Frank Carlson Library

Getting kidnapped over spring break was definitely memorable. But now that the surviving hostages are home, they want life to feel normal again: high school, dating, million-dollar galas. But there’s no escaping the spotlight—or the truth about the ways they betrayed each other in the jungle. And this time, the real threat isn’t kidnappers—it’s what the (3z(Bfriends(3y (Bmight do to each other. Told from alternating perspectives, the high-stakes...

In her self-published memoir, Stephanie narrates her remarkable journey through childhood, adolescence, and early-adult life with parents who struggled with addiction and poverty. She describes her fight to survive and reveals her growing understanding of the role that inner strength and determination has played in her personal and professional achievements. Stephanie explores how she learned to overcome debilitating depression, the return of...

Jose Luis Fernandez fought an underground war against the dictator of Cuba, Fulgencio Batista, late 1950s. Jose was imprisoned and tortured twice, but he never stopped believing in the cause, he never stopped believing in the revolution, he never stopped believing in their leader, Comandante Fidel Castro. After succeeding against Batista, Jose found himself close enough to Fidel Castro to realize his life had changed, but it was not for what he had...

Being a survivor of institutionalized abuse from the late 1950s in Ireland, author Josie Dias Wallace describes her journey after leaving a convent and embarking on a new adventure in England, UK, where she settled permanently alongside her sister Mels, RIP.

When 17-year-old Selma van de Perre lost her father to Holocaust, she had her mother and siblings to take refuge in, but when she lost her mother and sister too, she was devastated. Hurt, humiliated, and angry, Selma vowed to avenge her family. In an act of defiance and daredevilry, she joined the Jewish resistance movement. This is the story of Selam van de Perre, the woman who was ready to risk it all to resist the Nazis. Under a pseudonym, under...

"I've decided to write it down. Later, when he is a grown man and I might have the fortune to still be alive, I will no longer remember one thing or another. I will, therefore, whenever I am able to steal a moment's time, record what is happening with us and around us while he is becoming accustomed to life-to this life which seems to offer little more than death." -Katharina Berger On the brink of World War II, Katharina Berger was the most sought-after...

This book delves into the poignant themes of loss and grief, transcending its setting of a bank. It's a narrative about the relentless pursuit of a debt collector, a story of harassment and vulnerability. A family is abruptly given 72 hours to vacate their home, forced to abandon everything familiar to them. This tale unveils the harsh reality of covert repossession, reflecting the struggles faced by many in today's world. There is no silver lining...

Lucky Bug and Fragile Power is the story of one survivor's complicated relationship with love, trust, and power as a consequence of those ripples. Cynthia Culpepper suffered abuse and neglect at the hands of her alcoholic parents. Running away to elope at eighteen, she started her adult life with nothing but the clothes on her back and the trauma from her upbringing. This memoir chronicles how Cynthia overcame poverty, trauma, loss, and betrayal to...

Raymond witnessed a harrowing sight that no child should ever see: an environmental catastrophe that wreaked havoc on his town, its people, and the local wildlife. This disaster left deep scars and drew the attention of powerful, sinister forces intent on burying the truth. To escape their clutches, Raymond was forced to flee, ultimately finding refuge on a secluded island in the middle of a lake in his town. There, he spent five long years in hiding,...

When twelve-year-old Dixie Randolph learns of a stolen, hidden treasure that spawned a family feud nearly two hundred years earlier, she faces the wrath of the thief's descendant as she risks her life to end the family feud.