Ocean State Libraries

"How do we begin to cope with loss that cannot be resolved? The COVID-19 pandemic has left many of us haunted by feelings of anxiety, despair, and even anger. In this book, pioneering therapist Pauline Boss identifies these vague feelings of distress as ambiguous loss. This is what we experience when a loss remains unclear and undefined, and thus lingers indefinitely. Now, with a pandemic that has upended the lives of people across the globe, we are...

"In A Strangely Wrapped Gift, you will find journeys from mental illness to recovery, from heartbreak to heart growth, from hopelessness to empowerment, and from the ocean to the stars. In these pages, Juniper takes heavy, emotional raw material and weaves it into stunning, relatable poetry you'll long to share with friends and loved ones. This collection is a reminder that broken pieces make the most beautiful mosaics, and that all of us possess...

"Karin knew what she was getting herself into when she fell for John, the high-flying criminal and love of her life. But she never imagined things would turn out like this: John is now gone and the coke-filled parties, seemingly endless flow of money, and high social status she previously enjoyed have been replaced by cut telephone lines, cut heat, and cut cash. All that remains of Karin's former life is the big house he bought for her--and his daughter,...

In 1981, Chris Gardner was a struggling salesman. His wife worked double shifts to support the family including their young son, Christopher. In the face of this difficult life, Chris has the desperate inspiration to try for a stockbroker internship where one in twenty has a chance of a lucrative full time career. Even when his wife leaves him because of this choice, Chris clings to this dream. The odds become more daunting by the day. Together, father...

We are all touched at some point by the dark emotions of grief, fear, or despair. In an age of global threat, these emotions have become widespread and overwhelming. While conventional wisdom warns us of the harmful effects of "negative" emotions, this revolutionary book offers a more hopeful view: there is a redemptive power in our worst feelings. Seasoned psychotherapist Miriam Greenspan argues that it's the avoidance and denial of the dark emotions...

The 'sickness' which Kierkegaard's book refers to as 'unto death' is resistance to this belief. It is the inclination to accept that as far as the individual is concerned, death is indeed the end. Now why should Kierkegaard want to call that a sickness? After all, even in his own time there must have been people strong both in might and body who rejected the Christian teaching of sin and salvation, and who faced what they accepted as total extinction...

"After the devastating loss of his father as a young boy, Peter Ranos denies the presence of God in his life and decides to take matters into his own hands. Years later, Peter's life is riddled with problems: financial ruin, unemployment, and ultimately, marital challenges. In Peter's mind, all he needs is one big break to make things right, but every time a break is near, something happens to set him back even further." --

A compassionate investigation of the root causes of the epidemic of drug abuse, violence, and despair among "mainstream" American teenagers. In the past few years, it has become painfully clear that all is not well with the children of middle-class America. Beyond the shootings at Columbine, hardly a day goes by without stories of drug use, binge drinking, fatal accidents, and suicides among middle-class adolescents. Sociologist and Pulitzer Prize...

A marked departure from Edith Wharton's usual ironic contemplation of the fashionable New York society to which she herself belonged, Ethan Frome is a sharply etched portrait of the simple inhabitants of a nineteenth-century New England village. The protagonist, Ethan Frome, is a man tormented by a passionate love for his ailing wife's young cousin. Trapped by the bonds of marriage and the fear of public condemnation, he is ultimately destroyed by...