Central Skagit Library District

Since 9/11, America has gained a new appreciation of its heroes, something that had been lost for many years due to the conflicted emotions produced by the Viet Nam War. What is a hero? In a media saturated culture, which seems to venerate shallow celebrity idols and false heroics, it is worthwhile to revisit the true heroes of our history. Robert Skimin, a former paratrooper, army aviator, and artillery officer during his twenty years of military...

"In Anne Lamott's new book, she confronts the harsh truth that many of us grapple with every day: How can we recapture the confidence we once had in the world and in the future as we stumble through the dark times that seem increasingly bleak? As bad news piles up every day -- from climate crises to threats to democracy to daily assaults on civility -- how can we mere mortals cope? Where, Lamott asks, "do we start to get our joy and hope and our faith...

James Herriot's own selection from his original books, with additional material by Reader's Digest editors.

"Brunhild was a foreign princess, raised to be married off for the sake of alliance-building. Her sister-in-law Fredegund started out as a lowly palace slave. And yet-in sixth-century Merovingian France, where women were excluded from noble succession and royal politics was a blood sport-these two iron-willed strategists reigned over vast realms, changing the face of Europe. The two queens commanded armies and negotiated with kings and popes. They...

"Acclaimed musical artist Michelle Williams shares the intimate, never-before-told story of how, even in the midst of enormous fame and success, she battled depression, leading her to find her true calling as an advocate for mental health--especially her own"-- After decades of sweeping her anxiety and depression under the rug, Williams found herself planning her own funeral. Realizing that she needed immediate help and could no longer battle her...

"While supervising a small group of interns at a major New York medical center, Dr. Robert Marion asked three of them to keep a careful diary over the course of a year. Andy, Mark, and Amy vividly describe their real-life lessons in treating very sick children, confronting child abuse and the awful human impact of the AIDS epidemic, skirting the indifference of the hospital bureaucracy, and overcoming their own fears, insecurities, and constant fatigue....

A biography of a country music legend and a portrait of along-gone Nashville. Richly illustrated with black-and-white photos of Anderson interacting with the superstars of American roots music, including such legends as Patsy Cline, Vince Gill, and Steve Wariner, this book highlights Anderson s trajectory in the business and his influence on the past, present, and future of this dynamic genre.

Wait Till Next Year is the story of a young girl growing up in the suburbs of New York in the 1950s. When owning a single-family home on a tree-lined street, meant the realization of dreams. When everyone knew everyone else on the block and the children gathered in the streets to play from sunup to sundown. The neighborhood was equally divided among Dodger, Giant, and Yankee fans. The corner stores were the scenes of fierce and affectionate rivalries....

In her first work of nonfiction, winner of the 2018 UNESCO City of Literature Paul Engle Prize Dina Nayeri--an author whose "exploration of the exile's predicament is tender and urgent" (The New Yorker)--examines what it means to be a refugee through her own story of childhood escape from Iran, and through the stories of other refugees and asylum seekers What is it like to be a refugee? It is a question many of us do not give much thought to, and...

Terri Raines took a vacation from her wildlife rescue work in Oregon, traveled to Australia, and there, at a small wildlife park, she met and fell in love with a tall, blond force of nature named Steve Irwin. They were married in less than a year, and Terri eagerly joined in Steve's conservation work. The footage of their crocodile-trapping honeymoon became the first episode of The Crocodile Hunter, and together, Steve and Terri began to change the...