As Kassem returned home to his family, an Egyptian army sniper shot and killed him, leaving a woman widowed and a child fatherless. A Temporary Gift is a record of journal entries written by Kassem's widow, Asmaa Hussein, during the two years following his departure from this world. This book is about re-learning how to live in the face of immense trauma. It is a reminder that beyond the pain and darkness of loss there is still the potential of light in patience and constancy.

    In this paperback edition, updated to show how and why Saddam Hussein repositioned himself as a Jihadi against America, M.J. Akbar explains the struggle between Islam and Christianity. Placing recent events in a historical context, he tackles the tricky question of what now for Jihad following the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime.With British and American troops in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and once again in Iraq, the potential for Jihadi recruitment is ever increasing. Explaining how Jihad thrives on complex and shifting notions of persecution, victory and sacrifice, and illustrating how Muslims themselves have historically tried both to direct and control the phenomenon of Jihad, Akbar shows how Jihad pervades the mind and soul of Islam, revealing its strength and significance.To know the future, one needs to understand the past. M.J. Akbar's The Shade of Swords holds the key.

    This book invites you--no matter what your practice may be--to access the treasure chest of Islamic spirituality, particularly Sufism, and use its wealth to strengthen your own journey.The riches include guidance drawn from the Qur'an, sayings of the Prophet Muhammad and Sufi poets such as the thirteenth-century Rumi on cultivating awareness, intentionality and compassion for self and others. This book also features entertaining wisdom teaching stories, especially those of Mulla Nasruddin, Islam's great comic foil, to expand the mind and heart. It breaks down barriers to accessing this ancient tradition for modern seekers by dispelling myths about the Muslim faith concerning gender bias, inclusivity and appreciation for diversity.Regardless of where you are on your spiritual journey, you will find these gems worthy additions to your own treasure chest within.

    Western psychotherapy aims largely to help us eliminate neurotic traits formed in childhood and adapt to society. In contrast, the Sufi goal is ultimately spiritual: Yes, we need to transform our negativity and be effective in the world; but beyond that, we need to reach a state of harmony with the Divine. Full of stories, poetry, meditations, journaling exercises, and colorful everyday examples, this book will open the heart, nourish the self, and quicken the soul.

    Here we also meet Lady Hayward and the Duke of Landon, both widowed with young adult children. They devise a plan for Lady Hayward to help the duke’s daughters come out in society and for the Duke of Landon to help Lady Hayward’s sons with business matters. A good deal for both…but as they work together, might there be so much more to their relationship? Read through to the last book in the series to find out!

    But when Joshua Colby's life is endangered, she realizes the man means more to her than keeping her vow. She knows her usually controlled heartbeat is running rampant because of him--not fear. Once a sniper, always a sniper. From experience, Joshua knows he'll have no chance at love as long as he remains in the dangerous world of special ops. But once he discovers the tempting woman he's been assigned to protect from a traitor is already part of his world, he's more than ready to follow his heart. Now all he has to do is convince the woman who has him in her crosshairs to give love a chance. This is a new release of a previously published edition.

    

    However, doubts soon begin to surface and he is forced to return to the place of his childhood, Hambley Wood, in his quest for the truth.To find the register that proves his birth, he has to enlist the help of the astonishingly beautiful vicar’s daughter, Arrabella. Unfortunately, they are soon drawn into series of frightening adventures which brings them together and ignites a passion that neither of them can ignore. However, while the mishaps draw them closer, the truth about Harper’s ancestry tears them apart. Can a future ever be theirs, or will a cruel twist of fate, and affairs of the past, prevent them ever having a future together?

    

    Both need him… neither wants him. Groomed for a life amongst the English aristocracy, Lord Erroll Rushton is unexpectedly thrust back into his father’s Scottish world when the Englishwoman he compromises refuses to marry him. No gentleman breaks into a lady’s bedchamber...but then, no lady sleeps with a pistol under her pillow. Miss Eve Crenshaw will marry for love or won’t marry at all. When London’s most notorious rakehell breaks into Eve’s bedroom in the dead of night and compromises her beyond repair, she plans a daring elopement that shocks even the earl. Blurb, reviews snippets – Claimed Talbot expects to find a hostile woman in the Scottish heiress Edward commands him to marry. Instead, he discovers a Highland beauty worthy of a man’s respect...and love. Talbot will do anything to win her acceptance—except the one thing she demands: betray his king and embrace his Scottish heritage. My Highland Lord London Heiress kidnapped by the Marquess of Ashlund, read the headlines. Yet no one tried to save her. Phoebe Wallington was seven years old when a mass assassination attempt rocked Regency England. Her father was the only accused traitor to elude capture. Now as a grown woman and a British spy, she is no closer to learning what really happened that day. Phoebe's quest for the truth takes a sudden turn when she's kidnapped by suspected traitor Kiernan MacGregor, the Marquess of Ashlund. However, Kiernan may not live long enough to stand trial. Someone wants him dead…and Phoebe stands in the killer's way. The only way to save her reputation and protect Kiernan is to marry him. Lord Grayson's Bride Nicholas Spencer, Earl of Grayson, won’t make the same mistake twice and let Josephine Knightly go. She loves him. He felt it in their one kiss before he left, and in the single kiss she allowed since his return. But she’s doing everything in her power to sabotage the marriage even before it’s begun. Nicholas doesn’t care. If Hell is where he must live to have her, then she must stand by his side in the fire. Lord Ruthven's Bride Love is always sweetest the first time around… A harmless attraction leads to a friendship that forces Lady Annabelle to choose between the two men who love her. One saved her from a killer. The other is her future husband. James Waterson, newly titled Viscount Ruthven, is hunting a killer. When Lady Annabelle steps into the killer’s sights, James will do everything in his power to protect her. Even if that means letting her go.

    Alaïa, Miracle, and Chloè have been through it all together, including relationships, heartbreaks, and their fair share of trials and tribulations. But things really take an interesting turn when a couple of equally troublesome bad boys fall into their path. If you enjoyed "When a Rich Thug Wants You", you'll love this coming of age tale, filled with love, betrayal, deception, and a closet-full of secrets that'll leave you shocked and in awe.

    

    But she never imagined that three days later she'd be ousted from the family home in Jesmond and sent to live with her mother's unmarried sister, Marjorie, in disgrace.Yet as the days go by, what was intended as punishment brings to Thea the contentment she has never known in her own home. In her Aunt Marjorie she finds the companionship she never had with her mother, and if it wasn't for the fact that her aunt's handsome artist friend, Robert Hedley, doesn't seem to know she's alive, everything would be perfect. But a dark force is about to shatter her new-found security and take Thea to a dangerous world she never dreamt existed...

    She was engaged to be married and everyone knew that her fiancé Rakesh was a great guy. But life took a detour when her father collapsed and Manasi had to rush back to India to take care of ND Software, her father’s company that focused on software for manufacturing industry. When she had been running the company for about six months, ZipMake, the company that was their best customer, got acquired by AccellaFab. Jay Randive, the founder and CEO of AccellaFab wanted to get into the Indian market and he had identified NDS as the Indian software company he wanted to acquire for that purpose. Jay Randive was coming to India to visit NDS, and when he learnt that the CEO’s daughter had stepped in after the CEO suffered a stroke; Jay was looking forward to an easy acquisition.

    More secrets are revealed, loyalty is tested, death is lurking, and love may not be enough to conquer it all. Dani and Mecca are on a mission. They came from poverty and earned a taste of the good life. With a plan in motion to go from ratchet to riches, will they be able to trust a former enemy or will they go tumbling back to the trenches? Dive into the conclusion right here, right now!