Amy Ellis Nutt's Books

Becoming Nicole

The inspiring story of transgender actor-activist Nicole Maines and her extraordinary family

By: Amy Ellis Nutt

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Becoming Nicole

The inspiring story of transgender actor-activist Nicole Maines and her extraordinary family

By: Amy Ellis Nutt

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The inspiring true story of transgender actor and activist Nicole Maines, whose identical twin brother, Jonas, and ordinary American family join her on an extraordinary journey to understand, nurture, and celebrate the uniqueness in us all. Nicole appears as TV’s first transgender superhero on CW’s Supergirl When Wayne and Kelly Maines adopted identical twin boys, they thought their lives were complete. But by the time Jonas and Wyatt were toddlers, confusion over Wyatt’s insistence that he was female began to tear the family apart. In the years that followed, the Maineses came to question their long-held views on gender and identity, to accept Wyatt’s transition to Nicole, and to undergo a wrenching transformation of their own, the effects of which would reverberate through their entire community. Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Amy Ellis Nutt spent almost four years reporting this story and tells it with unflinching honesty, intimacy, and empathy. In her hands, Becoming Nicole is more than an account of a courageous girl and her extraordinary family. It’s a powerful portrait of a slowly but surely changing nation, and one that will inspire all of us to see the world with a little more humanity and understanding. Named One of the Ten Best Books of the Year by People • One of the Best Books of the Year by The New York Times Book Review and Men’s Journal • A Stonewall Honor Book in Nonfiction • Finalist for the Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Nonfiction “Fascinating and enlightening.”—Cheryl Strayed “If you aren’t moved by Becoming Nicole, I’d suggest there’s a lump of dark matter where your heart should be.”—The New York Times “Exceptional . . . ‘Stories move the walls that need to be moved,’ Nicole told her father last year. In telling Nicole’s story and those of her brother and parents luminously, and with great compassion and intelligence, that is exactly what Amy Ellis Nutt has done here.”—The Washington Post “A profoundly moving true story about one remarkable family’s evolution.”—People “Becoming Nicole is a miracle. It’s the story of a family struggling with—and embracing—a transgender child. But more than that, it’s about accepting one another, and ourselves, in all our messy, contradictory glory.”—Jennifer Finney Boylan, former co-chair of GLAAD and author of She’s Not There: A Life in Two Genders

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Page Count

330

Publisher

Random House Trade Paperbacks

Published Date

ISBN 10

0812995430

ISBN 13

9780812995435

Shadows Bright as Glass

The Remarkable Story of One Man's Journey from Brain Trauma to Artistic Triumph

By: Amy Ellis Nutt

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Shadows Bright as Glass

The Remarkable Story of One Man's Journey from Brain Trauma to Artistic Triumph

By: Amy Ellis Nutt

On a sunny fall afternoon in 1988, Jon Sarkin was playing golf when, without a whisper of warning, his life changed forever. As he bent down to pick up his golf ball, something strange and massive happened inside his head; part of his brain seemed to unhinge, to split apart and float away. For an utterly inexplicable reason, a tiny blood vessel, thin as a thread, deep inside the folds of his gray matter had suddenly shifted ever so slightly, rubbing up against his acoustic nerve. Any noise now caused him excruciating pain. After months of seeking treatment to no avail, in desperation Sarkin resorted to radical deep-brain surgery, which seemed to go well until during recovery his brain began to bleed and he suffered a major stroke. When he awoke, he was a different man. Before the stroke, he was a calm, disciplined chiropractor, a happily married husband and father of a newborn son. Now he was transformed into a volatile and wildly exuberant obsessive, seized by a manic desire to create art, devoting virtually all his waking hours to furiously drawing, painting, and writing poems and letters to himself, strangely detached from his wife and child, and unable to return to his normal working life. His sense of self had been shattered, his intellect intact but his way of being drastically altered. His art became a relentless quest for the right words and pictures to unlock the secrets of how to live this strange new life. And what was even stranger was that he remembered his former self. In a beautifully crafted narrative, award-winning journalist and Pulitzer Prize finalist Amy Ellis Nutt interweaves Sarkin’s remarkable story with a fascinating tour of the history of and latest findings in neuroscience and evolution that illuminate how the brain produces, from its web of billions of neurons and chaos of liquid electrical pulses, the richness of human experience that makes us who we are. Nutt brings vividly to life pivotal moments of discovery in neuroscience, from the shocking “rebirth” of a young girl hanged in 1650 to the first autopsy of an autistic savant’s brain, and the extraordinary true stories of people whose personalities and cognitive abilities were dramatically altered by brain trauma, often in shocking ways. Probing recent revelations about the workings of creativity in the brain and the role of art in the evolution of human intelligence, she reveals how Jon Sarkin’s obsessive need to create mirrors the earliest function of art in the brain. Introducing major findings about how our sense of self transcends the bounds of our own bodies, she explores how it is that the brain generates an individual “self” and how, if damage to our brains can so alter who we are, we can nonetheless be said to have a soul. For Jon Sarkin, with his personality and sense of self permanently altered, making art became his bridge back to life, a means of reassembling from the shards of his former self a new man who could rejoin his family and fashion a viable life. He is now an acclaimed artist who exhibits at some of the country’s most prestigious venues, as well as a devoted husband to his wife, Kim, and father to their three children. At once wrenching and inspiring, this is a story of the remarkable human capacity to overcome the most daunting obstacles and of the extraordinary workings of the human mind.

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Page Count

310

Publisher

Simon and Schuster

Published Date

ISBN 10

1439150079

ISBN 13

9781439150078

Becoming Nicole

The Extraordinary Transformation of an Ordinary Family

By: Amy Ellis Nutt

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Becoming Nicole

The Extraordinary Transformation of an Ordinary Family

By: Amy Ellis Nutt

Becoming Nicole is a powerful and illuminating book about one couple's journey in coming to accept and nurture their transgender daughter. It's a page turner and a heart opener. I couldn't recommend it more highly.' Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild When Wayne and Kelly Maines adopted identical twin boys, they thought their lives were complete. But it wasn't long before they noticed a marked difference between Jonas and his brother, Wyatt. Jonas preferred sports and trucks and many of the things little boys were 'supposed' to like; but Wyatt liked princess dolls and dressing up and playing Little Mermaid. By the time the twins were toddlers, confusion over Wyatt's insistence that he was female began to tear the family apart. Becoming Nicole is the heart-wrenching story of a mother whose instincts told her that her child needed love and not disapproval; of a conservative, army-veteran father who overcame his deepest fears to embrace his new daughter; of a loving brother who never gave up supporting his twin sister; and of a town forced to confront its own prejudices. More than that, however, Becoming Nicole is the story of an extraordinary girl who fought for the right to be herself.

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Page Count

363

Publisher

Atlantic Books Ltd

Published Date

ISBN 10

1782399623

ISBN 13

9781782399629

The Teenage Brain

A Neuroscientist's Survival Guide to Raising Adolescents and Young Adults

By: Frances E. Jensen,Amy Ellis Nutt

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The Teenage Brain

A Neuroscientist's Survival Guide to Raising Adolescents and Young Adults

By: Frances E. Jensen,Amy Ellis Nutt

A New York Times Bestseller Renowned neurologist Dr. Frances E. Jensen offers a revolutionary look at the brains of teenagers, dispelling myths and offering practical advice for teens, parents and teachers. Dr. Frances E. Jensen is chair of the department of neurology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. As a mother, teacher, researcher, clinician, and frequent lecturer to parents and teens, she is in a unique position to explain to readers the workings of the teen brain. In The Teenage Brain, Dr. Jensen brings to readers the astonishing findings that previously remained buried in academic journals. The root myth scientists believed for years was that the adolescent brain was essentially an adult one, only with fewer miles on it. Over the last decade, however, the scientific community has learned that the teen years encompass vitally important stages of brain development. Samples of some of the most recent findings include: Teens are better learners than adults because their brain cells more readily "build" memories. But this heightened adaptability can be hijacked by addiction, and the adolescent brain can become addicted more strongly and for a longer duration than the adult brain. Studies show that girls' brains are a full two years more mature than boys' brains in the mid-teens, possibly explaining differences seen in the classroom and in social behavior. Adolescents may not be as resilient to the effects of drugs as we thought. Recent experimental and human studies show that the occasional use of marijuana, for instance, can cause lingering memory problems even days after smoking, and that long-term use of pot impacts later adulthood IQ. Multi-tasking causes divided attention and has been shown to reduce learning ability in the teenage brain. Multi-tasking also has some addictive qualities, which may result in habitual short attention in teenagers. Emotionally stressful situations may impact the adolescent more than it would affect the adult: stress can have permanent effects on mental health and can to lead to higher risk of developing neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression. Dr. Jensen gathers what we’ve discovered about adolescent brain function, wiring, and capacity and explains the science in the contexts of everyday learning and multitasking, stress and memory, sleep, addiction, and decision-making. In this groundbreaking yet accessible book, these findings also yield practical suggestions that will help adults and teenagers negotiate the mysterious world of adolescent development.

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Page Count

270

Publisher

Harper Collins

Published Date

ISBN 10

0062067869

ISBN 13

9780062067869

Becoming Nicole

The inspiring story of transgender actor-activist Nicole Maines and her extraordinary family

By: Amy Ellis Nutt

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Becoming Nicole

The inspiring story of transgender actor-activist Nicole Maines and her extraordinary family

By: Amy Ellis Nutt

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Solve jigsaw puzzle

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Page Count

330

Publisher

Random House Trade Paperbacks

Published Date

ISBN 10

0812995430

ISBN 13

9780812995435

Shadows Bright as Glass

The Remarkable Story of One Man's Journey from Brain Trauma to Artistic Triumph

By: Amy Ellis Nutt

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Shadows Bright as Glass

The Remarkable Story of One Man's Journey from Brain Trauma to Artistic Triumph

By: Amy Ellis Nutt

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Page Count

310

Publisher

Simon and Schuster

Published Date

ISBN 10

1439150079

ISBN 13

9781439150078

Gender-Play in the Hebrew Bible

The Ways the Bible Challenges Its Gender Norms

By: Amy Kalmanofsky

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Gender-Play in the Hebrew Bible

The Ways the Bible Challenges Its Gender Norms

By: Amy Kalmanofsky

Though the Hebrew Bible often reflects and constructs a world that privileges men, many of its narratives play extensively with the gender norms of the society in which they were written. Drawing from feminist, masculinity and queer studies, Gender-Play in the Hebrew Bible uses close literary analysis to argue that the writers of the Bible intentionally challenge gender norms in order to reveal the dangers of destabilizing societal and theological hierarchies that privilege men and masculinity. This book presents a fascinating argument about the construction and import of gender in the biblical narratives, and will be of great interest to academics in the fields of religion, theology, and Biblical studies as well as gender studies.

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Page Count

213

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

Published Date

ISBN 10

1315441993

ISBN 13

9781315441993

A Good Swing is Hard to Find

How Women Can Play the Power Game

By: Helen Alfredsson,Amy Ellis Nutt

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A Good Swing is Hard to Find

How Women Can Play the Power Game

By: Helen Alfredsson,Amy Ellis Nutt

Alfredsson, a professional golfer, "explains how women golfers can put more muscle, more passion, and more fun into their game."--Jacket.

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136

Publisher

Doubleday Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

0385488211

ISBN 13

9780385488211

A Good Swing is Hard to Find

How Women Can Play the Power Game

By: Helen Alfredsson,Amy Ellis Nutt

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A Good Swing is Hard to Find

How Women Can Play the Power Game

By: Helen Alfredsson,Amy Ellis Nutt

Alfredsson, a professional golfer, "explains how women golfers can put more muscle, more passion, and more fun into their game."--Jacket.

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136

Publisher

Doubleday Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

0385488211

ISBN 13

9780385488211

Book's by Amy Ellis Nutt

Becoming Nicole

Becoming Nicole

Shadows Bright as Glass

Shadows Bright as Glass

Becoming Nicole

Becoming Nicole

The Teenage Brain

The Teenage Brain

Becoming Nicole

Becoming Nicole

Shadows Bright as Glass

Shadows Bright as Glass

Gender-Play in the Hebrew Bible

Gender-Play in the Hebrew Bible

A Good Swing is Hard to Find

A Good Swing is Hard to Find

A Good Swing is Hard to Find

A Good Swing is Hard to Find

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