Who was Abby then? Who is Abby now? An unsettling psychological thriller, seen through a lost girl's eyes. She knows only Sam, a mysterious teenage boy. He is her sole companion; her whole life. She was born, already a teenager, lying outside a burning building in soot-stained clothes, remembering nothing, not even her name. He showed her the necklace she had on, the one that named her: Abby. Sam brought her to live in his cavepalace, where he gives her everything she needs. He loves her. He protects her from the world outside, from everyone who wants to hurt them, like the denizens of Circle Nine, Dante’s deepest circle of hell. But even in a charmed, brand-new life like Abby’s, change will come. Sam falls ill. A new girl comes to stay, and Abby begins to question Sam’s devotion. With doubt comes emotional turmoil, changes in perception, and glimpses of her past identity. In this courageous psychological thriller, Abby tells the story of living her new life and discovering her old one, while grappling with an ever-changing reality.
As women seek to cultivate an understanding of their lives, a mythological model can provide a tool for self-discovery and realizing individual potential. The Circle of Nine presents nine archetypes that represent different, but equally important aspects of the feminine psyche. They portray both the life of the individual and the story of woman as a whole—a circle of ever-changing patterns that is a source of wisdom and inspiration.Three mothers, three queens, and three ladies form the circle. The Great Mother nurtures her children with a love that embraces the cycle of life, the Queen of the Night transforms the raw energy of instinct into skill and vision, and the Lady of the Hearth brings warmth and creativity into the home. By recognizing these and the other six archetypes of the circle, women can hold up a mirror to their souls to gain new perspectives and unlock their potential.Drawing from history, her work with women's groups, and contemporary observations, Cherry Gilchrist presents a mythology that explores the psychology of the modern woman. Her analysis, interpretations, and practical advice help to unravel the mystery of the divine feminine and provide a useful guide for daily life.
The action-based guide to powerful, influential organizational storytelling Circle of the 9 Muses captures the best practices of the world's most influential story consultants and knowledge workers to help you find, tell, and draw value from your organizational stories as impetus for action. This rich toolbox is loaded with fun, graphical instructions and dozens of unique, replicable, and facilitated processes that require no special training or expertise. You'll discover your organization's hidden narrative assets, use different templates and frameworks to tell the stories of your past, present, and future and then draw team members into rich meaning-making dialogue that translates into action. These activities can be exercised in endless permutations, and expert advice steers you toward the right activity for a specific purpose, including managing change, setting strategy, onboarding, defining the brand, engaging supporters or customers, merging cultures, building trust, and much more. Organizational storytelling is a powerful managerial tool and an essential change management technique. This is about your influence as a leader. Knowing the right story to tell and how to deliver it effectively gives you and your organization enormous influence, and helps connect employees to strategy by providing understanding, belief, and motivation in their personal contribution. This book is the ultimate field guide to becoming an influential storyteller, with concrete, actionable guidance toward all the storytelling fundamentals. Identify your organization's "narrative assets" Craft an elegant, well-constructed organizational story Capture, bank, and share stories with extraordinary engagement Facilitate a dialogue to draw out meaning and induce change The growing interest surrounding organizational storytelling has many change agents focused on "trying to tell better stories," but goals are useless without a plan of action. Circle of the 9 Muses helps you weave narrative wisdom into organizational development activities, engaging employees and driving change.
“Gaffney’s characters are appealing and realistic…Readers will race through this book.” —New Orleans Times Picayune “Poignant….Entertaining….As good as it gets.” —New York Post No other author writes about the lives and friendships of women with more warmth and grace than New York Times bestseller Patricia Gaffney. A true master of women’s fiction, with Circle of Three she flourishes the same breathtaking characterization and storytelling skills that made her previous novel, The Saving Graces, a readers’ favorite. The story of a woman grieving for her losses and her life, and her relationship with her overbearing mother and precocious young daughter, Circle of Three focuses on three generations of a troubled family, the anger and misunderstanding that separates them…and the love that holds them together. Gaffney does beautifully what Elizabeth Berg, Anne Rivers Siddons, and Anne Tyler also do so well: exploring the tricky bonds of family in novels both heart-soaring and heartbreaking.
Our ancestors gathered around a fire in a circle, families gather around their kitchen tables in circles, and now we are gathering in circles as communities to solve problems. The practice draws on the ancient Native American tradition of a talking piece. Peacemaking Circles are used in neighborhoods to provide support for those harmed by crime and to decide sentences for those who commit crime, in schools to create positive classroom climates and resolve behavior problems, in the workplace to deal with conflict, and in social services to develop more organic support systems for people struggling to get their lives together. A title in The Little Books of Justice and Peacebuilding Series.
Brigit Quinn's secret wish on her 15th birthday is for a normal life - an impossible dream when your mom practices an ancient pagan religion and everyone believes she's a witch.Instead, Brigit learns she's descended from a legendary Celtic tribe that serves as guardians of the ancient stone circles. A spellbound book of family history reveals the power of her ancestors, and Brigit is shocked to discover she's inherited a magical talent that will only set her further apart from the normal world.Unsure she wants any magical powers at all, she's terrified to learn someone evil is willing to destroy who she is in order to steal her family's strength. Will Brigit's unique heritage help her survive the danger, or is it safer for her to reject it for the normal life she's always wanted?
The hounds of hell are barking...and they want you to join the hunt. The Nine Circles of Hell has been a much-loved conception of the inferno, popularized by Italian poet Dante. This collection of horror and erotica is divided into the nine circles. Each of the nine sections tells the stories of those souls condemned to their respective circles. Here, you will see anthro-animal characters at their darkest and weakest moments: at the whorehouse, at the chopping block, in the morgue, in the dining room with the candlestick, and, of course, rotting in the fires of the Infurno. This collection features stories from Faolan, Weasel, Allison Thai, and more, with illustrations from Joseph Chou.
Magus leaves circle by the doorway, goes to Postulant, and says, "Since there is no other brother here, I must be thy sponsor, as well as priest. I am about to give you a warning. If you are still of the same mind, answer it with these words: 'Perfect Love and Perfect Trust.'" Placing the point of the sword to the Postulant's breast, he says, "O thou who standeth on the threshold between the pleasant world of men and the domains of the Dread Lords of the Outer Spaces, hast thou the courage to make the Assay? For I tell thee verily, it were better to rush on my weapon and perish miserably than to make the attempt with fear in thy heart." Postulant: "I have two Passwords: Perfect Love and Perfect Trust." Magus drops the sword point, saying, "All who approach with perfect love and perfect trust are doubly welcome." Going around behind her, he blindfolds her, then putting his left arm around her waist and his right arm around her neck, he pulls her head back, says, "I give you the 3rd password, a Kiss to pass through this dread Door," and pushes her forward with his body, through the doorway and into the circle. Once inside, he releases her saying, "This is the way all are first brought into the circle." Magus closes the doorway by drawing the point of the sword across it three times, joining all three circles, saying, "Agla, Azoth, Adonai," then drawing three pentacles to seal it. Magus guides Postulant to south of altar, and whispers, "Now there is the Ordeal." Taking a short piece of cord from the altar, he ties it around her right ankle, saying, "Feet neither bound nor free." Taking a longer cord, he ties her hands together behind her back, then pulls them up, so that the arms form a triangle, and ties the cord around her neck, leaving the end dangling down in front as a Cable Tow. With the Cable Tow in his left hand and the sword in his right hand, the Magus leads her sunwise around the circle to the east, where he salutes with the sword and proclaims, "Take heed, O Lords of the Watchtowers of the East, (name), properly prepared, will be made a Priestess and a Witch." Magus leads her similarly to the south, west, and north, making the proclamation at each quarter. , clasping Postulant around the waist with his left arm, and holding the sword erect in his right hand, he makes her circumambulate three times around the circle with a half-running, half-dancing step. He halts her at the south of the altar, and strikes eleven knells on the bell.
Dallas artists covered include Jerry Bywaters, Otis Dozier, Charles Bowling, William Lester, Everett Spruce, Alexandre Hogue, John Douglass, Lloyd Goff and Perry Nichols.
