Showing results by narrator "XE Sands" in All Categories

English anthropologist Andrew Bankson has been alone in the field for several years, studying the Kiona river tribe in the territory of New Guinea. Haunted by the memory of his brothers' deaths and increasingly frustrated and isolated by his research, Bankson is on the verge of suicide when a chance encounter with colleagues, the controversial Nell Stone and her wry and mercurial Australian husband, Fen, pulls him back from the brink. Nell and Fen have just fled the bloodthirsty Mumbanyo and, in spite of Nell's poor health, are hungry for a new discovery.

A green witch embraces the power of nature, draws energy from the earth and the universe, and relies on stones, plants, flowers, and herbs for healing. In The Green Witch’s Garden, you will learn how to create your own magical space to enhance your witchcraft practice. With information on how to plan and design your sacred garden and tips and tricks to growing and harvesting magical ingredients, this book will allow you to take control of your practice and more deeply connect with the earth.

On a crisp April morning, Sara Parcell disappears without a trace. No one saw a thing. Desperate, her family agree to take part in a reality TV show following Sara's case. Cameras swarm the house. Viewers tune in. The addiction begins. As the show gains traction, what began as a small-town crime becomes a global sensation. Everyone who knew Sara is questioned on camera - but the producers want more. Hungry for twists, they delve deeper into the story - and soon, it takes on a life of its own.

Lark Smith is planning her fairytale wedding when in the blink of an eye, everything she's dreamed of is suddenly gone. That day, Lark decided the best way to deal with loss was to prevent others from ever having to. Five years later that goal of becoming a doctor is just within reach when she's fired. Now, getting back on track means making a deal with the devil. Well, not exactly, even if they do call renowned surgeon Lorenzo Santini "Dr Satan" behind his back. He'll use his influence to get her back in the program. But first, Lark has to pose as his significant other all summer.

Alone and on the run, betrayed at every turn, Jenna's path takes her from sun-drenched Key West to the alligator-infested Everglades, the streets of Miami, and the Caribbean islands. Along the way brutal criminals, deadly assassins, and the forces of nature conspire to end her life unless she can rise to embrace an impossible destiny and unleash her own lethal potential. Everything Jenna has been told about herself is a lie, and the truth is a secret that may destroy the world--or save it.

Luella Campbell is having the weirdest day ever. Getting fired from her job at the sunscreen factory for no good reason is bad enough, but when a mysterious dog brings a tempest into her former workplace, Luella’s life is completely upended by the sudden gift of wild and windy magical powers.

Jessmei thought she had escaped. But the Elvens know that her protector is gone. They will not rest until she has been found, captured, and made to serve their agenda. Can the beautiful princess navigate this political web and restore her kingdom?

In this noisy, distracting world, it is difficult to truly hear. People talk past each other, eager to be heard but somehow deaf to what is being said. Listening is an essential skill for healthy relationships, both with God and with other people. But it is more than that: listening is a way of life. Adam McHugh places listening at the heart of our spirituality, our relationships and our mission in the world. God himself is the God who hears, and we, too, can learn to hear what God may be saying through creation, through Scripture, through people.

This indispensable guide explores the key role that your brain plays in processing pain and how small, simple actions can make profound changes in how you experience chronic pain. Chronic Pain Reset will help you evaluate your pain and its triggers, offering straightforward and often fun strategies to improve it. Using the principles of cognitive-behavioral therapy, you'll try one new evidence-based strategy each day for thirty days, from paced breathing and healthy sleep hacks to mindful walking and acts of kindness.

Since 2015, there has been a spectacular boom in a centuries-old delusion: that the earth is flat. More and more people believe that we all live on a pancake-shaped planet, capped by a solid dome and ringed by an impossible wall of ice. How? Why? In Off the Edge, journalist Kelly Weill draws a direct line from today’s conspiratorial moment, brimming not just with Flat Earthers but also anti-vaxxers and QAnon followers, back to the early days of Flat Earth theory in the 1830s.

On the day of their estranged father's wedding, half-sisters Cheyenne and Livy set off to claim their inheritance. It's been years since the two have seen each other - Cheyenne is newly back in Seattle after a failed marriage and a series of dead ends, Livy works refinishing boats - but the promise of a shot at financial security brings the two together to claim what's theirs. Except: instead of money, their father gives them information - a name - that reveals a stunning family secret.

Charlie Calloway has a life most people would kill for - a tight-knit family, a loyal set of friends, and top grades a privileged boarding school. But Charlie's never been interested in what most people want. Like all Calloways, she's been taught that she's different, special - better. So when her school's super-exclusive secret society extends a mysterious invitation, Charlie's determination to get in is matched only by her conviction that she belongs there.

Agatha “Aggy” Grae was only 10 years old the night a witch of the Umbra Coven killed her mother and burned her home. Injured, she received a transfusion of blood tainted by witchcraft, and immediately her eyes were opened to the truths hidden from mundane eyes. She saw a new world, a hidden world, one filled with darkness and secrets. And that new world was now aware of her.

On a bone-chilling October night, Medical Examiner Rowan Winthorp investigates the death of her daughter’s best friend. Hours later, the tragedy hits even closer to home when she makes a devastating discovery—her daughter, Chloe, is gone. But, not without a trace. A morbid mosaic of clues forces Rowan and her husband to question how deeply they really knew their daughter. As they work closely to peel back the layers of this case, they begin to unearth disturbing details about Chloe and her secret transgressions…details that threaten to tear them apart.

Madeleine Russell counted on making a splendid match. Instead, a devastating family scandal left her orphaned and penniless...and determined to uncover the villain who disgraced and killed her father. The beautiful, quick-witted Maddy disguises herself as a household servant, vowing to work in her prime suspect’s house and learn the truth. But the closer she gets to the man who may have ruined her family, the more she feels drawn in by his wicked reputation.

Acclaimed health journalist and National Geographic contributor Maryn McKenna documents how antibiotics transformed chicken from local delicacy to industrial commodity. Consumed more than any other meat in the United States, chicken is emblematic of today's mass food-processing practices and their profound influence on our lives and health. Tracing its meteoric rise from scarce treat to ubiquitous global commodity, McKenna reveals the astounding role of antibiotics in industrial farming, documenting how and why "wonder drugs" revolutionized the way the world eats.

A young man is murdered for his prized pet fish. An Asian tycoon buys a single specimen for $150,000. Meanwhile, a pet detective chases smugglers through the streets of New York. Delving into an outlandish realm of obsession, paranoia, and criminality, The Dragon Behind the Glass tells the story of a fish like none other: a powerful predator dating to the age of the dinosaurs.

When a fire rips through her studio and burns the seven enormous paintings for her next exhibition, a young, no-name painter is left with an impossible task: re-create her art in just three months - or ruin her fledgling career. Thirty-four, single and homeless, she desperately secures a place at an exclusive upstate retreat. Brimming with creative history and set on a sparkling black lake, Pine City and its founders - a notorious collective of successful artists - is what she's idolised all her life. She's dreamt of the parties, the celebrities, the privilege.

Class does make a difference in the lives and futures of American children. Drawing on in-depth observations of black and white middle-class, working-class, and poor families, Unequal Childhoods explores this fact, offering a picture of childhood today. Here are the frenetic families managing their children's hectic schedules of "leisure" activities; and here are families with plenty of time but little economic security.

The city of San Siroco is sinking. The basement of Dr. Tamsin Rivers, the arrogant, selfish head of the research team assigned to find the source of the subsidence, is sinking faster. As Tamsin grows obsessed with the distorting dimensions of the room at the bottom of the stairs, she finds a door that didn’t exist before—and one night, it opens to reveal an exact physical copy of her. This doppelgänger is sweet and biddable where Tamsin is calculating and cruel. It appears fully, terribly human, passing every test Tamsin can devise.