In this inspiring memoir, a former female Marine platoon leader recalls the wars she has fought—on the playing field, the battlefield, and inside her own soul—revealing how overcoming the harrowing circumstances in her life helped her ultimately redefine what it means to be strong and what “perfect” really is.
Theresa Larson has lived multiple lives. At ten she was a caregiver to her dying mother. As an adolescent, an All-Star high school, college, and professional softball player. As a young adult, a fitness competition winner, beauty pageant contestant, and model. And as a grown woman, a high-achieving Lieutenant in the Marines, in charge of an entire platoon while deployed in Iraq.
Meanwhile, Theresa was battling bulimia nervosa, an internal struggle which ultimately cut short her military service when she was voluntarily evacuated from combat. Theresa’s journey to wellness required the bravery to ask for help, to take care of herself first, and abandon the idea of “perfect.” In Warrior, she lays bare all of these lives in intimate and vivid detail, examining extremely personal and sometime painful moments and how, by finally accepting the help of others, she learned to make herself whole. From growing up in a log cabin outside Seattle to facing down the enemy in Iraq, Theresa’s journey demonstrates that good health and happiness is a daily, intentional act that requires persistence and commitment.
Theresa hopes that through sharing her story, she will help inspire others to empower themselves, embrace their inner warrior and re-define strength. Startling and funny, terrifying and triumphant, heartbreaking and inspirational, Warrior is at heart a story of perseverance and success—of a determined woman who is model for everyone struggling to conquer their own demons. Theresa shows that asking for help can be an act of courage, and that we are stronger than we think when faced with seemingly impossible odds.

Warrior: A Memoir

Biographies & Memoirs

Eisenstock, Alan

Larson, Theresa

Community & Culture

HarperOne

Just a Guy: Notes from a Blue Collar Life

What does it mean to be JUST A GUY? --A guy doesn't think before he speaks. --Eating and sleeping always come first. Always. --A guy may get married, but he doesn't have to like it. --It's tough to admit, but all guys are exactly the same. Blue Collar Comedy Star Bill Engvall is JUST A GUY. He's been one his whole life. He can't help it. He was born that way. And that makes him an expert on the subject. For the record, here's the official definition of a guy: A person who doesn't think before he speaks. He can't. He's not that deep. Because a guy has only three basic needs: eating, sleeping, and sex. That's it. JUST A GUY chronicles a lifetime in pursuit of those needs. In this hilarious and heartfelt memoir, Bill Engvall takes you on the rollicking ride of his life, beginning with his childhood in Texas and adolescence in Arizona, becoming a fixture in local emergency rooms, the result of massive amounts of non-thinking behavior trying to impress girls or torture his sisters; to high school in Dallas where he dabbled in an array of truly odd jobs, learned the trombone, and came of age, all strangely connected; to college and his tenure as his fraternity's social chairman, where he masterminded a series of legendary parties and attempted to rescue his pet bird while the house was burning down (not his fault, honest); to following his dream as a standup comic and, gulp, singer; to his brief stint in children's theater while sharing the stage and the back of a van with the director's dog, and as a movie extra with forked tongue and cloth claws; to his bumbling and riotous courtship, then marriage to Gail, the love of his life; and, finally, fatherhood, where he remains, to this day, a well-meaning, but flawed parent. Through it all, Bill gamely stumbles along, struggling to maintain a façade of confidence and control. Far from a superhero, Bill Engvall is an everyday Everyman, the poster boy for normal. The result is JUST A GUY who is disarming, perceptive, wildly funny, and unexpectedly moving. JUST A GUY will make you laugh out loud and tug at your heart. Hopefully, not at the same time.

Engvall, Bill

Arts & Literature

St.Martin's Press

"His folksy humor...has made him a hit in the heartland...Don't bet a little plain ol' charm won't work just as well on the rest of the country."--Philadelphia Inquirer
For the record, here's the official definition of a guy: A person who doesn't think before he speaks. He can't. He's not that deep. Because a guy has only three basic needs: eating, sleeping, and sex. That's it. Just a Guy chronicles a lifetime in pursuit of those needs. 
In this hilarious and heartfelt memoir, Bill Engvall takes you on the rollicking ride of his life, beginning with his childhood in Texas and adolescence in Arizona, becoming a fixture in local emergency rooms, the result of massive amounts of non-thinking behavior trying to impress girls or torture his sisters; to high school in Dallas where he dabbled in an array of truly odd jobs and came of age; to college and his tenure as his fraternity's social chairman, where he masterminded a series of legendary parties; to following his dream as a standup comic and, gulp, singer; to his bumbling and riotous courtship, then marriage to Gail, the love of his life; and, finally, fatherhood, where he remains, to this day, a well-meaning, but flawed parent. 
Through it all, Bill gamely stumbles along, struggling to maintain a façade of confidence and control. Far from a superhero, Bill Engvall is an everyday Everyman, the poster boy for normal. The result is just a guy who is disarming, perceptive, wildly funny, and unexpectedly moving. 
"The sensitive parts of the book...truly stand out."--Publishers Weekly
"Bottom line: if you like Blue Collar TV or are just looking for some good comedy, this is a great book to pick up."―Blogcritics.org

St. Martin's: Griffin

Inside The Meat Grinder: An Nfl Official's Life In The Trenches

Welcome to the violent world of NFL referee Chad Brown, where three-hundred-pound men hurtle at each other at supercharged speeds. Where intimidation is a way of life. And where Chad is the man marked in stripes, the man in the middle, the man who throws the yellow flag-or doesn't. This electrifying book exposes the hard-hitting reality of life in the trenches for an NFL referee, including: * On-Field Action: what players and coaches are really saying on the field in the heat of battle. * Dirty Tricks: how NFL players have perfected the art of escaping penalties-or getting them called on an opponent. * Ballistic Coaches: what it's like to have everyone-coaches, players and a whole stadium full of fans-trying to intimidate you every moment of the game. * Instant Replay: why the video tape can make an official look like a fool or a genius-and why sometimes the tape lies. Packed with action and inside stories on some of the game's greatest players-and biggest whiners-Inside the Meat Grinder is a hard-hitting look at hardcore NFL action, where Chad Brown, a boy hell-raiser turned football player turned NFL zebra, plays the toughest position on the field...

Inside the Meat Grinder: An NFL Official's Life in the Trenches

Sports & Outdoors

Brown, Chad

Football (American)

St. Martin's Paperbacks

Provides advice on the private school application process from teachers, educational consultants, and admissions directors, and discusses whether particular kindergartens may help children gain acceptance to preferred colleges.

The Kindergarten Wars: The Battle to Get into America's Best Private Schools

Education & Teaching

Schools & Teaching

Grand Central Publishing

THE KINDERGARTEN WARS is the first narrative nonfiction book ever to take the reader inside all aspects of the private school application process. Eisenstock follows several families across the country from their first school tours until the moment they open their admissions letters. He interviews admissions directors, school heads, teachers, educational consultants, and kindergarten tutors, who coach both parents and kids. Did you know the most important line in your child's application is where you-the parent-went to college? Did you know that you can qualify for financial aid even if you make $192,000 a year? Eisenstock uncovers startling information, starting with how private school admissions directors decide who gets in. Does the child of a single woman of ethnic diversity on financial aid have a better chance of getting into an elite kindergarten than a child of a middle-class white couple? He will ask Ivy League students, their parents, and their admissions counselors the $500,000 question: Does where you go to kindergarten ultimately help you get into the most prestigious colleges? At its core, THE KINDERGARTEN WARS is a human drama. It's the story of a quest and the people who are vying for the prize-a space in private school kindergarten-at any cost. The book is honest, funny, suspenseful, and emotional.

The Kindergarten Wars

GRAND CENTRAL PUB.

From one of the most celebrated and beloved comedians and actors of our time, George Lopez, comes this hilarious, touching, and often wacky chronicle of life after fifty. George Lopez just hit the half-century mark and the reset button on his life. Newly single and ready to embrace life, George was excited to turn fifty. It would be a welcome new phase in his life, a chance to say goodbye to a decade that included a kidney transplant and a divorce. But when he looked around a room full of his childhood friends, all gathered to celebrate his birthday, many now bald or overweight, it suddenly hit him that he was old. What happened? And more importantly, what was he going to do about it? George learns the hard way that when you turn 50, everything changes. You pull a muscle in your sleep. You avoid mirrors at all costs, and always, always wear a robe. You have to schedule an appointment to have sex. You have to dye your hair and buy a bathtub with a door. As George learns to embrace life after fifty, he invites readers into his world, sharing the ups and downs of getting older—from his relationship with a much younger woman to a bizarre session with a pet psychic, to a trip behind-the-scenes at his tumultuous two years at Lopez Tonight, to an intimate look at his sacred ground, the golf course—and, for the first time, he reveals in moving detail, the story of the battle for his life against kidney disease. I’m Not Gonna Lie will make you laugh at yourself, cry about yourself, and look at turning fifty in a way you never would’ve imagined—through the eyes of George Lopez.

I'm Not Gonna Lie: and Other Lies You Tell When You Turn 50

Lopez, George

Parenting & Relationships

Celebra

George Lopez acaba de cumplir medio siglo y ha empezado a reiniciar su vida. Recién soltero y listo para disfrutarla, George estaba emocionado de cumplir cincuenta. Sería una nueva fase muy bienvenida en su vida, y la oportunidad para decir adiós a una década que incluyó un trasplante de riñón y un divorcio. Pero cuando miró a su alrededor en un cuarto lleno de sus amigos de la infancia, todos reunidos ahí para celebrar su cumpleaños, muchos ahora calvos o con sobrepeso, de repente se dio cuenta de que estaba viejo. ¿Qué había pasado? Y más importante, ¿qué iba a hacer al respecto? George aprendió por las malas que cuando se cumple cincuenta, todo cambia. Te desgarras un músculo mientras duermes. Evitas los espejos a como dé lugar y siempre, siempre, usas una bata. Tienes que hacer una cita para tener sexo. Tienes que teñirte el pelo y comprar una bañera con puerta. A medida que George aprende a disfrutar de la vida después de los cincuenta, invita a los lectores a su mundo, compartiendo los altibajos de envejecer, desde su relación con una mujer mucho más joven a una extraña sesión con una psíquica de mascotas, a un viaje detrás de bambalinas durante sus tumultuosos dos años en Lopez Tonight, hasta una mirada íntima a su tierra sagrada, el campo de golf, y, por primera vez, revela con conmovedores detalles la historia de la batalla por su vida contra una enfermedad renal. No voy a mentir hará que te rías de ti mismo, llores y mires el hecho de cumplir cincuenta de una forma que nunca habrías imaginado: a través de los ojos de George Lopez.

No voy a mentir: Y otras mentiras que dices cuando cumples 50 años (Spanish Edition)

A powerful true story about a Muslim doctor's service to small-town America and the hope of overcoming our country's climate of hostility and fear. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY PUBLISHERS WEEKLY In 2013, Ayaz Virji left a comfortable job at an East Coast hospital and moved to a town of 1,400 in Minnesota, feeling called to address the shortage of doctors in rural America. But in 2016, this decision was tested when the reliably blue, working-class county swung for Donald Trump. Virji watched in horror as his children faced anti-Muslim remarks at school and some of his most loyal patients began questioning whether he belonged in the community. Virji wanted out. But in 2017, just as he was lining up a job in Dubai, a local pastor invited him to speak at her church and address misconceptions about what Muslims practice and believe. That invitation has grown into a well-attended lecture series that has changed hearts and minds across the state, while giving Virji a new vocation that he never would have expected. In Love Thy Neighbor, Virji relates this story in a gripping, unforgettable narrative that shows the human consequences of our toxic politics, the power of faith and personal conviction, and the potential for a renewal of understanding in America's heartland.

Love Thy Neighbor: A Muslim Doctor's Struggle for Home in Rural America

Virji M.D., Ayaz

Convergent Books

Elgin Baylor’s memoir of an epic all-star career in the NBA—during which he transformed basketball from a horizontal game to a vertical one—and his fights against racism during his career as a player and as general manager of the LA Clippers under the infamous Donald Sterling People think of Elgin Baylor as one of the greatest basketball players in the history of the game—and one of the NBA’s first black superstars—but the full extent of his legacy stretches beyond his spectacular, game-changing shots and dunks. With startling symmetry, Baylor recounts his story: flying back and forth between the U.S. Army and the Lakers, his time as a central figure in the great Celtics-Lakers rivalry and how he helped break down color barriers in the sport, his 1964 All-Star game boycott, his early years as an executive for the New Orleans Jazz, and twenty-two years as general manager for the notorious L.A. Clippers and Donald Sterling, spent fighting to draft and sign young, black phenoms—only to be hamstrung by his boss at every turn. No one has seen the league change, and has worked to bring change, more than Baylor. Year after year, he continued to fight and persevere against racism. At the beginning of his career, he was forced to stay in separate hotel rooms. From those days to today’s superstardom, he has had a front-row view of the game’s elevation to one of America’s favorite sports. For the first time, Elgin Baylor tells his full story. He’s played with the legends, lived with them, and knows more about the NBA than anyone living, and is finally ready to set the record straight.

Hang Time: My Life in Basketball

Baylor, Elgin

Mariner Books

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Eisenstock, Alan. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Eisenstock, Alan

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Eisenstock, Alan. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Warrior: A Memoir

Just a Guy: Notes from a Blue Collar Life

Just a Guy: Notes from a Blue Collar Life

Inside the Meat Grinder: An NFL Official's Life in the Trenches

The Kindergarten Wars: The Battle to Get into America's Best Private Schools

The Kindergarten Wars

I'm Not Gonna Lie: and Other Lies You Tell When You Turn 50

No voy a mentir: Y otras mentiras que dices cuando cumples 50 años (Spanish Edition)

Love Thy Neighbor: A Muslim Doctor's Struggle for Home in Rural America

Hang Time: My Life in Basketball