Book picks similar to
The Big Hustle: A Boston Street Kid's Story of Addiction and Redemption by Jim Wahlberg
non-fiction
nonfiction
christian
adult
Heaven Is Here: An Incredible Story of Hope, Triumph, and Everyday Joy
Stephanie Nielson - 2012
She quickly attracted a loyal following that was captivated by the upbeat mother happily raising her young children, madly in love with her husband, Christian (Mr. Nielson to her readers), and filled with gratitude for her blessed life.However, everything changed in an instant on a sunny day in August 2008, when Stephanie and Christian were in a horrific plane crash. Christian was burned over 40 percent of his body, and Stephanie was on the brink of death, with burns over 80 percent of her body. She would remain in a coma for four months.In the aftermath of this harrowing tragedy, Stephanie maintained a stunning sense of humor, optimism, and resilience. She has since shared this strength of spirit with others through her blog, in magazine features, and on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Now, in this moving memoir, Stephanie tells the full, extraordinary story of her unlikely recovery and the incredible love behind it—from a riveting account of the crash to all that followed in its wake. With vivid detail, Stephanie recounts her emotional and physical journey, from her first painful days after awakening from the coma to the first time she saw her face in the mirror, the first kiss she shared with Christian after the accident, and the first time she talked to her children after their long separation. She also reflects back on life before the accident, to her happy childhood as one of nine siblings, her close-knit community and strong Mormon faith, and her fairy-tale love story, all of which became her foundation of strength as she rebuilt her life.What emerges from the wreckage of a tragic accident is a unique perspective on joy, beauty, and overcoming adversity that is as gripping as it is inspirational. Heaven Is Here is a poignant reminder of how faith and family, love and community can bolster us, sustain us, and quite literally, in some cases, save us.
When Uriel Sang: Parenting an Exceptional Child
Danny Or Fuchs - 2016
After the end of his first marriage, Danny is remarried to Nataly, the love of his life. When their beautiful baby boy, Uriel, is diagnosed with autism, their lives are changed forever. At first, the family is devastated, anxious and confused, but the complex situations they are faced with will teach them insightful lessons and change them forever, as a couple, as parents and as human beings.
An exceptional story of fate, devotion, love and dedication that proves hope is the strongest weapon of all.
As Danny narrates in his honest and passionate tone, that will melt your heart and touch your soul, the family suddenly finds itself struggling with inconsiderate institutes and indifferent bureaucracy; dealing with social ignorance, discrimination and prejudice; coping with rejection, failure, frustration, anger, self-doubt and despair; collecting small victories, weaving dreams and making the impossible come true. By Exposing the most intimate and personal situations, it reveals a powerful and exciting world that is usually left out of sight, and teaches voluble lessons that are relevant to all.
Open your minds to an exceptional life story: prepare to laugh, cry, love, and believe.
When Uriel Sang exposes the topic of autism and addresses the general issue of exceptional people and people with differences. It promotes openness to unique children and adults in our society and opens one’s mind to see them as our equals, and not as a burden. It is an unforgettable journey for any reader, at any age. Get your copy of When Uriel Sang now!
Made Well: Finding Wholeness in the Everyday Sacred Moments
Jenny Simmons - 2016
When he walked the earth, Jesus said to an unwell man, "Do you want to be made well?" His invitation stretched beyond physical healing--he sought to restore the soul. The same invitation stands for us today.For anyone struggling on the journey toward wholeness, singer/songwriter Jenny Simmons offers a resting place and a friend along the way. With personal insight into emotional pain, she invites readers to encounter a God who is working out their restoration--often in surprising "half-baked" ways. Her humorous and inspirational prose lights a path toward wholeness. Anyone trying to find their way to spiritual, mental, and emotional healing will benefit from Jenny's vulnerable and compassionate stories of being made well in the midst of a messy life.
Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: A Devout Muslim Encounters Christianity
Nabeel Qureshi - 2014
Providing an intimate window into a loving Muslim home, Qureshi shares how he developed a passion for Islam before discovering, almost against his will, evidence that Jesus rose from the dead and claimed to be God. Unable to deny the arguments but not wanting to deny his family, Qureshi's inner turmoil will challenge Christians and Muslims alike. Engaging and thought-provoking, Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus tells a powerful story of the clash between Islam and Christianity in one man's heart---and of the peace he eventually found in Jesus.
A Grief Observed
C.S. Lewis - 1961
S. Lewis's wife, the American-born poet Joy Davidman. In her introduction to this new edition, Madeleine L'Engle writes: "I am grateful to Lewis for having the courage to yell, to doubt, to kick at God in angry violence. This is a part of a healthy grief which is not often encouraged. It is helpful indeed that C. S. Lewis, who has been such a successful apologist for Christianity, should have the courage to admit doubt about what he has so superbly proclaimed. It gives us permission to admit our own doubts, our own angers and anguishes, and to know that they are part of the soul's growth."Written in longhand in notebooks that Lewis found in his home, A Grief Observed probes the "mad midnight moments" of Lewis's mourning and loss, moments in which he questioned what he had previously believed about life and death, marriage, and even God. Indecision and self-pity assailed Lewis. "We are under the harrow and can't escape," he writes. "I know that the thing I want is exactly the thing I can never get. The old life, the jokes, the drinks, the arguments, the lovemaking, the tiny, heartbreaking commonplace." Writing A Grief Observed as "a defense against total collapse, a safety valve," he came to recognize that "bereavement is a universal and integral part of our experience of love."Lewis writes his statement of faith with precision, humor, and grace. Yet neither is Lewis reluctant to confess his continuing doubts and his awareness of his own human frailty. This is precisely the quality which suggests that A Grief Observed may become "among the great devotional books of our age."
The End of Me: Finding Resurrection Life in the Daily Sacrifices of Motherhood
Liz Wann - 2021
In this book, she writes honestly about these deeply challenging aspects of motherhood and how God works through them to make us more like his Son.This short, easy-to-read book encourages mothers to depend on Christ when they reach the end of themselves. They will find that God will supply what they need to cope with the daily sacrifices and challenges of motherhood, and that he will use these struggles to make them more like Christ.
The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert: An English Professor's Journey Into Christian Faith
Rosaria Champagne Butterfield - 2012
She had a tenured position at a large university in a field for which she cared deeply. She owned two homes with her partner, in which they provided hospitality to students and activists that were looking to make a difference in the world. There, her partner rehabilitated abandoned and abused dogs. In the community, Rosaria was involved in volunteer work. At the university, she was a respected advisor of students and her department’s curriculum. And then, in her late 30s, Rosaria encountered something that turned her world upside down—the idea that Christianity, a religion that she had regarded as problematic and sometimes downright damaging, might be right about who God was, an idea that flew in the face of the people and causes that she most loved. What follows is a story of what she describes as a “train wreck” at the hand of the supernatural. These are her secret thoughts about those events, written as only a reflective English professor could."Conversion put me in a complicated and comprehensive chaos. I sometimes wonder, when I hear other Christians pray for the salvation of the “lost,” if they realize that this comprehensive chaos is the desired end of such prayers. Often, people asked me to describe the “lessons” that I learned from this experience. I can’t. It was too traumatic. Sometimes in crisis, we don’t really learn lessons. Sometimes the result is simpler and more profound: sometimes our character is simply transformed." —Rosaria Butterfield
Double Play
Ben Zobrist - 2014
Written with his wife, Christian singer Julianna Zobrist, and MikeYorkey, best-selling author of Every Man's Battle and Linspired: The Remarkable Rise of Jeremy Lin, the book gives fans a first look into the heart of an athlete whose talent and devotion to God, family, and baseball make him one of the most loveable figures in the Major League today.
Of Moose and Men: Lost and Found in Alaska
Torry Martin - 2016
He found what he was looking for...and a lot more!A moose got its head stuck in Torry's window. A reindeer was trapped in his kitchen. A bear almost prevented him from reaching his airplane. He once woke up frozen to his cabin floor.Like the Israelites of old, Torry experienced plenty of miracles and mishaps in the wilderness. And like them, he came face-to-face with God and was changed forever.Each of these true stories of Torry's hilarious blunders and misfortunes contains a nugget of truth, but one theme prevails: If God can reclaim and repurpose Torry Martin's life, He can do the same for you and those you love.
The Devil is Afraid of Me
Gabriele Amorth - 2020
All the while, he deftly used modern media to awaken our disbelieving modern culture — and even the Church — to the reality of the Devil and his nefarious actions at all times and everywhere.In these eye-opening pages, angelologist Father Marcello Stanzione tells the fascinating story of Father Amorth and his life as an exorcist. You’ll learn of his daily schedule and how he managed to perform dozens of exorcisms each week. You’ll find out what his exorcism room looked like, and how various devils responded to his bold practice. Best of all, you’ll read Father Amorth’s own startling explanations of many truths about the Devil that our culture has forgotten — and about the canny methods the Deceiver has adopted in recent years to corrupt believers and unbelievers alike. Among the many questions Father Amorth answers here are:•How can we recognize the action of the Evil One?•Can a person in the afterlife enter spiritually into a living person?•Which prayers of liberation are the most successful?•What are the four methods a demon uses to enter souls?•Can demons hide from an exorcist?•What are the six characteristics of evil spells?•Are all instances of clairvoyance managed by demons?•Is an exorcist infallible in his judgment and his ministry?•Why is there no longer any possibility of salvation for the fallen angels?•What are the arms of combat that each of us must use to do battle with evil?•And many more surprising facts about the Evil One and how to resist him.“We can do nothing against you because you are too protected!” cried the devils that Father Amorth battled. Let Father Amorth teach you in these pages how you, too, can be protected!
Touching Heaven: Real Stories of Children, Life, and Eternity
Leanne Hadley - 2013
It is when children are sick, even dying, that they can suddenly bring us closer to God ourselves. Children's minister and former children's hospital chaplain Leanne Hadley has been ministering to hurting children for years. In "Touching Heaven," she recounts the poignant stories and simple faith of the remarkable children she has been privileged to serve. She shares their encounters with God, Jesus, and angels. And with humor and tenderness, she offers their inspiring testimonies to the presence of God in our lives--even as earthly life is ending. Anyone who has lost a child or another loved one, or anyone who is currently supporting a dying person along the journey, will find in these stories comfort, inspiration, and hope of everlasting life.
The Cost of My Faith: How a Decision in My Cake Shop Took Me to the Supreme Court
Jack Phillips - 2021
In a brief exchange, Jack politely declined the request, explaining that he could not design cakes for same-sex weddings but offered to design cakes for other occasions and to sell them anything else in his shop. Little did Jack know that his quiet stand for his Christian convictions about marriage would become a battle for the right of all Americans to live out their faith. Now, Jack Phillips shares his harrowing experience for the first time in this powerful new memoir. The Cost of My Faith is Jack’s firsthand account from the frontlines of the battle with a culture that is making every effort to remove God from the public square and a government denying Bible-believing Christians the right to freely exercise their religious beliefs. Despite a Supreme Court victory in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, the fight to protect the right of Americans to freely exercise their beliefs is more critical than ever. The Cost of My Faith provides new insight into the case that shook the country and offers readers courage and inspiration to stand and live out their faith when facing their own battles.
To Air is Human: One Man's Quest to Become the World's Greatest Air Guitarist
Björn Türoque - 2006
The true story of how mildly successful guitarist and New York Times writer Dan Crane relinquished his instrument and became Björn Türoque (pronounced "b-yorn too-RAWK"), the second greatest air guitarist in the nation. This exploration of the international air guitar sub-culture addresses the issue of dedicating oneself to an invisible art in order to achieve the ultimate goal of "airness"-that is, when air guitar transcends the "real" art that it imitates and becomes an art form in and of itself.
The Keeper Of Lime Rock: The Remarkable True Story Of Ida Lewis, America's Most Celebrated Lighthouse Keeper
Lenore Skomal - 2002
Hailed for her lifesaving efforts by President Ulysses S. Grant, Admiral Dewey, Susan B. Anthony, and other luminaries of the day, Lewis was the first person awarded a Congressional medal for her years of bravery and extraordinary heroism. Weaving thrilling nautical adventures with tales of other female lighthouse keepers, this compelling biography opens a fascinating and previously unexplored chapter in the history of American women.
A Pilgrimage to Eternity: From Canterbury to Rome in Search of a Faith
Timothy Egan - 2019
He embarked on a thousand-mile pilgrimage through the theological cradle of Christianity, exploring one of the biggest stories of our time: the collapse of religion in the world that it created. Egan sets out along the Via Francigena, once the major medieval trail leading the devout to Rome, and makes his way overland via the alpine peaks and small mountain towns of France, Switzerland and Italy. The goal: walking to St. Peter's Square, in hopes of meeting the galvanizing pope who is struggling to hold together the church through the worst crisis in half a millennium.Making his way through a landscape laced with some of the most important shrines to the faith, Egan finds a modern Canterbury Tale in the chapel where Queen Bertha introduced Christianity to pagan Britain; parses the supernatural in a French town built on miracles; and journeys to the oldest abbey in the Western world, founded in 515 and home to continuous prayer over the 1,500 years that have followed. He is accompanied by a quirky cast of fellow pilgrims and by some of the towering figures of the faith--Joan of Arc, Henry VIII, Martin Luther.A thrilling journey, a family story, and a revealing history, A Pilgrimage to Eternity looks for our future in its search for God.One of Oprah's Must-Read Books of Fall 2019