In these ten varied and keenly rendered tales, Susan Dodd explores the levels of the human heart by leading us through a gallery of feelings, insights, characters, and emotions. Whether writing about a 100-year-old woman in South America, a teenage suicide in Winnetka, a divorced couple meeting by chance, or a pair of lovers listening to the family on the other side of their apartment wall, Dodd places us in a world full of subdued conflict where bonds between loved ones and strangers are tested, broken, and sometimes renewed. Her themes range beyond the regional or contemporary, embracing those moments of loneliness and self-knowledge that confront us all. As the characters meet and separate, wonder and react, we travel with them, exploring the forms of our existence, and the substance of our hearts.
Weather they are on the lookout or on the lam, love is what maps their migration. An eccentric endodontist repairs a patient's freshly broken heart while performing a root canal. A Haitian woman charms snakes into keeping her company in an urban cave as she safeguards her grandchildren's sleep. A shy illustrator subsists through a long Vermont winter on occasional glimpses of a man in a blue pickup truck. Susan Dodd, the acclaimed author of The Mourners' Bench explores the multifarious and otherworldly nature of love's in this shimmering collection of short stories. In settings ranging from a desolate island in winter to a broken-down city bus at rush hour, Dodd shows us love's unlikely -- and often inconvenient -- landings 'in these ten diverse and uncommon stories.
The mourners' bench is an original, poignant, and affecting love story about memory, perspective, temptation, and forgiveness. Susan Dodd creates characters who will linger in the reader's mind long after the tale has reached its inevitable end. It's the story of two estranged relatives attempting to mend the passing of time apart upon the wishes of one dying man, Wim - the husband of Leandra's sister. As he re-enters her life, a charming romance evokes filled with heartbreak, betrayal and love. The mourners' bench is sure to be a classic tale.
On February 15, 1982, the oil rig Ocean Ranger sank off the coast of Newfoundland taking the entire crew of eighty-four men — including the author’s brother — down with it. It was the worst sea disaster in Canada since the Second World War, but the memory of this event gradually faded into a sad story about a bad storm — relegated to the “Extreme Weather” section of the CBC archives. Susan Dodd resurrects this disaster from the realm of “history” and maps the socio-political processes of its aftermath, when power, money and collective hopes for the future revised the story of corporate indifference and betrayal of public trust into a “lesson learned” by an heroic industry advancing technology in the face of a brutal environment. This book is a navigational resource for other disaster aftermaths, including that of the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico, and a call for vigilant government regulation of industry in all its forms.
Gives parents and carers detailed up-to-date information about autistic disorders by providing practical suggestions and strategies, incorporating the latest teaching methods, to assist in the understanding and management of people with autism at home, in educational programs and in the community. It discusses the unique learning styles, sensory sensitivities, different motivations and relative strengths in visual processing and rote memory skills of children and adults with autism.
At once frighteningly beautiful and strangely evocative, The Silent Woman is the haunting story of three tortured souls. In the summer of 1914, the celebrated young painter Oskar Kokoschka was in the throes of a passionate love affair with Alma Mahler, the beautiful and seductive widow of the great composer. Now, four short years later, Kokoschka has become a casualty of the Great War. Unlike many of his compatriots, Oskar has survived both a bayonet wound and mustard gas, yet he cannot seem to recover from his inconstant mistress's ruinous betrayal. Determined to have her -- somehow -- the grieving artist turns to a servant, the shy, reserved Hulda. Shrouded in sadness, this tender young woman reawakens in Oskar desire -- and the passion of creation. But their secret liaison is fueled by Oskar's preoccupation with his lost love, a dangerous obsession that could carry him-and the innocent Hulda -- beyond hope to a place of no return.
Lily and her mother go to Greenwich Point Beach for the day and Lily has found a clam who she names Clarence. She takes Clarence home as a pet but doesn't realize that Clarence is not happy being away from his natural environment. This is an environmental story about keeping animals in their natural habitats as well as a teaching moment between a mother and her daughter.
When Mr Elvic first comes to his workshop on Cinder Lane, he makes an unusual discovery - an old, dismantled Wishing Machine. He sets about repairing it and, to his astonishment, the machines works perfectly. With his first wish he gives his loveable ginger cat the power of speech. However, well-meaning as he is, Benson the cat is also very mischievous. It is not long before Mr Elvic and Benson find themselves in all sorts of scrapes as they set about using their secret Wishing Machine to help their friends and neighbours. Will other people find out about the Wishing Machine? How reliable is a talking cat when it comes to keeping secrets? In this enchanting tale, Susan has drawn on her childhood memories to create a gentle world of kindly townsfolk and a talking cat. Poignant and beautifully written, "Benson and the Wishing Machine" offers an engaging modern parable that will amaze and amuse young and old readers alike.
Weather they are on the lookout or on the lam, love is what maps their migration.An eccentric endodontist repairs a patient's freshly broken heart while performing a root canal.A Haitian woman charms snakes into keeping her company in an urban cave as she safeguards her grandchildren's sleep.A shy illustrator subsists through a long Vermont winter on occasional glimpses of a man in a blue pickup truck.Susan Dodd, the acclaimed author of The Mourners' Bench explores the multifarious and otherworldly nature of love's in this shimmering collection of short stories.In settings ranging from a desolate island in winter to a broken-down city bus at rush hour, Dodd shows us love's unlikely -- and often inconvenient -- landings 'in these ten diverse and uncommon stories.
A commentary on "Catastrophe and Social Change," Samuel H. Prince's account of the Halifax Explosion of 1917 and one of the first works of disaster sociology. Dr. Dodd considers Prince's work in light of apocalyptic literature, the Social Gospel movement, and the political and psychological climate of Halifax at the time.
This book sees the return of the lovable, but very mischievous ginger cat, Benson. He has the ability to speak and causes mayhem wherever he goes. Benson was given this gift of speech when his friend, Mr Elvic, found and rebuilt the fantastic Wishing Machine. This machine, which no-one else knows about, enables the duo to make wishes for people come true, without them knowing how.
Imprint. A mesmerising historical novel of art and obsession, centered around the life of painter Oskar Kokoschka, from the author of The Mourners' Bench.
One of the most gifted athletes in the world, Babe Didrikson Zaharias dominated track and field, winning two Olympic gold medals in 1932. She went on to compete in baseball, bowling, basketball, tennis, and particularly in golf. The American public was smitten with her wit, frankness, and "unladylike" bravado. She became an American legend. The legend was challenged, however, by members of the press and society who insinuated that her femininity, even her femaleness, were suspect--that there was something different, even wrong, about this preternaturally gifted woman in a male-dominated world. She had ably used her androgyny and her powerful athleticism to promote herself, but she soon felt compelled to craft herself into a more marketable female role model--particularly in connection with the "proper" world of golf. To increase her opportunities for competitive play in this field, she became a co-founder and officer of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA). As a major step in her makeover, Babe already had married George Zaharias, a wrestling promoter who was a vital partner in her constant efforts at self-promotion. But by 1950 Babe was deeply involved with a young golfer, Betty Dodd, whose for-the-record discussion of their remarkable love is included in Babe. Stricken with cancer in her prime, Babe went on to courageously and publicly fight the disease. Babe is a comprehensive, in-depth biography of a woman who was a great athlete at a time when it was extremely difficult for a woman to be her own person. Through interviews with members of Babe's family, her golf peers, and medical personnel, Cayleff caringly reveals the life and probes the legend of this unusual American hero. She unflinchingly examines the athletic community, the media, and the society that both loved and judged Babe, whose story embodies the struggle of all women who dare to transcend stereotypes and claim their own definitions and unique identities. Babe allows her to be all the hero--and all the human being--she was meant to be.
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