Toni Wells is a successful churchgoing career woman with full custody of her son. But her commitments escalate as she deals with defiant behavior from five-year-old Ben and takes a niece into her home. Toni cuts her hours temporarily to part-time, terrified of "losing herself completely" to her family. Then she discovers that Ben has been photographed and molested by a child pornographer. Toni must finally make a choice that's not really a choice: "Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it" (Mark 8:35, NIV).
When career woman Toni Wells discovers that her five-year-old has been molested by a child pornographer, she must finally choose between maintaining her own lifestyle and helping her son recover.
"At a time when the forces of administrative despotism are on the march and Winfreyesque rhetoric passes for moral leadership and intellectual sophistication, Brian Danoff and L. Joseph Hebert, Jr., have assembled a compelling collection of timely essays on the political thought of Alexis de Tocqueville, that liberal thinker of the first rank who endeavored to see f̀urther than the parties' without any pretense to post-partisanship, who understood that more democracy is not always the answer to every problem of democracy, and who concerned himself with educating democratic peoples so that they may live together as free citizens rather than exist independently as dependent subjects. This fine collection situates Tocqueville within the history of ideas, ancient and modern, and examines the significance of his observations, predictions, and prescriptions as they pertain to a wide variety of topics with contemporary relevance. The chapters in this volume articulate the proper relationship between political theory, political science, and political practice, emphasizing the necessity for genuine republican statesmanship while honestly wondering about its chances given the trajectory of late modern America."--Travis D. Smith. Concordia University, Montreal.
In a lively exploration of Jacques Offenbach's final masterpiece, Heather Hadlock shows how Les Contes d'Hoffmann summed up not only the composer's career but also a century of Romantic culture. A strange fusion of irony and profundity, frivolity and nightmare, the opera unfolds as a series of dreamlike episodes, peopled by such archetypes as the Poet, the Beautiful Dying Girl, the Automaton, the Courtesan, and the Mesmerist. Hadlock shows how these episodes comprise a collective unconscious. Her analyses touch on topics ranging from the self-reflexive style of the protagonist and the music, to parallels between nineteenth-century discourses of theater and medical science, to fascination with the hysterical female subject. Les Contes d'Hoffmann is also examined as both a continuation and a retraction of tendencies in Offenbach's earlier operettas and opéra-comiques. Hadlock investigates the political climate of the 1870s that influenced the composer's vision and the reception of his last work. Drawing upon insights from feminist, literary, and cultural theory, she considers how the opera's music and libretto took shape within a complex literary and theatrical tradition. Finally, Hadlock ponders the enigmas posed by the score of this unfinished opera, which has been completed many times and by many different hands since its composer's death shortly before the premiere in 1881. In this book, the "mad loves" that drive Les Contes d'Hoffmann--a poet's love, a daughter's love, erotic love, and fatal attraction to music--become figures for the fascination exercised by opera itself.
Queer Italy is the first multi-methodological inquiry into the historical, political and representational contexts behind the current plea for civil unions that queers advocate in Italy. Concerned with the links between identity, subjectivity and sexuality in Italy, this book opens Italian studies to previously neglected discussion of queer and migrant subjectivities. The author applies Lacanian film analysis and auto-ethnographic passages to question the uses of queer politics in Italy. Accessible and comprehensive, this is an ideal text for undergraduate and graduate courses on Italian culture, cultural studies and film studies.
In Sarah Collins’s mind, only one thing stands in the way of her success . . . an unborn baby. Sarah is about to receive a promotion that will give her everything she’s ever wanted: a huge pay increase, a new car, a fabulous apartment, and first-class travel. But then she discovers she’s pregnant. And while she thinks she loves her boyfriend, Matt, she isn’t sure he’s mature enough to be a responsible father. And the job she’s pursuing is open only because the previous employee is out on maternity leave. Sarah would never be able to handle the travel as a single mom. Torn between advice from her coworkers, the insistence of her mother and sister that she keep the baby, her insecurity about her relationship with Matt, and the void where her father should be, Sarah has no idea how to make this decision. A Christmas card from a mysterious old woman is the catalyst for three visions of her future—and just may be the miracle she needs. But can she trust the visions? Are they the yearnings of a conflicted heart? Or are they true visions from the God she thought had turned His back on her? For every woman who has made painful decisions, Sarah’s Choice offers comfort, wisdom and hope. "This story provides a bit of encouragement and hope to those facing a difficult decision." —Romantic Times, 4-star review "A thought-provoking and stirring story of painful choices and their ramifications. For any woman who has had to make a difficult decision, this book . . . will provide inspiration, hope, and solace to battered souls." —Library Journal "Written with deep compassion, gentle humor, and incredible insight." —CBA Retailers + Resources
Ana Clavel is a remarkable contemporary Mexican writer whose literary and multimedia oeuvre is marked by its queerness. The queer is evinced in the manner in which she disturbs conceptions of the normal not only by representing outlaw sexualities and dark desires but also by incorporating into her fictive and multimedia worlds that which is at odds with normalcy as evinced in the presence of the fantastical, the shadow, ghosts, cyborgs, golems and even urinals. Clavels literary trajectory follows a queer path in the sense that she has moved from singular modes of creative expression in the form of literary writing, a traditional print medium, towards other non-literary forms. Some of Clavels works have formed the basis of wider multimedia projects involving collaboration with various artists, photographers, performers and IT experts. Her works embrace an array of hybrid forms including the audiovisual, internet-enabled technology, art installation, (video) performance and photography. By foregrounding the queer heterogeneous narrative themes, techniques and multimedia dimension of Clavels oeuvre, the aim of this monograph is to attest to her particular contribution to Hispanic letters, which arguably is as significant as that of more established Spanish American boom femenino women writers.
With over 25 years experience as a professional tutor and test prep expert, Lisa Muehle offers her secrets, tips and techniques in two companion test prep guides for students tackling the SAT: Strategies for Success on the SAT: Mathematics Section & Strategies for Success on the SAT: Critical Reading & Writing Sections 25-Minute Written Essay: Tips for Writing a Winner! Sample SAT Essays: Different Score Levels with Full Scoring Explanation Grammar Made Easy: Spot Classic SAT Grammar Traps (Multiple-Choice Writing Questions) Keys to Unlock Critical Reading Selections: Short, Long, and Dual Passages Secrets to Sentence Completions: Proven Techniques to Succeed with Challenging Vocabulary! "My two oldest sons have attended the Colloquium Test Prep Course for the SAT for four years now, and with another son in the 6th grade, as a family we will attend for a total of nine years! Lisa Muehle provides dynamic instruction in a clear and comprehensive style. Not only have my sons increased their test taking abilities, their grades in their Honors English and Honors math classes continue to grow stronger. My sons are enthusiastic about the course and always come away with valuable instruction. Lisa's methods have given my sons the confidence they need to succeed on the SAT. I highly recommend Lisa Muehle's instruction to students looking to better their SAT scores." -Wendy Pierce, Laguna Beach, California (Mother of Tyler, Dillon and Trevor Pierce) "The Colloquium Test Prep Course for the SAT offered by Lisa Muehle and her staff is doing a tremendous job in preparing our children for success on the SAT test. With the small group setting and up-to-date materials on the SAT subjects and practice tests, our children are able to learn, practice and develop the critical skills necessary to be successful in taking the SAT test and in applying this knowledge in other academic areas as well." -Steve & Sheena Bui, Orange, California (Son Peter Bui attended the Colloquium program and achieved a perfect SAT score in May 2001. Daughters Natalie and Vanessa have also attended the Colloquium Test Prep Course for the SAT.) Colloquium Test Prep Course for the SAT ? Laguna Beach, California ? (949) 443-2700
Tara had always imagined her happily ever after. But her fiancé’s secrets are changing this story into one she doesn’t even recognize. Tara Faulkner and Seth Grissom grew up next door to each other in Savannah’s historic district. Their parents are best friends. They finish each other’s sentences all the time. Their fairy-tale wedding is a foregone conclusion . . . until Tara discovers another side to Seth three weeks before the wedding. Reality has crashed in on Tara’s fairy tale—but hope will lead her to a future she couldn’t have planned for herself.
A scientific young woman probes the mysterious death of her magically gifted sister in this quasi-Renaissance epic fantasy sequel to The Spirit Lens. Anne de Vernase is fighting to hold herself together as scandal and tragedy tear her family apart. Her father remains at large, convicted of treason and murder thanks to her own testimony—and his pursuit of depraved sorcery. Her mother has gone insane, and her brother is a prisoner. Her sister, a talented sixth-year student at the Collegia Magica, has recently died under mysterious circumstances. And now the man she despises, Portier de Savin-Duplais, arrives with a foreboding summons from her godfather, the king. Once in Merona, Anne finds herself in a city besieged by dark sorcery and in a royal court full of treacherous machinations. Disturbing rumors surround the queen’s volatile sorcerer, while the queen’s mother is waging a manipulative game. And when a killer strikes, Anne questions what really happened to her sister. With no talent for magic and few allies to protect her, Anne begins a perilous search for the truth that will shake up a kingdom . . . “A compelling and altogether admirable work.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “Lavish. . . . Berg’s characters return to vivid life. . . . Berg refreshes and reinvigorates the familiar trappings of epic fantasy, shaping a novel that rings true both linguistically and imaginatively. This is one to savor.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Berg brings life and grace to a story of magic and politics that should appeal to the author’s fans as well as lovers of Renaissance-style fantasy.” —Library Journal “A novel that stakes an early claim to my Top 10 list of 2011. . . . Traditional fantasy does not get better than this!” —Fantasy Book Critic
