Once We Were Sisters

Download or read book Once We Were Sisters written by Sheila Kohler and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2017-01-17 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ONE OF PEOPLE MAGAZINE’S BEST NEW BOOKS “A searing and intimate memoir about love turned deadly.” —The BBC “An intimate illumination of sisterhood and loss.” —People When Sheila Kohler was thirty-seven, she received the heart-stopping news that her sister Maxine, only two years older, was killed when her husband drove them off a deserted road in Johannesburg. Stunned by the news, she immediately flew back to the country where she was born, determined to find answers and forced to reckon with his history of violence and the lingering effects of their most unusual childhood—one marked by death and the misguided love of their mother. In her signature spare and incisive prose, Sheila Kohler recounts the lives she and her sister led. Flashing back to their storybook childhood at the family estate, Crossways, Kohler tells of the death of her father when she and Maxine were girls, which led to the family abandoning their house and the girls being raised by their mother, at turns distant and suffocating. We follow them to the cloistered Anglican boarding school where they first learn of separation and later their studies in Rome and Paris where they plan grand lives for themselves—lives that are interrupted when both marry young and discover they have made poor choices. Kohler evokes the bond between sisters and shows how that bond changes but never breaks, even after death. “A beautiful and disturbing memoir of a beloved sister who died at the age of thirty-nine in circumstances that strongly suggest murder. . . . Highly recommended.” —Joyce Carol Oates

Download or read book We Were the Lucky Ones written by Georgia Hunter and published by Random House Large Print. This book was released on 2023-11-28 with total page 641 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The New York Times bestseller with more than 1 million copies sold worldwide | Now a Hulu limited series starring Joey King and Logan Lerman Inspired by the incredible true story of one Jewish family separated at the start of World War II, determined to survive—and to reunite—We Were the Lucky Ones is a tribute to the triumph of hope and love against all odds. “Love in the face of global adversity? It couldn't be more timely.” —Glamour It is the spring of 1939 and three generations of the Kurc family are doing their best to live normal lives, even as the shadow of war grows closer. The talk around the family Seder table is of new babies and budding romance, not of the increasing hardships threatening Jews in their hometown of Radom, Poland. But soon the horrors overtaking Europe will become inescapable and the Kurcs will be flung to the far corners of the world, each desperately trying to navigate his or her own path to safety. As one sibling is forced into exile, another attempts to flee the continent, while others struggle to escape certain death, either by working grueling hours on empty stomachs in the factories of the ghetto or by hiding as gentiles in plain sight. Driven by an unwavering will to survive and by the fear that they may never see one another again, the Kurcs must rely on hope, ingenuity, and inner strength to persevere. An extraordinary, propulsive novel, We Were the Lucky Ones demonstrates how in the face of the twentieth century’s darkest moment, the human spirit can endure and even thrive.

Download or read book Before We Were Yours written by Lisa Wingate and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2017-06-06 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: THE BLOCKBUSTER HIT—Over two million copies sold! A New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Publishers Weekly Bestseller “Poignant, engrossing.”—People • “Lisa Wingate takes an almost unthinkable chapter in our nation’s history and weaves a tale of enduring power.”—Paula McLain Memphis, 1939. Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their family’s Mississippi River shantyboat. But when their father must rush their mother to the hospital one stormy night, Rill is left in charge—until strangers arrive in force. Wrenched from all that is familiar and thrown into a Tennessee Children’s Home Society orphanage, the Foss children are assured that they will soon be returned to their parents—but they quickly realize the dark truth. At the mercy of the facility’s cruel director, Rill fights to keep her sisters and brother together in a world of danger and uncertainty. Aiken, South Carolina, present day. Born into wealth and privilege, Avery Stafford seems to have it all: a successful career as a federal prosecutor, a handsome fiancé, and a lavish wedding on the horizon. But when Avery returns home to help her father weather a health crisis, a chance encounter leaves her with uncomfortable questions and compels her to take a journey through her family’s long-hidden history, on a path that will ultimately lead either to devastation or to redemption. Based on one of America’s most notorious real-life scandals—in which Georgia Tann, director of a Memphis-based adoption organization, kidnapped and sold poor children to wealthy families all over the country—Lisa Wingate’s riveting, wrenching, and ultimately uplifting tale reminds us how, even though the paths we take can lead to many places, the heart never forgets where we belong. Publishers Weekly’s #3 Longest-Running Bestseller of 2017 • Winner of the Southern Book Prize • If All Arkansas Read the Same Book Selection This edition includes a new essay by the author about shantyboat life.

Download or read book We Were Sisters written by Wendy Clarke and published by Bookouture. This book was released on 2019-08-08 with total page 355 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: I turn to where I left my baby in his pushchair and pull up short. With a racing heart, I look around wildly, fear gripping my stomach. I only looked away for a moment. The pushchair and my baby are gone. Kelly is taking her twin daughters to their first day of school, ushering them into the classroom, her heart breaking to think they might not need her any more, when she turns around and sees that her newborn baby is gone. As a desperate search ensues, baby Noah is quickly found – parked in front of a different classroom. But when Kelly reaches forward to comfort him, she finds something tucked beside his blanket. A locket that belonged to her sister Freya. A locket Kelly hasn’t seen since the day Freya died. And then Kelly’s perfectly-ordered life begins to unravel… We Were Sisters is a heart-pounding suspense thriller that will grip you until the very last page. Fans of Behind Closed Doors, Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train won’t be able to stop reading this incredible book. What readers are saying about We Were Sisters: ‘I started reading it and didn't stop reading until 2 am. It was impossible to put down… thrilling and mysterious the entire way and by the end, my jaw dropped. The ending wasn't something I expected at all.’ Living My Best Book Life, 5 stars ‘I couldn’t wait to get to the next chapter to find out what happened next. I just couldn’t get enough of this book and stayed up all night reading. I absolutely loved this book.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars ‘Had me on the edge of my seat and my heart pounding throughout!! From suspected murder to manipulation to kidnapping you definitely won't be disappointed!!’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars ‘I loved this book from start to finish… I was kept on my toes trying to work out how the pieces fitted together, at one point I was so convinced I’d cracked it that I actually gasped out loud! And yet I still didn't see the ending coming… Once I started I couldn’t put it down until I had finished.’ Four More Chapters, 5 stars ‘Another page-turner from an author whose books I will jump at any opportunity to read… This one did not disappoint and kept me fully engaged until the final page… compelling.’ Goodreads reviewer ‘Definitely a thriller that I didn't want to put down… You won't want to stop reading this book once you start!’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars ‘What an amazing breath of fresh air!! I've been waiting so long for a book like this.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars ‘Incredibly suspenseful and kept me guessing until almost the very last page.’ Cay Costa ‘Drew me right in from the first pages… full of twists and turns… A book that kept me up late guessing to the end.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars ‘Very twisty and very emotional… this book keeps you wanting to read till the last page, I so loved this story. Highly recommend.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars ‘Loved this book… Gripping and well written. Another great author to add to my list of must reads. A brilliant book.’ Goodreads reviewer ‘I really enjoyed this, it was fast-paced with a compelling narrative. I found myself getting dragged into the narrator’s own doubts about her sanity, and the ending was not what I expected. Couldn’t put it down!’ Goodreads reviewer ‘A fantastic and engrossing thriller. I could not put it down.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

Download or read book When We Were Sisters written by Fatimah Asghar and published by One World. This book was released on 2022-10-18 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD • An orphan grapples with gender, siblinghood, family, and coming-of-age as a Muslim in America in this lyrical debut novel that “shimmers with love” (Los Angeles Times), from the acclaimed author of If They Come For Us “Haunting . . . a knife-sharp story of self-discovery.”—People In this heartrending, lyrical debut work of fiction, Fatimah Asghar traces the intense bond of three orphaned siblings who, after their parents die, are left to raise one another. The youngest, Kausar, grapples with the incomprehensible loss of their parents as she also charts out her own understanding of gender; Aisha, the middle sister, spars with her “crybaby” younger sibling as she desperately tries to hold on to her sense of family in an impossible situation; and Noreen, the eldest, does her best in the role of sister-mother while also trying to create a life for herself, on her own terms. As Kausar grows up, she must contend with the collision of her private and public worlds, and choose whether to remain in the life of love, sorrow, and codependency that she’s known or carve out a new path for herself. When We Were Sisters tenderly examines the bonds and fractures of sisterhood, names the perils of being three Muslim American girls alone against the world, and ultimately illustrates how those who’ve lost everything might still make homes in one another. LONGLISTED FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE

Download or read book When We Were Sisters written by Emilie Richards and published by MIRA. This book was released on 2016-05-31 with total page 325 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A vow of sisterhood between foster children is put to the test many years later in this heartfelt novel of chosen family and painful secrets. As children in foster care, Cecilia and Robin vowed to be the sisters they never had. While Cecilia went on to become a major pop star, Robin set aside her photojournalism career to have a family. But when she’s nearly killed in an accident, Cecilia drops everything to be with her. When Cecilia asks Robin to be the photographer for a documentary on foster care, Robin agrees, even though her husband Kris will be forced to take charge of the household while she’s away. She gambles that Kris will finally prove that their family—and marriage—are a priority in his life. Cecilia herself needs more than time with her sister. After a lifetime of lies, she hopes this documentary will tell the real story of their childhood. As traumatic memories return, the sisterhood they forged will help Cecilia and Robin move forward as the women they were always meant to be.

Download or read book Cracks written by Sheila Kohler and published by Open Road Media. This book was released on 2023-02-21 with total page 129 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An “eerie, elliptical masterpiece set in a South African boarding school in the early 1960s. . . . First-rate psychological suspense . . . played out flawlessly” (Kirkus Reviews). The members of an elite girls swim team are the reigning queens at their South African boarding school. And then Italian student Fiamma Coronna joins their ranks. Beautiful, athletic, and suddenly commanding all the coach’s attention, Fiamma is the envy of every girl on the team—until the summer she walks into the rural grasslands surrounding the school and disappears. Forty years later, the former teammates return to the school for a reunion, and the memory of that summer emerges like a long buried secret, the shocking, violent truth of what really happened to Fiamma no longer able to be contained . . . “Riveting . . . while evocative of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and Picnic at Hanging Rock, Kohler’s writing is so smoothly confident and erotic that she has produced a tale resonant with a chilling power all its own.” —Elle “A stunning and singular tale of the passion and tribalism of adolescence, Cracks lays bare the violence that lurks in the heart of even the most innocent. Shocking, reminiscent of Lord of the Flies . . . conjures up the wildness of the veld and the passion and drama of adolescence . . . peculiarly satisfying.” —The Times Literary Supplement “A disturbing, note-perfect novel. Dissection of evil has rarely been so extravagantly executed.” —San Francisco Chronicle “Polished, compact and chilling . . . Powerful.” —Publishers Weekly A Library Journal and Newsday Best Book of the Year, now a major motion picture starring Eva Green