Emma Brockes

Film musicals: you either love them or they make you want to kill yourself slowly with plastic cutlery. Nothing has the power to lift your heart or turn your stomach like Howard Keel in fake sideburns singing Bless Your Beautiful Hide or Julie Andrews singing...well, just about anything.There are few situations where the question What would Barbra do? doesnt have relevance in a world which is much better lived to a soundtrack of show-tunes.This is a book for people who know that* People dont tend to die in musicals, but those who do deserve it* True love waits long enough for an element of mistaken identity to be introduced (especially if one of the couple is a Nazi)* Women carry the show.* Talented women wind up alone...* ...But they have the consolation of the torch song, which in Hollywood musicals is more fulfilling than a husband.

Emma Brockes is thirty-seven, lives alone, and wants children. She is in a relationship (good!) but they arent doing the parenting together (weird!). Emma needs sperm, a doctor, and not to bankrupt herself. And thats just the beginning - there are a million choices to make when taking the untraditional route to motherhood. Then theres the uninvited opinions, scolding and general hysteria that always accompanies a womans decision to have (or not to have) children. With generous heart and humour, Panic & Joy examines essential questions about motherhood and the modern family.

When Emma Brockes was ten years old, her mother said One day I will tell you the story of my life and you will be amazed. Growing up in a tranquil English village, Emma knew very little of her mothers life before her. She knew Paula had grown up in South Africa and had seven siblings. She had been told stories about deadly snakes and hailstones the size of golf balls. There was mention, once, of a trial. But most of the past was a mystery. When her mother dies of cancer, Emma - by then a successful journalist at the Guardian - is free to investigate the untold story. Her search begins in the Colindale library but then takes her to South Africa, to the extended family she has never met and their accounts of a childhood so different to her own.She encounters versions of the life her mother chose to leave behind - and realises what a gift her mother gave her.Part investigation, part travelogue, part elegy, She Left Me the Gun is a gripping, funny and clear-eyed account of a writers search for her mothers story.

When British journalist, memoirist, and New York-transplant Emma Brockes decides to become pregnant, she quickly realises that, being single, 37, and in the early stages of a same-sex relationship, shes going to have to be untraditional about it. From the moment she decides to stop "futzing" around, have her eggs counted, and "get cracking"; through multiple trials of IUI, which she is intrigued to learn can be purchased in bulk packages, just like Costco; to the births of her twins, which her girlfriend gamely documents with her iPhone and selfie-stick, Brockes is never any less than bluntly honest about her extraordinary journey to motherhood.She quizzes her friends on the pros and cons of personally knowing ones sperm donor, grapples with esoteric medical jargon and the existential brain-melt of flipping through donor catalogues and conjures with the politics of her Libertarian OB/GYN-all the while exploring the cultural circumstances and choices that have brought her to this point. Brockes writes with charming self-effacing humour about being a British woman undergoing fertility treatment in the US, poking fun at the starkly different attitude of Americans. Anxious that biological children might not be possible, she wonders, should she resent society for how it regards and treats women who try and fail to have children?Brockes deftly uses her own story to examine how and why an increasing number of women are using fertility treatments in order to become parents-and are doing it solo. Bringing the reader every step of the way with mordant wit and remarkable candour, Brockes shares the frustrations, embarrassments, surprises, and, finally, joys of her momentous and excellent choice.

An instant New York Times bestseller!Rapinoes signature pose from the 2019 FIFA Womens World Cup is synonymous to the feeling we got when finishing this book: heart full, arms wide and ready to take up space in this world.USA Today Megan Rapinoe, Olympic gold medalist and two-time Womens World Cup champion, reveals for the first time her life both on and off the field. Guided by her personal journey into social justice, brimming with humor, humanity, and joy, she urges all of us to ask ourselves, What will you do with your one life? Only four years old when she kicked her first soccer ball, Megan Rapinoe developed a love and clear talent for the game at a young age. But it was her parents who taught her that winning was much less important than how she lived her life. From childhood on, Rapinoe always did what she could to stand up for what was righteven if it meant going up against people who disagreed. In One Life, Megan Rapinoe invites readers on a remarkable journey, looking back on both her victories and her failures, and pulls back the curtain on events we know only from the headlines. After the 2011 World Cup, discouraged by how few athletes were open about their sexuality, Rapinoe decided to come out publicly as gay and use her platform to advocate for marriage equality. Recognizing the power she had to bring attention to critical issues, in 2016 she took a knee during the national anthem in solidarity with former NFL player Colin Kaepernick to protest racial injustice and police brutalitythe first high-profile white athlete to do so. The backlash was immediate, but it couldnt compare to the overwhelming support. Rapinoe became a force of change. Here for the first time, Rapinoe reflects upon some of the most pivotal moments in her life and career from her realization in college that she was gay, through the disputes with soccer coaches and officials over her decision to kneel, to the first time she met her now-fiance WNBA champion Sue Bird, and up through suing the US Soccer Federation over gender discrimination and equal pay. Throughout, Rapinoe makes clear the obligation we all have to speak up, and the impact each of us can have on our communities. Deeply personal and inspiring, One Life reveals that real, concrete change lies within all of us, and asks: If we all have the same resourcethis one precious life, made up of the decisions we make every daywhat are you going to do? "One Life makes it clear that Rapinoes greatest accomplishments may ultimately come away from the soccer pitch. Shes a new kind of American hero."San Francisco Chronicle

Emma Brockes didnt always love musicals. In fact, she hated them. One of her earliest (and most painful) memories is of her mother singing "The Hills Are Alive" while young Emma crossed the street to go to her babysitting gig. According to her mother, the music would keep muggers at bay. According to Emma, it warded off friends, a social life, and any chance of being normal. As she grew older, however, these same songs continued to resonate in her head, first like a broken record and then as a fond reminder of her mothers love. Some people would slice off their arm with a plastic knife before theyd sit through Fiddler on the Roof or The Sound of Music. But musicals are everywhere, and its about time someone asked why. From An American in Paris to Oklahoma!, Brockes explores the history, art, and politics of musicals, and how they have become an indelible part of our popular culture. Smartly written and incredibly witty, this is a book for people who understand that there are few situations in which the question "What would Barbra do?" doesnt have relevance, in a world much better lived to a soundtrack of show tunes. At the heart of What Would Barbra Do? is a touching story about a daughter, a mother, and how musicals kept them together. Part memoir, part musical history tour, it will keep you laughing and singing all at once.

The inspiring and deeply personal memoir from highly acclaimed chef Dominique CrennBy the time Dominique Crenn decided to become a chef, at the age of twenty-one, she knew it was a near impossible dream in France where almost all restaurant kitchens were run by men. So, she left her home and everything she knew to move to San Francisco, where she would train under the legendary Jeremiah Tower. Almost thirty years later, Crenn was awarded three Michelin Stars in 2018 for her influential restaurant Atelier Crenn, and became the first female chef in the United States to receive this honor no small feat for someone who hadnt gone to culinary school or been formally trained. In Rebel Chef, Crenn tells of her untraditional coming-of-age as a chef, beginning with her childhood in Versailles where she was emboldened by her parents to be curious and independent. But there is another reason Crenn has always felt free to pursue her own unconventional course. Adopted as a toddler, she didnt resemble her parents or even look traditionally French. Growing up she often felt like an outsider, and was haunted by a past she knew nothing about. But after years of working to fill this blank space, Crenn has embraced the power her history gives her to be whoever she wants to be. Here is a disarmingly honest and revealing look at one womans evolution from a daring young chef to a respected activist. Reflecting on the years she spent working in the male-centric world of professional kitchens, Crenn tracks her career from struggling cook to running one of the worlds most acclaimed restaurants, while at the same time speaking out on restaurant culture, sexism, immigration, and climate change. At once a tale of personal discovery and a tribute to unrelenting determination, Rebel Chef is the story of one woman making a place for herself in the kitchen, and in the world.

Megan Rapinoe, ganadora de una medalla de oro olímpica y dos veces campeona de la Copa Mundial Femenina, se ha convertido en una fuerza impulsora del cambio social. En este libro, nos pide a todos nosotros que tomemos el relevo para continuar la lucha por la justicia y la igualdad. Profundamente personal e inspirador, One Life revela que el cambio real y concreto esta dentro de todos nosotros, y por ello nos lanza una pregunta:Todos contamos con el mismo recurso, esta vida tan preciada, conformada por las decisiones que tomamos a diario... Asi que, ¿que vas a hacer tu?Una memoria inspiradora que emocionara a los fanaticos del futbol y a los activistas por la justicia social.KIRKUSOne Life deja claro que los mayores logros de Rapinoe puede que esten fuera del campo de futbol. Es un nuevo tipo de heroina americana.SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLEEs la combinacion de importantes logros deportivos y el activismo iconoclasta por la justicia social lo que hace a Rapinoe unica como atleta y ahora como autora.OUT SPORTSMegan Rapinoe no esta rompiendo el techo de cristal, lo esta destrozando, y todo ello mientras comparte su espacio con los que estan al margen.PATRISSE KHAN-CULLORS, COFUNDADORA DE BLACK LIVES MATTERUn manifiesto de como tener un corazon que late mientras se es una bestia en el campo.NATALIE PORTMAN

Megan Rapinoe, ganadora de una medalla de oro olímpica y dos veces campeona de la Copa Mundial Femenina, se ha convertido en una fuerza impulsora del cambio social. En este libro nos pide a todos nosotros que tomemos el relevo para continuar la lucha por la justicia y la igualdad. Criada en un pequeño pueblo conservador del norte de California, y siendo la menor de seis hermanos, Megan tenia solo cuatro años cuando chuto su primer balon de futbol. Sus padres apoyaron su amor por el juego, pero le enseñaron que ganar era mucho menos importante que decidir como iba a vivir su vida. Desde su infancia, Rapinoe siempre hizo lo que pudo para defender lo que era correcto, incluso si eso significaba enfrentarse a personas que no estaban de acuerdo. En One Life, Rapinoe reflexiona sobre sus elecciones, victorias y fracasos, y se embarca en un debate reflexivo y sincero sobre su viaje personal hacia la justicia social. Despues de la Copa Mundial de 2011, desanimada por el escaso numero de deportistas dispuestos a hablar de su sexualidad, Rapinoe decidio reconocerse publicamente como lesbiana y utilizar su plataforma para defender la igualdad en el matrimonio. Al darse cuenta del poder que tenia para llamar la atencion sobre temas criticos, en 2016 se arrodillo durante el himno nacional en so...