Koncocoo

Best Social Services & Welfare

Spilled Milk: Based On A True Story
Brooke Nolan is a battered child who makes an anonymous phone call about the escalating brutality in her home. When social services jeopardize her safety condemning her to keep her father’s secret, it’s a glass of spilled milk at the dinner table that forces her to speak about the cruelty she’s been hiding. When jury members and a love interest congregate to inspire her to fight, she risks losing the support of family and comes to the realization that some people simply do not want to be saved. Several colleges and high schools have incorporated the novel into their lesson plans and I've received tons of feedback from my voracious fans- I knew I needed to come out with a more polished and professional edition that was appropriate for the education system, my fans, and in general. Randis, author of bestselling novel Spilled Milk and thePillbillies series, started journaling at the age of six and had shortstories and poetry published by the time she was thirteen.She is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University and a certifiedexpert in the field of domestic violence. Randis engages audiences on a local and national level to raise awareness about child abuse, serving as a frequent commentator to media outlets.
Reviews
"Sometimes bad things happen to good people and that thought breaks my heart."
"A story of courage of a young child in a very dysfunctional home."
"It's surprising that his mum was such a friendly, helpful and understanding person given that her son was the complete opposite."
"there were times I had to put it down and collect myself because I could feel tears forming in my eyes."
"I just know after reading the conclusion that she has not only written a best seller but has helped save many lives by writing her story."
"Concisely written, she moves swiftly into illustrating her rise from a hell ruled by her father into an adolescence marked by determination to change the dynamic; she forges a life for herself in spite of her father and mother who want her to remain dependent."
"I read this book in about 3 days."
"I actually really liked this book even though it's quite disturbing."
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One Day at a Time in Al-Anon
Provides daily meditations and readings to help families of alcoholics find strength and hope.
Reviews
"supplement to my daily reflection."
"Item as advertised."
"Fast shipping and great prices!"
"This is not the book for you if you are looking to help an alcoholic."
"I am very happy with my book the delivery didn't take too long the book came crisp and wonderful."
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Far From the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity
Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award, a Books for a Better Life Award, and one of The New York Times Book Review ’s Ten Best Books of 2012, this masterpiece by the National Book Award-winning author of The Noonday Demon features stories of parents who not only learn to deal with their exceptional children, but also find profound meaning in doing so—“a brave, beautiful book that will expand your humanity” ( People ). *Starred Review* Solomon, who won the National Book Award for The Noonday Demon (2001), tackles daunting questions involving nature versus nurture, illness versus identity, and how they all affect parenting in his exhaustive but not exhausting exploration of what happens when children bear little resemblance to their parents. Solomon focuses on the creative and often desperate ways in which families manage to tear down prejudices and preconceived fears and reassemble their lives around the life of a child who alters their view of the world.
Reviews
"Thank you, Mr. Solomon for pointing out the absurdities in our justice system when it comes to dealing with juvenile crime. I wanted to learn about how families deal with a diagnosis of autism; instead I learned about how families deal with all kinds of unexpected outcomes, how resilient parents can be when faced with hardships, and how connected are the identities of parents and their children. One more thing: in 700 pages (okay, I admit, I didn't read the Acknowledgments) I never found an example of "martyrdom" that one reviewer complained about. But Far From the Tree isn't a chronicle of long-suffering devastated parents; there are plenty of positive, hopeful, make-the-best-of-it moments as well."
"Great read, tying in a wide variety of different and often difficult situations that make it hard for children to fully bond with their parents, their "vertical community"."
"Solomon focuses on a range of "differences" that children can have from their parents, e.g. deaf children born to hearing parents, "dwarf" children born to normal-sized parents, schizophrenic children, etc., and explores in extensive detail the experiences, dilemmas and challenges of both the parents and the children."
"I was assigned this book for my grad class that I'm in and I just read a chapter on disabilities that really shook me."
"It is a bear of a book to get through although to be fair about half the book are Notes and other supporting material. The author, Andrew Solomon, writes an incredibly good and detailed book about families who are faced with children who are extraordinary and exceptional. Through the use of tons of in person interviews over many years he presents the reader with raw emotions, feedback and day to day life raising these sorts of children."
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Best Parenting & Relationships

The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts
Whether your relationship is flourishing or failing, Dr. Gary Chapman’s proven approach to showing and receiving love will help you experience deeper and richer levels of intimacy with your partner—starting today. Updated to reflect the complexities of relationships today, this new edition reveals intrinsic truths and applies relevant, actionable wisdom in ways that work. While working as a marriage counselor for more than 30 years, he identified five love languages: Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Receiving Gifts, Acts of Service, and Physical Touch. Gifts are highly important to one spouse, while another sees fixing a leaky faucet, ironing a shirt, or cooking a meal as filling their "love tank." "In this unabridged recording of material the author has been perfecting for years, he says that people experience love most strongly through one of five love languages--quality time, words of encouragement, gifts, acts of service, and physical touch. Without making light of the work a marriage requires, he'll convince most listeners that with just a little planning and effort they can make a good marriage great and a broken partnership truly satisfying again."
Reviews
"My wife and I have 2 small children and our house is hard to stay clean because every room feels like a mess. A big part of improving your relationship with your spouse or boyfriend/girlfriend is to sticking with a date night to make sure you have quality time together. My wife and I have been together for 10 years and got stuck in the rut of an endless routine of doing everything we could for our kids, followed by daily chores and left little time for ourselves. Committing to 1 date night a week has really helped our relationship and improved our communication."
"I was once asked to read this book by the only person in the world I love.....I refused. It's not a good feeling as a man to agree to read a book on relationships because you feel like you're putting everything into the authors hands.....and what if he "doesn't understand" or what if the advice doesn't apply to us.....what if it makes things worse between us because he advises things we don't believe in.....no....I'm not reading that I told her. I thought no matter what we would always figure each other out and we would be ok......I didn't see being asked to read this book , was a cry out from the woman I love hitting a boiling point and her attempt to communicate to me in a different way......the same things she's been trying to for a long time..... Instead of being some guys opinions or......typical shrink talk that in no way could apply to each specific relationship.......I found it to be a book that opens up the mind to the understanding of love.....and how it is not this one universal "language" we all feel we should be the same with.....I once told her...."nobody taught me how to love, I'm growing....learning".....I pleased with her to understand I love her.......we simply didn't have an understanding of how and why we didnt approach love the exact same way as each other.....only makes sense that it should be the same right? I will just end it like this..... last night I took a stretch that I have been doing for over 2 years and I changed it in a slightly different way....... a lot of the pain I normally get daily is gone....... just to put a spotlight on that sentence .....I'm saying that what I had been doing for so long..... trying to cure one of the biggest problems in my life that hadnt been working............that I continued doing........ believing in and depending on.... to be my much needed answer.......It wasn't until I allowed the idea of the same stretch applied in a different way, that I ALLOWED life to be better for me. You have to go into the book with an open mind because if you do it with the mindset of wanting it to say what it is that you want to hear.....then you can never let the life-changing words happen.......you're learning a language as you read...not what's right and wrong but what was being lost in life. Keep in mind this is a book about the language of love so if you think about when you go to school to learn a different language...you are taking the difficult step of taking time there in order to understand.....be able to take what you understand and apply it.....and be able to communicate in a NEEDED way once you learn....AND THEN USE......communicate and UNDERSTAND eachother."
"Great book, I read a friends book and decided to purchase it for myself."
"My husband and I read it and I bought a copy to give my parents (they could really use it to understand each other better!)."
"This book will really make you think about things when you read it, especially if you have had relationship problems..."
"contains helpful information and I enjoyed reading through people's testimonies and experiences."
"Really comes to show you why people are the way they are."
"This is an excellent book."
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Best Child Abuse

A Child Called It: One Child's Courage to Survive
It is the story of Dave Pelzer, who was brutally beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable, alcoholic mother: a mother who played tortuous, unpredictable games--games that left him nearly dead. This book is a brief, horrifying account of the bizarre tortures she inflicted on him, told from the point of view of the author as a young boy being starved, stabbed, smashed face-first into mirrors, forced to eat the contents of his sibling's diapers and a spoonful of ammonia, and burned over a gas stove by a maniacal, alcoholic mom.
Reviews
"This book has started an inner healing process.As I started reading, I started crying, crying so loudly that I started wailing."
"This book helped know that I was never alone in what I went through as a child."
"A girl I worked with told me about this book one day, and I decided I wanted to check it out."
"This book is a healing power to me, since I never have the mind to open up to Any body what i suffered during my stay with My aunty."
"I read this book years ago."
"Love this book."
"The child in the story had a good life for his first four years and then the abuse started. To have had a good life with loving parents then allo of a sudden you start being abused."
"I had read all of the Dave Pelzer books."
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Best Family Abuse

Spilled Milk: Based On A True Story
Brooke Nolan is a battered child who makes an anonymous phone call about the escalating brutality in her home. When social services jeopardize her safety condemning her to keep her father’s secret, it’s a glass of spilled milk at the dinner table that forces her to speak about the cruelty she’s been hiding. When jury members and a love interest congregate to inspire her to fight, she risks losing the support of family and comes to the realization that some people simply do not want to be saved. Several colleges and high schools have incorporated the novel into their lesson plans and I've received tons of feedback from my voracious fans- I knew I needed to come out with a more polished and professional edition that was appropriate for the education system, my fans, and in general. Randis, author of bestselling novel Spilled Milk and thePillbillies series, started journaling at the age of six and had shortstories and poetry published by the time she was thirteen.She is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University and a certifiedexpert in the field of domestic violence. Randis engages audiences on a local and national level to raise awareness about child abuse, serving as a frequent commentator to media outlets.
Reviews
"A lot of us close our eyes and turn our backs to frightening things that were written about in this book."
"Sometimes bad things happen to good people and that thought breaks my heart."
"A story of courage of a young child in a very dysfunctional home."
"It's surprising that his mum was such a friendly, helpful and understanding person given that her son was the complete opposite."
"there were times I had to put it down and collect myself because I could feel tears forming in my eyes."
"I just know after reading the conclusion that she has not only written a best seller but has helped save many lives by writing her story."
"Concisely written, she moves swiftly into illustrating her rise from a hell ruled by her father into an adolescence marked by determination to change the dynamic; she forges a life for herself in spite of her father and mother who want her to remain dependent."
"I read this book in about 3 days."
Find Best Price at Amazon

Best Family Relationship

Spilled Milk: Based On A True Story
Brooke Nolan is a battered child who makes an anonymous phone call about the escalating brutality in her home. When social services jeopardize her safety condemning her to keep her father’s secret, it’s a glass of spilled milk at the dinner table that forces her to speak about the cruelty she’s been hiding. When jury members and a love interest congregate to inspire her to fight, she risks losing the support of family and comes to the realization that some people simply do not want to be saved. Several colleges and high schools have incorporated the novel into their lesson plans and I've received tons of feedback from my voracious fans- I knew I needed to come out with a more polished and professional edition that was appropriate for the education system, my fans, and in general. Randis, author of bestselling novel Spilled Milk and thePillbillies series, started journaling at the age of six and had shortstories and poetry published by the time she was thirteen.She is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University and a certifiedexpert in the field of domestic violence. Randis engages audiences on a local and national level to raise awareness about child abuse, serving as a frequent commentator to media outlets.
Reviews
"A lot of us close our eyes and turn our backs to frightening things that were written about in this book."
"Sometimes bad things happen to good people and that thought breaks my heart."
"I think anyone that has or is experiencing domestic or sexual abuse should read Spilled Milk."
"A story of courage of a young child in a very dysfunctional home."
"It's surprising that his mum was such a friendly, helpful and understanding person given that her son was the complete opposite."
"there were times I had to put it down and collect myself because I could feel tears forming in my eyes."
"I just know after reading the conclusion that she has not only written a best seller but has helped save many lives by writing her story."
"Concisely written, she moves swiftly into illustrating her rise from a hell ruled by her father into an adolescence marked by determination to change the dynamic; she forges a life for herself in spite of her father and mother who want her to remain dependent."
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Best Grandparenting

Memories for My Grandchild: A Keepsake to Remember (Grandparent's Memory Book)
Don't you wish your grandmother had written down her life story?
Reviews
"Of the five memory books I purchased this holiday season, Memories for My Grandchild is my favorite. Some questions throughout the book are: What was your favorite home-cooked food? There is a pocket at the end of the book where you can store photos, old letters etc. The other memory books I bought were: Grandma, Tell me your memories, A Father's Legacy, Share your stories Grandpa, and A Grandparent's Legacy. It's a fitting, journal-sized book, has a variety of questions and provides ample room for sharing memories and posting photos."
"I looked at a couple in the store that I didn't like much because they had room for pictures on almost every page and not as much room for questions and answers - which is what I really wanted. - It has just a couple pages for basic geneology, which is nice to have for the record but not what I wanted the book to focus on. - There are several questions on each page with a good amount of lines to fill in each answer. - I liked the questions. I would give more examples of questions and what made me like this book, but I was so excited about it that I gave it to them right away and both of them live far away."
"Questions like " something I wish I'd done more of, something I wish I did less of, one food I cannot stand, the place I get my best ideas, you can never have enough of.... , people make a big deal about..., it's not easy being...., something I admire in others. The best thing about my age, my most featured role in life has been as a .., top website top magazine too book too musician, favorite tv show, favorite holiday."
"Great item for a grandparent gift."
"I bought this book for my 2nd granddaughter as I had used a different book for our 1st granddaughter."
"Perfect for the first time grandma to add stories, memories, and photos for your grandchild when they grow up."
"This was given as a gift to a grandma to be and was well received."
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Best Dollhouses

The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death
Still used in forensic training today, the eighteen Nutshell dioramas, on a scale of 1:12, display an astounding level of detail: pencils write, window shades move, whistles blow, and clues to the crimes are revealed to those who study the scenes carefully. Bizarre and utterly fascinating, The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death is a dark and disturbing photographic journey through criminal cases and the mind of Frances Glessner Lee--grandmother, dollhouse-maker, and master criminal investigator. To train investigators of sudden and violent deaths to better assess visual evidence, Lee created the Nutshell Studies--dollhouses that students could study from every angle, with minute crime scenes details taken from actual cases.
Reviews
"This was a wonderful gift for my partner."
"I guess it sounds macabre to look forward on a book that deals with murder, death; however I'm a Chicago detective and I ran across an article on Frances Glessner."
"Lee painstakingly created the scenarios in the 1940s and 50s for a very serious purpose: training investigating police on the correct scientific methods of approaching crime scenes, observing all details which may bear on the case. Frances Glessner Lee, a Chicago heiress, founded Harvard’s Department of Legal Medicine and built these gruesome displays of domestic murder, mishap and accidental death to train police in observation. There are tiny calendars and books (including The Sign of the Four), miniature tools and household implements, medically accurate colouring (bright red skin for victims of carbon monoxide poisoning) and domestic details recreated to scale. There is a wealthy woman’s philanthropic role in promoting the ways in which the law and medicine interacted (in early years, coroners didn’t have to have medical expertise at all – some were elected to the position and were pretty much useless for the purpose of autopsies and crime solving)."
"The charm in the dioramas is that they are so intricate and meticulous, and most of the photos have this blurry outline where I'd really just like to see the entire picture."
"This book starts out with a fascinating essay on Frances Glessner Lee, including the incredible lengths to which she went to produce the pinpoint detail in her dioramas."
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Best Dysfunctional Relationships

Spilled Milk: Based On A True Story
Brooke Nolan is a battered child who makes an anonymous phone call about the escalating brutality in her home. When social services jeopardize her safety condemning her to keep her father’s secret, it’s a glass of spilled milk at the dinner table that forces her to speak about the cruelty she’s been hiding. When jury members and a love interest congregate to inspire her to fight, she risks losing the support of family and comes to the realization that some people simply do not want to be saved. Several colleges and high schools have incorporated the novel into their lesson plans and I've received tons of feedback from my voracious fans- I knew I needed to come out with a more polished and professional edition that was appropriate for the education system, my fans, and in general. Randis, author of bestselling novel Spilled Milk and thePillbillies series, started journaling at the age of six and had shortstories and poetry published by the time she was thirteen.She is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University and a certifiedexpert in the field of domestic violence. Randis engages audiences on a local and national level to raise awareness about child abuse, serving as a frequent commentator to media outlets.
Reviews
"I learned about several cases of incest in Pennsylvania when I was younger and I often wondered about the victims and how they were able to process what happened to them."
"If you don’t like sad books, you may not enjoy it however, if you want a huge realization of life then DIG IN!"
"This book, for me, was one I couldn't put down.."
"What a FANTASTIC book! If you don't, I highly recommend that you read it anyway."
"This was a sad, heart wrenching tale, yet written in such a way that the reader was filled with hope."
"I felt I was reading what I would rate as a 3 to 4 star book but my whole perception changed when I got up a 3 a.m. so I could finish it."
"A lot of us close our eyes and turn our backs to frightening things that were written about in this book."
"Sometimes bad things happen to good people and that thought breaks my heart."
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Best Buddhism

Siddhartha (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)
A bold translation of Nobel Prize-winner Herman Hesse's most inspirational and beloved work in a Penguin Classics deluxe edition Hesse's famous and influential novel, Siddartha , is perhaps the most important and compelling moral allegory our troubled century has produced. Hesse’s rich allusions to world mythologies, especially those of Asia, and his persistent theme of the individual striving for integrity in opposition to received opinions and mass culture appealed to a generation in upheaval and in search of renewed values. This early exposure to the philosophies and religions of Asia—filtered and interpreted by thinkers thoroughly steeped in the intellectual traditions and currents of modern Europe—provided Hesse with some of the most pervasive elements in his short stories and novels, especially Siddhartha (1922) and Journey to the East (1932). By the start of World War I in 1914, Hesse had produced several more novels and had begun to write the considerable number of book reviews and articles that made him a strong influence on the literary culture of his time. Ralph Freedman , Professor Emeritus of Comparative Literature at Princeton University, is acclaimed for his biographies Hermann Hesse: Pilgrim of Crisis , and Life of a Poet: Rainer Maria Rilke.
Reviews
"Yes, the Kindle edition has some typos and translation issues, but these are the sorts of issues that are par for the course reading translated texts, you can certainly get the overall gist of the story. This story serves as a biography for how the young Siddhartha came to be the Buddha, while at the same time serving as a metaphor for how people of the time- or indeed you as the reader- can come to understand the Buddha and his teachings. Anyone worried about this sounding overly religious or hokey need not worry- the stories here are just as powerful if you read them in a perfectly secular way where the Buddha was just a wise man and not any kind of deity. If you want a play-by-play for exactly what "Englightenment" is supposed to be, how to attain it and how to live with it, the first story is one of the best examples I've ever read."
"I haven't made a lot of progress in the reading part, just didn't find it comfortable reading."
"I have received the strong suggestion to read this book many times without actually following through but have just found another to add to my list of favorites."
"It did have some grammar errors, maybe due to translation but that bothered me a little."
"Bought it for my 21 year old son, my 29 year old already read it."
"I loved this book."
"However, unlike most people, Siddhartha reaches the final stage where he understands what it is that brings enlightenment and wisdom."
"I read this in High School and decided to re-read it now as an adult."
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