Tag: #Adult

Posted in #History

History of Texas

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

A Captivating Guide to Texas History, Starting from the Arrival of the Spanish Conquistadors in North America through the Texas Revolution to the Present (U.S. States)

If you want to discover the captivating history of Texas, then keep reading…

Free History BONUS Inside!

Texas is one of the most recognizable states in the United States of America (it is the second-largest, behind Alaska), and it also has a reputation for being unlike any other. This reputation is well-deserved, in part because of the state’s long and often contentious history.

That history has fascinated many people not only in this nation but around the world for centuries. From the heyday of the Wild West and the state’s oil boom to the storied Texas Rangers and the construction of one of NASA’s primary facilities, it seems nearly impossible to fully explore everything in the state’s rich past.

In History of Texas: A Captivating Guide to Texas History, Starting from the Arrival of the Spanish Conquistadors in North America through the Texas Revolution to the Present, you will discover topics such as

  • Before Columbus
  • Early Colonizers – Spain and France
  • Spanish Settlers Claim the Region
  • Americans Settle
  • Rising Tensions between Mexico and the Settlements
  • The Fight for Texas Independence Begins
  • “Remember the Alamo” and Other Major Battles
  • Annexation to the US and the Mexican-American War
  • Role in the Civil War
  • Reconstruction
  • Texas Rangers – One of the Most Illustrious Law Enforcement Agencies
  • Texas Tea – The Texas Oil Boom
  • The Space Race
  • Assassination of JFK
  • Texas Today
  • And much, much more!
Posted in #non-fiction

How to Keep House While Drowning

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing

An NPR Best Book of the Year | USA TODAY Bestseller

This revolutionary approach to cleaning and organizing helps free you from feeling ashamed or overwhelmed by a messy home.

If you’re struggling to stay on top of your to-do list, you probably have a good reason: anxiety, fatigue, depression, ADHD, or lack of support. For therapist KC Davis, the birth of her second child triggered a stress-mess cycle. The more behind she felt, the less motivated she was to start. She didn’t fold a single piece of laundry for seven months. One life-changing realization restored her sanity—and the functionality of her home: You don’t work for your home; your home works for you.

In other words, messiness is not a moral failing. A new sense of calm washed over her as she let go of the shame-based messaging that interpreted a pile of dirty laundry as “I can never keep up” and a chaotic kitchen as “I’m a bad mother.” Instead, she looked at unwashed clothes and thought, “I am alive,” and at stacks of dishes and thought, “I cooked my family dinner three nights in a row.”

Building on this foundation of self-compassion, KC devised the powerful practical approach that has exploded in popularity through her TikTok account, @domesticblisters. The secret is to simplify your to-do list and to find creative workarounds that accommodate your limited time and energy. In this book, you’ll learn exactly how to customize your cleaning strategy and rebuild your relationship with your home, including:

-How to see chores as kindnesses to your future self, not as a reflection of your worth
-How to start by setting priorities
-How to stagger tasks so you won’t procrastinate
-How to clean in quick bursts within your existing daily routine
-How to use creative shortcuts to transform a room from messy to functional

With KC’s help, your home will feel like a sanctuary again. It will become a place to rest, even when things aren’t finished. You will move with ease, and peace and calm will edge out guilt, self-criticism, and endless checklists. They have no place here.

Posted in Cozy Mysteries

One Fine Day the Rabbi Bought a Cross

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

On a trip to the Holy Land, Rabbi Small is drawn into a deadly conflict between religious extremists in the New York Times–bestselling series.
Retired millionaire Barney Berkowitz, from the small Massachusetts town of Barnard’s Crossing, invites Rabbi David Small to come to Israel and bar mitzvah him, as Berkowitz never went through the ceremony in his youth. On what should be a joyous occasion—and an all-expenses-paid trip to the Holy Land—the rabbi discovers danger lurking in every corner and a conspiracy that threatens to destroy the state of Israel.
 
An innocent American has been murdered and when the sleuthing rabbi begins his investigation, he finds the death may have been part of an international conspiracy fueled by religious radicals and an arms-smuggling scheme. Anyone, from a liberal Jewish-American professor to a young religious fundamentalist, could be a suspect—and the rabbi must rely on his Talmudic logic and daring chutzpah to untangle the mystery and prevent an even more deadly attack.

Posted in #History

Medicine River

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

A Story of Survival and the Legacy of Indian Boarding Schools

A sweeping and deeply personal account of Native American boarding schools in the United States, and the legacy of abuse wrought by them in an attempt to destroy Native culture and life

FINALIST FOR THE PEN OPEN BOOK AWARD • A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: NPR, TIME, Smithsonian, The History Channel

“With a government that is rewriting history in real time, Medicine River stands as a testament to the truth.”—The New York Times

“Powerful. . . . An important work.”—Los Angeles Times

“Everyone, absolutely everyone, should read this book.”—Javier Zamora, author of Solito

From the mid-nineteenth century to the late 1930s, tens of thousands of Native children were pulled from their tribal communities to attend boarding schools whose stated aim was to “save the Indian” by way of assimilation. In reality, these boarding schools—sponsored by the U.S. government, but often run by various religious orders with little to no regulation—were a calculated attempt to dismantle tribes by pulling apart Native families. Children were beaten for speaking their Native languages; denied food, clothing, and comfort; and forced to work menial jobs in terrible conditions, all while utterly deprived of love and affection.

Amongst those thousands of children was Ojibwe journalist Mary Pember’s mother, who was sent to a boarding school in northern Wisconsin at age five. The trauma of her experience cast a pall over Pember’s own childhood and her relationship with her mother. Highlighting both her mother’s experience and the experiences of countless other students at such schools, their families, and their children, Medicine River paints a stark but hopeful portrait of communities still reckoning with the trauma of acculturation, religion, and abuse caused by the state. Through searing interviews and careful reporting, Pember traces the evolution and continued rebirth of Native cultures and nations in relation to the country that has been intent on eradicating them.

Posted in #History

History of Chicago

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

A Captivating Guide to the People and Events that Shaped the Windy City’s History (U.S. States)

Explore the Captivating History of Chicago
Free History BONUS Inside! Founded as a tiny, temporary settlement, Chicago became a crux of the American fur trade before growing into one of the powerhouses of the Industrial Revolution. From procuring drinking water to implementing racial equality, nothing has ever been simple for the people who have called Chicago home – and yet there is immense pride among Chicagoans for what they and their fellow people have achieved. The city has been home to some of America’s most influential people, be they talk show hosts or U.S. Presidents. Every star on the Chicago flag represents an achievement to be remembered; every building an era that has helped shape the modern city into what it is today. In this book, you will discover remarkable stories of people and events who shaped the history of this fascinating city.

History of Chicago: A Captivating Guide to the People and Events that Shaped the Windy City’s History includes topics such as:

  • The Chicago Trail of Tears
  • All Roads (and Railways) Lead to Chicago
  • Filthiest City in America
  • The Financial District of America
  • Workers’ Cottage to Skyscraper; Chicago’s Architecture and Design
  • 1860 Republican National Convention
  • World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago
  • The Speakeasy and Al Capone
  • Real Chicago Flavor
  • The Great Depression and Legislated Segregation
  • Century of Progress
  • Oprah Winfrey and Harpo
  • And much, much more!