‘‘I’m Rose. John and I shared nearly eight years of our lives together. This is our story: a story of how two ordinary people live with the diagnosis, the check-ups, the disappointments, the relief, the questions, the answers, the operations, the recovery, the emergencies, the denial, the acceptance, the anger, the pain, the loss, the love, the fear, the frustration – and the happiness.’ Shortly before he died, John made Rose promise to share their story – to tell what they had learned, practically and emotionally, and convey the hope they found even in the darkest of times. He had discovered her hidden stash of letters and diary entries, which she’d been writing to keep herself sane, neither censoring nor intending them to be read. The result is an astonishing, searingly honest, real-time account that reveals our profound capacity for love and how the human spirit can endure the most harrowing of tests to emerge dauntless, flying free. (Caution: contains graphic descriptions of suffering that some may find distressing.)
"Your Cry Have Been Heard" has a message the world needs to hear, a message of hope from people who have been lost, experienced deep pain, who have been in the bottom of the pit and have found the way out to let us know that no matter who we are, no one is beyond God's reach. It is a unique book filled with wisdom and love, a book that will impact its readers - and with enough readers, will have a positive impact on society as a whole to make this world a better place for all of us to live in. In the fifty plus years I have walked with God, I have seen times change. The world is no longer a place where even children and youth can feel safe and secure. Abuse increases, crime is in the news daily, horror stories I can't fathom. God's Word predicts this - evil will increase in the end times. Beth Michael I don't get easily touched by writers except for the likes of Ted Dekker. YOUR CRY HAS BEEN HEARD is everything I imagined and much more. With its insight, candor, personal tragedies and triumphs this book will mesmerize the reader and go a long way in redeeming many hearts to the throne of grace. God's signature is clearly with this Ministry; it shall come to pass that this book will be published successfully and our goal to touch as many hearts as possible will succeed beyond our wildest dreams. Lawan Baldwin Your Cry Has Been Heard Would you buy this book Yes, certainly, and would try to get it into our schools, libraries, and colleges. This book will touch your heart and open your eyes! Rev. Skip Wigmore Featured Song: "The Face of Christ" by Chris Rice
National Book Critics Circle Award finalist David R. Dow confronts the reality of his work on death row when his father-in-law is diagnosed with lethal melanoma, his beloved Doberman becomes fatally ill, and his young son begins to comprehend the implications of mortality. "Every life is different, but every death is the same. We live with others. We die alone." In his riveting, artfully written memoir The Autobiography of an Execution, David Dow enraptured readers with a searing and frank exploration of his work defending inmates on death row. But when Dow's father-in-law receives his own death sentence in the form of terminal cancer, and his gentle dog Winona suffers acute liver failure, the author is forced to reconcile with death in a far more personal way, both as a son and as a father. Told through the disparate lenses of the legal battles he's spent a career fighting, and the intimate confrontations with death each family faces at home, Things I've Learned From Dyingoffers a poignant and lyrical account of how illness and loss can ravage a family. Full of grace and intelligence, Dow offers readers hope without cliche and reaffirms our basic human needs for acceptance and love by giving voice to the anguish we all face--as parents, as children, as partners, as friends--when our loved ones die tragically, and far too soon.
"A meaningful panoramic view of what it means to be human...Cause for celebration." --Times-Picayune From the author of the National Book Critics Circle Award finalist Let the Dead Bury Their Dead comes a moving, cliché-shattering group portrait of African Americans at the turn of the twenty-first century. In a hypnotic blend of oral history and travel writing, Randall Kenan sets out to answer a question that has has long fascinated him: What does it mean to be black in America today? To find the answers, Kenan traveled America--from Alaska to Louisiana, from Maine to Las Vegas--over the course of six years, interviewing nearly two hundred African Americans from every conceivable walk of life. We meet a Republican congressman and an AIDS activist; a Baptist minister in Mormon Utah and an ambitious public-relations major in North Dakota; militant activists in Atlanta and movie folks in Los Angeles. The result is a marvellously sharp, full picture of contemporary African American lives and experiences.
Being thrown into prison (or jail) is a soul-crushing life experience, and any prisoner has one of the two following choices pertaining to how they handle the experiencethey can become bitter, or they can become better. The natural choice is to become bittermany times, very, very bitter. Mr. Decker provides the reader his experience and understanding as to the basis of either choice. This is framed as either a fear-based or a love-based choice. This frame applies to both prisoner and nonprisoners alike, including why we incarcerate people in the first place. Using his prison experiences, social science, and many wise peoples quotes, he helps the reader see that if a prisoner or nonprisoner uses only the authors fear-based insights, anyone will naturally become bitter. However, if we all use the authors love-based insights, well become better. Mr. Decker's insights and wisdom can and should be liberally applied to nonprison environments as his insights apply equally to every person in every walk of life. The reader comes away knowing hes able to withstand any and every one of lifes challenges using love and forgiveness. Mr. Decker demonstrates that love-based thinking is the key to our peace of mind. Each one of us is entitled to and capable of the peace of mind he describes.
In the summer of 1964, the FBI found the smoldering remains of the station wagon that James Chaney, Michael Schwerner, and Andrew Goodman had been driving before their disappearance. Shortly after this awful discovery, Julie Kabat’s beloved brother Luke arrived as a volunteer for the Mississippi Summer Project. Teaching biology to Freedom School students in Meridian, Luke became one of more than seven hundred student volunteers who joined experienced Black civil rights workers and clergy to challenge white supremacy in the nation’s most segregated state. During his time in Mississippi, Luke helped plan the community memorial service for Chaney, attended the Democratic National Convention in support of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, and even spent time in jail for “contributing to the delinquency of minors.” This arrest followed his decision to take students out for ice cream. Through his activism, Luke grappled with many issues that continue to haunt and divide us today: racialized oppression, threats of violence, and segregation whether explicit in law or implicit through custom. Sadly, Luke died just two years after Freedom Summer, leaving behind copious letters, diaries, and essays, as well as a lasting impact on his younger sister, nicknamed “Pig.” Drawing on a wealth of primary resources, especially her brother’s letters and diaries, Kabat delves deep into her family history to understand Luke’s motivations for joining the movement and documents his experiences as an activist. In addition to Luke’s personal narrative, Kabat includes conversations with surviving Freedom School volunteers and students who declare the life-long legacy of Freedom Summer. A sister’s tribute to her brother, Love Letter from Pig: My Brother’s Story of Freedom Summer addresses ongoing issues of civil rights and racial inequality facing the nation today.
“River of Fire is Sister Helen’s story leading up to her acclaimed book Dead Man Walking—it is thought-provoking, informative, and inspiring. Read it and it will set your heart ablaze!”—Mark Shriver, author of Pilgrimage: My Search for the Real Pope Francis The nation’s foremost leader in efforts to abolish the death penalty shares the story of her growth as a spiritual leader, speaks out about the challenges of the Catholic Church, and shows that joy and religion are not mutually exclusive. Sister Helen Prejean’s work as an activist nun, campaigning to educate Americans about the inhumanity of the death penalty, is known to millions worldwide. Less widely known is the evolution of her spiritual journey from praying for God to solve the world’s problems to engaging full-tilt in working to transform societal injustices. Sister Helen grew up in a well-off Baton Rouge family that still employed black servants. She joined the Sisters of St. Joseph at the age of eighteen and was in her forties when she had an awakening that her life’s work was to immerse herself in the struggle of poor people forced to live on the margins of society. Sister Helen writes about the relationships with friends, fellow nuns, and mentors who have shaped her over the years. In this honest and fiercely open account, she writes about her close friendship with a priest, intent on marrying her, that challenged her vocation in the “new territory of the heart.” The final page of River of Fire ends with the opening page of Dead Man Walking, when she was first invited to correspond with a man on Louisiana’s death row. River of Fire is a book for anyone interested in journeys of faith and spirituality, doubt and belief, and “catching on fire” to purpose and passion. It is a book, written in accessible, luminous prose, about how to live a spiritual life that is wide awake to the sufferings and creative opportunities of our world. “Prejean chronicles the compelling, sometimes-difficult journey to the heart of her soul and faith with wit, honesty, and intelligence. A refreshingly intimate memoir of a life in faith.”—Kirkus Reviews
“An insightful study of a president who listened to even his harshest critics with grace and humility.”—The Washington Post NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY GLAMOUR Every evening for eight years, at his request, President Obama was given ten handpicked letters written by ordinary American citizens—the unfiltered voice of a nation—from his Office of Presidential Correspondence. He was the first president to interact daily with constituent mail and to archive it in its entirety. The letters affected not only the president and his policies but also the deeply committed people who were tasked with opening and reading the millions of pleas, rants, thank-yous, and apologies that landed in the White House mailroom. In To Obama, Jeanne Marie Laskas interviews President Obama, the letter writers themselves, and the White House staff who sifted through the powerful, moving, and incredibly intimate narrative of America during the Obama years: There is Kelli, who saw her grandfathers finally marry—legally—after thirty-five years together; Bill, a lifelong Republican whose attitude toward immigration reform was transformed when he met a boy escaping MS-13 gang leaders in El Salvador; Heba, a Syrian refugee who wants to forget the day the tanks rolled into her village; Marjorie, who grappled with disturbing feelings of racial bias lurking within her during the George Zimmerman trial; and Vicki, whose family was torn apart by those who voted for Trump and those who did not. They wrote to Obama out of gratitude and desperation, in their darkest times of need, in search of connection. They wrote with anger, fear, and respect. And together, this chorus of voices achieves a kind of beautiful harmony. To Obama is an intimate look at one man’s relationship to the American people, and at a time when empathy intersected with politics in the White House. Praise for To Obama “I cried several times.”—Pete Souza “Beautifully researched and written . . . A moving and inevitably nostalgic or even elegiac read, redolent of the human grace and statesmanship of the Obama presidency.”—The Guardian “These stories, when you read them all together, tell the American story. They’re inspirational, they’re frustrating, they’re angry, they’re grateful, they’re resilient.”—Valerie Jarrett
A witness with amnesia must decide if she can trust the black-sheep Thorn brother with her life in a holiday thriller from the USA Today–bestselling author. Tracy Wilson witnessed a murder—but after a head injury, she can’t remember what she saw. Now someone plans to silence her for good, and only cowboy Keegan Thorn believes her. With a killer after her at Christmas, Tracy is running out of time to remember . . . and falling dangerously hard for the cowboy who could break her heart. “Love, faith, forgiveness, action-packed high-adrenaline moments, and so much more is waiting for the reader to discover in this stunning conclusion to the Gold Country Cowboy series!” —Inkwell Inspirations
