The Seven Levels of Intimacy: The Art of Loving and the Joy of Being Loved


Matthew Kelly - 2007
    But oftentimes, this complete, unrestrained sharing of ourselves is too daunting a task. Now, in The Seven Levels of Intimacy, Matthew Kelly explains step-by-step how to move beyond our fears and experience the power of true intimacy. By achieving each of Kelly’s seven levels, we can understand and gain confidence in our partners and ourselves until we are fully able to experience love, commitment, trust, and happiness. With profound insight and the use of powerful and relatable examples, The Seven Levels of Intimacy redefines the most important relationships in our lives and how we view our interactions with one another. By finally comprehending and experiencing the great depths of intimacy, we can create the strong connections, deep joy, and lasting bonds that we all long for in our lives.

Broken People


Scott Hildreth - 2013
    With an overbearing obnoxious attitude, he allows few people to enter his otherwise private life. Most of the people that he encounters come from his internet blog, and pose no real threat to him or to his odd lifestyle. The Fat Kid is a self-proclaimed therapist who devotes his life to help people that have difficulties helping themselves, people he considers to be ‘broken’. When he encounters a bulimic teenage girl through his internet blog who threatens to commit suicide, he begins to reflect on parts of his life that he has spent years repressing. He continues to assist her, and many other ‘Broken People’ through his blog. When he meets an extremely independent woman who challenges him, his way of living, and his way of viewing life, he reluctantly listens. In doing so he challenges his past mistakes, his future, and ultimately he finds himself. Five broken people, five points of view, one story. From each of five characters perspective, this story unfolds and grips you from the beginning. If there is any part of you that feels broken, this book is a mirror held before you. In the end, you'll see your true reflection. From time to time, a book comes along, and makes you stop. It makes you stop and second guess who you are, what you’re doing in life, with life, and for the ones you love. This is that book. Through colorfully painted characters, “Broken People” forces the reader to reflect on self. There will be a broken part of you in one (or all) of these characters, guaranteed. Through The Fat Kid, his reflections on past experiences, and his online assistance to others, we are exposed to everything that high school kids these days deal with. Additionally, we are exposed to what parents should be considering, thinking, and doing - but often don't. The writings of Catherine Ryan Hyde, John Green, and Donna Tartt are similar. If you loved those reads, you'll certainly love Broken People. The characters in this book come to life before your eyes, and you become one with them. The result is a book that will have you laughing, crying, contemplating your own life, and the lives of your parents and/or children. A must read for parents and children alike, regardless of age. It gives teens and young adults an honest look at what parents consider, and provides parents with a realistic view of what teens are exposed to in today’s competitive social networking world.

The Four Seasons of Marriage


Gary Chapman - 2005
    Gary Chapman, author of the perennial best seller The Five Love Languages, provides an easy-to-grasp framework to help couples understand their marriage and seven practical strategies for strengthening or improving their marriage relationship. A valuable resource for couples regardless of how long they've been married, this biblically based book is a reference tool to help couples through every season of marriage. Summary of features: Valuable insight for every couple, regardless of how long they have been married. Provides seven practical strategies to help couples understand and strengthen their marriage relationship. Includes a Marital Seasons Profile to help couples determine the season of their marriage.

The Scandal


Nicola Marsh - 2019
    Shiny and pretty on the outside, blurred beyond recognition when shaken.Ever since her twin girls left home, Marisa has felt there’s something missing from her life. Her sprawling mansion is no longer filled with laughter and chaos, and she’s desperate to feel needed... and to be distracted from the secret she’s been hiding from her husband for all these years.Coffee with her best friends might be the only thing holding Marisa together. But Claire and Elly have their own secrets. Like why Claire hasn’t been to work in weeks, or why Elly won’t tell anyone who’s buying her flowers.When Jodi, a pregnant young girl, turns up at Marisa’s doorstep, Marisa is quick to come to her aid. She sees herself in Jodi and she knows how devoting yourself to looking after others can take up all your time in the most marvellous way.But Jodi’s arrival quickly pushes everyone’s lies to the surface. The father of her unborn child is someone the women know very well, and Marisa starts to wonder if her obsession with helping Jodi might come at a devastating price… The Scandal has a twist that will take your breath away. An emotionally charged novel about secrets, affairs and perfect small towns that will be devoured by fans of Kerry Fisher, Big Little Lies and The Other Woman.

Jesus and the Disinherited


Howard Thurman - 1949
    Jesus is a partner in the pain of the oppressed and the example of His life offers a solution to ending the descent into moral nihilism. Hatred does not empower—it decays. Only through self-love and love of one another can God's justice prevail.

LikeWar: The Weaponization of Social Media


P.W. Singer - 2018
    This urgent report is required reading, from defense expert P.W. Singer and Council on Foreign Relations fellow Emerson Brooking.

Dr. Bird's Advice for Sad Poets


Evan Roskos - 2013
    Always positive. I need to be more positive, so I wake myself up every morning with a song of myself.”Sixteen-year-old James Whitman has been yawping (à la Whitman) at his abusive father ever since he kicked his beloved older sister, Jorie, out of the house. James’s painful struggle with anxiety and depression—along with his ongoing quest to understand what led to his self-destructive sister’s exile—make for a heart-rending read, but his wild, exuberant Whitmanization of the world and keen sense of humor keep this emotionally charged debut novel buoyant.

Lion of Babylon


Davis Bunn - 2011
    Two others also drop out of sight--a high-placed Iraqi civilian and an American woman providing humanitarian aid. Are the disappearances linked? Rumors circulate in a whirl of misinformation.Marc must unravel the truth in a covert operation requiring utmost secrecy--from both the Americans and the insurgents. But even more secret than the undercover operation is the underground dialogue taking place between sworn enemies. Will the ultimate Reconciler between ancient enemies, current foes, and fanatical religious factions be heard?

Asylums: Essays on the Social Situation of Mental Patients and Other Inmates


Erving Goffman - 1961
    It focuses on the relationship between the inmate and the institution, how the setting affects the person and how the person can deal with life on the inside.

Learning to Be White: Money, Race, and God in America


Thandeka - 2000
    Tracing the links between religion, class, and race, she reveals the child abuse, ethnic conflicts, class exploitation, poor self-esteem, and a general feeling of self-contempt that are the wages of whiteness.

The Different Drum: Community Making and Peace


M. Scott Peck - 1987
    It should ultimately serve to lower or remove the walls of misunderstanding which unduly separate us human beings, one from another...' Although we have developed the technology to make communication more efficent and to bring people closer together, we have failed to use it to build a true global community. Dr M. Scott Peck believes that if we are to prevent civilization destroying itself, we must urgently rebuild on all levels, local, national and international and that is the first step to spiritual survival. In this radical and challenging book, he describes how the communities work, how group action can be developed on the principles of tolerance and love, and how we can start to transform world society into a true community.

Brave New Family: G.K. Chesterton on Men and Women, Children, Sex, Divorce, Marriage and the Family


G.K. Chesterton - 1990
    K. Chesterton's provocative writings on a subject close to his heart—the family, and the corresponding themes of men and women, children, sex, marriage and divorce. The family was a central element in Chesterton's vision, a unifying theme of his literary work. His eloquent defense of the sacredness of the home is even more applicable in our times because of the tremendous moral problems in our society that threaten the modern family. Chesterton's insights will be a deep inspiration to married couples, those preparing for marriage, priests, teachers, and anyone else interested in marriage and the family. An ideal gift book.

Everyday Blessings: The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting


Myla Kabat-Zinn - 1998
     Updated with new material -- including an all new introduction and expanded practices in the epilogue -- Everyday Blessings remains one of the few books on parenting that embraces the emotional, intuitive, and deeply personal experience of being a parent, applying the groundbreaking "mind/body connection" expertise from global mindfulness leader, Jon Kabat-Zinn and his wife, Myla Kabat-Zinn. Mindfulness is a way of living and there is increasing scientific evidence of its value for optimal health and well-being. A new field in psychology is devoted to mindful parenting, and mindfulness is being increasingly integrated into K-12 education. There has never been a better time for cultivating greater mindfulness in parenting and in family life.