the nineteenth-century pseudoscience of physiognomy and even some of today's psychologists, faces don't provide us a map to the personalities of others. Rather, the impressions we draw from faces reveal a map of our own biases and stereotypes. A fascinating scientific account of first impressions, Face Value explains why we pay so much attention to faces, why they lead us astray, and what our judgments actually tell us. |
| the writing on my forehead: Reliquaria R. A. Villanueva, 2014-09-01 In his prize-winning poetry collection Reliquaria, R. A. Villanueva embraces liminal, in-between spaces in considering an ever-evolving Filipino American identity. Languages and cultures collide; mythologies and faiths echo and resound. Part haunting, part prayer, part prophecy, these poems resonate with the voices of the dead and those who remember them. In this remarkable book, we enter the vessel of memory, the vessel of the body. The dead act as witness, the living as chimera, and we learn that whatever the state of the body, this much rings true: every ode is an elegy; each elegy is always an ode. |
| the writing on my forehead: The Sweetness of Tears Nafisa Haji, 2011-05-17 When faith and facts collide, Jo March—a young woman born into an Evangelical Christian dynasty—wrestles with questions about who she is and how she fits into the weave of her faithful family. Chasing loose threads that she hopes will lead to the truth, Jo sets off on an unlikely quest across boundaries of language and religion, through chasms of sectarian divides in the Muslim world. Against the backdrop of the War on Terror—travelling from California to Chicago, Pakistan to Iraq—she delves deeply into the past, encountering relatives, often for the first time, whose histories are intricately intertwined with her own . . . only to learn that true spiritual devotion is a broken field riddled with doubt and that nothing is ever as it seems. A story of forbidden love and familial dysfunction that interweaves multiple generational and cultural viewpoints, The Sweetness of Tears is a powerful reminder of the ties that bind us, the choices that divide us, and the universal joys and tragedies that shape us all. |
| the writing on my forehead: She I Dare Not Name Donna Ward, 2020-03-03 A compelling memoir about the single life and the courage to live alone in a world made for couples and families. Astonishing. Luminous. A book about being human. She I Dare Not Name is a compelling collection of fiercely intelligent, deeply intimate, lyrical reflections on the life of a woman who stands on the threshold between two millennia. Both manifesto and confession, this moving memoir explores the meaning and purpose Donna Ward discovered in a life lived entirely without a partner and children. The book describes what it is like to live on the edge of a world built in the shape of couples and families. Rippling through these pages is the way a spinster - or a bachelor, or any of us for that matter - contends with the prejudice and stigma of being different. With courage and astounding honesty Donna uncovers the challenge of living with more solitude than anticipated and what it is like to walk the road through midlife and beyond alone. And she reveals how she found home and discovered herself within it. Funny, sharp, wise and wry, She I Dare Not Name shows how reading saved this spinster's life, and how friends and writing and walking brought a contentment and sense of achievement she never thought possible. 'With a devastatingly clear-eyed honesty, the word Ward dares to name is spinster, and this meditative collection of essays spin their own spell, making a deep dive into the world of female solitude in all its guises. She lays it out like a calm tarot reading: feminism, courage, silence, loneliness, grief, recovery and the power of the generative idea, as well as all the labels that come with carving out your own path of self-definition and self-determination.' - Cate Kennedy, author of The World Beneath |
| the writing on my forehead: Riots I Have Known Ryan Chapman, 2020-11-17 Longlisted for the 2019 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, Ryan Chapman’s “gritty, bracing debut” (Esquire) set during a prison riot is “dark, daring, and laugh-out-loud hilarious…one of the smartest—and best—novels of the year” (NPR). A largescale riot rages through Westbrook prison in upstate New York, incited by a poem in the house literary journal. Our unnamed narrator, barricaded inside the computer lab, swears he’s blameless—even though, as editor-in-chief, he published the piece in question. As he awaits violent interruption by his many, many enemies, he liveblogs one final Editor’s Letter. Riots I Have Known is his memoir, confession, and act of literary revenge. His tale spans a childhood in Sri Lanka, navigating the postwar black markets and hotel chains; employment as a Park Avenue doorman, serving the widows of the one percent; life in prison, with the silver lining of his beloved McNairy; and his stewardship of The Holding Pen, a “masterpiece of post-penal literature” favored by Brooklynites everywhere. All will be revealed, and everyone will see he’s really a good guy, doing it for the right reasons. “Fitfully funny and murderously wry,” Riots I Have Known is “a frenzied yet wistful monologue from a lover of literature under siege” (Kirkus Reviews). |
| the writing on my forehead: Book of Face Painting Abigail Wheatley, 2021-07-08 Get creative with this lovely book about face painting, with lots of different ideas and designs to follow, this book will keep you busy for hours. |
| the writing on my forehead: I Know This Much Is True Wally Lamb, 1999-04-06 With his stunning debut novel, She's Come Undone, Wally Lamb won the adulation of critics and readers with his mesmerizing tale of one woman's painful yet triumphant journey of self-discovery. Now, this brilliantly talented writer returns with I Know This Much Is True, a heartbreaking and poignant multigenerational saga of the reproductive bonds of destruction and the powerful force of forgiveness. A masterpiece that breathtakingly tells a story of alienation and connection, power and abuse, devastation and renewal--this novel is a contemporary retelling of an ancient Hindu myth. A proud king must confront his demons to achieve salvation. Change yourself, the myth instructs, and you will inhabit a renovated world. |
| the writing on my forehead: Blood Meridian Cormac McCarthy, 2010-08-11 25th ANNIVERSARY EDITION • From the bestselling author of The Passenger and the Pulitzer Prize–winning novel The Road: an epic novel of the violence and depravity that attended America's westward expansion, brilliantly subverting the conventions of the Western novel and the mythology of the Wild West. One of The Atlantic’s Great American Novels of the Past 100 Years Based on historical events that took place on the Texas-Mexico border in the 1850s, Blood Meridian traces the fortunes of the Kid, a fourteen-year-old Tennesseean who stumbles into the nightmarish world where Indians are being murdered and the market for their scalps is thriving. |
| the writing on my forehead: Hannah Weiner's Open House Hannah Weiner, 2007 Poetry. HANNAH WEINER'S OPEN HOUSE beckons us into a realm of poetry that bends consciousness in order to open the doors of perception. Weiner is one of the great American linguistic inventors of the last thirty years of the 20th century. She created an alchemical poetry that transforms the materials of everyday life into a dimension beyond sensory perception. The pieces collected here are as much conceptual art as sprung prose, experimental mysticism as social realism, autobiography as egoless alyric. Patrick Durgin has brought together touchstone works, some familiar and some never before published. HANNAH WEINER'S OPEN HOUSE provides the only single volume introduction to the full range of Weiner's vibrant, enthralling, and unique contribution to the poetry of the Americas. Charles Bernstein |
The Writing on My Forehead: A Novel - amazon.com
Mar 3, 2009 · A brilliant bestselling debut novel from author Nafisa Haji, The Writing on My Forehead describes one woman’s struggle with the Indo-Pakistani traditions of her family and …
The Writing on My Forehead by Nafisa Haji - Goodreads
Jan 1, 2009 · A free-spirited and rebellious Muslim-American of Indo-Pakistani descent, willful, intelligent Saira Qader rejected the constricting notions of family, duty, obligation, and fate, …
The Writing on My Forehead: A Novel Kindle Edition
Feb 20, 2009 · A free-spirited and rebellious Muslim-American of Indo-Pakistani descent, willful, intelligent Saira Qader rejected the constricting notions of family, duty, obligation, and fate, …
THE WRITING ON MY FOREHEAD - Kirkus Reviews
Mar 1, 2009 · Hannah’s new novel is an homage to the extraordinary courage and endurance of Frenchwomen during World War II. In 1995, an elderly unnamed widow is moving into an …
The writing on my forehead : Haji, Nafisa - Archive.org
May 14, 2021 · The writing on my forehead by Haji, Nafisa. Publication date 2010 Topics Muslim women -- Family relationships -- Fiction, Women journalists -- Fiction, Muslim families, Muslim …
The Writing on My Forehead: A Novel - Google Books
Mar 3, 2009 · A brilliant bestselling debut novel from author Nafisa Haji, The Writing on My Forehead describes one woman’s struggle with the Indo-Pakistani traditions of her family...
The Writing On My Forehead - Penguin Books UK
Free-spirited and rebellious, Saira has grown up in California with her beautiful, obedient sister Ameena. From childhood, she has broken the boundaries between her desire for …
The Writing on My Forehead : A Novel - AbeBooks
A brilliant bestselling debut novel from author Nafisa Haji, The Writing on My Forehead describes one woman’s struggle with the Indo-Pakistani traditions of her family and her own …
The Writing on My Forehead: A Novel - amazon.com
Mar 2, 2010 · A free-spirited and rebellious Muslim-American of Indo-Pakistani descent, willful, intelligent Saira Qader rejected the constricting notions of family, duty, obligation, and fate, …
The Writing on My Forehead | ReadingGroupGuides.com
Mar 2, 2010 · From childhood, willful, intelligent Saira Qader broke the boundaries between her family's traditions and her desire for independence. A free-spirited and rebellious Muslim …
The Writing on My Forehead: A Novel - amazon.com
Mar 3, 2009 · A brilliant bestselling debut novel from author Nafisa Haji, The Writing on My Forehead describes one woman’s struggle with the Indo-Pakistani traditions of her family and …
The Writing on My Forehead by Nafisa Haji - Goodreads
Jan 1, 2009 · A free-spirited and rebellious Muslim-American of Indo-Pakistani descent, willful, intelligent Saira Qader rejected the constricting notions of family, duty, obligation, and fate, …
The Writing on My Forehead: A Novel Kindle Edition
Feb 20, 2009 · A free-spirited and rebellious Muslim-American of Indo-Pakistani descent, willful, intelligent Saira Qader rejected the constricting notions of family, duty, obligation, and fate, …
THE WRITING ON MY FOREHEAD - Kirkus Reviews
Mar 1, 2009 · Hannah’s new novel is an homage to the extraordinary courage and endurance of Frenchwomen during World War II. In 1995, an elderly unnamed widow is moving into an …
The writing on my forehead : Haji, Nafisa - Archive.org
May 14, 2021 · The writing on my forehead by Haji, Nafisa. Publication date 2010 Topics Muslim women -- Family relationships -- Fiction, Women journalists -- Fiction, Muslim families, Muslim …
The Writing on My Forehead: A Novel - Google Books
Mar 3, 2009 · A brilliant bestselling debut novel from author Nafisa Haji, The Writing on My Forehead describes one woman’s struggle with the Indo-Pakistani traditions of her family...
The Writing On My Forehead - Penguin Books UK
Free-spirited and rebellious, Saira has grown up in California with her beautiful, obedient sister Ameena. From childhood, she has broken the boundaries between her desire for …
The Writing on My Forehead : A Novel - AbeBooks
A brilliant bestselling debut novel from author Nafisa Haji, The Writing on My Forehead describes one woman’s struggle with the Indo-Pakistani traditions of her family and her own …
The Writing on My Forehead: A Novel - amazon.com
Mar 2, 2010 · A free-spirited and rebellious Muslim-American of Indo-Pakistani descent, willful, intelligent Saira Qader rejected the constricting notions of family, duty, obligation, and fate, …
The Writing on My Forehead | ReadingGroupGuides.com
Mar 2, 2010 · From childhood, willful, intelligent Saira Qader broke the boundaries between her family's traditions and her desire for independence. A free-spirited and rebellious Muslim …
