Arcadia Public Library

Tara Westover was seventeen the first time she set foot in a classroom. Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, she prepared for the end of the world by stockpiling home-canned peaches and sleeping with her "head-for-the-hills bag." In the summer she stewed herbs for her mother, a midwife and healer, and in the winter she salvaged in her father's junkyard. Her father distrusted the medical establishment, so Tara never saw a doctor or nurse....

With a new name and fake ID papers, Sarah Patterson, on the run from her violent estranged husband--a police lieutenant--takes a job working with Hollywood's golden boy director who, as their bond deepens, attempts to keep Sarah out of harm's way.

"In this brave and beautiful memoir...a woman chronicles how her marriage devolved from a love story into a shocking tale of abuse--examining the tenderness and violence entwined in the relationship, why she endured years of physical and emotional pain, and how she eventually broke free."--

Traces the author's experiences as a child born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, describing her participation in her family's paranoid stockpiling activities and her resolve to educate herself well enough to earn acceptance into a prestigious university and the unfamiliar world beyond.

According to UNICEF, growing up with domestic violence is one of the most pervasive human rights violations in the world, affecting more than a billion people. Yet too few people are aware of the profound impact it can have. Invincible seeks to change this lack of awareness and understanding with a compelling look at this important issue, informing and inspiring anyone who grew up living with domestic violence -- and those who love them, work with...

"Hollywood starlet Lana Turner was one Tinseltown's most recognizable faces in the 1940s and 50s. But, when the Academy Award-winning actress began dating mobster Johnny Stompanato-a thug for west coast mob boss Mickey Cohen-all the lights and glamor of Hollywood did not brighten the darkness of her personal life. Johnny's intense jealousy over Lana ruled their relationship from the get-go and Lana's daughter, Cheryl, witnessed her mother's bruises...