Cry Like A Man

As a leader in teaching, training, and transforming boys in Detroit, Jason Wilson shares his own story of discovering what it means to “be a man” in this life-changing memoir. His grandfather’s lynching in the deep South, the murders of his two older brothers, and his verbally harsh and absent father all worked together to form Jason Wilson’s childhood. But it was his decision to acknowledge his emotions and yield to God’s call on his life that made Wilson the man and leader he is today. As the founder of one of the country’s most esteemed youth organizations, Wilson has decades of experience in strengthening the physical, mental, and emotional spirit of boys and men. In Cry Like a Man, Wilson explains the dangers men face in our culture’s definition of “masculinity” and gives readers hope that healing is possible. As Wilson writes, “My passion is to help boys and men find strength to become courageously transparent about their own brokenness as I shed light on the symptoms and causes of childhood trauma and ‘father wounds.’ I long to see men free themselves from emotional incarceration—to see their minds renewed, souls weaned, and relationships restored.”

In this powerful, message-driven memoir, Jason Wilson uses his life's trials and triumphs to show men how to escape emotional incarceration and embrace true masculinity.

Countering a culture that coerces men to suppress instead of express, Jason Wilson calls readers to unlearn society's definition of masculinity and discover the power of engaging with and mastering their emotions. For decades Jason Wilson was losing the war within—the internal battle that many men wage daily but were never taught how to win. As a result, he could not combat his toxic thoughts and emotions. Instead, he was conquered by them and communicated without composure—hurting those he loved and himself. This went on until he renewed his mind by releasing years of past trauma. His life and relationships were transformed when he learned how to master his emotions and express them with self-control. In the process, Jason became a better husband, father, and leader. In Battle Cry, Jason equips you with the mental and spiritual weapons needed to wage and win your inner war by showing you how to master your emotions rather than be ruled by them; win internal battles before they become external wars; reject the world’s definition of masculinity and embrace comprehensive manhood; communicate more effectively with the people in your life; and release trauma from your past so you can live fully to your potential in the present. You can live beyond the limitations of your mind and finally experience the life you’ve always longed for. You can break through what you’ve been through. It’s time to win the war within!

Boys Don't Cry is a book that will make sense of depression and anxiety for people who might not recognise those feelings in themselves or others. Suicide is the single biggest killer of men aged 20-45 in the UK. Depression and undiagnosed mental illness are huge contributors to these deaths as they're often more difficult to diagnose in men. And those men don't tend to talk about the typical symptoms or visit their doctor. Meet Tim. For nearly a decade he kept his depression secret. It made him feel so weak and shameful he thought it would destroy his whole life if anyone found out. And Tim is not alone. After finally opening up he realised that mental illness was affecting many men around the globe - and he knew that wasn't ok. A brutally honest, wickedly warming and heart-breaking tale about what it really takes to be a 'real man', written by one who decided that he wanted to change the world by no longer being silent. This is Tim's story, but it could be yours too.

“They say comedy equals tragedy plus time: This very funny account of an often miserable childhood is proof.” --People “What a strong, funny, heartbreaking memoir, with a voice that is completely its own (written by a woman who very much seems to be completely her own, as well.) I loved it.”--Elizabeth Gilbert, New York Times bestselling author of Big Magic and Eat, Pray, Love An uproarious, moving memoir about a grandmother’s ferocious love and redefining what it means to be family “If you fight that motherf**ker and you don’t win, you’re going to come home and fight me.” Not the advice you’d normally expect from your grandmother—but Danielle Henderson would be the first to tell you her childhood was anything but conventional. Abandoned at ten years old by a mother who chose her drug-addicted, abusive boyfriend, Danielle was raised by grandparents who thought their child-rearing days had ended in the 1960s. She grew up Black, weird, and overwhelmingly uncool in a mostly white neighborhood in upstate New York, which created its own identity crises. Under the eye-rolling, foul-mouthed, loving tutelage of her uncompromising grandmother—and the horror movies she obsessively watched—Danielle grew into a tall, awkward, Sassy-loving teenager who wore black eyeliner as lipstick and was struggling with the aftermath of her mother’s choices. But she also learned that she had the strength and smarts to save herself, her grandmother gifting her a faith in her own capabilities that the world would not have most Black girls possess. With humor, wit, and deep insight, Danielle shares how she grew up and grew wise—and the lessons she’s carried from those days to these. In the process, she upends our conventional understanding of family and redefines its boundaries to include the millions of people who share her story.

NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • From the indie rock sensation known as Japanese Breakfast, an unforgettable memoir about family, food, grief, love, and growing up Korean American—“in losing her mother and cooking to bring her back to life, Zauner became herself” (NPR) • CELEBRATING OVER ONE YEAR ON THE NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER LIST In this exquisite story of family, food, grief, and endurance, Michelle Zauner proves herself far more than a dazzling singer, songwriter, and guitarist. With humor and heart, she tells of growing up one of the few Asian American kids at her school in Eugene, Oregon; of struggling with her mother's particular, high expectations of her; of a painful adolescence; of treasured months spent in her grandmother's tiny apartment in Seoul, where she and her mother would bond, late at night, over heaping plates of food. As she grew up, moving to the East Coast for college, finding work in the restaurant industry, and performing gigs with her fledgling band--and meeting the man who would become her husband--her Koreanness began to feel ever more distant, even as she found the life she wanted to live. It was her mother's diagnosis of terminal cancer, when Michelle was twenty-five, that forced a reckoning with her identity and brought her to reclaim the gifts of taste, language, and history her mother had given her. Vivacious and plainspoken, lyrical and honest, Zauner's voice is as radiantly alive on the page as it is onstage. Rich with intimate anecdotes that will resonate widely, and complete with family photos, Crying in H Mart is a book to cherish, share, and reread.

In this unique poetry anthology, 100 grown men - bestselling authors, poets laureate, actors, producers and other prominent figures from the arts, sciences and politics, share the poems that have moved them to tears.

Males look to be served. Men look to be of service. Emmy Award–nominated actor best known for his role on Queen Sugar and transformational speaker Dondré Whitfield challenges us to be real men in this provocative look at the power found in serving others. Too many males abuse the power they have. Often those males grow up without healthy role models and so, while they look like men, they act like boys. Only now there are adult consequences to their actions. And many of us are caught in the shifting cultural ideas about manhood, unsure of how to make sound decisions or truly be a man. Every day we find evidence that the role of men at home, at work, and out in the world is deeply misinterpreted. In Male vs. Man, Dondré Whitfield equips us to become men rather than simply "grown males." Men are healthy and productive servant-leaders who bring positive change to their communities. Males are self-serving and stuck in negative cycles that we hear and read about daily. They create chaos instead of cultivating calm. Male vs. Man is an uplifting playbook for men who want to level up. It will help men and women alike understand what real manhood is, based on biblical wisdom as well as hard-earned lessons from someone who has been there. With practical guidance and a strong spiritual foundation, Dondré shows how to cultivate the life-changing spiritual, emotional, and psychological attributes of servant leadership at home, at work, and in our communities.

One thing is for certain, Black Men Do Cry! Ever care to ask yourself why? Consider the emotional burden of love, loss, defeat, and mental disparity. Is that necessarily just a Black thing, or can others relate as well? Commonality within difference and perspective with sympathized realization ushers understanding.

This celebrated first novel by the lecturer and bestselling author of The Maintenance Man gives readers an African-American man's perspective on relationships, fatherhood, and interracial dating through the eyes of four childhood friends looking for love in all the wrong places.

In a sweeping saga of music and vengeance, the acclaimed author of The Vampire Chronicles draws readers into eighteenth-century Italy, bringing to life the decadence beneath the shimmering surface of Venice, the wild frivolity of Naples, and the magnetic terror of its shadow, Vesuvius. This is the story of the castrati, the exquisite and otherworldly sopranos whose graceful bodies and glorious voices win the adulation of royal courts and grand opera houses throughout Europe. These men are revered as idols—and, at the same time, scorned for all they are not. Praise for Anne Rice and Cry to Heaven “Daring and imaginative . . . [Anne] Rice seems like nothing less than a magician: It is a pure and uncanny talent that can give a voice to monsters and angels both.”—The New York Times Book Review “To read Anne Rice is to become giddy as if spinnning through the mind of time.”—San Francisco Chronicle “If you surrender and go with her . . . you have surrendered to enchantment, as in a voluptuous dream.”—The Boston Globe “Rice is eerily good at making the impossible seem self-evident.”—Time

For Fauziya Kassindja, an idyllic childhood in Togo, West Africa, sheltered from the tribal practices of polygamy and genital mutilation, ended with her beloved father's sudden death. Forced into an arranged marriage at age seventeen, Fauziya was told to prepare for kakia, the ritual also known as female genital mutilation. It is a ritual no woman can refuse. But Fauziya dared to try. This is her story--told in her own words--of fleeing Africa just hours before the ritual kakia was to take place, of seeking asylum in America only to be locked up in U.S. prisons, and of meeting Layli Miller Bashir, a law student who became Fauziya's friend and advocate during her horrifying sixteen months behind bars. Layli enlisted help from Karen Musalo, an expert in refugee law and acting director of the American University International Human Rights Clinic. In addition to devoting her own considerable efforts to the case, Musalo assembled a team to fight with her on Fauziya's behalf. Ultimately, in a landmark decision in immigration history, Fauziya Kassindja was granted asylum on June 13, 1996. Do They Hear You When You Cry is her unforgettable chronicle of triumph.

NAMED A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK IN ESSENCE MAGAZINE, THE MILLIONS AND BOOKISH "Don't Cry for Me is a perfect song."—Jesmyn Ward A Black father makes amends with his gay son through letters written on his deathbed in this wise and penetrating novel of empathy and forgiveness, for fans of Ta-Nehisi Coates, Robert Jones Jr. and Alice Walker As Jacob lies dying, he begins to write a letter to his only son, Isaac. They have not met or spoken in many years, and there are things that Isaac must know. Stories about his ancestral legacy in rural Arkansas that extend back to slavery. Secrets from Jacob's tumultuous relationship with Isaac's mother and the shame he carries from the dissolution of their family. Tragedies that informed Jacob's role as a father and his reaction to Isaac's being gay. But most of all, Jacob must share with Isaac the unspoken truths that reside in his heart. He must give voice to the trauma that Isaac has inherited. And he must create a space for the two to find peace. With piercing insight and profound empathy, acclaimed author Daniel Black illuminates the lived experiences of Black fathers and queer sons, offering an authentic and ultimately hopeful portrait of reckoning and reconciliation. Spare as it is sweeping, poetic as it is compulsively readable, Don't Cry for Me is a monumental novel about one family grappling with love's hard edges and the unexpected places where hope and healing take flight.

Men are taught to be hard, without emotions or feelings, but is this right? Men experience life, trauma, dysfunction, rejection, grief, negativity, and pain like any other human being. In Real Men Cry, Author Charles Merriweather paints a realistic picture that depicts the life of a man through the lens of a man.

A quirky and surprisingly funny picture book about the many practical uses for tears, for fans of Big Feelings. In an attempt to cheer up a sad-looking worm, a narrator makes things worse by causing the worm to cry. But in the process of trying to make the sobbing worm feel better, the narrator starts to think of the various ways tears can be used productively. For example, if you’re sad around lunchtime, cry until you fill a pot with your tears and boil pasta — you won’t even need to season with salt! Crying can be used to dilute paint, and with paint, you can make beautiful art. Crying also serves lots of different purposes. Without tears, the rivers would dry up. Clouds would keep getting bigger and bigger. And crying also helps the pears to grow, and with pears, you can make jam. Jam makes people happy, and can help staunch the flow of tears . . . at least until the jam runs out! Join a tearful worm and a bungling narrator as they explore the many uses for tears in this hilarious and quirky picture book by up-and-coming author-illustrator Noemi Vola.

Let boys cry! This picture book imagines a world in which boys are encouraged to express their full range of emotions. It's Levi's first day at a new school, and he's scared. His father tries to comfort Levi by telling him "Big boys don't cry." Though the father immediately understands his misstep, he can't find the words to comfort his son, and Levi leaves for school, still in need of reassurance. Fortunately, along his walk to school, Levi sees instance after instance of grown men openly expressing their sadness and fear. His learned mantra, "Big boys don't cry," slowly weakens, and by the time he's at school he releases a tear. Once he's there, things aren't so bad after all, and on his walk home he sees everyone he's encountered earlier, feeling better now that they expressed their emotions. Upon his arrival home, he finds his father waiting for him on their porch, tears in his eyes. His father is able to admit that he was scared and the two embrace, closer than before. Jonty Howley's gorgeous debut paints the world we wish existed for our boys, and offers a path there! This story is the truest interpretation of the notion that we should "let boys be boys": let them express the full range of their emotions, vulnerable parts and all!

After witnessing a murder in West Philadelphia, William Brown is kidnapped. He quickly forgets himself as he becomes obsessed with his captors.

Mental health problems (e.g. depression, anxiety and drug use) are one of the main causes of the overall disease burden in the world. In the UK, 84 men commit suicide every week, rising to 123 per day in the US. In Australia, men are three times more likely to commit suicide than women, and it is estimated that there are approximately 65,300 suicide attempts each year. As much as women have been disfigured by the patriarchy, men have too. From birth boys are given a very disempowering view of what it means to be a real man, told to 'man up', that 'boys don't cry', their tenderness and empathy shamed out of them and replaced with a tough, armoured exterior. They learn that women are objects, machismo and misogyny becoming a badge of honour in a world that otherwise leaves them feeling lost, disconnected and unsure of who they're meant to be. They learn to fight for survival, that success and power are everything, and without them, they're nothing. As a result, men have suffered, suppressing their emotions and only learning unhealthy expressions of anger, often manifesting as anxiety, depression, addiction and violence towards other men, women and - ultimately - themselves.In Boys Do Cry, 12 men bare their souls, expose their wounds, and share their breakdown-breakthrough moments to change the narrative around masculinity and inspire men of all ages to step into the man they deeply desire to be. Clear your mind, open your heart, and get ready to go on a journey of truth and vulnerability as we redefine what it means to be a man.Chapters: Removing the Masks By Spencer JacobsFrom Addiction to Recovery By Shaun CoffeyFacing My Demons By Andy BowkerBoys Do Cry By Brad KennyFinding My Way Home By Richie NelsonUnmasking the Masculine By Tim VaughanScreaming on the Inside By Tom JordanThe Mask By Mark NeweyFeelings About Feelings By Curtis HarrenBeing Vulnerable Is Your Superpower By Scott Brandon HoffmanThe Bumpy Road to Success By Reece FormosaTaking the Leap By Eugene StuchinskyAll royalties are being shared equally between Positive Signs, and Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM - registered charity No. 1110621 and SCO44347.)

In the tradition of Richard Ford, Annie Proulx, and Kent Haruf comes a dazzling debut story collection by a young writer from the American West who has been published in The New Yorker, Granta, and The Best American Short Stories. SHORTLISTED FOR THE DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE • 2017 PEN/HEMINGWAY AWARD HONORABLE MENTION A construction worker on the run from the shady local businessman whose dog he has stolen; a Custer’s Last Stand reenactor engaged in a long-running affair with the Native American woman who slays him on the battlefield every year; a middle-aged high school janitor caught in a scary dispute over land and cattle with her former stepson: Callan Wink’s characters are often confronted with predicaments few of us can imagine. But thanks to the humor and remarkable empathy of this supremely gifted writer, the nine stories gathered in Dog Run Moon are universally transporting and resonant. Set mostly in Montana and Wyoming, near the borders of Yellowstone National Park, this revelatory collection combines unforgettable insight into the fierce beauty of the West with a powerful understanding of human beings. Tender, frequently hilarious, and always electrifying, Dog Run Moon announces the arrival of a bold new talent writing deep in the American grain. Praise for Dog Run Moon “[An] excellent first book of stories . . . One of the great things about Dog Run Moon is how resilient and funny [the characters] are. They’re at the end of their ropes, but they can still howl about the joy and pain each day brings, as if the young Levon Helm were singing their stories. . . . This is Thomas McGuane territory, and also that of writers like Joy Williams and Jim Harrison.”—The New York Times “Wink is definitely not a writer of half measures; each of these stories demonstrates his ability to lay life bare. A significant collection highly deserving of the spotlight.”—Library Journal (starred review) “Myth and history color these highly satisfying fictions about the way men and women struggle to shape their lives.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “The perils of work and the weight of bequeathal fuel these stories, and each one holds a lasting, unshakable image. Sometimes grace is bestowed upon the characters in a sidewindering, not altogether fabulous fashion; sometimes it’s not bestowed at all. Callan Wink seems to know well the stratagems and delusions of men’s hearts. He also seems born and bred to short-story mastery.”—Joy Williams, author of The Visiting Privilege “Callan Wink’s debut is impressive indeed. Fine, old-fashioned, rich and juicy fiction. Weeks later I’m still living with the characters.”—Jim Harrison, author of Legends of the Fall “Callan Wink’s fresh, urgent stories have an energy and propulsion that set them well apart from the cerebral finger painting of so much literary fiction. Here is a writer with a great big horizon.”—Thomas McGuane, author of Crow Fair “Callan Wink’s stories remind me of expertly tied trout flies—beautifully crafted, true to reality, and barbed. What a fine young writer.”—Ron Rash, author of Above the Waterfall “As in all the best collections, each and every story in Dog Run Moon sings in the essential registers of love and death, work and nature. Callan Wink has the wisdom to write only of the things that matter, and the talent to make these stories as fresh as the literary headwaters from which they come.”—Smith Henderson, author of Fourth of July Creek