In Room for Love by Andrea Meyer, Jacquie Stuart has just turned thirty-two and she wants to do a major rewrite on her life. Her salary at a snarky film magazine barely covers her mortgage, her bratty sister has staked permanent claim to her couch, her best friend is in an obscenely happy marriage, and the only guy who really gets her is gay. Worst of all, she keeps falling for broke, self-involved commitment-phobes. Needing moonlighting money, Jacquie gets the idea of investigating a new dating trend—looking for Mr. Right in the "Roommate Wanted" ads. After a bunch of colorful near-misses that bring her into the slums of the East Village, the brownstones of Brooklyn, and the dingier digs of the Upper East Side, Jacquie thinks she's finally found the man she's been looking for and stuns her friends by moving out of her beloved apartment—and into his. Complications ensue when her live-in love reveals some alarming imperfections, the irresistible artist who dumped her wants her back... and what is up with the mystery man living in the charming one-bedroom she left behind? Jacquie has been looking for love in other people's homes all over town, but could the key to her happiness lie right under her very own roof?
A sleepy house in post-war Britain, a happy one-parent family...but when a retired Naval Officer brings home a new wife, things look anything but shipshape. Set in the romantic Northumbrian countryside during the heady days of the 1960s, this heartwarming story of love, acceptance and forgiveness is told with honesty and humour.
An attraction that is both immediate and undeniable…. When sexy Texas rancher Beth Harman hires strong, tan, and ruggedly handsome Jo Merrick to build a room onto her remote cabin they both know there’s trouble ahead. Three years after the death of her beloved partner, Jo tries to resist Beth in order to honor her commitment to the past. As Beth and her daughter Tracy begin to chip away at the walls Jo has built around her heart, she begins to believe that she could find love again. But Beth’s past, too, threatens this new passion: when Jo learns Beth’s terrible secret—and discovers that Beth has another lover—she tries to protect her heart and walk away. Were it not for the series of dramatic events that follow, and Beth’s commitment to their fledgling relationship, Jo might never again make room for love.
This is an emotionally powerful love story about family, commitment, and living in the midst of dying. It is a unique memoir written not by an individual who is dying, but by a spouse faced with caregiving and loss. It is targeted for family members facing the terminal illness of their loved one as well as the professionals who are responsible to care for them. Debbie Oliver’s husband David is diagnosed with stage IV metastatic cancer and she realizes that the life as they know it is over. Debbie experiences fear about how he will die, how she will cope, and how she will go on without him. David focuses on living rather than dying, choosing to teach others about his experience and leading the family to focus on making memories. David and Debbie create 26 YouTube videos related to their experience that become a teaching tool to educate medical students, health care professionals, friends and family. An Associated Press story on David and the videos leads to an appearance on CBS This Morning. The videos encourage the family to talk about things, and not to hide from the cancer, they provide social support from friends and strangers, and they facilitate conversations within classrooms and between people all over the world. After David finishes chemo, it’s time to attack his bucket list. The family travels extensively from Europe to the Artic Circle. Debbie finds these trips bittersweet, knowing she will someday be traveling alone. David coins the acronym, HOPE—to die at Home, surrounded by Others, Pain-free, and Excited until the end to describe his goals for the end of his days. The cancer reappears but David decides against more chemo, and he and Debbie realize that this is the real moment he’s looking death in the face. The caregiving burden grows and the kids start coming over to help. David starts saying his goodbyes. While the last days are terribly sad, they also leave Debbie with sweet moments she’ll never forget. Debbie does everything she can to let him die at home, surrounded by others, pain free and excited until the end. She gathers his loved ones, does her best to keep him comfortable, and in the end says goodbye and thanks him for loving her. Before David dies, he writes 26 letters to friends and family to be mailed after he passes. They are each personal, and emotional. David chooses to have his ashes scattered at Loch Vale Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. He has Debbie plan the trip before he passes so he can picture it happening, and knows it will officially take place. Life goes on despite David’s loss leaving a big hole in Debbie’s life. She thrives on her family time, accepts that it’s okay to be sad, and moves on in a way that doesn’t let David go, but doesn’t keep her mired only in the grief. Debbie learns to do things alone that she and David had always done together. She joins a support group as she tries to figure out her new identity, and the whole family leans on each other as they continue to process their loss. Debbie has things she needs to say to David and writes him an emotional letter outlining the things she misses and the ways she has handled and mishandled her grief. Her letter is a moving description of how she is trying to rebuild her life, following David’s advice to focus on the love to manage the grief. The story ends as Debbie builds a new house behind her old one and reflects on how she has learned to look back at the past but live in her new world today.
When Christian singer and speaker Staci Frenes learned her teenage daughter was gay, she found her dreams for the future--along with her lifelong faith--collapsing around her. Coming to terms with a new reality was a challenge--and an invitation--to make room for many things along the way: the inevitability of uncertainty, hope in the midst of loss, awkward and tough conversations, an expanding faith, and a greater understanding of how people are more the same than different. In Love Makes Room, Frenes helps readers see that a reimagined future may look different than our old hoped-for pictures of ourselves and our families, but it can also be wider, deeper, and more fulfilling than we ever dreamed.
"Mama, something terrible is wrong with me. There is blood in my panties!" Those were the words of seven-year-old Sarah. Mama told her she must have fallen or something and not to worry. Sarah went away feeling sad; her chance for help was gone! It was Sarah's alter, Susie, who had been sticking pencils and other items in her private place. Susie had come when Sarah was only four years old. Susie had become Daddy's 'special' little girl by sitting on his lap. In return he gave her a dollar for any change she had. Daddy played with Susie's pee pee and it was Susie that slept in the upstairs bedroom with her fourteen-year-old brother. Later in life, two other alters would appear. "You Love Your Daddy, Don't You?" is told through the memories of Sarah. It reveals a child's determination to survive despite profound emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. This was compounded by constant neglect from both parents. About the Author: Sarah Harrison has written several articles for the Women's Institute for Incorporation Therapy's monthly newsletter as well as articles for spiritual magazines. She also volunteers as a mentor in a local school system, helps with special group activities in an assisted living home, and provides guidance to troubled parents and teens on www.experts.com. After the death of her husband, Sarah Harrison moved from Atlanta, Georgia in 2007 to a suburb near Charlotte, North Carolina to be near her grandchildren. She has joined Harrison United Methodist Church and is active in Youth Group, Emmaus, Epiphany, and Faith Partners.
Top family therapist Diane Levy gives clear parenting guidelines in this bestselling title. This book presents a modern approach to parenting. Diane Levy believes children must be taught to experience and handle their emotions and they must learn self-discipline. She also believes that it takes about twenty years to raise a child. Within that twenty years, you will have taught - or led your child towards the teaching of all the skills they will need to function in the world away from home. Levy's approach to parenting has two main tenets: Emotional Support and Limit Setting. The first responsibility of parents is to give children emotional support so that they will have the courage to have the experiences and do the learning that they need to become emotionally independent adults. The second responsibility is to set suitable boundaries and expectations so that they can safely tread the path from undisciplined babies to self-disciplined adults. Diane Levy uses her approach to parenting in the context of modern society. In many families both parents work, and many parents work and raise children single-handedly; in order to establish a good family structure clear boundaries must exist between parent and child. She discusses specific issues, such as sibling rivalry, bullying and nasty habits. Readers may dip into the book to find immediate help for problems with sleeping, eating and toilet training. Sex education and strategies for coping with teenagers are also covered; with the last part of the book summing up simple parenting strategies.
