Family Disaster

Five short stories that give glimpses into the lives of Griffin, Jorie, and the other characters from Second Nature.

Mae Townsend has always dreamed of connecting with her estranged Black family in the South. She grew up picturing relatives who looked like her, crowded dinner tables, bustling kitchens. And, of course, the Townsend family barbecue, the tradition that kept her late father flying to North Carolina year after year, despite the mysterious rift that always required her to stay behind.

To contain secrets, American and Soviet leaders created plutopias - communities of nuclear families living in highly subsidized, limited-access atomic cities. Fully employed and medically monitored, the residents of Richland and Ozersk enjoyed all the pleasures of consumer society while nearby, migrants, prisoners, and soldiers were banned from plutopia - they lived in temporary "staging grounds" and often performed the most dangerous work at the plant.

Very pregnant and not quite married, Jenny Harris doesn’t mind that she and her live-in fiancé, Dean, accidentally started their family a little earlier than planned. But Dean is acting distant, and the night he runs out for cigarettes and doesn’t come back, he demotes himself from future husband to sperm donor. And the very next day, Jenny goes into labor.

You’ve built your business, dedicated vast amounts of time and money to it, and now you’re ready to consider your legacy. What are you passing on, and how does it reflect your values? Is your family prepared for the legacy they will receive, or are you leaving them a mess? In Don’t Leave a Mess!, estate planner and family business advisor Sandy Pollack unpacks what it means to make wise choices for your business that not only protect what you have worked so hard to build but reflect your why.

It’s 1942, and London remains under constant threat of enemy attack as the second world war rages on. In the Bethnal Green neighborhood, Nellie Morris counts every day lucky that she emerges from the underground shelters unharmed, her loving family still surrounding her. Three years into the war, she’s grateful to hold onto remnants of normalcy—her job as assisting the mayor and nights spent at the local pub with her best friend. But after a chance encounter with Ray, an American airman stationed nearby, Nellie becomes enchanted with the idea of a broader world.

The Lockwood brothers are supposed to be able to survive anything. Their dad, a hardcore believer in self-reliance, has stockpiled enough food and water at their isolated Nevada home to last for months. But when they are robbed of all their supplies during a massive blackout while their dad is out of town, John and Stew must walk 96 miles in the stark desert sun to get help. Along the way, they’re forced to question their dad’s insistence on self-reliance and ask just what it is that we owe to our neighbors, our kin, and to ourselves.

Olivia Grace Clarisse Mignonette Harrison still finds it hard to believe that she's a real live princess of Genovia. Not only does she get to live in an actual palace with her newly discovered family and two fabulous poodles (who all love her and think that she's anything but ordinary!), but she also gets her very own pony!

The Family Disaster Dog Book shows you how easy a pet dog of any age, size, or breed can be your very own search and rescue dog! Any size dog, from the little Chihuahua to the Great Dane, can help its owner survive...and they find you every day already when they want to play or eat, so why not learn what else they can do to help you!

After wasting away in a mental institution for a year and a half, Ariana Osgood is finally back where she belongs. She has a new look, a new name, and a new life---all thanks to her former friend Briana Leigh Covington. Now enrolled as a junior at the exclusive Atherton-Pryce boarding school just outside of Washington, D.C., Ariana sleeps in Frette sheets, flirts with the captain of the crew team, and gossips with the most beautiful girls on campus. She killed to get back her life of privilege. How far will she go?

Eighteen-year-old Niri and his family live a modest but secure life working in the villa of the wealthy Benzes. But when the pandemic comes, they are all let go, and left staring into the abyss of poverty. As their situation grows desperate, he decides he won’t wait at the mercy of a corrupt, indifferent government. Sneaking through the city at night, past military patrols, Niri returns to the villa to take what his family needs to survive. Waiting for him is his childhood friend—and the Benzes’ daughter—Mary, who has a bigger plan that will change their lives forever.

In present-day Greece, deep in an ancient forest, lives a family: Irini, a musician, who teaches children to read and play music; her husband, Tasso, who paints pictures of the forest, his greatest muse; and Chara, their young daughter, whose name means joy. On the fateful day that will forever alter the trajectory of their lives, flames chase fleeing birds across the sky. The wildfire that will consume their home, and their lives as they know it, races toward them.

When Oliver Moon is entered for the Young Wizard of the Year award, he finds he's up against the head boy. And when he's given the job of litter collector, he decides to liven things up with the help of his new pet dragon.

Claire is only seven years old when her college-age sister, Alison, disappears on the last night of their family vacation at a resort on the Caribbean island of Saint X. Several days later, Alison’s body is found in a remote spot on a nearby cay, and two local men - employees at the resort - are arrested. But the evidence is slim, the timeline against it, and the men are soon released. The story turns into national tabloid news, a lurid mystery that will go unsolved. For Claire and her parents, there is only the return home to broken lives.

Kendra Atleework grew up in Swall Meadows, in the Owens Valley of the Eastern Sierra Nevada, where annual rainfall averages five inches and in drought years measures closer to zero. Kendra's family raised their children to thrive in this harsh landscape, forever at the mercy of wildfires, blizzards, and gale-force winds. Most of all, the Atleework children were raised on unconditional love and delight in the natural world. But it came at a price.

Discover the essential skills to survive and thrive in a worst-case scenario event. Prepare yourself, provide for your family, and protect your home with this world-class audiobook on disaster preparedness.

On a day like any other, on a rafting trip down Utah's Green River, Stephane Gerson's eight-year-old son, Owen, drowned in a spot known as Disaster Falls. That same night, as darkness fell, Stephane huddled in a tent with his wife, Alison, and their older son, Julian, trying to understand what seemed inconceivable. "It's just the three of us now," Alison said over the sounds of a light rain and, nearby, the rushing river.

Prepare for any emergency with The Complete Baofeng Radio Bible, the most comprehensive and detailed guide designed for preppers, guerillas, and off-grid enthusiasts. This book takes you beyond basic communication, diving deep into tactical Baofeng radio operations, so you can protect your family and thrive in any crisis. Whether you’re new to radio communication or a seasoned pro, this book equips you with the knowledge to use your Baofeng radio like an expert.

Getting started with the concept of prepping can be a case of information overload. There is so much to think about and so much to do and purchase that people often give up on the idea before they even start. This audiobook is especially for those people, it tells them all about the first item any prepper should have ready - a bug-out bag. It explains what bugging out means and why they should have a bug-out bag with survival kit for 72 hours ready to go.

Does your disaster preparation plan include security measures? When civilization fails and the desperate masses begin looting, they will come for your food, water, and life-sustaining supplies. This book tells you how to implement a complete plan for operational security and physical defense.