Wild in the Hollow: On Chasing Desire and Finding the Broken Way Home


Amber C. Haines - 2015
    Like Eve in the Garden, she craved the fruit that she thought would lead her to freedom. But the whispers of temptation led her instead down a devastating path toward isolation, dissatisfaction, and life-altering choices. In her most broken moment, Amber met God waiting for her in the fallout, freely offering her grace and life.This is a story of the God who makes himself known in broken places. In prose that is at once lyrical and utterly honest, a brave new voice takes readers on a windswept journey down the path of brokenness to healing, satisfaction, and true intimacy with God. Amber calls readers to dispense with the pretty bows we use to dress up our stories and instead trust God to take our untidy, unfinished lives and make them free, authentic, and whole. Anyone who struggles with doubt or holds secrets, anyone who feels marginalized or like she is missing something, will find in Amber a sister and an inviting voice back home, into the heart of God.

The Shift: Surviving and Thriving After Moving from Conservative to Progressive Christianity


Colby Martin - 2020
    The movement from conservative to progressive Christianity is a serious shift. Colby Martin has traversed this treacherous territory, survived its hardships, and is now turning around to share what he's learned. This book is a friendly survival guide to help followers of Jesus navigate the strange and confusing landscape when shifting from conservative to progressive Christianity. This book will prepare progressive Christians (from long-time progressives to those just starting out) for the pitfalls awaiting them as they shift out of their conservative world, and it will equip them for a more abundant, thriving, and peace-filled spiritual life.

Into The Rip


Damien Cave - 2021
    Having covered the war in Iraq and moved to Mexico City with two babies in nappies, he and his wife Diana thought they understood something about the subject.But when they arrived in Sydney so that Cave could establish The New York Times's Australia Bureau, life near the ocean confronted them with new ideas and questions, at odds with their American mindset that risk was a matter of individual choices. Surf-lifesaving and Nippers showed that perhaps it could be managed together, by communities. And instead of being either eliminated or romanticised, it might instead be respected and even embraced.And so Cave set out to understand how our current attitude to risk developed - and why it's not necessarily good for us.Into the Rip is partly the story of this New York family learning to live better by living with the sea and it is partly the story of how humans manage the idea of risk. Interviewing experts and everyday heroes, Cave asks critical questions like: Is safety overrated? Why do we miscalculate risk so often and how can we improve? Is it selfish to take risks or can more exposure make for stronger families, citizens and nations? And how do we factor in legitimate fears and major disasters like Cave has covered in his time here: the Black Summer fires; the Christchurch massacre; and, of course, Covid?The result is Grit meets Phosphorescence and Any Ordinary Day - a book that will change the way you and your family think about facing the world's hazards.

Buddhism for the Unbelievably Busy


Meshel Laurie - 2017
    It’s a book about making it stop.What if I told you that a lot of what keeps you unbelievably busy is not only pointless, but avoidable, nonsensical and entirely driven by your own fears, insecurities and ego? You’d probably want to slap me, if you could find the time, right?Don’t worry, I was once just like you: exhausted, harried, overcommitted and flummoxed as to what to cut back on. I’m not completely cured, but for the first time in years I have room to breathe and to think about what kind of life I really want to live. And I have Buddhism to thank for this.In this book I’ve compiled the teachings, ideas and practices that got me to this point. Buddhism helped me dig deep to discover why I was determined to do so much, and why I was so afraid to stand still and be alone with myself. It’s not hippy-trippy stuff, believe me. Buddhism is just as relevant and practical in our modern world as it’s ever been.As crazy as it sounds, I’m asking you to add one more thing to your list today: read this book, and let it help you free yourself from the grind of your unbelievable busyness. Live the peaceful life you know you deserve and be the person you want to be.

Anger Management for Beginners: A Self-Help Course in 70 Lessons


Giles Coren - 2010
    Star of BBC's Supersizers and hugely popular Times columnist's works through his anger about everything from dogs to cycle helmets.

Guts: The Endless Follies and Tiny Triumphs of a Giant Disaster


Kristen Johnston - 2012
    And even if I could somehow stop, I’d still be screwed, because there’s no way I’d ever be able to figure out how to open those insane, cocaine-designed doors.” The two-time Emmy Award-winning actress has written her first book, a surprisingly raw and triumphant memoir that is outrageous, moving, sweet, tragic, and heartbreakingly honest. GUTS is a true triumph—a memoir that manages to be as frank and revealing as Augusten Burroughs, yet as hilarious and witty as David Sedaris. With GUTS, Johnston takes us on a journey so truthful and relatable, so remarkably fresh, it promises to stay with the reader for a long, long time.

The Year of Living Virtuously: Weekends Off


Teresa Jordan - 2014
    He soon gave up on perfection but continued to believe that these virtues, coupled with a generous heart and a bemused acceptance of human frailty, laid the foundation for not only a good life but also a workable society.Writer and visual artist Teresa Jordan wondered if Franklin’s perhaps antiquated notions of virtue might offer guidance to a nation increasingly divided by angry righteousness. She decided to try to live his list for a year, focusing on each virtue for a week at a time and taking weekends off to attend to the seven deadly sins.The journal she kept became this collection of beautifully illustrated essays, weaving personal anecdotes with the views of theologians, philosophers, ethicists, evolutionary biologists, and a whole range of scholars and scientists within the emerging field of consciousness studies.Teresa Jordan offers a wry and intimate journey into a year in midlife devoted to the challenge of trying to live authentically.

Palace of the Drowned


Christine ManganChristine Mangan - 2021
    Years have passed since the initial success of Frankie's debut novel and she has spent her career trying to live up to the expectations. Now, after a particularly scathing review of her most recent work, alongside a very public breakdown, she needs to recharge and get re-inspired.Then Gilly appears. A precocious young admirer eager to make friends, Gilly seems determined to insinuate herself into Frankie's solitary life. But there's something about the young woman that gives Frankie pause. How much of what Gilly tells her is the truth? As a series of lies and revelations emerge, the lives of these two women will be tragically altered as the catastrophic 1966 flooding of Venice ravages the city.Suspenseful and transporting, Christine Mangan's Palace of the Drowned brings the mystery of Venice to life while delivering a twisted tale of ambition and human nature.

A Boy and his Dog


Chloe Holiday - 2021
    Hope Hernandez were any more exhausted, she'd be the one on the gurney. Her drive for perfection leaves her scrambling to juggle an insane ER schedule, studying for boards, and her boyfriend—whoops! Ex-boyfriend.Fine. One less thing demanding her attention. Hope buries her pain in work. The truth is she’d get more affection from a dog, with less risk to her heart. Safe and uncomplicated. The second she sees the forlorn, retired military K9, Hope falls hard: he's sad and alone, just like her. They head to Colorado, aiming for a fresh start—if she can score the coveted ER job. Yet when a scorching hot veteran shows up to lay claim to her dog, he disrupts her careful plan. He's anything but safe—he’s dynamite. And he's oh, so wrong if he thinks he can charm Hope into giving up her loyal companion.Bomb disposal technician Grant Calloway's whole life blows up after an IED detonates at a Kosovo parade. He and his working dog, Mojo, save hundreds with their off-duty heroism, but reality bites hard: Mired in red tape, then bounced out of the Army for hearing loss, Grant's blindsided when Mojo's adopted out by a civilian who won't understand the needs of a military-trained dog. Grant's best friend deserves better. Grant turns his back on a lucrative job and instead hits the road for Colorado to track down his dog.He thought finding Mojo would be the hardest part, but the woman who took him won't listen to reason, and Grant's charm has no effect. Refusing to be diverted by her big brown eyes and gorgeous smile, Grant lays siege to reacquire Mojo—by whatever means necessary.A Boy and his Dog is a steamy, enemies-to-lovers medical / military romance. It contains profanity and sex scenes.

Baby City


Freida McFadden - 2015
     Nobody knows this truth better than Emily McCoy, a third year resident working in Baby City, the affectionate nickname for the busy Labor and Delivery unit at a New York City hospital. On a typical day in Baby City, Emily delivers more babies than the number of hours of sleep she manages to squeeze in that night. And definitely more than the number of dates she's been on since she started her training in OB/GYN two years earlier. As Emily works tirelessly to safely herald baby after baby after baby (after baby) into the world, she becomes well acquainted with the three hard facts of Baby City: 1) Babies never come when you want them to. 2) Babies always come when you don't want them to. 3) You don't know who your true friends are until your baby is sliding down the birth canal.

The Existence Of God Is Self-Evident


Choa Kok Sui - 2012
    Such a straightforward book that has multiple layers of energy and helps develop spirituality just by daily reading. This treasure reveals: The path of knowledge & understanding Union of spirituality and science The I Am Spiritual Findings Spiritual evolution and its cyclical trends

Available: A Very Honest Account of Life After Divorce


Laura Friedman WilliamsLaura Friedman Williams - 2021
    Sure, their sex had become a little formulaic, and yes, their life together mostly revolved around their kids, but whose doesn’t?Then came the shocking, utterly clichéd discovery of his affair. Five months of emotional turmoil later, Laura found herself single for the first time in 27 years and with two choices: to eke out her existence, or reinvent herself. A little encouragement from her friends and one astonishing one-night stand later, she realised that she had a sexual appetite she’d never explored, and that being a mother didn’t mean she had to ignore it. She could be independent, a good mother, and have a great sex life all at the same time… couldn’t she? From G-spots to bald spots, dirty talk to dating fiascos, Available is the unflinchingly honest, empowering, and humorous true story of a life turned downside up.

My Big Bottom Blessing: How Hating My Body Led to Loving My Life


Teasi Cannon - 2009
    In My Big Bottom Blessing, author Teasi Cannon offers a way out of distorted body images and the pain of self-rejection. She says, “My obsession with fat and failure robbed me of a lot of the good in my life. I have been miraculously set free from the lie that being thin equals being beautiful.”My Big Bottom Blessing offers Teasi’s story—and real-life solutions for the millions of young women who struggle with poor self-esteem and feelings of inadequacy. Whatever it is that you despise most about yourself (it doesn’t have to be weight) can become the catalyst for serious life change. Teasi’s story proves that emotional pain can be healed, and real self-confidence found from knowing that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. My Big Bottom Blessing is a joyful and wise guide to exchanging the limitations of a merely human body image for the liberty of knowing that we are made in the image of God.Every woman will find herself—and a new way of seeing—in this life-changing book.Wynonna JuddRegardless of what you weigh or the crazy diets you may have tried, My Big Bottom Blessing will set you free!Constance RhodesIf you are tired of being defined by your pant size or three little numbers on a scale, this book is for you.Allison Allen

The Tao of the Dude: Awesome Insights of Deep Dudes from Lao Tzu to Lebowski


Oliver Benjamin - 2015
    Throughout history, these lounge-chair revolutionaries have helped correct civilization’s ills and excesses with a mellow, lighthearted, live-and-let live attitude. From Lao Tzu to Lebowski, Epicurus to Einstein, The Buddha to Bob Dylan, all have reminded humanity what is most important in life: personal liberty, peace of mind, leisure time and good friends.Bringing together some of the greatest ideas, quotes and insights Dudeosophy has had to offer, THE TAO OF THE DUDE is not only a virtual Ph.D in Dudeism, but also a soothing sectional sofa for the soul.Each chapter contains an essay and illustration by the founder of Dudeism, followed by an assortment of quotes and passages that show how Dudeism has existed throughout history, down through the generations, across the sands of time...

Table in the Darkness: A Healing Journey Through an Eating Disorder


Lee Wolfe Blum - 2013
    . . . When I heard the words my mind decoded it like this: You. Are. Fat. Fat was not good. No, fat was bad. I would not be fat. I stood in front of the full-length mirror in my dorm room and inspected the extra parts. These extra parts needed fixing my stomach, my thighs, and those cheeks that were round and puffy, like two big apples on the side of my face. I would fix this. Fixing was my forte. These were the thoughts that plagued Lee Blum during her teens and into her twenties.They drove her to an eating disorder and exercise addiction. Eventually, she found herself hospitalized with clinical depression. But that's not the end of the story: drawing strength from psychological, physiological and spiritual sources, she found her voice again. If you or someone you love has been at this dark table, you will find her story enlightening and encouraging.