Young Abbie struggles to cope with the traumatic experiences in her life. Ripped from everything familiar after her parents' divorce, she is dropped into an unknown neighborhood and is emotionally abandoned by her mentally unstable mother. Abbie is caught up in the cruel nature of one sister's addictions and is often rescued by her other sister's love and sense of familial responsibility.The story reveals family secrets and the shift of cultural norms as it leaves the 1970s and ent...

For Lainie, feeling unwelcome is only the beginning of her struggles. Her mom is addicted to painkillers, her stepfather is a felon, and her dad traded her in for a new family.So what if she's kicked out of high school? Determined and attractive, Lainie sets out to make her own path.Shane, the young man she begins dating and believes is trustworthy, transforms into a possessive and cruel boyfriend. When Efren, Shane's older cousin, enters her life, Lainie grasps onto a sliv...

What, exactly, does it mean to share one's life with a guide dog?While there is practical merit to the human-canine bond, which developed over a period of 70,000 years, it's not akin to any other human-animal relationship. It is unique.The person and guide dog are interdependent, and the bond of mutual trust is what makes the partnership successful and fulfilling for both. Ask yourself how many people you would trust with your life, and after answering, ask yourself if you ...

Guide dogs, death, and a disturbing dream. Marriage, memories, and intriguing mysteries. Eroticism, abortion, and a wonderfully poetic essay. In this collection of 23 of her short, accessible poems from several decades, Ann Chiappetta explores an enormous range of emotions and topics."Orbituary" mourns the removal of an eye. "Verona" and "In Those Dark Moments" are tributes to her beloved guide dog. "Appearances" offers reflections on adjusting to blindness. Four of the poems deal ...

A demon deer and a ghost cat. Sibling rivalry and sexual awakening. Self-image and self-confidence. The chance for an offworlder to breathe free at last on a new planet. Those are just some of the diverse themes of these remarkable stories. Some endings are happy, some are sad, and some are intriguingly open-ended. But once you step inside the author's world, you cannot emerge unmoved.IntroductionThis collection, my most diverse to date, includes general fiction, science fi...

About the BookIn this new collection of poems, essays, and flash fiction, the author once again exhibits her ability to write about both the light and dark sides of life. There are numerous poems and stories about nature: its kindness, cruelty, and wonder. There are frank expressions of the sadness and frustration she felt at the progressive loss of her eyesight and a poem about the social isolation that disability can bring. Other pieces, though, sing of joys as diverse as family ...

Step into a world of rogue screen readers, Braille in fantasy worlds, a friend meeting an acquaintance after several years, and more.This #OwnVoices anthology features fiction by Blind and visually impaired authors showing readers how they thrive, hurt, get revenge, outsmart bullies, or go on epic adventures. Artificial Divide is an own-voices story collection that captures the many layers of Blindness and, for once, puts visually impaired protagonists in the driver's seat, letting...