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An author with a reckless past set his fiction aside to tackle a critical mission: Help those around him struggling with head trauma and chart a way forward.But a fateful visit to the doctor upended his entire world...Former fighter and Ivy League football player Mark Tullius wanted to support his friends with traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). But when presented with a scan of his own grey matter, his life changed forever. After years of lying to himself and insisting he felt fine, Mark had to face the fact that his time on the field and in the cage had caused potentially irreparable damage inside his skull.Tired of throwing in the towel when things get difficult, Mark committed to make his recovery an adventure in health, happiness, and self-discovery. And now he's sharing his journey, research, and joy with you, hoping that you, too, can recover and walk out of the darkness. A powerful balance of scientific fact and personal triumph, this testament to the strength of the human spirit is impossible to put down.If you want a change of pace from heavy medical tomes about TBI and CTE, Mark's true and incredible saga is a life-changing "must read!""It provides a road map of experience that is unparalleled in health literature, offering both thought-provoking assessments and hope to all ages who either participate in sports or are recovering from head injury. It should be in any health collection, as well as in libraries strong in memoirs containing deep psychological self-assessments." - D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review"A gut-wrenchingly honest look at the ultimate nightmare- the betrayal of one's own body. Mark's confrontations with the repercussions of a combat and contact-sport-driven youth lead to an optimistic and information-laden investigation into the emerging treatments for CTE and TBI and related injuries." Sam Sheridan, author of A Fighter's Heart, The Fighter's Mind and The Disaster Diaries"Mark has made an extremely thorough analysis of causes, manifestations, and treatment of TBI. His passionate approach has inspired me to reexamine my own knowledge base on this topic, both as a mixed martial arts physician and as a combat veteran. This book is a must read for anyone who seeks to understand TBI and CTE on a deeper level" - Mike Simpson, M.D., Major, US Army (Retired) author of Honed: Finding Your Edge as a Man Over 40Don't wait - Click the BUY button now!

Randy Grimes quickly learned one important truth as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' top draft pick: play through pain, or get cut. This is just part of being a pro athlete, he told himself.Growing up in Tyler, Texas, Grimes's life was very much on center. A childhood spent in church on Sundays and on the gridiron all week turned into a football scholarship to Baylor, marriage to his college sweetheart, and a coveted NFL roster spot.When the Bucs' starting center began piling up brutal hits, he determined to do anything to stay in the game. If the pills prescribed by the team doctors could help, Grimes would take them.All in a day's work, he told himself.Even before Grimes left the NFL, his life began slipping off center. Eventually, he lost almost everything he owned, the respect of his children, and very nearly his life, before tumbling out of the car and crawling on hands and knees into a treatment center-literally-into a life-changing miracle.Off Center is Randy Grimes's riveting story of having it all, playing the sport he loved, losing almost everything, and ultimately finding redemption and hope. Witness the addiction trap that binds millions and claims thousands of lives each year-and the steps Grimes took to reclaim his life and guide others. Today Grimes and his wife, Lydia, stage drug and alcohol interventions for professional athletes, celebrities, business leaders, and everyday Americans to find recovery from addiction. Recovery has become his playbook. His treatment center colleagues are his team. And those with addiction are his community.Above all, Grimes wants people to know: Even when the world seems to be yours, there is room to fall. And even when that world seems to slip away, there is hope.

I hardly remember life without a rod in my hand, writes James Batty in the opening sentence of his autobiography in fishing. When his American wife moved with him to Cornwall, she saw his family photo album and commented that there was hardly a single picture of him in which he wasn't fishing. This witty, wacky account is James' tale of his obsession with his hobby of fishing, wherever his work took him around the world, seeking out lemon sharks in the Gambia, Striped Bass in New York and salmon in British Columbia. James' genre of writing is a mixture of John Gierach and Bill Bryson: his style is wry, witty and incisive.The end result is an entertaining insight into the mind of a dedicated angler, full of fishing anecdotes, tips and thought-provoking ideas.Extracts from the bookThe great thing about anglers - especially when we meet fellow anglers - is that we don't try to hide our nuttiness. Pointless, I'm holding a rod, so are you, game over. We both know we're talking to a person who's a few bananas short of a bunch.When you reckon you're going to catch something, you make more effort. If you think the session's a lost cause, 'one last cast' translates into, well, one last cast. Unthinkable. If you feel you're in with a chance it reverts to its normal meaning: half a dozen chucks with the diving plug, then a few with the slider just in case, and ten minutes on the sandeel shad because you really never know.Guiding is not a job I'd do again, not as long as there's alternative employment cleaning out the grease traps at fast food restaurants or hand sorting the output of sewage farms.They'll take jelly-fry under an inch long when the water's full of plump sandeels, and I don't know why. But it's the mysteries that keep us fishing.The fish can't see my modest reel or my battered rod until it's too late to say, 'I have my pride, I refuse to be landed on that old shite'.My financial situation was as tight as a toreador's Y-fronts.Wave and weather are a mystery, like who's going to win next year's Grand National, where the stock market's going, or why people watch television shows about forgotten minor celebrities eating baboons' foreskins. Long range forecasts are as reliable as horoscopes, just less entertaining. Maybe the Met Office should juice them up, 'The month will be marked by deep Atlantic lows, even deeper discounts at your local supermarket. Don't be too proud to pick up some sausages.' Or they could tell the truth: 'Expect a combination of sunshine, rain, freezing fog, calm days, violent storms, blizzards, and perhaps a plague of frogs. Dress warmly but don't forget to pack a swimsuit.'

When Laurence Catlow, a classics master at a Cumbrian boarding school, sees a beautiful pheasant in flight, he wants to reach for his gun.In this diary of his sporting year, he asks himself, between days on the local rivers and shoots, why this is so.His answers are surprising, controversial and convincing. They provide an articulate response to the anti-fieldsports arguments, and he presents them in an entertaining, frank and amusing manner.Throughout 1995, Laurence's diary records his hopes of buying some precipitous shooting ground in the Pennines, his fishing days on the Eden, Wharfe and other rivers, the arrival of a second gundog and days spent together on shoots. All this activity is interspersed with Laurence's quest for his true motives in killing what he most loves. He looks at foxhunting, vegetarianism, man as a hunter, man as created in God's image and man as a creature doomed, himself, to die.Nearly 25 years later, this diaryremains highly topical, thought-provoking and original. yet its tone is also very human and it comes from the pen of a true nature-lover.

When football players leave Ireland behind in the hopes of carving out a future in the professional game, they often end up plying their trade in the UK -competing for a chance in the Premier League, the Scottish Premiership, or the numerous leagues below them.For decades, this has been the most attractive and obvious career path for Irish players. But what of those players who ventured further afield in search of glory, adventure, or simply their next touch of the ball?Since the dawn of the men's professional game well over a century ago, and up to the more recent expansion of women's football, Irish players - and coaches too - have made their mark on clubs and nations around the world. For the first time, Emerald Exiles brings together the stories of these pioneering players, who pursue football wherever they can, venturing beyond tradition and navigating the personal and professional highs and lows that journey brings with it.Charting the careers of players and managers such as Liam Brady, Robbie Keane, Anne O'Brien, Stephanie Roche, Frank Stapleton and a host of others - and featuring exclusive first-hand interviews with numerous players, Emerald Exiles is a unique analysis of Ireland's mark on world football and the individual stories behind it.

Penguin Readers is an ELT graded reader series. Please note that the eBook edition does NOT include access to the audio edition and digital book. Written for learners of English as a foreign language, each title includes carefully adapted text, new illustrations and language learning exercises.Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction, introducing language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. The eight levels of Penguin Readers follow the Common European Framework of Reference for language learning (CEFR). Exercises at the back of each Reader help language learners to practise grammar, vocabulary, and key exam skills. Before, during and after-reading questions test readers' story comprehension and develop vocabulary.The Extraordinary Life Of Serena Williams, a Level 1 Reader, is A1 in the CEFR framework. Short sentences contain a maximum of two clauses, introducing the past simple tense and some simple modals, adverbs and gerunds. Illustrations support the text throughout, and many titles at this level are graphic novels.Serena Williams is a famous tennis player. People across the world know her and love her. But Serena's life was not always easy, and she had to work very hard.Visit the Penguin Readers websiteRegister to access online resources including tests, worksheets and answer keys. Exclusively with the print edition, readers can unlock a digital book and audio edition (not available with the eBook).