Aged just two and three years old, this brother and sister have hardly set foot outside their own home. They have been prisoners, locked in a terrifying world of abuse, violence and neglect. Maggie soon realises that Evie and Elliot are lacking the basic life skills we all take for granted. The outside world terrifies them; the sound of the doorbell sends them into a panic that takes hours to abate. Gradually unlocking the truth of their heart-breaking upbringing, Maggie tells their shocking true story.From emotionally scarred and damaged little children, we see how - with warmth and dedication - Maggie transforms their lives. As this moving story unfolds, we share Maggie's joy when these children finally smile again, when they realise they do have a future after all.

    Faye is gentle, childlike and vulnerable, and normally lives with her grandparents, both of whom have mobility problems. Cathy and her children welcome Faye into their home and hearts. The care plan is for Faye to stay with Cathy until after the birth when she will return home and the baby will go for adoption. Given that Faye never goes out alone it is something of a mystery how she ever became pregnant and Faye says it’s a secret.To begin with Faye won’t acknowledge she is pregnant or talk about the changes in her body as she worries it will upset her grandparents, but after her social worker assures her she can talk to Cathy she opens up. However, this leads to Faye realizing just how much she will lose and she changes her mind and says she wants to keep her baby.Is it possible Faye could learn enough to parent her child? Cathy believes it is, and Faye’s social worker is obliged to give Faye the chance.

    Buried in an unmarked grave in Romania. Obviously, I am not. God had other plans."At just under five feet tall, Virginia Prodan was no match for the towering 6' 10" gun-wielding assassin the Romanian government sent to her office to take her life. It was not the first time her life had been threatened--nor would it be the last.As a young attorney under Nicolae Ceausescu's brutal communist regime, Virginia had spent her entire life searching for the truth. When she finally found it in the pages of the most forbidden book in all of Romania, Virginia accepted the divine call to defend fellow followers of Christ against unjust persecution in an otherwise ungodly land.For this act of treason, she was kidnapped, beaten, tortured, placed under house arrest, and came within seconds of being executed under the orders of Ceausescu himself. How Virginia not only managed to elude her enemies time and again, but how she also helped expose the appalling secret that would ultimately lead to the demise of Ceausescu's evil empire is one of the most extraordinary stories ever told.A must-read for all generations, Saving My Assassin is the unforgettable account of one woman's search for truth, her defiance in the face of evil, and a surprise encounter that proves without a shadow of a doubt that nothing is impossible with God.

    A split-second decision to leave toddler Edward alone for a few short minutes results in a tragic accident, and Edward is left fighting for his life. He survives, but is tragically left severely brain damaged.Wracked with guilt, destroyed by blame and struggling to accept that their perfect toddler has gone, Sean and Sheila go to pieces. Maggie steps in to foster Edward while his parents battle with the unspoken fear that he may have to be adopted permanently if they cannot cope with their son's needs. Will Maggie be able to help this family grieve for the son they've lost and learn to love the little boy he is now? And will Edward have a family to go home to at Christmas?

    Discovered face-down in a Central American swamp after a jungle mission gone wrong, he had a smashed spine, collapsed lungs and countless broken bones. It was a miracle he'd even survived.Months of painful surgery followed, with Jason's life balanced on a knife-edge. Released from hospital in a wheelchair and plagued by memory loss, Jason's life fell apart. Left alone to raise his three infant sons, all hope seemed gone, until Jason met Napal, a handsome-as-hell black Labrador provided by a very special charity. With this one incredible dog at their side, Jason's life and that of his family would never be the same again. With Napal's help Jason was able to conquer his paralysis, eventually completing a marathon and winning numerous medals in the Wounded Warrior Games. More than that, this amazing service dog helped heal a family and taught Jason to be the father his kids needed him to be. A Dog Called Hope is the moving and heart-warming story of how Jason rediscovered his life's mission, his strength as a father and, through his beloved dog, his hope. It's the story of the closeness between one man and one dog like no other, and how this mesmerizing duo changed countless lives.Inspirational, tear-jerking and laugh-out-loud uplifting, this is a story that will brighten any day and warm every heart.

    As her father Darren discovered the horrific details of what happened to his darling girl, his world fell apart.Writing about his darkest hours and unbearable pain, Darren uncovers what Becky’s relationship with her step-brother Nathan, a child he had raised as his own son, was really like. He recalls the devastation of discovering the truth about the depravity with which Becky was torn from him in the safety of her own home. And he recounts the torment of the legal battle to see his step-son sentenced to life behind bars.But, at its heart, Becky is a poignant personal story, a chance for Darren to pay tribute to his darling daughter, to celebrate her life and take back control of how she is remembered.Darren recalls with enduring love the daughter he fought so hard to get custody of after she was taken into foster care as an infant; the happy child who completed his life; and the innocent schoolgirl who brought joy and happiness to all her knew her.Both heartfelt and haunting, searingly honest and unflinching, this is the ultimate story of a family tragedy.

    A decade after leaving home at the age of seventeen, she is a successful journalist with the means to buy her family their first decent house. But the past will not be put to rest so easily. Catherine unravels a web of long-buried family secrets, and a terrible betrayal that had robbed her family of the home that was rightfully theirs. And she learns the story her parents never shared: the gladiolus farm that was once their dream. At once lyrical and raw, unflinching in its detail, Glad Farm is an iconic American story of renewal and reinvention, and the mythic power of a house to define our destiny.

    You're not going anywhere. You're mine now.'Growing up in a deeply troubled family, 15-year-old Anna felt lost and alone in the world. So when a friendly taxi driver befriended her, Anna welcomed the attention. She agreed to go home with him to meet his family. She wouldn't escape for over a decade.Held captive by a sadistic paedophile, with the full acceptance of his family, Anna was subjected to despicable levels of sexual abuse and torture. The unrelenting violence and degradation resulted in numerous miscarriages, and the birth of four babies... each one stolen away from Anna at birth.Her salvation arrived thirteen years too late, but despite her shattered mind and body, Anna finally managed to flee. This is her harrowing, yet uplifting story, of survival.

    They sit beside each other as Iris paints, and new doorways to communication have been opened, doors we had previously feared might be locked forever.Iris Grace is six years old and severely autistic. For the first few years of her life, she barely communicated at all - she hardly ever looked up when her parents walked into a room, she rarely smiled or spoke. Her mother Arabella despaired - Iris seemed to be trapped in her own world, unreachable.Then one day the family decided to get a cat, Thula, with whom Iris had an immediate affinity. She appeared to open up and communicate with Thula in a way that she hadn't done before. The little girl who seemed to be lost in her own world slowly blossomed. Iris is an extraordinarily gifted artist who sees the world in a profoundly vivid and visceral way, and with Thula by her side, she will sit and paint for hours.This book isn't the story of a genius or child prodigy (although Iris is almost certainly both of those things), this is the story of how a remarkable bond between a cat and a child saved a family.Beautifully written, readers will be spellbound by the story of Iris Grace and her devoted pet cat Thula.

    Their mother walked out on them. (They don't remember her.) Their grandmother tried, but couldn't manage them. And now their young father has given up on them too. These cast-off kids desperately need somewhere to live and a family to love them. They've come to the right place. Trisha and Mike welcome them into their home and their hearts. There are now ten children under five in this household, where every day is filled with cuddles, fun . . . and more than a few challenges. After ten eventful years of love and laughter, they are reclaimed by their jealous mother, a stranger, who sets fire to their memories and sends them to a succession of care homes. Finally the younger one sets out on a quest to find the only two people who have ever loved him.

    Also contains a sneak peek chapter from Maggie's highly anticipated debut memoir, TINY PRISONERS.Brothers Ben and Damien are shockingly quiet when they arrive on Maggie's doorstep. They don't shout or play like normal three and four year olds. They hardly dare make a sound, so much have they been conditioned to be 'seen and not heard' by their mother and controlling stepfather.More disturbingly, their little baby half-brother Noah is completely unresponsive. He doesn't play, he doesn't smile, he doesn't crawl - he doesn't even cry. In a state of blankness brought about by emotional neglect, poor baby Noah is disconnected from the world. Maggie has never seen such a young life so affected before. Yet with time, love and care, Maggie gradually unpicks what has caused this terrible void. She teaches the children to play and laugh and to not be afraid to make noise. We see Ben, Damien and Noah take steps towards a positive future and their journey reaches a happy conclusion when they are adopted by a loving family. With love and affection, they are no longer scared to be themselves. They are free to make their voices heard.

    He quickly earned a name as the most successful operative of his time and his expertise was called upon by drugs squads around the country to tackle an ever growing problem.But after years on the streets, spending time with the vulnerable users at the bottom of the chain, Neil began to question the seemingly futile war he was risking both his life and sanity for. What if the real enemy wasn’t who he thought?Good Cop, Bad War is an intense account of the true effects of the war on drugs and a gripping insight into the high pressure world of British undercover policing.

    Seven men, all from the town’s Pakistani heritage community, were jailed for selling vulnerable young girls for sex. The convictions made national news, but for one girl the chilling headlines were all too real.      Holly Archer was just fourteen when her life changed forever after becoming embroiled in a frightening web of exploitation and abuse. Enduring countless violent rapes and death threats, she was forced to sleep with several men a night. As her abusers’ grip tightened, she fell into despair, twice becoming pregnant. Hours after her last GCSE exam, she took an overdose in a desperate attempt to end the nightmare that had become her life.      Her escape eventually came when, old enough to leave home, she fled to Birmingham. She moved house every six months, fearing her abusers would hunt her down. She eventually found the strength to return to Telford shortly after giving birth to a daughter, around the same time the police launched an investigation into the exploitation of young girls in the town. She underwent hours of rigorous police interviews but in the end decided she could not face her abusers in court.      Nonetheless, seven men were convicted of sex offences and jailed as a result of the investigation. Holly slowly began to pick up the pieces of her life and was given a job with a rape prevention charity. Having survived her ordeal, she now tells her full, shocking story for the first time.

    Rosie is supposed to help Megan find her new permanent home, but it turns out that Megan has already found her ‘forever mummy’ in Rosie.Rosie grows incredibly attached to Megan and applies to adopt her, but the system refuses her in favour of a young couple and Rosie is devastated. Against all her instincts, Rosie does her job and prepares Megan for her new ‘forever family’, but everything about Megan leaving feels wrong.When Rosie learns a few months later that Megan’s adoption has broken down, she is saddened but also filled with hope – will this little girl be allowed to return to her true ‘forever home’?

    What should be a happy, magical moment quickly sours, however, when Laura suddenly feels queasy and runs off back home. None of the other schoolyard mothers seem to notice this troubled, struggling woman – apart from Cathy. But when Cathy tries to help, she finds herself hitting wall after wall. Laura needs medical help but refuses to see a doctor. Her own cold mother refuses to help. It is left to Cathy to try and bring light to this dark and dangerous place.

    Stephen had given Emily a well-read copy of Foxe's Book of Martyrs on their first date, a telling foreshadowing of the ultimate cost he would pay when, at 39, he was shot and killed by al-Qaeda operatives. His life and death planted a seed of boldness and inspiration in the hearts of local believers. This seed would grow and multiply efforts to help reach the very goal that Stephen was willing to give his life for--glorifying God and seeing his Kingdom established among the nations.In this memoir, Emily, left with four kids and an undying calling to reach the Muslim world, recounts their heartrending yet uplifting story of sacrifice and love for a people held captive by the ultimate Enemy. Stephen did not die in vain. This promise echoes through the book's pages and far beyond, in the minds and lives of countless individuals touched by a man who daily put his life in the hands of God.Because of security issues and the need to protect other workers and local believers in the country, the book employs pseudonyms for all major characters, including the authors.

    Through the anonymity of my blog, along with my reviews of the steamy novels I like to read, I tell the stories of my own search for love. No matter how disastrous they turn out—and believe me, you will ask yourself ‘Did that really happen?’—I never gave up, knowing my soul mate was out there somewhere. When my big brother invited me to move to Houston for a semester of college, I jumped at the opportunity to leave my small hometown to see what it was like to live in a big city. Having no friends and not knowing where to go, I met a guy online and met up with him that night. Because…YOLO, right? Turns out, he was an okay guy. Not ‘The One’, but still, a good enough guy to spend time with. But then, he introduced me to his best friend Jason, and my world tilted on its axis. The dark, tough, tatted-up guy, who was too broody for his own good, captivated me. But he made it perfectly clear, I wasn’t his type. IMPORTANT NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: The Blogger Diaries Trilogy is the true story of how I met, fell for, lost, and got a second chance at love with my soul mate. The names of everyone EXCEPT me, Jason, my family, and my best friend have been changed to protect their identities. Full of youthful stupidity, leading to bad decisions and lots of angst, it is a real life story, where inevitably things are messy. No one can look back at their late teens and early twenties and not think of moments that make them ask, What the hell was I thinking? Every second of this trilogy is true, exactly as it happened. The first book, ‘Wished For You’, is a tale of finding ‘the one’ too early, and then having to let them go. PLEASE NOTE: This is a true trilogy, meaning the first two books END ON CLIFFHANGERS. But if you take the journey with me, in the end, I promise you a happily ever after you will never forget. I know I won’t. Book 2: WISH HE WAS YOU Kayla’s Chick Rant & Book Blog Blog Post Heartbroken and devastated, I moved back home to North Carolina after the man I loved more than anything told me he didn’t want me anymore. After my disastrous dating history, I had finally found the one, my soul mate, and then he just threw me away like I meant nothing to him. So, what was I supposed to do now? I did what any woman who had her heart ripped to shreds would do. I rebounded. And I rebounded hard. My life spun and progressed at whirlwind speed as I tried desperately to fill the hole Jason had left inside me. I had myself fooled for a while there, until the newness of everything wore off, until the whirlwind slowed to a grinding halt and I was forced to stop and realize exactly what I’d done. I suppose I could’ve trained myself to be content with Aiden, but all I did was… Wish He Was You Book 3: WISH COME TRUE Kayla’s Chick Rant and Book Blog April 17, 2016 They say when you quit trying so hard, things will finally fall into place. So, I let go of my failed marriage to Aiden, focused all my attention on my daughter and finishing school while working a full-time job, and suddenly… Barely breathing turned into surviving. Surviving turned into being content. Contentment turned into happiness. All just my girl and me. But there was still something missing, something I truly never thought I’d have. My happily ever after.

    This candid record of Kian and Jc’s success documents a whirlwind experience full of highs, lows, and, of course, awesome pranks.Kian and Jc: Don’t Try This at Home! combines the raucous tone that made the duo YouTube sensations with the sincerity and honesty Kian and Jc fans have been waiting for.

    After escaping from the notorious Moreton Bay Penal Settlement, Graham finds refuge with the Kabi, a tribe of Aborigines who eventually accept him as one of their own. Attempts to recapture Graham are orchestrated by a variety of contrasting characters working for the all-pervasive British Empire. They include Moreton Bay's tyrannical, opium-addicted commandant Lord Cheetham, the dashing yet warlike Lieutenant Hogan, native tracker Barega and the penal settlement's captain, Tom Marsden. Marsden's young daughter Helen, a progressive lady ahead of her time who is both an egalitarian and a feminist, boldly inserts herself into the clash between the Irish convict, her father and Moreton Bay's other iron-fisted rulers. Helen complicates things further when she finds herself in a Pride and Prejudice-style love triangle with men on opposite sides of the conflict.When Scottish woman Eliza Fraser is found shipwrecked and close to death in Kabi territory, Graham and his legion of pursuers, as well as the Irishman's adopted Aboriginal family, are all forced to navigate a multi-faceted rescue mission. The precarious rendezvous is made all the more dangerous by Helen Marsden's ethically-driven meddling that often outwits the men involved.WHITE SPIRIT is not only based on arguably the great Australian (true) story, a sweeping tale that encapsulates all the nuances of the southern continent's unique history, it also provides readers with detailed insights into the tribal life of First Australian (Aboriginal) peoples.

    She's an author. She's a mother. She's a wife. She's a liar, a woman marked and bound by her own deceit. This is the astounding tale of how one woman battled through a year of scandals and betrayals, how her world fell from its axis with a single choice, and how she lost herself between reality and fantasy.This is a story tangled in lust, heartbreak, and contrition. *Previously titled Author Anonymous

    She takes foster carer Angela on a rocky and very demanding emotional ride as she fights daily battles against her deep-rooted psychological problems. Can the love and specialist care Angela and husband Jonathan provide help Keeley triumph against the odds?

    Another, home for five days, can’t figure out how to talk to his wife. And a commander’s spouse recounts the soul-draining effect of attending nearly one hundred memorial services…When therapist Elizabeth Heaney left her private practice to counsel military service members and their families, she came face-to-face with unheard-of struggles and fears. Emotions run deeply—and often silently—in the hearts of combat veterans in this eye-opening portrait of the complex, nuanced lives of service personnel, who return from battling the enemy and grapple with readjusting to civilian life.Presenting the soldiers’ stories—told in their own words—as well as her own story of change, Heaney offers an intimate perspective, not of war itself but of its emotional aftermath. Some of these stories scrape the bone; others are hopeful, even comical. Every one reveals the sacrifices of those on the front lines and the courage, grace, and honor with which they serve.

    After making eye contact with the gentle giant deLeyer decided to purchase him for $80. At first, Snowman was just a horse that children rode during lessons, but when deLeyer sold him to a neighbor, the horse had other ideas. He would jump the high fences so he could return “home.” Harry then began training Snowman as a show jumper. Less than two years out of the plow fields, Snowman won the 1958 horse show jumping Triple Crown—the American Horse Shows Association Horse of the Year, Professional Horseman’s Association Champion, and Champion of Madison Square Garden’s Diamond Jubilee. Snowman was inducted into the Show Jumping Hall of Fame in 1992.

    In this thrilling true-life story, readers follow the path of friendship that grows into a romance that spans continents and survives devastating hardship. Craig Keener, a respected white scholar, was cautious after a broken relationship. M�dine, a well-educated African woman, met Craig through a campus ministry and the two became friends. Long after they parted for their respective worlds, Craig realized his love for her and began the arduous--and often supernatural--journey to be reunited. M�dine faced terror and disease as a refugee in the war-torn Congo; Craig did not know most days if she was alive or dead. Their tender story of love beating the odds inspires readers to believe that God's own great love for each of us will always overcome.

    Despite letters being sent home regularly, his mother never turns up for any appointments, and when the school calls home she always seems to have an excuse.Though Casey has her hands full, she offers to intervene for a while, to try get Leo engaged in learning again and remaining in school. The head’s sceptical though and warns her that this is Leo’s very last chance. But Casey’s determined, because there’s something about Leo that makes her want to fight his corner, and get to the bottom of whatever it is that compels this enigmatic boy to keep running away. With Leo so resolutely tight-lipped and secretive, Casey knows that if she’s going to keep this child in education, she’s going to have to get to the bottom of it herself…

    He swears like a teenager, has tantrums like a two year old, and the only positive in his life seems to be his love for his real dad, a troubled ex-SAS soldier who he no longer sees.The plan for Paulie is simple; to try and find a way to get him back home with his family, but the more they get to know Paulie, the more they begin to realise that perhaps ‘home’ isn’t going to be the best place for him after all…

    Unloved and unwashed, she arrives at foster carer Angela Hart's door stripped of all self-esteem. The Girl with No Bedroom Door tells the wonderfully uplifting story of how Angela's love and care helps Louise blossom into a confident and happy young woman.

    As the manager of Risky Business, which was set up to work with vulnerable teens, she heard heartbreaking and shocking stories of abuse and assiduously kept notes and details of the perpetrators, passing information on to the authorities in the belief that they would do something. Eventually, when she lost hope that the authorities would take action against the gangs she had identified as the abusers, she became a whistleblower for The Times investigative reporter Andrew Norfolk. Now, in her powerful memoir, she describes a life spent working to protect Rotherham's girls, the pressure put on her to stop rocking the boat, and why she risked prison in the hope that she could help end the appalling child exploitation in the town.

    Who knew what kind of doors it might open for a sixteen-year-old from Garner, North Carolina.  Go Big or Go Home is the story of a kid with country songs in his soul. The special thing with Scotty McCreery, however, is that he has this God-given ability to sing those tunes the exact way they should be sung. Daring to enter the limelight at such a young age, Scotty finds himself embraced by the nation, and even overseas, as he competes on "American Idol". This is his journey from his North Carolina roots to winning America’s most popular singing competition and launching a musical career he had always dreamt about.  Go Big or Go Home narrates Scotty's journey from a kid imitating Elvis on the school bus to 30 million across America tuning in to see him win Season 10 of "American Idol”. Now as he completes his ground-breaking fourth album, Scotty shares a glimpse of where he came from and the impact his faith, family and friends have had on a humbled guy who keeps asking “why me?”

    I had found mine.'Found guilty of the rape and murder of a woman he had never met, Nick Yarris was sentenced to death.With appeal after appeal failing he spent twenty-two years waiting to die.This is the true and amazing story of how he survived Death Row.

    The children arrived with a lot of kicking and screaming from the eldest…terrified of the changes going on in his life.One of our jobs as their carers was to minimise change as much as possible until their future was decided by the courts at the final hearing.There was much going on in the background that we were not aware of but would find out in the course of time.Plans were being made by professional people, who should know better and should never take advantage of their position to abuse those who are vulnerable and unable to defend themselves because they are told ‘The law is against you’, when actually what is meant is that they, in their powerful position are against you.We were slowly and blindly heading toward an adult temper tantrum that neither I nor any of the social workers present at the time, had ever witnessed before.A temper tantrum of such intensity that one person changed the course of these children’s lives.It was a truly, truly wicked act of power displayed by one very spiteful egotistical person.

    With the onset of World War II, her life is carried by a swirl of atrocities, decisions, farewells and remorse that will scar her forever. A stirring historical drama about the life of a Jewish family during WW II. This is the story of one unforgettable woman, supporting her husband and children under impossible conditions. It is also the story of a Jewish family who feels safe from war because of its status and wealth, and wakes up to a disastrous reality. More than anything, it is the story of the entire Italian Jewish community in face of the Holocaust – a story of disaster, overcoming and eventual immigration to Israel as a part of the Zionist movement. Behind every successful man stands an insightful woman. Daily life soaked in historical consequences, family ties and general atmosphere, aromas, sounds and tastes, based on thorough research, interviews and original historical manuscripts. A drama of loss and despair, survival and human triumph with unforgettable characters that stay with you long after the last page. Scroll up to grab your copy of Vittoria now!

    It is a book that combines the author's love of humor, food, and his military service. IS GOAT BEEF? shows the humorous side of the military and how service members relax during times of conflict.

    She placed sixth. Which is breath-taking. But what is your typical good Indian girl, super-nerd doing at the Ultraman? Anywhere but Home is the funny, heart-breaking, unexpected story of a woman who would not give up. As she followed her passion on the roads of Bangalore and across several Indian cities, coaches advised her to get married. She was stuck in sports facilities that lacked basic support systems, even toilets. If she wanted to compete, it would need to be on her own salary. All she could rely on were her own two feet and the seat of her bike. With self-deprecatory humour and characteristic curiosity, Vaidyanathan tells the story of how she found triathlon, how she came to be training in one of the most challenging sports in the world. She writes of her many firsts in the Ultraman, Ironman, Half-Ironman, but also of motherhood and pushing the boundaries of what a body can do. Heart-warming and heart-breaking, this is most of all a tale of love: for a sport and for life.

    Before, I felt like I wanted to die. I couldn't even go to parties. Then Sox came along. It feels like our hearts are connected – I love him so much.” TobyWhen Toby Turner was excluded from school for the third time for hitting and kicking his teachers, his family hit rock bottom. Toby, who has autism, felt so upset by his own aggression, he told his parents they would be better off without him.Terrified, Toby’s mum gave up her job as a nursery nurse to teach him at home while they found a place for him in a special school. Eventually, the only way the family could get Toby out of the house was by giving him headphones, sunglasses and a cap to block out the world.After a difficult few years, the family was thrown a lifeline by the charity Dogs for Good, which introduced Toby to Sox. The adorable three-year-old Labrador Golden Retriever was trained by the charity to help children with autism. Within two weeks, he had turned Toby’s life around. Together, as a family unit, and with Sox by their side, the Turners have learned to enjoy life again.

    Everything changed after a brush with kidney cancer that set him on a reluctant path of spiritual discovery. He first denied, then acknowledged, and finally embraced and interacted with "heavenly" forces he realized want to help all of us find our ideal path in life.The result? Harnessing Heaven, the book that shows you how to actually tap into the power of Heaven, as part of a dynamic process of self-discovery.In Harnessing Heaven, you'll discover:The Seven Principles for Clarifying Your Life's Purpose Spirituality and a higher plane of guidance, grace and wisdom. The divine teachings we need to know in order to evolve in this life How to determine your purpose and passion for the rest of your life. A crash course in understanding the dynamic reality we live in. How to raise your energy vibration for health and listen to heaven. Combining teachings from heaven, and down-to-earth, actionable lessons and strategies, Harnessing Heaven and its core "Seven Principles" opens the door to discovering and mapping out your ideal life path--with confidence, conviction and passion!

    But that's exactly what happened to Mikael Lindnord, captain of a Swedish adventure racing team, when he threw a scruffy but dignified mongrel a meatball one afternoon. When they left the next day, the dog followed. Try as they might, they couldn't lose him - and soon Mikael realised that he didn't want to. Crossing rivers, battling illness and injury, and struggling through some of the toughest terrain on the planet, the team and the dog walked together towards the finish line, where Mikael decided he would save Arthur and bring him back to his family in Sweden, whatever it took.

    Mary Fields, a fifty-three-year old second-generation slave, emancipated and residing in Toledo, receives news of her friend’s impending death. Remedies packed in her satchel, Mary rushes to board the Northern Pacific. Days later, she arrives in the Montana wilderness to find Mother Mary Amadeus lying on frozen earth in a broken-down cabin. Certain that the cloister of frostbit Ursuline nuns and their students, Indian girls rescued from nearby reservations, will not survive without assistance, Mary decides to stay.She builds a hennery, makes repairs to living quarters, cares for stock, and treks into the mountains to provide food. Brushes with death do not deter her. Mary drives a horse and wagon through perilous terrain and sub zero blizzards to improve the lives of missionaries, homesteaders and Indians and, in the process, her own.After weathering wolf attacks, wagon crashes and treacherous conspiracies by scoundrels, local politicians and the state’s first Catholic bishop, Mary Fields creates another daring plan. An avid patriot, she is determined to register for the vote. The price is high. Will she manifest her personal vision of independence?MIANTAE METCALF MCCONNELL’S RESEARCH enabled USPS historians to verify Mary Fields as the first African American woman star route mail carrier in the United States. A fact-based chronicle of Fields’ life in Montana from 1885 until her death in 1914, the narrative examines women rights, bootleg politics, Montana’s turn-of-the-century transition from territory to state and its scandalous woman suffrage election.PRAISE FOR DELIVERANCE MARY FIELDSMIDWEST BOOK REVIEW“Under McConnell's hand, the atmosphere, frontier challenges, and landscapes of Montana come to life. Mary Fields is a true historical figure, dramatized in novel format. Her story will delight readers who look for a blend of accurate historical facts, hard-hitting drama, and realistic scenes powered by a feisty protagonist whose values and concerns become part of the social changes sweeping the nation.”—Diane Donovan, Midwest Book Reviewer & Editor, California BookwatchMcConnell has fashioned a historical narrative marrying prose and poetry, fact with creative writing. With the discerning eye of a photographer, the deft hand of a historian, and the literary heart of a poet, the life of Mary Fields, legendary black woman of Montana, rises off the page into living history. If the reader has any interest in Mary Fields, aka Stagecoach Mary, Deliverance is the one book you must read.—Cowboy Mike Searles, Author, Professor of History, Augusta University, GA.A great story and history of Mary Fields, an important black westerner. A must read for youths and adults. —Bruce A. Glasrud, Author, Specialist Black American West History, Professor, California State University.

    Simon is discovered in the Hong Kong docks in 1948 and smuggled on board the H.M.S Amethyst by a British sailor who takes pity on the malnourished kitten. The young cat quickly acclimates to his new water-borne home, establishing himself as the chief rat-catcher in residence while also winning the hearts of the entire crew. Then the Amethyst is ordered to sail up the Yangtze to take over the guarding of the British Embassy, and tragedy strikes as the ship comes under fire from Communist guns. Many of the crew are killed and Simon is among those who are seriously wounded. Luckily, with the help of the ship's doctor, the brave cat makes a full recovery and is soon spending time with the injured men in the sick bay, purring and keeping their spirits up. News of Simon's heroism spreads and he becomes famous world-wide - but it is still a long journey back to England for both the crew and the plucky little cat known as 'Able Seacat Simon'…

    Vive la différence! Here’s how it all started…In 1995, when young Romanian journalist Angela Nicoara applied to the BBC School in Bucharest, it changed her life in ways she could never have imagined. Raised in the closed society of communist Romania and stung by a recent divorce, she doubted her chances for a better future. But then she met some British guy, in a gloomy corridor, and everything changed.“There was a power cut at BBC School. It was so dark I could hardly see him. We chatted for a few minutes, sharing a joke about the excellent conditions, and I had a feeling I’d never experienced before, as if I’d known him all my life. Why?”Turns out, Cupid had just fired a couple of arrows that landed bang on target. Angela and her Brit spent the next twenty years traveling and working around the world - with a brief stop in Las Vegas to get married - and are now settled in a tiny village in the mountains of Transylvania, with bears for neighbors.And that’s where Angela got the idea for ‘Loving an Alien’…“One winter’s night, by our log fire, I started thinking about my girlfriends around the world, many of whom had married a foreigner. Their lives were so similar, and yet so different to my own. Hmm, why not share our experiences? What if I go back to how it all started for me? Put my journalist hat on and interview them? Ask about life on Planet Love - what might they say?”If you’re into global travel, romance, life lessons, the do’s and don’ts of an intimate relationship, how to manage your in-laws, how to finesse your outlaws, how to raise rootless, bi-lingual, ’third culture’ kids, then snuggle up with ’Loving an Alien’.In a remarkably candid series of Q&A’s with twenty-seven women of different nationalities, Angela reveals what makes a mixed marriage tick … and how to keep the love clock running.“My college friends thought I was stupid, crazy, and throwing away a bright future.” Jennifer“Some girls think marrying an expat is the road to riches, but that’s not true.” Sumi“I never thought I’d be with an African, someone so different, from this tiny village.” Sophie“It wasn’t like I came to Sri Lanka to marry a Sri Lankan. It just happened.” Jessica“Marrying into a different culture means you are not trapped by your own, which is how I felt.” WangAngela Nicoara doesn't just spill the beans, she gets the recipe. It’s not memoir. It’s not fiction. It’s love, visas and all. Long-distance. Long term. Join Angela on a journey to the heart of it!

     What she didn’t realize was that her ordeal had only just begun. That night, while her newlywed husband languished in a jail cell, she would be driven across the border at gunpoint, sedated, and locked in an empty room for days. She would be flown across the ocean in a drugged haze and awake in a walled compound in a remote corner of northern India. Later, she would swallow pills and bleed out the child she didn’t know she carried inside her. Mayah would remain a prisoner in her family’s home until she agreed to annul her marriage and wed a husband of their choosing. WEDLOCKED: A Story of Forced Marriage uses the true tale of one woman’s experience to introduce readers to a pervasive practice that has only recently begun tiptoeing out of hushed living rooms and into the spotlight of public discourse. Many women who had been rendered silent, threatened by familial and community pressure to accept their fates without protest, have been stepping forward to speak out about the injustice of an institution that is only barely beginning to be understood in scope and severity. Mayah’s story is just one of thousands. But it is hers. And by telling her tale — appalling in its violence, humbling in its magnitude, and ultimately redemptive in its humanity — forced marriage as an abstract concept can be rewritten. Mayah’s story is a pathway to make the intangible tangible; to color the statistics with a voice.

    Set in Sochi, Russia, near the banks of the majestic Black Sea, Mother at Seven tells of those critical moments in a child's life when the only thing standing between the life and death itself was a pure and innocent belief that better days lie ahead. It teaches that by fighting through hardship and pain, miracles can still happen, and that life can still be amazing as long as hope is never lost.

    There are times when I feel in control and like I know what I'm doing . . . and there are times (quite a few) (actually lots) when I've got no idea what's going on, where to turn, what to do, how to behave, and those are the times I've sought help!I have been helped by some extraordinary people. I've been supported and counselled through my recovery from drugs and alcohol. I've been hypnotised to get me through my ultimate fears. I've read a squibillion (that's a lot) of fantastic self-help books and I have shared and shared with the greatest girlfriends and family of all time. These nuggets of wisdom have, at times, literally kept me going, so I thought I'd pay it forward and share them with you . . ."In this long-awaited book, Davina McCall shares the tips and wisdoms learned on her 'work-in-progess' journey through life.Warm, engaging, honest and generous, this book will make you laugh and cry in equal measure. Lessons I've Learned is the closest thing to a Davina hug and we all need one of those . . .

    Over the next four years, 1.7 million people--including most of Radha's family--would perish due to starvation, disease, and horrifying violence. His new faith severely tested, Radha is forced by the communist regime to marry a woman he doesn't know. But through God's providence, he discovers that his new wife is also a Christian. Together they find the courage and hope to survive and eventually make a daring escape to the US, where they raise five children and begin a life-changing ministry to the Khmer people in exile in the US and back home in Cambodia.This moving true story of survival against all odds shows readers that out of war, fear, despair, and betrayal, God can bring hope, faith, courage, restoration--and even romance.

    Always dressed well, and very quiet. But David belonged to a family with a dark secret. Can foster care save him?

    With a special emphasis on the joy of adopting dogs from shelters, these stories will make you laugh out loud and maybe even shed a tear or two. And your purchase will help support the great work of the American Humane Association!

    Devastating news to most young women, especially those who love children and have always dreamed of having their own family. But Riley’s response was: Kenya has given me a thousand children.Riley’s stories of her trips to Kenya, her struggles to figure out how to best serve and care for these people she has fallen in love with, and her own unexpected health issues are funny, compelling and gripping. Readers will find that God writes surprising stories in the lives of those who follow Him. Hard to put down, Riley Unlikely will inspire you to pursue your dreams and make a difference in your own world—and around the world.

    Some save lives simply by their incredible commitment to duty and service. Some lead the way to independence for people whose disabilities were supposed to limit their lives.In Service Tails: More Stories of Man's Best Hero, prolific author Ace Collins introduces us to leaders whose entire lives are wrapped in the banner of service. Their stories are remarkable snapshots of the value of vision and teamwork, as well as devotion to duty and unconditional love and acceptance-stretching the way we see both canine and human potential. Their training was intense, their loyalty unquestioned and each step of the way they constantly adapt to better serve those they lead. These unforgettable dogs are more than heroes; they are models from which we can learn how to love and serve unconditionally.

    In a bold attempt to start life over in a more authentic way, she confessed her darkest secret, a desire to submit to her husband Leo. The two set off on a year of information, exploration, and sexual experimentation that will either breathe new life into the relationship or lead to their final demise.Darling Discovered: A True Story of Submission explores issues of trust, self-acceptance, and healing, set amongst the sandy beaches of Florida in an emotional and pleasurable read.It is human nature to want to protect your truest self from the outside world. This is one woman's true story of deciding to share herself despite those fears.

    There are no granny panties in this drawer!He picks up a pair of my NASA engineered favourites and insisted, "These are granny panties."No they are not!" I protested, "Granny panties are cotton, with flowers all over them and come up to your armpits." I grabbed my daily favourites out of his hand, "These are a modern-day wonder! They hide years of not doing sit-ups every day, cellulite dimples, Big Macs with extra sauce and muffin belly! My grandmother never had panties like this!"Call them what you want. They are modern-day granny panties" he informs me.Putting them back in the drawer I thought, "I would have to join a gym if I ever gave these beauties up."Anyway it got me to thinking. So I made a visit to a lingerie store. Maybe my underwear drawer did need some updating.The walls of the store were lined with massive posters of girls who don't eat so they can wear lace without tummy control panels. Looking at their photo-shopped abs didn't inspire me to drop to the floor and do a hundred sit-ups it just made me want to hold them down and force feed them hamburgers.The 20 something sales girl came over with her size 0 figure and asked if I needed help. "I am looking to update my underwear drawer" I tell her, "I am looking for something that is comfortable but... sexy." I know in her head she's thinking "Sex at her age! Wow good for her!"First she shows me the wall of underwear designed to turn on perverts. "No, that's not what I am looking for" and we move along to the "School girl" underwear to turn on pedophiles. "That's not me either" I tell her. Then she shows me the "new" line just in that week with the red or black fur around the waistband. "Doesn't that show through your dress pants?" I ask her. "Oh, you don't wear anything over these ones." That ought to make my work day more interesting I thought to myself.Then she brings out the most dreaded, torturous devise knows to woman... the G-String!I tried a pair once and I looked like a summo wrestler. Even I laughed when I looked in the mirror. It brought back a memory to me. I was doing a two-day course at university. Before the course started the students were standing around the back of the class chatting and getting to know one another. I met this lovely lady who told me she was 60-years-old and was doing the course out of interest. When it was time to sit down, she sat in front of me and to my horror she was wearing low-cut jeans that revealed a tattooed pair of eyes above her butt cheeks but the worst part, she was wearing a silver thong.It was like a car crash, I couldn't look away. For seven hours the droopy eyes on her butt watched me, staring at me, scarring me for life. Every time she put up her hand to ask a question her hips shifted and her butt winked at me. The sliver G-string thread around her waist looked like a disco Hippie headband. I would never be able to look at a G-string without thinking of her butt eye balling me."I don't do fanny-floss" I told her. I need something comfortable. "Maybe you should go to Walmart" she says. "Maybe you should go to hell" I thought in my head.With her sales commission still in my wallet, I left and called hubby from my cell phone in the car."Ok I am willing to compromise. Wh

    The father longs to know how everything sounds. Though his son does his best to interpret their noisy surroundings through sign language, he struggles to convey the subtle differences between the "loud" of the ocean and the "loud" of a roller coaster. When the family drops in at the library after dinner, the boy makes a discovery. Perhaps the words he needs are within reach, after all.Myron Uhlberg's story, based on his own childhood experiences, covers the almost unique topic within children's books of children raised by deaf parents. Ted Papoulas beautifully and sensitively portrays the family's day to bring the whole experience to life for readers.

    As president of the high-profile Ventura charter of the club, he had been the yin to Sonny Barger’s yang. Barger was the reckless figurehead and de facto world leader of the Hells Angels. Christie was the negotiator, the spokesman, the thinker, the guy who smoothed things out. He was the one who carried the Olympic torch and counted movie stars, artists, rock musicians, and police chief captains among his friends.But leaving the Hells Angels isn’t easy, and within two weeks of retirement, he was told he was “out bad”---blackballed by his fellow Angels, prohibited from wearing the club patch, and even told he should remove his Death Head tattoo.Now Christie sets out to tell his story. Exile on Front Street is the tale of how a former Marine gave up a comfortable job with the Department of Defense and swore allegiance to the Hells Angels. In this revealing, hard-hitting memoir, he recounts his life as an outlaw biker with the world’s most infamous motorcycle club.

    Full of energy and gusto, the novel takes you on an exploration of her inner thoughts as she deals with some of the government's 'finest.'

    She is worried for her troubled young son, who has been found leaving the house late at night to go deep into the woods near their home. He has spoken of meetings with a friend, Thomas, but no one else has seen him or knows who he is. As Shane tries to discover what's going on, a sexual predator he helped bring to justice years before reappears. The man is looking to settle a score, and has picked someone close to Shane as his next victim.In The Boy They Tried to Hide, Shane Dunphy revisits cases he encountered during his time as a child protection worker and journalist and, in doing so, once again discovers that leaving the past behind is harder than it seems.

    A trusted companion for practitioners of a wide variety of magical paths, Llewellyn's 2017 Magical Almanac shares wisdom, stories, and spells in nearly three dozen articles, exploring everything from the magic of trees to fairy roads to performing a psychometric reading. Also included is an insightful calendar section—shaded for easy "flip to" reference—featuring world festivals, holidays, and the 2017 sabbats. Astrological information plus incense and color correspondences are included to empower your magical work. Bring your spiritual practice down to earth with money magic, witch jars, and Himalayan salt Focus on your social life and your inner life with protection magic for city dwellers, social media magic, and the characters that appear in your dreams Activate your sense of taste and smell with the magic of coffee, essential magical herbs, magical soups and salads, and the energetic properties of incense Published annually for twenty-seven years

    (Through Fisher's Eyes, Dark Spectrum & A Problem With the Moon) Fisher is a 17-year-old autistic boy. He and his autistic friends learn that they have amazing super powers. They use them in many adventures as they encounter bullies, ghosts, demons and aliens. Great reading for all ages, but especially for teens and young adults! If you like Harry Potter, give Fisher's Autism Trilogy a try.Through Fisher's Eyes: (book 1) An adventure story unlike any other. Fisher tells this story from his point of view. With the help of his mysterious friend, Michael, Fisher and his friends learn to use their amazing mind powers to fight a gang of bullies. Dark Spectrum: (book 2) This book takes place several years later. Fisher and his friends reunite to fight a demon named Belial at Gettysburg. Great battles, featuring Civil War ghosts, demons and of course, Fisher and his friends.A Problem With the Moon: (book 3) Fisher and his dad adopt an oddball alien named Robert. It turns out that Robert is an essential part of a plan to save Earth and bring humans into a global community.

    Discover how the Lord God answered her, and walked alongside her in the most difficult grieving journey of her life.

    The experience was so inspirational and transformative, that Ari revealed the entire journey in this first ever question and answer book, outlining the 100 questions he struggled with before deciding to proceed with his transplant and give the gift of life. The Kidney Donor's Journey walks you through every stage of Ari's process, from researching, struggling and telling his family, to testing, undergoing surgery and recovery. The book inspires readers to weigh the personal and ethical values of kindness and human life, while sharing a moving and uplifting tale of one man's journey to make a difference in the world. Some questions include: - How do I tell my family? - How risky is the surgery? - Who pays for the surgery? - Can I back out if I change my mind? - Will my insurance go up? - Do I meet the recipient? - Will I have to take medications forever? - Can I still drink coffee or alcohol? - How long will I be in the hospital? - Can anyone be a donor? - How long will I be in the hospital? - Will I regret my decision later on? Plus many more powerful questions and answers!

    When Melissa lost her twin sister Nicole at just 21, she wondered how she would carry on without her soul mate. Her other half. The fun-loving, courageous girl who had always been by her side. Determined not to let Nicole’s illness destroy them both, Melissa vowed to complete the bucket list her sister had written but never completed. From 'do a bungee jump' and 'fart loudly in a lift', to 'go dancing in rain' and 'get married', the list includes items that are at times deeply touching, challenging, or downright ridiculous. My Sister's Wishes is the moving story of an extraordinary love between two extraordinary sisters.

    Determined dogs from around the world travel vast distances and overcome unbelievable odds. Meet Bonnie, the kelpie blue heeler cross, who led her owner to safety through one of the deadliest bushfires in Australia’s history; Penny, a Hungarian vizsla, who was dognapped and found 3800 miles from where she was taken; and Inka, the friendly bull-mastiff cross, who made her way back to her owner after ten years, and just in time for Christmas. From heartwarming tales of canine loyalty to mysterious cases of dogs turning up thousands of miles away, these are the incredible true stories of how sixteen remarkable dogs found their way home.

    The nation was shocked by her disappearance from the tiny Welsh village of Machynllech in October 2012. Her body was never fully recovered but paedophile Mark Bridger was convicted of her murder and abduction following a month-long trial in May 2013. In this gripping and harrowing book, April's heartbroken parents Coral and Paul speak at length about their beloved daughter and the search for her, their ordeal as they faced Bridger in court every day during the trial, and their ongoing fight against the vile child pornography he viewed in the days leading up to April's abduction. They remember with enduring love the daughter who fought so bravely to survive premature birth and mild disability, and who was enchanted by all the things a little girl finds magical. Paul Jones kept a diary throughout the ordeal, the contents of which are revealed for the first time in this searingly honest account of unimaginable emotional pain. Alongside books such as Madeleineby Kate McCann and Goodbye Dearest Hollyby Kevin Wells, Aprilwill stand as a poignant reminder of what it means to lose the thing you most love.

    Every one of them pulverized into dust. When those towers came crashing down, it was like they were all caught in a giant food processor.” On September 11 2001 the world stopped. An attack on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center in New York on a serene September morning changed the course of world history. The final death toll from the iconic twin towers reached 2,606. Thousands were never found, as retired New York police officer Tony Zeoli’s harrowing eye-witness account, about the search-and-recovery effort, so graphically records. Tony was a founding member of a group of retired police officers who became known as Recovery Team Romeo - a dozen men who spent nearly nine months searching for bodies at Ground Zero and refusing to be paid for it. These men instantly came out of retirement, made their different ways to the site and worked as an independent recovery team. They have become a Police Department legend. But such personal sacrifice – such heroism – exacted a terrible price on these individuals whose lives could never be the same after they passed through the ‘gates of hell’ and descended into that awful pit to recover the dead. Rising From The Ashes is a powerful and compelling account of the aftermath of 9/11. Praise for Tony Zeoli "The Night-Comer is a winner. Written by a man who lived in the world of treachery, violence and fanaticism...A must read in today's world." – Renee Valente, award winning Executive Producer "Taken from the pages of what's happening today and what's happening tomorrow. This is a red alert from a cop who has lived with the danger." – Sonny Grosso, Producer of The French Connection Tony Zeoli is a retired Lieutenant with the New York Port Authority Police Department (PAPD). After the 9/11 Terrorist Attack on the World Trade Center in 2001, Tony spend over eight months as part of the PAPD Emergency Services Operations Team searching Ground Zero for remains of those who died in the attack. He is also a consultant for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Tony has also written police fiction books, including 625 8th Avenue, the address of the New York Port Authority Bus Terminal, The Night Comer and The Twelve Disciples: City of Fear.

    It is a comic account of life on the business side of the medical looking glass, written to encourage others as they face the uncertainties of life in the hands of modern-day medical practitioners.

    A future member of the U.S. House of Representatives was among the leaders of a mob that routed black men from houses and forced them to a stretch of railroad track, ordering them to run for their lives before gunning them down. According to a witness, the guns firing in the black neighborhoods sounded like a battle. Author and award-winning reporter John DeSantis uses correspondence, interviews and federal records to detail this harrowing true story.

    We are desperate to be accepted for who we are. You don't find this love. You don't search for it. You don't even have to ask. You simply recognize it's existence and accept that it is for you. Because of Jesus, you are worthy of such a love. The Morning After Relapse is a collection of poems from my first two years as a poet. It is my story of being won over by an encounter with God.

    The Holocaust: The Origins, Events, and Remarkable Tales of Survival is a thought-provoking new book that explores the circumstances that led to the Holocaust, examines what life was like in concentration camps, and retells incredible stories of heroism in a sensitive and accessible way for a young audience.Featuring full-color illustrations, historical photographs, and maps and charts, this large format book is perfect for parents and teachers who want to introduce this subject to young readers. Eyewitness accounts and real-life stories of loss, courage, and survival bring a humanity and immediacy to the facts and images, making The Holocaust a compelling and invaluable read for a new generation.

    The place was the former Pale of Settlement which was a large swath of land in western Russia where Jews were forced to live for centuries. The year was 1918 and Russia was in the midst of two revolutions. The first occurred with the abdication of the last tsar of Russia culminating in his execution. The second was the bloody civil war that ensued for control of the country. Ita was caught in the middle during this time of great political and social upheaval. Wave after wave of murderous anti-Jewish riots, or pogroms, descended upon Jewish shtetls, and the only chance for her survival was to escape. Escape was not easy. In fact, it could be deadly. In Ita's own words, along with her daughter's (Sherry V. Ostroff) historical and cultural background information, she describes her privileged life in Russia, the bloody pogroms, and her harrowing escape. Ita faces each roadblock with resolve, including a new country that doesn't want her, and proves why she is, indeed, the lucky one.

    Henriette Ngenga was twenty-eight years old and pregnant with her fifth child, a baby girl named Divine. This young Tutsi mother was facing a government-mandated massacre with four children between the ages of one and eight in her care. Hunted by men with machetes, tortured in a prison, and beaten savagely, she felt her daughter writhing from starvation inside her womb, while privately rejoicing that there was still any movement at all. This is one mother’s story of love, terror, faith, and survival. Everything you are about to read is true. “I told God if I survived, I would tell my story…our story. Twenty years later, the time has come.”

    He’s turning blue," her babysitter screamed down the line. When Evan was born Elise felt her life was complete. She had her own New York apartment, a brilliant career as a litigator, and a beautiful baby boy. But all that was thrown into turmoil when her only child was found to be the victim of shaken baby syndrome. All evidence pointed to the babysitter, with whom Elise had entrusted Evan’s care. In the agonizing weeks and months that follow, she finds herself taking on both the New York authorities, who at first prevent her from taking charge of her own child, and a medical establishment that seems anxious to terminate Evan’s prospects as swiftly as possible. But this single gay mother, with a great support network of friends and family around her, had the resilience to fight like a tigress for her son in order to prevent his short life being extinguished prematurely. Faced with a nightmarish mix of emotions and a roller coaster of conflicting advice and agonizing decision making, Elise emerges a Mother Courage, prepared to go to any lengths for her son. This moving and compelling account, told in diary form, is a testament to a mother’s unbending love and above all unflinching belief in her child.

    Handcuffed, shackled and blindfolded, he has no idea why he has been targeted. What he discovers is heart-stopping. What he endures during almost a month of captivity compares only to the most horrendous stories of prisoners of war. He is tortured, and under the threat of death, and worse – the rape of his wife and torture of his children – Suarez is forced to hand over his multi-million dollar holdings to his captors. Suarez survives and then spends the next few months staying one step ahead of the murderous pack. During this time, he and his lawyer, Nolan Stevens – a former Special Agent in Charge of the Miami Office of the FBI – are having difficulties convincing the Miami-Dade Police Department that a crime has been committed. Their efforts are complicated by Steven’s difficult history with the head of the MDPD Special Investigations Division, who is not interested in pursuing the case.

    This is a true historical narrative of World War I. Based on letters found in the house of her husband's grandmother, Christine Chatterton has masterfully crafted an intimate account of two families and four brothers from Western Illinois.Each brother faced "The Great War" in uniquely different ways that revealed the difficult decisions they had to make and the courage that showed through their characters. Further, it is the extraordinary love story of Haidee Wilson and Maurice Chatterton written in their own words and spanning the years from 1915 until 1923. This is an epic odyssey of courage, hardship, war, death, illness, and ultimately -- survival. It is also a love story that timelessly endures. This true American Odyssey brings to life those faded old photos and letters that were found, and Christine has expertly coaxed them to whisper to us from over a century ago - a treasure-trove of American heritage that you will not want to put down!

    Spanning the globe from amphibious landings at Guadalcanal, to the Navajo code talker school, to the exotic environs of New Orleans, to the secret world of Bletchley Park, this tautly written thriller, covering two weeks during the summer of 1942, combines a fully imagined cast of characters with the historically important figures of Andrew Higgins, members of American and British Intelligence, Navajo code talker Chester Nez, Commander Ian Fleming of MI6, along with a Polish intelligence officer, and “Silver Dollar Sam” Carolla, crime boss of New Orleans.An old German is found dead in a New Orleans whorehouse. Sewn into the lining of the dead man’s vest is a notebook filled with hand-drawn maps and notes about the comings and goings at military installations. German conspirators fret that their local contact (the dead German) is overdue. Mafia crime boss Nico Carolla, is soon drawn into the disposition of the corpse.We move to the Pacific and meet the grandson of the dead German, PFC Brock, a U.S. Marine being trained for the landings at Guadalcanal. Then we meet Andrew Jackson Higgins at the helm of the single most important landing craft ever built, the Higgins Boat, the steel-ramped landing craft that brought American troops to Pacific islands and to Normandy. In his colorful manner, Higgins is instructing a class of Coast Guard newbies on how to properly drive and operate his nearly indestructible boat. Higgins faces shortages of materials, manpower, and factory space. The Mafia boss controls much of the labor supply. Accommodations must be made to placate the mob family, who also have Old World connections in critical to the upcoming North African landings.The Waffen-SS officers charged with sabotaging the Higgins Boat plant arrive, only to learn of the loss of the intelligence gathered by the dead German. Now enter the code breakers at Bletchley Park who intercept the commando team’s messages, including one female mathematician through whose eyes we see inside Bletchley Park.America is almost entirely dependent on Britain’s MI6 for intelligence gathering. We meet Martina Amerada, a Cuban woman with a high-level banking responsibility, including ties to British intelligence, and who is Nico Carolla’s mistress. Martina moves money for the crime family and provides diplomatic cover between the Palermo branch of the family and the planners of Operation Torch. We are also introduced to the Navajo code-talker program essential to securing Marine Corps messages in the Pacific theater.The German commando team searches for the lost notebook by visiting the whorehouses Brock has been known to frequent, which leads to a murder and later retaliation by the Mafia against the German conspirators. Half the German commando team perishes. US marshals are drawn into the story as bodies are discovered in the nearby bayous. The Mafia is suspected. When the marshals confront Carolla, the marshals are put on the trail of the commandos which leads to the death of the marshals.Bletchley Park is busy trying to crack the code imbedded in the Himmler messages, We move back to the Pacific where grandson Brock is involved in the bloody landings ahead of Guadalcanal. Brock is wounded and nearly dies as the remaining commando attempts to demolish the largest Higgins Boat manufacturing facility in New Orleans. With the help of British intelligence, Nico Carolla prevents the plant from being destroyed and thus becomes the hero of the story.Operation Torch gets underway and the Higgins boats prove their indispensability to the war effort. PFC Brock recovers from his wounds, and Martina takes possession of all intelligence related to the German commandos so the threat never becomes public knowledge.

    #1 New York Times bestselling author Douglas Preston takes readers on an adventure deep into the Honduran jungle in this riveting, danger-filled true story about the discovery of an ancient lost civilization.

    It whispered in the background of his life, through careers in law and business, as a husband and father, and his family’s chapters on both coasts of the United States. Finally, he can deny it no longer. He and his wife decide to sell everything, pack up the kids, and follow his dream to Africa. But before the move, he realizes that emotionally he wants—no, needs—his father to understand his reasons for leaving. Just as he is about to broach the subject, his father launches into the story of his own dream, as a teenager in Jamaica, of becoming an American. His father’s fascinating tale of narrow escapes, love and war, and unwavering trust in the helping hand of the Universe becomes a guiding light for Dashiel on his journey in Africa . . . and in life.This is Africa is an account of these symmetrical quests, sixty years apart, which Dashiel Douglas artfully interweaves into one uproarious, inspiring, and unforgettable story. In the spirit of The Alchemist, Dashiel not only quells his ever-searching heart—with the help of an assortment of outlandish characters and the side-splitting observations he makes along the way—but also unwittingly discovers the ultimate treasure of any journey.

    Ghost Tracks pulls together five decades of field research experience, along with historic, scientific, and religious perspectives to reveal that even the paranormal have predictable patterns of behavior. These patterns enable the Warrens to discern what is happening and why. Lectures and selected case studies and letters demonstrate what it is like to live with, investigate, and resolve the mystery of ghosts, poltergeist, and evil infestations. Ghost Tracks has a refreshing style making it an easy read, entertaining as well as informative.

      Just after Jean Baur adopted a rescue dog, Bella, she lost her job at sixty-five. She decided to enroll Bella in a certified therapy-dog class. This new work, visiting hospital patients with her therapy job, gave Jean hope and purpose.   As Bella’s work expanded to nursing homes and elementary schools, the journey into the world of therapy-dog work allowed Jean and Bella to help others. They met an Alzheimer’s patient who learned to smile again after Bella took a treat from her hand. They befriended a six-year-old boy with autism who previously had a deep fear of dogs. Bella also coaxed an uncommunicative hospital patient to open up again after she jumped into bed with him.   National award-winning author Kim Kavin says Joy Unleashed “isn’t just another book about a dog and a person rescuing one another. It’s about how, together, Jean and Bella share their beautiful gift with countless other people who so desperately need to smile.”

    Now -- 76 years after Edith’s parents saved their daughter’s life by sending her, alone and terrified, to America -- she returns to the small German town where her family had lived for hundreds of years. Invited to witness the installation of a memorial to her family -- part of an effort throughout Europe to confront the genocide of World War II -- she experiences how art is helping today’s generation face and atone for crimes of the past.

     Lena, as she was known, was also born into impoverishment. Her father, a broken war hero, preferred to wallow in drink rather than shoulder his family responsibilities. With her mother too ill to cope with the family’s eight children, the twelve-year-old Lena, as the eldest daughter, became the mother hen to her brothers and sisters. But she was soon to experience the horror of her family being torn apart. When her mother was sectioned, she and her siblings were taken into care, suffering the cruel regime of clergy-run homes while they waited to be farmed out to relatives and family friends. Lena escaped the tyranny of the nuns, only to suffer a different kind of tyranny under the guardianship of her aunt. But as soon as she was old enough, she went into domestic service, first in Ireland, then in England, and finally in Scotland, her adopted country, where she married and bore seven children of her own, six of whom are alive and kicking today. THE REBEL’S DAUGHTER is Lena’s often harrowing, but ultimately triumphant, story.

    Japanese girl Homare Endo, then age seven, was trapped in Changchun with her family. After nomadic flight from city to city, Homare eventually returned to Japan and a professional career. This is her eyewitness, at times haunting account of survival at all costs and of unspeakable scenes of barbarity that the Chinese government today will not acknowledge.Homare Endo was born in China in 1941 and is director of the Center of International Relations at Tokyo University and Graduate School of Social Welfare.

    You will be glued to the pages as you read about high profile true crime murder cases, such as the murder of Laci Peterson, and the murder trial of actor Robert Blake, while learning about some lesser known yet equally notorious murder trials. You will follow criminal investigations into cold murder cases that were once thought to be unsolvable, but through a combination of scientific advances, good police work, and some luck, homicide detectives were able to give the victims’ families closure. Although most of the cases profiled in this book are clearly true crime stories, one case, the story of the famous doctor Jack Kevorkian, concerns changing legal interpretations of what constitutes murder in the United States of America. Other cases profiled involve privileged individuals who had plenty of money, but resorted to murder out of greed and selfishness. You will also read about one privileged woman, actress Dominque Dunne, who had her whole life in front of her, only to have it ended by a jealous lover who could not handle her success and privilege. Open the cover of this book, if you dare, and learn about some of the most intriguing high profile crimes and true murder to happen in the last 100 years. You may want to share this book with a friend, though, because as intriguing as the following cases are, they are also shocking and disturbing.

    For many of them, they were “doing what needed to be done.”American Dunkirk shows how people, many of whom were volunteers, mobilized rescue efforts in various improvised and spontaneous ways on that fateful date. Disaster experts James Kendra and Tricia Wachtendorf examine the efforts through fieldwork and interviews with many of the participants to understand the evacuation and its larger implications for the entire practice of disaster management.The authors ultimately explore how people—as individuals, groups, and formal organizations—pull together to respond to and recover from startling, destructive events. American Dunkirk asks, What can these people and lessons teach us about not only surviving but thriving in the face of calamity?

    He’s one of the writers of the hugely successful BBC TV series QI andThe Museum of Curiosity. But, in a previous career, he spent 30 years as a police officer in London during which he became involved in a small but potent revolution. He and some of his colleagues realised that there was a smarter way to tackle crime and public concerns that didn’t always mean clogging the judicial system with copious arrests or flooding the streets with extra cops. This new style of intelligent problem-solving policing took the cleverest ideas from academic research, military strategy, business, marketing, public health and many other areas of work, mixed them all up with a good dollop of original thinking and solved problems that had previously been labelled as unsolvable.In this remarkable book, he tells the story of his work in Scotland Yard’s innovative Problem Solving Unit and how the team tackled some of London’s most persistent problems. Along the way, you’ll find out how dog shows stopped young men killing each other, how lollipops prevented night club closures, how wheelie bins worked in cahoots with burglars, and why celebrities should be covered in chewing gum. You’ll also discover how bird tables can prevent car crashes, how fake vomit can clean up the streets, and why sitting down in Japan may just result in a sore bottom.Why did the Policeman Cross the Road? is a celebration of original thinking, peppered with fascinating research and entertaining stories in the tradition of books such as Levitt and Dubner’s Freakonomics, Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point and Leonard Mlodinow’s The Drunkard’s Walk.And it’s more than possible that the book contains some little tool or technique that could help you solve some of the problems in your own life.