This handbook offers a compilation of background information, techniques and scenarios based on the Acting Out programme that offers theatre skills/counselling for groups of adolescents, free of charge. AO teens become performers, creating issues-oriented, audience-interactive, improvizational scenes with a variety of audiences.; Written for leaders who are familiar with improvizational theatre and working with groups, Part 1 discusses the importance of leader training, experience and inte...

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • From authors of Lean In and Originals: a powerful, inspiring, and practical book about building resilience and moving forward after life’s inevitable setbacksAfter the sudden death of her husband, Sheryl Sandberg felt certain that she and her children would never feel pure joy again. “I was in ‘the void,’” she writes, “a vast emptiness that fills your heart and lungs and restricts your abil...

“A riveting memoir that takes readers on a roller coaster ride from the depths of hell to triumphant success.”—Dave Pelzer, author of A Child Called “It”Michelle Stevens has a photo of the exact moment her childhood was stolen from her: She’s only eight years old, posing for her mother’s boyfriend, Gary Lundquist—an elementary school teacher, neighborhood stalwart, and brutal pedophile. Later that night, Gary locks Michelle in a cage, tortures her repeated...

You're in a romantic relationship. It started out as a whirlwind of attention and affection, but now you have a gnawing fear that something is terribly wrong.Or you were in a relationship that was verbally, emotionally, financially or even physically abusive. That person is gone now, but you still don't know how you fell into it, and you're scared it will happen again.Or someone you care about is hooked up with a partner who worries you. You can't understand how your friend...

Parenting can be such an overwhelming job that it’s easy to lose track of where you stand on some of the more controversial subjects at the playground (What if my kid likes to rough house—isn’t this ok as long as no one gets hurt? And what if my kid just doesn’t feel like sharing?). In this inspiring and enlightening book, Heather Shumaker describes her quest to nail down “the rules” to raising smart, sensitive, and self-sufficient kids. Drawing on her own experiences as the mothe...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • For readers of Proof of Heaven, the astonishing story of a woman with an extraordinary psychic gift—and a powerful message from the Other Side that can help us to live more beautifully in the here and now.Laura Lynne Jackson is a wife, a mother, a high school English teacher—and a psychic medium. Where most believe an impenetrable wall divides the world between the living and the dead, Jackson sees brilliant cords of li...

"Everyone who seeks a more compassionate and wise life will benefit from this wonderful, insightful, and beautiful book." — Gary Zukav, author of The Seat of the SoulOne in 68 US children have an autism spectrum disorder, and with countless parenting books helping families care for children with special needs, Autism and the God Connection is the crucial, spiritual look at understanding a child with autism. Helping parents realize their child's un...

Eleven girls share their stories about facing tough times—and coming out stronger.Want some major motivation to dream big and take on your next challenge? Inspiring True Teen Stories brings together some of the most moving reader stories ever printed in the pages of Seventeen magazine. These eleven girls reveal how they faced life's most difficult obstacles—and came out stronger. One girl shares how she overcame a terrifying injury, while ...

Wall Street Journal Best Nonfiction Pick; Publisher's Weekly Best Book of the YearClinical psychologist Catherine Steiner-Adair takes an in-depth look at how the Internet and the digital revolution are profoundly changing childhood and family dynamics, and offers solutions parents can use to successfully shepherd their children through the technological wilderness.As the focus of the family has turned to the glow of the sc...

The painful and baffling mystery as to why some obviously bright children do not begin talking until long after the "normal" time is explored in this book through personal experiences and the findings of scientific research. The author's own experiences as the father of such a child led to the formation of a goup of more than fifty sets of parents of similar children. The anguish and frustration of these parents as they try to cope with children who do not talk and institutions that do not...

A leading psychologist examines how our popularity affects our success, our relationships, and our happiness—and why we don’t always want to be the most popularNo matter how old you are, there’s a good chance that the word “popular” immediately transports you back to your teenage years. Most of us can easily recall the adolescent social cliques, the high school pecking order, and which of our peers stood out as the most or the least popular teens we knew. Even as a...

**“Christakis . . . expertly weaves academic research, personal experience and anecdotal evidence into her book . . . a bracing and convincing case that early education has reached a point of crisis . . . her book is a rare thing: a serious work of research that also happens to be well-written and personal . . . engaging and important.”--Washington Post"What kids need from grown-ups (but aren't getting)...an impassioned plea for educators and parents to put down the...