Download or read book Banged Up Heart written by Shirley Melis and published by SCB Distributors. This book was released on 2017-02-15 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Banged-Up Heart by Shirley Melis is an intimate and clear-eyed account of finding love late and losing it early—and of the strength it takes to fall madly in love a second time, be forced to relinquish that love too soon, and yet choose to love again. When her husband of thirty years dies suddenly, Shirley Melis is convinced she will never find another man like Joe. Then she meets John, a younger man who tells her during their first conversation that he has lived for many years with a rare but manageable cancer. She is swept off her feet in a whirlwind courtship, and within months, made brave by the early death of a friend's husband, she asks him to marry her! What follows is a year-long odyssey of travel and a growing erotic and creative partnership—until a mysterious bump on John's forehead proves to be one of several tumors in his brain and spine. The nine months that follow are filled with a life-threatening infection, three brain surgeries, radiation, and chemotherapy. Two years and one week after their wedding, John dies at the age of fifty-nine. More than just a love story or a memoir of mourning, Banged-Up Heart comes down solidly on the side of life. It takes you deep inside an ordinary woman, her deeply felt grief butting up against her desire for more than companionship: passion, sexual fulfillment, and self-realization. It bears eloquent witness to the wild trust it takes to fall madly in love and risk profound loss—a second time. Ultimately, it shows that it is possible to dance with a banged-up heart.
Download or read book Banged Up Abroad written by James Miles and published by Random House. This book was released on 2012 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When James Miles and his best friend Paul Loseby were caught smuggling ten kilos of cocaine out of Caracas, Venezuela, they couldn't deny their guilt. This title tells the true-life story of how two men endured untold savagery in the most appalling conditions.
Download or read book Plan B written by Anne Lamott and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2006-03-28 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the New York Times bestselling author of Hallelujah Anyway, Bird by Bird, and Almost Everything, a spiritual antidote to anxiety and despair in increasingly fraught times. As Anne Lamott knows, the world is a dangerous place. Terrorism and war have become the new normal. Environmental devastation looms even closer. And there are personal demands on her faith as well: getting older; her mother's Alzheimer's; her son's adolescence; and the passing of friends and time. Fortunately for those of us who are anxious about the state of the world, whose parents are also aging and dying, whose children are growing harder to recognize as they become teenagers, Plan B offers hope that we’re not alone in the midst of despair. It shares with us Lamott's ability to comfort and to make us laugh despite the grim realities. Anne Lamott is one of our most beloved writers, and Plan B is a book more necessary now than ever. It is further evidence that, as The New Yorker has written, "Anne Lamott is a cause for celebration."
Download or read book Change of Heart written by Jeanne Bishop and published by Westminster John Knox Press. This book was released on 2015-03-14 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This powerful, true story of faith and forgiveness shows that all of us are capable of experiencing the healing and renewal that comes with truly forgiving another. Change of Heart follows the transformative journey undertaken by Jeanne Bishop after the murders of her sister and brother-in-law, a journey that challenged Jeanne's belief in the message of Jesus on the cross and eventually moved her beyond simple forgiveness to the deeper waters of redemption and grace. Jeanne's authentic story will guide readers past the temptation of anger and revenge, and help them navigate the path of truly forgiving someone whose actions have hardened their heart. From once wishing that her sister's killer languished in a cell for the rest of his life, Jeanne now visits him regularly in prison and publicly advocates for his release. "It's not okay what you did, but I am not going to hate you. I am not going to wish evil on you," writes Bishop of the murderer. "I am going to wish the opposite. I am going to wish that you will be redeemed." “The criminal justice system in the United States, which deems some people unworthy of redemptionâ€"even children who commit serious crimesâ€"urgently needs to hear voices that speak for mercy and restoration. Jeanne Bishop's is such a voice†writes Sr. Helen Prejean, activist and author of Dead Man Walking. Change of Heart confronts these serious and pressing issues of restorative justice, juvenile life sentences, and incarceration in the criminal justice system. Ultimately, Jeanne is writing more than a memoir of finding faith through extraordinary obstacles. Her compelling story offers a better understanding of what it truly means to be a person of faith. It is a call to action that is a “must-read for pastors, social workers, caregivers, and all who seek to build community with people relegated to the margins†(Greg Ellison, Emory University).
Download or read book Stitches written by Anne Lamott and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2013-10-29 with total page 111 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The New York Times bestseller from the author of Dusk, Night, Dawn, Hallelujah Anyway, Bird by Bird, and Almost Everything “Lamott’s …most insightful book yet, Stitches offers plenty of her characteristic witty wisdom…this slim, readable volume [is] a lens on life, widening and narrowing, encouraging each reader to reflect on what it is, after all, that really matters.”—People What do we do when life lurches out of balance? How can we reconnect to one other and to what’s sustaining, when evil and catastrophe seem inescapable? These questions lie at the heart of Stitches, Lamott’s profound follow-up to her New York Times–bestselling Help, Thanks, Wow. In this book Lamott explores how we find meaning and peace in these loud and frantic times; where we start again after personal and public devastation; how we recapture wholeness after loss; and how we locate our true identities in this frazzled age. We begin, Lamott says, by collecting the ripped shreds of our emotional and spiritual fabric and sewing them back together, one stitch at a time. It’s in these stitches that the quilt of life begins, and embedded in them are strength, warmth, humor, and humanity.
Download or read book Unbreakable Hearts A True Heart wrenching Story About Victory Forfeited written by Earl Dusty Trimmer and published by Dog Ear Publishing. This book was released on 2019-05-16 with total page 586 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Earl “Dusty” Trimmer relates with both skill and personal experience events surrounding our most forgetable and misunderstood war in America’s history. He brings it all home with his down-to-earth style and considerable knowledge. In Unbreakable Hearts, Dusty dives into the Vietnamese history and culture and skillfully brings the reader into understanding our Vietnamese enemy’s amazing resolve. He brilliantly explains the evolution of our Vietnamese enemy over hundreds of years of invasions and wars. Always defending their country to remain free became an art. In Chapter 7, Dusty describes the Vietnamese women fighters as “Hellcats.” My own experience with the formidable Vietnamese Viet Cong women’s skills and expertise closely mirrors Dusty’s. Hooch girls could plant booby traps in a GI’s hooch with a skill and savvy they were forced to learn during decades of on-the-job training in continuous wars with unwelcomed invaders. My own Military Police experience after leaving the infantry revealed these incidents vividly. In later chapters, Dusty moves into our own veterans’ profound resolve and toughness. North Vietnam’s famed General Giap called us “an honorable enemy.” One could suggest from this writing that our enemy taught us well. We did things in the Vietnam War the average person would have to go to the movies to believe. After reading Trimmer’s descriptions, I must conclude that indeed this book could be one for the movie industry. Dusty Trimmer brings to life our days and nights living and fighting in these foreboding jungle warfare conditions. After reading this fine work and reflecting on my own experiences, I cut away a little more of the pain. Pride swells for having served with all of these wonderful veterans of the Vietnam War. Pain for our terrible losses. For myself, these experiences culminated in wisdom I would otherwise have failed to achieve. God bless Dusty for telling our story. Forward march, Brothers!
Download or read book Things I Know or Think I Know or Thought I Knew or Who Knows written by Arthur L. Sterne and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2009-02-17 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What impressed me most...are the intricate and artistic detail with which Art describes the settings and the depth and sensitivity of the emotions expressed in each memoir. Reba Boyd Wooden, Executive Director, Center for Inquiry, Indiana A retired psychologist shares over eighty poignant, humorous, and entertaining memoirs highlighting his life, from his birth at home in Hudson Falls, New York, to his current experiences as a widower and freethinker. Arthur L. Sterne, Ph.D. has spent his life curious about people and as a result, many of his memoirs reflect his power of keen observation and wonderful sense of humor. His compilation of anecdotes begins with his early life in Jacksonville, Florida, then with his experiences at Vanderbilt University where he met Ann, a nursing student who stole his heart and later became his wife of forty-four years, and continues in Indianapolis, where he once saw Judy Garland and Marlene Dietrich perform. As he moves through the retelling of his favorite memories, Sterne covers such relatable topics as politics, religion, aging, and rebuilding a life after the death of a spouse. In Things I Know or Think I Know or Thought I Knew or Who Knows? Sterne encourages others to think, pose questions and look for answers, ultimately viewing the world in a new light.
Download or read book Truly Madly Mine written by J.H. Croix and published by J.H. Croix. This book was released on 2019-12-17 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A swoon-worthy, second chance holiday romance from USA Today Bestselling Author J.H. Croix! Dani Love is the girl who got away. Actually, she dumped me. Wade Not exactly a stroke to my ego. When I move back home, Dani is just as much everything as she was before. Maybe even more. Snappy and smart with an attitude for days. I want her, even if it’s stupid. Dani can’t decide if it’s better to ignore me, or fight with me. I’ll fight and win. She just doesn’t see it coming yet. Dani Wade Ellis is back. In my small town. I had it all figured out. Leave my past with Wade exactly where it belonged. The past stays in the past. But Wade isn’t getting my memo. He’s ignoring every excuse I make. His kisses are enough to literally set me on fire. Just when my defenses are burned to ash, I fess up to why I dumped him in the first place. That should send him running. But no. Wade stole my heart once before, and now he seems determined to prove he’s keeping it. Wade & Dani's story is perfect for readers who love small town romance, hotshot firefighters, alpha heroes, smart sassy heroines, frenemies to lovers, second chances, slow burn, emotional romance with a dash of angst, plenty of swoon, and a deeply protective hero. *A full-length standalone romance.
Download or read book You Are Beautiful written by Ashley Reitz and published by FaithWords. This book was released on 2017-12-12 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL shows young women who feel like they are not thin/pretty/good enough how to find true confidence as they discover their identity in Christ. Have you ever felt like you were not enough-not pretty enough, thin enough, or enough enough? You will never be all that the world demands you to be-it's impossible. Just ask curve model Ashley Reitz, who struggled for years with feeling overlooked, frizzy-haired, round-faced, and chubby. Her insecurity, disordered eating, and weight issues derailed her happiness and set her on a treadmill of constantly trying to be enough and never succeeding. Even after Ashley grew up, graduated from beauty school, and launched a successful international modeling career, it took overcoming some painfully dark circumstances to provide her with the needed clarity and strength to confront her deeply rooted insecurities. She realized she had to surrender daily, actively seeking her acceptance and finding her worth in Jesus alone. Finally, she realized the truth: She was already beautiful. And so are you! Join Ashley as she explores topics of confidence, beauty, positive body image, and the maddening-and futile-pursuit of perfection. Like an encouraging friend and sister, Ashley speaks truth and healing into your life as you: Rethink your true source of identity and confidence. Choose physical and spiritual wellness over our culture's unnatural fixation with being "skinny." Take back the power you and millions of others have unwittingly handed over to the media. Learn to believe God's words of love and value about you, every day. Are inspired by a formerly insecure "hot mess" who has been transformed through seeking her confidence in Christ alone. Believe that you are enough, because Jesus said so.
Download or read book The Source of All Things written by Reinhard Friedl and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2021-08-24 with total page 166 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the tradition of Henry Marsh’s Do No Harm, Reinhard Friedl's The Source of All Things is a heart surgeon’s personal investigation of the human heart, moving from his riveting clinical experiences to a more poetic understanding of its workings. The heart is our most important organ. Yet despite that it has not changed since the appearance of Homo sapiens 300,000 years ago, it is also our most mysterious. In most human cultures, it is seen as the source of love, sympathy, joy, courage, strength and wisdom. What if the heart could answer questions neurosciences can’t begin to? Having witnessed the extraordinary complexity and unpredictability of human hearts in the operating theatre—each one individual, like a fingerprint—heart surgeon Reinhard Friedl looked again at this “primitive pump” to reconcile it with his experiences from thousands of heart operations. In this book, he presents findings from various scientific disciplines, such as secret connections of the heart and brain and their influence on emotions and consciousness. He reveals the miracle that is the heart that we speak about so often yet is strangely foreign to many human beings. Full of compelling patient stories, The Source of All Things ends with a plea: that we recognize the heart’s wisdom and adopt a more heart-centered way of living, leading to greater health and more joy.
Download or read book The Heart of the Preacher written by Rick Reed and published by Lexham Press. This book was released on 2019-10-09 with total page 104 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: You can teach the craft, but you must first form the heart. Many preachers want to preach better, but they don't always know how to go about improving, and most books on preaching focus on the mechanics of the craft. But preaching involves more than the steps from a text to a sermon, because every time a preacher stands up to preach, their character shines through—for better or for worse. In The Heart of the Preacher, Rick Reed focuses on the personal heart preparation required before any preacher is ready to preach. He explores issues preachers often wrestle with—like discouragement, insecurity, and pride. He then offers practices to fight these challenges and form a heart that carries the fruit of the Spirit into the pulpit. It takes more than a good speaker to preach. It takes a Spirit-filled person. This book will help you check your heart and cultivate the most important aspect of preaching: your character.
Download or read book The Beat of Life written by Reinhard Friedl and published by Black Inc.. This book was released on 2021-02-02 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The heart is our most important organ and perhaps our most mysterious. Every day it pumps 9000 litres of blood and beats around 100,000 times. But the heart is more than just a pump. In all major human cultures, it is seen as the source of love, sympathy, joy, courage, strength and wisdom. Why is this so? Having witnessed the extraordinary complexity and unpredictability of human hearts in the operating theatre – each one individual in its make-up, like a fingerprint – heart surgeon Reinhard Friedl went on a search for answers. He examined closely the latest findings in neurocardiology and psychocardiology, and in The Beat of Life he shares his discoveries. In the tradition of Giulia Enders’ Gut and Norman Doidge’s The Brain That Changes Itself, he uses riveting personal stories to illustrate the complex relationship between the heart, the brain and the psyche. The Beat of Life ends with a plea: that we recognise the heart’s wisdom and adopt a more heart-centred way of living, which will lead to greater health.
Download or read book Life written by and published by . This book was released on 1908 with total page 714 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Bearskin written by James A. McLaughlin and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2018-06-12 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: WINNER OF THE 2019 EDGAR FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL “Bearskin is visceral, raw, and compelling—filled with sights, smells, and sounds truly observed. It’s a powerful debut and an absolute showcase of exceptional prose. There are very few first novels when I feel compelled to circle brilliant passages, but James McLaughlin’s writing had me doing just that.” —C.J. Box, #1 NYT bestselling author of The Disappeared Rice Moore is just beginning to think his troubles are behind him. He’s found a job protecting a remote forest preserve in Virginian Appalachia where his main responsibilities include tracking wildlife and refurbishing cabins. It’s hard work, and totally solitary—perfect to hide away from the Mexican drug cartels he betrayed back in Arizona. But when Rice finds the carcass of a bear killed on the grounds, the quiet solitude he’s so desperately sought is suddenly at risk. More bears are killed on the preserve and Rice’s obsession with catching the poachers escalates, leading to hostile altercations with the locals and attention from both the law and Rice’s employers. Partnering with his predecessor, a scientist who hopes to continue her research on the preserve, Rice puts into motion a plan that could expose the poachers but risks revealing his own whereabouts to the dangerous people he was running from in the first place. James McLaughlin expertly brings the beauty and danger of Appalachia to life. The result is an elemental, slow burn of a novel—one that will haunt you long after you turn the final page.
Download or read book The Lucky Heart written by Devney Perry and published by Devney Perry. This book was released on 2021-05-10 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Life on his ranch could be their future. If they can overcome their past. Felicity's life story reads like the script to a bad soap opera. Girl's high-school boyfriend becomes a drug addict. Girl falls for boyfriend's best friend. Girl leaves them both behind only to return home years later for murdered ex-boyfriend's funeral. Now she's back home in Montana, ready to start fresh. She's got a long list of amends to make and relationships to rebuild, including one with the man who has owned her heart for sixteen years. Silas doesn't need much. He's got a great horse, close friends and the Lucky Heart ranch, but something has always been missing. He's not an idiot. He knows the missing piece is Felicity. And now that she's returned to Prescott, he's got a second chance to win her heart. This time, the only thing standing in his way is history. Drudging up the past is going to be about as painful as playing tug of war with barbed wire. But if they can heal old wounds, he'll get the girl he should have had all along.
Download or read book AfterImage written by Carla Malden and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2012-08-07 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: before, and surviving the after, of losing her husband to cancer, Carla Malden takes us on a journey through grief to gratitude that alerts the entire forever-young generation: this is not your mother’s widowhood. AfterImage is a story of love more than loss, memory more than sorrow, life more than death.
Download or read book Shock by Shock written by Dean Young and published by Copper Canyon Press. This book was released on 2016-08-22 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Dean Young challenges the reader to hang on as he jigs from one poetic style to another and sets a wondrous course across a Duchampian landscape."—Chicago Tribune "In Young's work, the big essential questions—mortality, identity, the meaning of life—aren't simply food for thought; they're grounds for entertainment."—The Sunday Star (Toronto) Dean Young escorts his transplanted heart into invigorating poetic territory that combines the joy of being alive with his signature mixture of surrealism, humor, and fast-cut imagery. A Pulitzer finalist known for his hard-won insights, NPR said it best when they observed that Young sees "even in the smallest things the heights of what we can be." From "Harvest": Bring me the high heart of a trapezist. If not, bring me the heart of a drunk monk so I may illuminate an ancient text in a language I can't understand. The brain too is blood, blood racing 100 miles an hour on training wheels so let me splash through a red puddle, let me kiss the face of a red puddle, let me write my crazed, extreme demands on the frost-cracked window of god's split chest… Dean Young is the author of twelve books of poetry, including finalists for the Pulitzer Prize and Griffin Award. He teaches at the University of Texas and lives in Austin.
