Books with author Rodriguez

The award-winning and bestselling classic memoir about a young Chicano gang member surviving the dangerous streets of East Los Angeles, now featuring a new introduction by the author.Winner of the Carl Sandburg Literary Award, hailed as a New York Times notable book, and read by hundreds of thousands, Always Running is the searing true story of one man’s life in a Chicano gang—and his heroic struggle to free himself from its grip.By age twelve, Luis Rodriguez was a veteran of East Los Angeles gang warfare. Lured by a seemingly invincible gang culture, he witnessed countless shootings, beatings, and arrests and then watched with increasing fear as gang life claimed friends and family members. Before long, Rodriguez saw a way out of the barrio through education and the power of words and successfully broke free from years of violence and desperation. Achieving success as an award-winning poet, he was sure the streets would haunt him no more—until his young son joined a gang. Rodriguez fought for his child by telling his own story in Always Running, a vivid memoir that explores the motivations of gang life and cautions against the death and destruction that inevitably claim its participants.At times heartbreakingly sad and brutal, Always Running is ultimately an uplifting true story, filled with hope, insight, and a hard-earned lesson for the next generation.

Win Friends. Build Confidence. Gain Self-esteem.Who are you? Young adults struggle with lots of issues―finishing school, finding a career, finding a partner, and most importantly figuring out who they are. That can often be an overwhelming question, especially when you feel like the people all around you have it figured out. In fact, you may even have questions that you would NEVER feel comfortable talking about for fear of being judged or even rejected. Don’t worry, you don’t have to navigate life alone. There’s much untapped potential in you that the world has yet to see.Become your best self. Figuring out how to make friends, develop relationships and to be confident is a step-by-step process. Now help is available in Embracing the Awkward, written by the popular teen-advice-YouTuber, The Josh Speaks. This down-to-earth guide helps you take small steps towards being somebody great. This isn’t another dry instructional book written by a boring adult disconnected from the millennial reality, it’s a guide, a workbook, an empowering step towards trying things out, discovering who you are and becoming your best self.Embracing the Awkward gives teens ideas for developing their own unique style of speaking and engaging with others. It contains infographics and workbook elements that offer a step-by-step checklist of activities, along with examples of things to say, topics to talk about and ways to lead into situations.Learn how to:Approach peopleLead into conversations with groups of peopleMake strong friendships in schoolApproach your crushes and ask them outDeal with failure and rejectionMaintain family relationshipsYoung adult self-help books such as 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, Living With Intensity, The Science of Making Friends, and The Gifted Teen Survival Guide have helped people navigate the teen years and build self-esteem. Now Embracing the Awkward is here to take you to a new level of confidence, self-esteem and success.

Indispensable advice for flourishing in baby’s first year.Discover the sanity-saving, must-have manual for every new mom! From nursing and teething guides to managing anxiety and finding support, 50 Things to Do in Baby’s First Year is bursting with simple and straightforward tips, plus plenty of encouragement.You’ll find the most important information for making the most of your baby’s first year—including suggestions for ways to get enough sleep and be your best self.50 Things to Do in Baby’s First Year includes:Baby care begins with self-care—From reconnecting with your partner to refreshing your wardrobe, make sure you remember you between all the diapers and doctor appointments.Easy-to-navigate—The book is divided into three-month sections, making it easy to locate the tips you want right now—and the ones you’ll want soon.Expert help is here—Get supportive advice for making it through baby’s first year from experienced professionals, including doctors, nutritionists, doulas, preschool directors, and more.Take a deep, cleansing breath and relax—50 Things to Do in Baby’s First Year is here with the baby (and mommy) care help you need!

Indispensable advice for flourishing in baby’s first year.Discover the sanity-saving, must-have manual for every new mom! From nursing and teething guides to managing anxiety and finding support, 50 Things to Do in Baby’s First Year is bursting with simple and straightforward tips, plus plenty of encouragement.You’ll find the most important information for making the most of your baby’s first year―including suggestions for ways to get enough sleep and be your best self.50 Things to Do in Baby’s First Year includes:Baby care begins with self-care―From reconnecting with your partner to refreshing your wardrobe, make sure you remember you between all the diapers and doctor appointments.Easy-to-navigate―The book is divided into three-month sections, making it easy to locate the tips you want right now―and the ones you’ll want soon.Expert help is here―Get supportive advice for making it through baby’s first year from experienced professionals, including doctors, nutritionists, doulas, preschool directors, and more.Take a deep, cleansing breath and relax―50 Things to Do in Baby’s First Year is here with the baby (and mommy) care help you need!

A Cozy Take on Meals Will Have You Stoking the Home Fires!Author Ashley Rodriguez has focused her career on teaching people the importance of a good meal at home, first with Date Night In, a relationship cookbook that brought the romance back to home-cooked meals at home. For her next book, she's turning the focus outward. Let's Stay In is all about effortless hospitality, meaningful family meals, and an appreciation for the magic of meals shared with others. Families, neighbors, friends, and loved ones will find a different kind of love around the table together, connecting over memorable meals. The recipes walk you through every meal of the day with delicious breakfasts, easy lunches, inviting dinners, and Ashley's signature incredible desserts: Breakfasts of Red Lentil and Chickpea Stew with Poached Eggs, Breakfast BLTs, and Spiced Raisin Scones Midday meals of Zucchini, Gruyere & Basil Quesadillas, Ricotta, Speck and Plum Salsa Tartine, and Ivy's Split Pea Soup Table-groaning dinners of Steak Tacos with Radish and Pickled Onions, Oven Baked Risotto with Squash and Rosemary Candied Walnuts, and Grilled Leg of Lamb with Green Sauce Sweets and drinks like Blood Orange Poppy Seed Upside Down Cake, Guava Coconut Punch, The Easiest Pear Tart, and Cardamom Cream SodaAshley is a natural teacher, and the recipes flow off the page as effortlessly as the conversation at a great meal. She practices what she preaches, too, making time to bring her busy family and loved ones together for meals as often as possible. Staying in can become an easy habit to adapt, helping to center each person at an inviting table. It's the easiest kind of aspirational cooking and gathering, helping home cooks of any level to say "let's stay in!"

Luis Rodriguez, author of the award-winning and bestselling classic memoir Always Running, chronicles his harrowing journey from a drugged-out gang member to one of the most revered figures in Chicano literature.Hundreds of thousands of readers came to know Luis J. Rodriguez through his fearless classic, Always Running, which chronicled his early life as a young Chicano gang member surviving the dangerous streets of East Los Angeles. The long-awaited follow-up, It Calls You Back is the equally harrowing story of Rodriguez starting over, at age eighteen, after leaving gang life—the only life he really knew.The book opens with Rodriguez’s final stint in jail as a teenager and follows his struggle to kick heroin, renounce his former life, and search for meaningful work. He describes with heartbreaking honesty his challenges as a father, and his difficulty leaving his rages and addictions completely behind. Even as he breaks with “la vida loca” and begins to discover success as a writer and an activist, Rodriguez finds that his past—the crimes, the drugs, the things he’d seen and done—has a way of calling him back. When his oldest son is sent to prison for attempted murder, Rodriguez is forced to confront his shortcomings as a father, and to acknowledge how and why his own history is repeating itself, right before his eyes.Deeply insightful and beautifully written, It Calls You Back is an odyssey through love, addiction, revolutions, and healing.

Have you ever wanted to learn Spanish and have fun at the same time? Most of the time, teaching books are boring. They always have the same kind of format: Two (sometimes more) people talking about where the library is, or where to find Juan.That’s boring, and to be honest, it’s not a great way to learn the language (not to mention that they don’t always talk about things that you might encounter in your daily life, for example, a judgmental ghost, being the last man on Earth, or maybe find that the love of your life has been stolen). But in this book, I will give you 20 short stories that will range from science fiction to romance, everything in between and sometimes even more. These stories will give you an entire picture of the Spanish language, and how to appreciate the subtlety of the language.The Spanish language is rich, full of small differences between the different countries. Things that might be one way in Argentina might be different in Spain or Mexico. But don’t worry, with this book, you will have a firm grasp on the language, and you will be able to understand and have a conversation with any Spanish speaker.After each story, there will be a questionnaire section where you will answer questions about the stories in Spanish. I really suggest to grab a blank page, and write down the answers, or the small assignments that you will be given (don’t worry, they won’t be long!). Remember to write them in Spanish, so you can practice and use the language. Also, in this section, you will find grammar and fun facts not just from the stories themselves, but from the inspirations behind them, and facts about living in a Spanish country. I hope you like them.All these stories are written from my heart, and I deeply hope that you will find them funny, mysterious, romantic, or at least entertaining. That’s my goal as a writer, and I hope you enjoy your time reading (and learning!) Get your copy now!