Now regarded as a classic in dog literature, Ken Foster's memoir chronicles his journey from first-time dog owner to rescuer--and all the lessons and mistakes he made along the way. Bookended by the tragedies of 9/11 and Katrina, Foster finds that dogs open his eyes to the benefits of compassion, selflessness, and the chaotic beauty of living each day in the moment. But more than Foster's own story, readers remember the dogs. Among them are Duque, a Costa Rican stray; Brando, Foster's first adopted dog and a supposed pit bull mix who outgrew his Manhattan studio apartment; Rocco, a clownish red pit bull whose owner mistakenly gives him away to the wrong person; Zephyr, a cheerful Rottweiler mix who awakens Foster by sitting on his chest when his heart stops working; and Sula, the tiny lost pit bull who showed up at Foster's door one day and stayed. Whether bearing witness to national tragedy, grieving the death of a friend, or dealing with his own mortality, Foster finds strength in his dogs, and in the reciprocal nature of rescue.
Ken Foster knows that a dog can change a person's life. And that several dogs can change even more. For THE DOGS WHO FOUND ME, the author appeared in major media interviews such as NPR's “Fresh Air” with Terry Gross, and received hundreds of letters and stories about other karmic canine rescues. Many of these heartwarming stories are now compiled in this all-new follow-up to the original bestseller. DOGS I HAVE MET introduces us to injured California pit bull Jimmy, among others, as well as to one woman who opened her house to 55 stray dogs. Ken Foster will once again travel the country for interviews and in-store events to promote dog rescue and this all-new national bestseller.
In her New Yorker review of The KGB Bar Reader, Daphne Merkin called attention to Ken Foster's introduction: "His last sentence ... caught me up short, because it seemed both so obvious and so original: 'And that the best writers reveal something about themselves that a smarter person would choose to hide.'" In this collection, Foster does exactly that, as he explores the limits of what we can expect from others, and from ourselves. From New Orleans to Portland to Manhattan and Paris, Foster's characters circle each other as well as their own fates in fourteen stories that evoke Mary Gaitskill, Lorrie Moore, and Denis Johnson. The heart of what we're looking for in life provides the backbone to these surprising and poetic pieces -- in which Foster ultimately reveals the gap between what we hope for and the kind we're likely to get.
Ask and You Will Succeed is a breath of fresh air in a marketplace crowded with advice on what to believe and how to live. Filled with powerful questions that invite you to listen to your inner voice and tap into the strength you need to create your ideal life, this book makes you the final authority in your own life not outside forces that you can't control. Packed with thought-provoking questions related to the creative laws of success, Ask and You Will Succeed shatters the myth that your success depends on the advice, hard work, or ambition of others. Instead, Kenneth Foster presents life-changing questions that when answered by you will help you define and attain success in every area of your life. By utilizing the questions in this book, you'll uncover the true nature of your own mind. If you ask the right questions and do the work, you'll find that prosperous thinking flows into every aspect of your life effortlessly, relieving you of the stressful, negative thoughts that block your creativity and halt your drive for success. Through the process of asking and answering these wise questions, you'll learn to live in harmony with yourself, succeed in business, improve your physical health, build strong relationships, and engender fulfillment, energy, and enthusiasm for life. No matter what you do in life, you'll find a renewed sense of purpose, extraordinary wealth, and an unending love for what you choose to do in life. All you have to do is ask. Ask and You Will Succeed is the result of Foster'slifetime of work helping people transfer their attention from failure to success, worry to calm, distraction to concentration, restlessness to peace, and negativity to positivity. When you ask yourself these questions, you'll grow from mastering tasks to mastering yourself and begin a journey to unlimited wealth and unending success. To find out more about Kenneth???s programs, go to www.premiercoaching.com.
Filled with inspiring stories and photographs, this heartfelt tribute to the pit bull celebrates one of America’s most popular yet misunderstood dogs. Perhaps more than any other breed, the pit bull has been dogged by negative stereotypes. In truth, pit bulls are innately wonderful family pets, as capable of love and good deeds as any other type of dog. Setting the record straight, Ken Foster sings the praises of pit bulls in I’m a Good Dog, a gorgeously illustrated, tenderly written tribute to this most misunderstood of canines. Founder of the Sula Foundation, which promotes responsible pit bull ownership in New Orleans, and the author of two acclaimed books about abandoned dogs, Foster has made it his mission to bring overlooked canines into the limelight. I’m a Good Dog traces the fascinating history of this particularly maligned breed. A century ago, the pit bull was considered a family dog, featured in family photos and trusted as loving companions for children. More recently, pit bulls have been portrayed by the media as stereotypes of everything they are not. Foster shatters that reputation through moving profiles of pit bulls that serve as therapy dogs, athletic heroes, search-and-rescue dogs, and educators, not to mention as loving pets. Foster also profiles many pit bull lovers, from Helen Keller and Dr. Seuss to actor Todd Cerveris, who took his pit bull on tour with him for the musical Spring Awakening. Proving that there’s much to love and nothing to fear, I’m a Good Dog restores the pit bull to its rightful place as friend, family member, athlete and entertainer.
A beautiful, heartfelt, funny, and inspiring collection of photos and stories that maps the relationship between canine New Yorkers and their human counterparts. New York is a city of five boroughs, more than 250 distinct neighborhoods, 8.5 million people, and more than 600,000 dogs, who are as much a part of the social fabric as the people who follow them on the other end of the leash. City of Dogs maps this relationship with incredible four-color photos highlighting the scene. From the Bronx to Brooklyn and along the streets of Harlem and Manhattan, Ken Foster and Traer Scott explore the unique relationships between dogs and their human counterparts. We meet Alex Nuckel, living on disability and finding joy and purpose in caring for his two pit bulls, Lucy and Rocky. And Majora Carter, a community activist who has received a MacArthur grant, living and working with two stray shepherds she rescued in her own neighborhood. City of Dogs also takes us to a Midtown Manhattan law office, where staff are encouraged to bring their adopted dogs to work, and to the JFK airport, where we meet dogs who help screen at security. And then on to Brooklyn, where we meet award-winning author Jacqueline Woodson and her dogs, Toffee and Shadow. These are just a few of the amazing animals and their people featured in this perfect gift book for any dog lover.
The Island of Second Chances is written by promising new fiction writer, Ken Foster. This book tells an exciting story of a man and woman who were stranded for a few years upon a remote island after each separately experienced horrible happenings at sea. The man, Captain Joe Weathers, survived an explosion on his ship caused by drug traffickers who set him up to be killed. On another ship the woman, a beloved movie star named Nikki Coleman, was beaten and thrown overboard by her hateful, drug abusing husband, during a drunken rage. To keep from getting caught, this awful man murdered everyone else on the ship. He didn't know that the ship was leaking fuel and the crew members had been working to fix the problem. As the murderous husband tried to pilot the ship, the leaking fuel ignited and the resulting explosion blew the whole outfit high in the sky, along with him and his dirty deeds. Nikki Coleman, comatose, swollen and sunburned beyond recognition, was barely alive in a lifeboat when she was rescued by Captain Joe Weathers. Her condition was so bad, he first thought she was a man. The Captain tended the critically ill woman and treated her badly sunburned skin everyday for a couple of months. When she finally awoke from the coma, Nikki had lost the memory of what had happened to her. In her confusion Nikki believed that she had been kidnapped and was being held for ransom. Nothing her rescuer said could convince her otherwise. For a long time she has a real problem with trust and constantly resists Joe's efforts to help her. While on the island they survive dangerous events, such as typhoons, wild boars, and gigantic sharks. These two very different people eventually learn to cope with their misfortunes, while they share the tropical island. Captain Weathers, an honorable man, war hero and a Navy S.E.A.L. meets each challenge with a strong and capable defense even though the Island's tasks for living are almost unbearable. In time Nikki, the movie star, starts being nicer to the Captain as she regains all of her memory about what really occurred. Eventually, the pair is rescued by a fisherman and he arranges for them to be taken to port by the Australian Navy. The next things that happen are shocking and you must read the book to learn the details. You'll enjoy getting to know Joe and Nikki's families as well as Joe's wild and boisterous S.E.A.L buddies. Captain Joe Weathers is an outstanding character and you'll want to read more of his adventures in the future. Here's an excerpt from the book: "It was late in the morning of the last day of the voyage before arriving in the tropical paradise of Tahiti. Captain Joe Weathers was looking at the bow enjoying the beauty sunbathing on the fifty-five foot yacht. Their trip began three weeks earlier when he had taken delivery of the yacht in Seattle and was ferrying it to the new owner in Tahiti. The crew consisted of a young couple from Italy that could only be described as free spirits. Lou and Marina had just completed their studies just a few months earlier and were now working their way around the world. Signing up to help ferry the yacht would take them one more step toward circling the globe. Lou was a hard worker that only had to be told once what needed to be done then he made sure the task was always complete. Marina was the daughter of two very well known chefs in Rome; she cooked and served their meals. Even though they were informal on this trip she insisted they all dress for dinner. Marina was the view he was enjoying at that moment, as the yacht had all the latest electronics and didn't need his attention until they reached the outer marker of the island harbor. She wasn't modest and had immediately taken to sunbathing on the bow between her duties. Of course she had chosen the most visible place to be seen from the bridge. Her bathing attire could only be described as consisting of a very small patch of a garment with no top. . .
A New York Times bestseller! Imagine yourself a thirteen-year-old hundreds of miles away from home, in a strange city, and your mom leaves you at a bus station parking lot and drives off into the night with her lover. That’s the real-life story of country music star Jimmy Wayne. It’s a miracle that Jimmy survived being hungry and homeless, bouncing in and out of the foster care system, and sleeping in the streets. But he didn’t just overcome great adversity in his life; he now uses his country music platform to help children everywhere, especially teenagers in foster care who are about to age out of the system. Walk to Beautiful is the powerfully emotive account of Jimmy’s horrendous childhood and the love he received from Russell and Bea Costner, the elderly couple who gave him a stable home and provided the chance to complete his education. Jimmy says of Bea, “She changed every cell in my body.” This moving memoir chronicles: Jimmy’s life as a foster child and homeless teenager His adoption by Russell and Bea Costner, an elderly couple who gave him a stable home and provided the opportunities for him to thrive His surprising rise to fame in the music industry His tireless advocacy for children in the foster care system through his Meet Me Halfway awareness campaign, a 1,700 mile walk halfway across America from Nashville to Phoenix Join Jimmy on his walk to beautiful and see how one person really can make a difference.
Reflecting on an outstanding 19-year major-league career, this autobiography chronicles baseball great Ken Griffey, beginning with his days just out of high school. The account relates Griffey's decision to venture into the baseball business, documenting his time as a scout, coach, and manager along with his accomplishments as a father, raising two other major league ballplayers: Craig, who played briefly for the Seattle Mariners, and future Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. Capturing the subject's time with the Big Red Machine, this record details his days playing alongside Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, and Pete Rose, highlighting the Reds' two consecutive world championships in 1975 and 1976. Finally, the ultimate thrill of Griffey's career is featured: playing in the same outfield in 1990 with his son, Ken Griffey Jr., during the game where they hit back-to-back home runs—the only father-son combination to do so in the history of Major League Baseball. Filled with amusing anecdotes and behind-the-scenes glimpses of what it's like when baseball really does run in the family, this is a sports memoir unlike any other.
The Adventures of Tom Malley, Volume II: The Winter of Pleasure In Ken Foster's second book about The Adventures of Tom Malley series, the skilled frontiersman finds himself facing another long winter alone and decides to make his winter camp on a nice hillside. Before scouting the area, he is cooking his first meal at the new camp site when he is interrupted by an old woman that's out scrounging for rabbit. Somehow he had managed to select a campsite that was just over the hill from a family who had become lost when their wagon had broken down in the wilderness several years earlier. They hadn't seen any white men in that time and the Indians frightened them when they saw them. After meeting the family of gypsies from the old country, it is agreed he will stay the winter and even teach the lost family how to live in the mountains while providing them with venison. While scouting the area one day, Tom finds an Indian trail. On his way back, he startles a very young brave that is watching the family. The brave runs away leaving his horse and bow behind and Tom must take the brave's horse and bow to the village so there isn't any misunderstanding. While there, he arranges for the family to come and meet the village as well as perform for them. The family is well received and given many gifts for coming to entertaining the village. They are even invited back in the spring. Tom works hard and gets a nice home built before the winter gets too hard. He must enlist the family to help finish it and it is completed before they are snowed in. The family discovers they have unknown talents with making building materials while making bricks for the chimney. He tries to give the cabin to the family, but is turned down as the old couple wants him to do them a big favor but also want him to help make their shack winter proof. The favor is what brings him the winter of pleasure. In early spring, he goes to scout the area looking for signs of winter leaving when he finds himself right in the middle of an Indian war. Now, Tom must use all his skills to get the family out of the wilderness before the warring tribe catches them. They travel many days through deep snow, spending freezing nights with late winter storms without a fire to keep warm. The exhausted group finally make it to a town that's already been attacked by Indians. There they find their first hot meal and shelter from the weather. Tom helps the family get established and makes certain the men of the town understand how they are to be treated. When the army arrives, he discovers they have captured the wrong Indian and proves his innocence while catching the real scalp hunter. Then he recruits the man he just rescued and together they lead the army into a position so they can capture the tribe that started the war. With the war averted, they take the army to the Indian camp that was wiped out to show the toll the war had caused. This is where the Indian leaves to go find his family and Tom leaves to continue his travels. Eventually he makes it to Atlanta then several more large cities along the eastern coast, stopping in each to deposit some of the gold and lightening his burden while keeping his trail impossible to follow.
Tom Malley is a young man of fifteen when he loses his parents on their way west. After caring for their bodies and not knowing what to do he continued traveling northwest. Starving to death he was asleep and rode his horse right into an Indian village. The remote tribe had heard of the white man but never seen one. They had a good laugh at his expense then took him in, taught him their language, and how to live in the harsh winter environment. He quickly realized he knew less than the smallest of the tribe about the great mother earth. One day after the long winter, while swimming in a snow melt stream with several braves, he dove to the bottom and found a gold nugget the size of a small bird egg. After inspecting the mineral he looked around to his surprise he discovered he was swimming in a stream laced with gold nuggets. It became his habit to swim often and collect the nuggets that were worthless to his adopted people. When returning from an elk hunt one day he was suddenly shot twice by arrows. A jealous brave had seen the woman he wanted for a wife watching Tom and had shot the arrows. After healing from that incident Tom was forced to move on. He took the gold he had hidden; traveled southeast, then with the mountain passes closing, he had to spend a lonely winter in a valley filled with elk. It was well into spring when he got out of the mountains and met a trapper that partnered up with him for the rendezvous. There he gets his first introduction to feminine pleasures. He also is instrumental in killing a hungry grizzly bear that is intent on killing their horses. Just before he leaves the rendezvous a drunken scalp hunter tries to force him to sell his horses, when Tom refuses the evil man shoots one and Tom fights the drunkard so his other horse can get away. It's only after he gets up that he discovers he mortally wounded the man that's still trying to kill him. Months later Tom finds himself in St. Louis to get his animals reshod and resupply himself. There he encounters a tough sheriff that's a bully and hates Indians as well as anyone that has the appearance of one. Circumstances demand he help a squaw that is brutalized by the sheriff after a physical confrontation that leaves the sheriff badly injured. He rides west with the squaw for three weeks to get her close to the villages then when she proves she can take care of herself he makes the decision to resume his travels east. With winter again coming he needed to resupply. It was the first town he intended to stop in since St. Louis. The instant he rode in he knew it was a mistake and didn't stop. However he did manage to get the Warden Brothers attention and they followed him in hopes of robbing a stranger. Once again Tom is forced to deal with men that have ill intentions toward him. He leads the four brothers deep into the wilderness where they meet more than their match. During his travels Tom Malley meets many colorful and expressive people, each having an influence on his life. The interactions with these people and the experiences he goes through molds him into the man he is destined to become.
It was the war that defined a generation. Vietnam: Our Stories tells the history of the Vietnam War through the eyes of the men and women who lived it with their testimonies that swing from sombre to funny.
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