FREE & BARGAIN EBOOKS – {08-18-2021}

Fat Girl: Dark Obsessionsby Mark Donahue

Baby fat is what her mother’s friends call it.

They say Sara’s just healthy and will outgrow it.

When Sara is 8, she weighs 142. At 15, 265. At her high school graduation 435. At 19, Sara’s bedridden and weighs over 800 pounds.

˃˃˃ Her widowed mother, Elaine, spends a small fortune on doctors trying to gain control of Sara’s weight. Nothing works. When Elaine discovers she’s terminally ill, she decides that after her death, someone will need to take care of Sara 24/7.

Someone motivated who can also manage the $100 million estate Sara will inherit. She decides a young estate attorney from Chicago, Brandon Parrish, would work out just fine. Elaine also has other plans for Brandon.

˃˃˃ When first approached with the scheme Brandon scoffs at the idea — until he learns for every year Sara lives a $250,000 annual stipend will be paid, with a $1 million bonus on each 4th year anniversary of Sara’s life.

Taking the deal, he enlists the help of a former frat brother, now a physician, and together they come up with a comprehensive medical plan to keep Sara alive–it’s called a coma. It works.

˃˃˃ Sara’s alive — and loses weight. She transforms from an amorphous mound of flesh into a human being, into an attractive woman who, aided by plastic surgery and an unlimited wardrobe budget, becomes a stunning woman.

Brandon falls in love with the woman in the coma, and when Sara awakens 10 years later, she remembers dreams of someone coming to her in the darkness. She can feel a touch–the pain.

But are they dreams?

When she learns the truth she has plans of her own.

West with Giraffes: A Novelby Lynda Rutledge

An emotional, rousing novel inspired by the incredible true story of two giraffes who made headlines and won the hearts of Depression-era America.

“Few true friends have I known and two were giraffes…”

Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, feels his life ebbing away. But when he learns giraffes are going extinct, he finds himself recalling the unforgettable experience he cannot take to his grave.

It’s 1938. The Great Depression lingers. Hitler is threatening Europe, and world-weary Americans long for wonder. They find it in two giraffes who miraculously survive a hurricane while crossing the Atlantic. What follows is a twelve-day road trip in a custom truck to deliver Southern California’s first giraffes to the San Diego Zoo. Behind the wheel is the young Dust Bowl rowdy Woodrow. Inspired by true events, the tale weaves real-life figures with fictional ones, including the world’s first female zoo director, a crusty old man with a past, a young female photographer with a secret, and assorted reprobates as spotty as the giraffes.

Part adventure, part historical saga, and part coming-of-age love story, West with Giraffes explores what it means to be changed by the grace of animals, the kindness of strangers, the passing of time, and a story told before it’s too late.

The Truth About Gretchenby Alretha Thomas

Gretchen Holloway, in her final year of graduate school, is in the throes of auditioning actors for her thesis film, inspired by a murdered young football star who has haunted her dreams for two years. Gretchen believes making the movie will be cathartic. But instead of freeing her, embarking upon the film production unleashes a sequence of events that lead Gretchen to conclude that she’s the reincarnation of the young man.

Regina Wilson has always wanted to be an actress. When her agent gets her an audition for a role in Gretchen’s film, which eerily mirrors one of the worst events of her life–the unsolved murder of her older brother, Robert–she’s hard-pressed to go through with it. Upon fleeing, she leaves behind a keepsake that features Robert’s photo. Gretchen sees the picture and recognizes Robert from her dreams. She tracks down Regina, and after being rebuffed and called crazy, Gretchen’s unexplainable knowledge of events in Robert’s life eventually convinces Regina that Gretchen is Robert reincarnated.

The two decide to have his case reopened, but their significant others are dead set against it, and the police, who believe that Robert’s death was gang-related, are less than cooperative. However, Gretchen is desperate to get justice for her former self, and Regina wants justice for her brother. The women piece together the final week of Robert’s life. And the deeper they delve into his past; one shocking revelation follows another, leaving them wondering who they can trust and if they’ll live long enough to find Robert’s killer and bring him to justice.

The Codependency Recovery Blueprint: From People-Pleasing, Low Self-Esteem & Intimacy Issues of a Codependent to Emotional Intelligence, Self-Confidence & Self-Caring of an Independentby Don Barlow

Have you lost sight of who you are as an individual?

If you find yourself questioning the healthiness of your relationships and struggle to stand up for what you want, you’re not alone.

Codependent behaviors are some of the most difficult relationship patterns to identify, yet it’s rarely discussed and often considered another form of “clinginess.”

This definition ignores the feelings of guilt and shame that arise from the best of intentions — it does nothing to recognize that even the best intentions can hurt.

As you put yourself on the line for the people you love, it can be difficult to tell when the boundaries between you and them have blurred to the point of toxicity.

After all, you’re motivated by wanting the best for others, even if it means you have to put aside your own values and opinions to do so.

However, when you come to rely on outside factors for validation and a sense of identity, these “do good” habits can do more harm than good.

You may suddenly feel obligated to stay in a constricting relationship that turns you into a victim and limits your capacity for intimacy. It can feel as though you have no one to turn to because everybody relies on you.

That doesn’t mean your life has to stay that way.

Codependency may be running your life, but you are the one in the driver’s seat. In fact, you’ve already taken the first step by realizing you need to change the path you’re on.

Don Barlow knows firsthand the transformational effects of recovering from codependency and has compiled the knowledge he gained over the years so others can experience the same freedom.

In The Codependency Recovery Blueprint, here is just a fraction of what you will discover:

• What codependency is and isn’t, as well as its historical background
• Exercises and practices to help break the pattern of enabling others while learning to assert yourself
• How childhood experiences contribute to dysfunctional relationships and determine the behaviors that follow you into adulthood
• The 5 patterns of codependent behavior, and how identifying them will help you understand the signs and symptoms manifesting in your life
• Techniques and advice on getting over your need for control, learning to accept people for who they are
• Identifying the 3 stages of codependency progression: how to begin the recovery process by reclaiming your sense of identity and self-worth
• Essential self-care practices that promote self-respect and compassion, even in difficult situations

And much more.

It isn’t selfish to put yourself first — it’s time to prioritize your own life and happiness and stop ignoring your personal needs.

Listen to your instincts and take this first step on your journey to finding independence and fulfilment.

Wicked Richby C. Morgan

Hate me all you want, ’cause loving me might just be harder.

No one is standing in my way of being the first to graduate from an Ivy League school.

Especially not my flaming-hot first love.

With his golden blond hair, tanned skin, sparkling blue eyes, and surfer’s body, every girl wants him and every guy wants to be him.

It doesn’t hurt that he has a boatload of money backing him up or that his family name is on the gym at our college.

When we meet again, there’s nothing left of the boy I used to know in the man he’s become.

He looks at me like I’m the enemy and I know I am because, once upon a time, I broke his heart.

Now, he’s out for revenge and he won’t stop until he gets it.

Bring it, wicked rich bad boy.

Bring it.