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Nothing prepares Jaya, a New York journalist, for the heartbreak of her third miscarriage and the slow unraveling of her marriage in its wake. Desperate to assuage her deep anguish, she decides to go to India to uncover answers to her family's past.
How did a Venice Beach T-shirt vendor become television's most successful producer? How did an entrepreneur who started in a garage create the most iconic product launches in business history? How did a timid pastor's son overcome a paralyzing fear of public speaking to captivate sold-out crowds at Yankee Stadium, twice? How did a human rights attorney earn TED's longest standing ovation, and how did a Facebook executive launch a movement to encourage millions of women to "lean in"? They told brilliant stories. In The Storyteller's Secret: From TED Speakers to Business Legends, Why Some Ideas Catch on and Others Don't, keynote speaker, bestselling author, and communication expert Carmine Gallo reveals the keys to telling powerful stories that inspire, motivate, educate, build brands, launch movements, and change lives. The New York Times has called a well-told story "a strategic tool with irresistible power" - the proof lies in the success stories of 50 icons, leaders, and legends featured in The Storyteller's Secret: entrepreneurs like Richard Branson, Sara Blakely, Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, and Sheryl Sandberg; spellbinding speakers like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Bryan Stevenson, and Malala Yousafzai; and business leaders behind famous brands such as Starbucks, Southwest Airlines, Wynn Resorts, Whole Foods, and Pixar. Whether your goal is to educate, fundraise, inspire teams, build an award-winning culture, or to deliver memorable presentations, a story is your most valuable asset and your competitive advantage. In The Storyteller's Secret, Gallo explains why the brain is hardwired to love stories - especially rags-to-riches stories - and how the latest science can help you craft a persuasive narrative that wins hearts and minds. "The art of storytelling can be used to drive change," says billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson. And since the next decade will see the most change our civilization has ever known, your story will radically transform your business, your life, and the lives of those you touch. Ideas that catch on are wrapped in story. Your story can change the world. Isn't it time you shared yours?
An astonishing novel about redemption and forgiveness from the “amazingly talented writer” (HuffPost) and #1 New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult. Some stories live forever... Sage Singer is a baker. She works through the night, preparing the day’s breads and pastries, trying to escape a reality of loneliness, bad memories, and the shadow of her mother’s death. When Josef Weber, an elderly man in Sage’s grief support group, begins stopping by the bakery, they strike up an unlikely friendship. Despite their differences, they see in each other the hidden scars that others can’t. Everything changes on the day that Josef confesses a long-buried and shameful secret and asks Sage for an extraordinary favor. If she says yes, she faces not only moral repercussions, but potentially legal ones as well. With the integrity of the closest friend she’s ever had clouded, Sage begins to question the assumptions and expectations she’s made about her life and her family. In this searingly honest novel, Jodi Picoult gracefully explores the lengths to which we will go in order to keep the past from dictating the future.
This book is composed of revelations from the life of a world famous storyteller including extensive travel and projects spanning thirty years. It helps readers understand the power of storytelling as a profound and unique art form combining modern solo theatre, spoken literature, spirituality, and direct oral tradition akin to ancient ritual. The book is shaped with stories and poems and a remarkable fairytale that weaves in and out of a life of experiences: rescuing ex-child soldiers from a devastating war; working with epic singers, Native American storytellers and Tibetan meditation masters; designing a playground; telling tales to Roma mothers and children; and saving a zoo in Northern Romania. This is a unique combination of personal story, myth, memoir, and fairytales that will interest anyone involved in storytelling as performance; those using narrative in healing, business, or education; peacemakers and humanitarians; writers; anyone seeking a deeper spiritual practice; and those hoping to understand the psychology of personal memoir, myth and symbol, the importance of anthropology in our cultural life, and how communities are affected by the stories we tell.
“As technology threatens to displace countless jobs and skills, the ability to communicate is becoming more important than ever. This book is full of examples to help you get better at transporting your thoughts and emotions into the minds of other people.” —Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Give and Take, Originals, and Option B with Sheryl Sandberg How to master the art of persuasion—from the bestselling author of Talk Like TED. Ideas don’t sell themselves. As the forces of globalization, automation, and artificial intelligence combine to disrupt every field, having a good idea isn’t good enough. Mastering the ancient art of persuasion is the key to standing out, getting ahead, and achieving greatness in the modern world. Communication is no longer a “soft” skill—it is the human edge that will make you unstoppable, irresistible, and irreplaceable—earning you that perfect rating, that fifth star. In Five Stars, Carmine Gallo, bestselling author of Talk Like TED, breaks down how to apply Aristotle’s formula of persuasion to inspire contemporary audiences. As the nature of work changes, and technology carries things across the globe in a moment, communication skills become more valuable—not less. Gallo interviews neuroscientists, economists, historians, billionaires, and business leaders of companies like Google, Nike, and Airbnb to show first-hand how they use their words to captivate your imagination and ignite your dreams. In the knowledge age—the information economy—you are only as valuable as your ideas. Five Stars is a book to help you bridge the gap between mediocrity and exceptionality, and gain your competitive edge in the age of automation. In Five Stars, you will also learn: -The one skill billionaire Warren Buffett says will raise your value by 50 percent. -Why your job might fall into a category where 75 percent or more of your income relies on your ability to sell your idea. -How Airbnb’s founders follow a classic 3-part formula shared by successful Hollywood movies. -Why you should speak in third-grade language to persuade adult listeners. -The one brain hack Steve Jobs, Leonardo da Vinci, and Picasso used to unlock their best ideas.
"A beautiful book about family, memories, and the power of stories." —BuzzFeed "Mystical, masterful storytelling." —Ms. Magazine From International Latino Book Award-winning author Ann Dávila Cardinal comes a gorgeously written family saga about a Puerto Rican woman who finds herself gifted (or cursed?) with a strange ability. There was always an old woman dying in the back room of her family's house when Isla was a child... Isla Larsen Sanchez's life begins to unravel when her father passes away. Instead of being comforted at home in New Jersey, her mother starts leaving her in Puerto Rico with her grandmother and great-aunt each summer like a piece of forgotten luggage. When Isla turns eighteen, her grandmother, a great storyteller, dies. It is then that Isla discovers she has a gift passed down through her family's cuentistas. The tales of dead family storytellers are brought back to life, replaying themselves over and over in front of her. At first, Isla is enchanted by this connection to the Sanchez cuentistas. But when Isla has a vision of an old murder mystery, she realizes that if she can't solve it to make the loop end, these seemingly harmless stories could cost Isla her life. BuzzFeed's 20 Highly Anticipated Thrillers of 2022 BookRiot's 15 Best New Mystery Books of 2022 Goodreads' Books to Read for Hispanic Heritage Month Apartment Therapy's One Book to Read in October 2022 Paste Magazine's Best New Fantasy Books of October 2022 BuzzFeed's Best New Books of October 2022 BookRiot's Best New Mysteries, Thrillers, and True Crime of October 2022 CrimeReads' Most Anticipated Books of Fall 2022 The Nerd Daily's Most Anticipated Book Releases SheReads' Best Sci-Fi & Fantasy Books Coming In 2022 Hasty Book List's Best Books of October
When her father falls into a coma, Indian American photographer Sonya reluctantly returns to the family she'd fled years before. Her soft-spoken sister, Trisha, has created a perfect suburban life, and her ambitious sister, Marin, has built her own successful career. But as these women come together, their various methods of coping with a terrifying history can no longer hold their memories at bay. Buried secrets rise to the surface, and as their father's condition worsens the daughters and their mother wrestle with private hopes for his survival or death, as well as their own demons and buried secrets.
The compelling, groundbreaking guide to creative writing that reveals how the brain responds to storytelling Stories shape who we are. They drive us to act out our dreams and ambitions and mold our beliefs. Storytelling is an essential part of what makes us human. So, how do master storytellers compel us? In The Science of Storytelling, award-winning writer and acclaimed teacher of creative writing Will Storr applies dazzling psychological research and cutting-edge neuroscience to our myths and archetypes to show how we can write better stories, revealing, among other things, how storytellers—and also our brains—create worlds by being attuned to moments of unexpected change. Will Storr’s superbly chosen examples range from Harry Potter to Jane Austen to Alice Walker, Greek drama to Russian novels to Native American folk tales, King Lear to Breaking Bad to children’s stories. With sections such as “The Dramatic Question,” “Creating a World,” and “Plot, Endings, and Meaning,” as well as a practical, step-by-step appendix dedicated to “The Sacred Flaw Approach,” The Science of Storytelling reveals just what makes stories work, placing it alongside such creative writing classics as John Yorke’s Into the Woods: A Five-Act Journey into Story and Lajos Egri’s The Art of Dramatic Writing. Enlightening and empowering, The Science of Storytelling is destined to become an invaluable resource for writers of all stripes, whether novelist, screenwriter, playwright, or writer of creative or traditional nonfiction.
A straightforward guide to creating a great story that keeps your audience riveted. The art of telling stories has been around as long as humans. And in today’s noisy, techy, automated world, storytelling is not only prevalent?it’s vital. Whether you're interested in enlivening verbal communication, building your business brand, making presentations, sharing family wisdom, or performing on stage, Story Power shows you how to make use of a good story. Telling stories is the most effective verbal communication?if you know how to use it. Story Power provides techniques for creating and framing personal stories alongside effective tips for telling them in any setting. Plus, this book models stories with unique storytelling examples, exercises, and prompts, as well as storytelling techniques for delivery in a spontaneous, authentic style. Story Power is an engaging, lively guide to the art of telling stories from author and librarian Kate Farrell, a seasoned storyteller and founder of the Word Weaving Storytelling Project. In Story Power, more than twenty skillful contributors with a range of diverse voices share their secrets to creating, crafting, and telling tales. In this book discover: How to share your own coming-of-age stories and family folklore The importance of a personal branding story and storytelling marketing Seven Steps to Storytelling, along with helpful tools, organizers, and media options With a foreword by New York Times bestselling, award-winning author Susan Wittig Albert Praise for Story Power “You can read a lot of books that tell you how to tell a story. Unlike them, Story Power illustrates the art, with twenty-one diverse voices and fascinating tales that entertain as you learn how to create and craft personal stories of all types.” —Nina Amir, bestselling author of How to Blog a Book, The Author Training Manual, and Creative Visualization for Writers “Mining her own experiences, Farrell offers small narrative gems alongside craft tips, commentary, and writing samples from an impressive list of acclaimed writers. Learn travel writing from Lisa Alpine, for example, or keys to crafting adventure stories from Mary Mackey, or personal branding from Marissa Moss . . . . Engaging and accessible, Story Power will help you jump-start and sustain your writing practice.” —Mary Volmer, author of Reliance, Illinois
When Trina and her father move into an abandoned wreck of a mansion called Goldenrod, Trina thinks her life is finally coming together. She can put down roots at last. Maybe she'll even have a best friend! But the kids at school make fun of her, and it seems like Goldenrod itself is haunted. Then Trina finds Augustine, a tiny porcelain doll left behind when the house was boarded up a century ago. Augustine isn't like other dolls: she talks and talks and talks. Augustine helps Trina realize that Goldenrod is trying to tell her an important secret . . . one that may just change her life.
