Along the oldest river in North America, New River, Zoe and Tod take a vacation with their teenage daughter Diana, who is experiencing a heartbreak. The beauty of Appalachia presents a new world in many ways, with intimations of the past and future mixing together. When Diana is swept down river due to unknown causes, an unexpected world opens up. Laden with dangers and tests, the question arises whether another world can help bring love to this one.
An exhilarating travelogue for a new generation about a journey along Colombia’s Magdalena River, exploring life by the banks of a majestic river now at risk, and how a country recovers from conflict. "Richly observed." —Liesl Schillinger, The New York Times Book Review An American writer of Argentine, Syrian, and Iraqi Jewish descent, Jordan Salama tells the story of the Río Magdalena, nearly one thousand miles long, the heart of Colombia. This is Gabriel García Márquez’s territory—rumor has it Macondo was partly inspired by the port town of Mompox—as much as that of the Middle Eastern immigrants who run fabric stores by its banks. Following the river from its source high in the Andes to its mouth on the Caribbean coast, journeying by boat, bus, and improvised motobalinera, Salama writes against stereotype and toward the rich lives of those he meets. Among them are a canoe builder, biologists who study invasive hippopotamuses, a Queens transplant managing a failing hotel, a jeweler practicing the art of silver filigree, and a traveling librarian whose donkeys, Alfa and Beto, haul books to rural children. Joy, mourning, and humor come together in this astonishing debut, about a country too often seen as only a site of war, and a tale of lively adventure following a legendary river.
Zoe and Tod go on vacation, and outside of Yosemite Park have a near death experience. Transported to a Way-Station world, they are joined by an angelic being who becomes their guide. In the afterworld, they experience colors, each producing an exotic experience which challenges their conception of the world. The couple encounter people who still carry their hurts and earthly possessions, which they need to discard. The end holds a surprise for which the reader will have to answer. Read this book to gain a novel perspective on the immediate afterlife.
In human prehistory, premature children were the evolutionary future. Kinder is an early child, whose survival depends on a fierce mother. Because the father is absent, she offers her child to the Elements for protection. A second child, Huntress, aids in their survival by helping to make an alliance with a young wolf. Dangers in prehistory abound, as human adults were the size of pre-teens, with predators much larger. Read this story to see how the "New Ones" survived to become the future of humankind.
A hunter of mystery stones deciphers the markings of a petroglyph, revealing an alternate view of the universe. A wide cast of beings appears, including a half-skeletal shaman who serves as our guide within a rich archetypal realm. The shapes on the Stone touch upon the mystery of birthing, the creature sense of our being, our hidden soul self, and the immortal nature of form. Come journey with us, following the continuing inspiration of the Mystery Stone found by the Shenandoah River.
The stories in this work describe depth psychological experiences of persons who often ended up in psychiatric hospitals. Beyond suffering and pain, these person's stories show a spirit and courage which led them to become advocates or artists. Many of the authors are well known and part of a national and international movement, advocating for rights of those in the psychiatric system. This work also includes a handful of professionals who may not have been hospitalized, but have found effective methods to help those in distress. Read this work if you want to see what happens in intense psychological experiences, and how the path to healing has been discovered.
A wave of authoritarianism is sweeping the planet, tempting people to choose a dark path. It would be in our interest to know the traits of empires, so we can be alert to its dangers, to prevent and control its rise. Yet we are not taught to name the reality or to identify empire's basic traits. Thus, this work seeks to make clear the traits of the empire path. Then, this work wrestles with questions "Is there a good empire? Is a more utopian vision possible? And, if we are in an empire, how do we resist and build to a better future? We invite you to read this work to understand the flow of history and to gain hope that our world and its children can live in a richer, freer world.
This work offers an alternative paradigm for viewing life and its dynamic capacity for change. Rather than looking at the end result of evolution with concepts such as fitness, we focus on the actual process of change, which is fragile. Using plain-spoken language and based on an earlier scholarly work, six biological domains which exhibit fragility and make for evolutionary novelty are examined. 1) the organism's dynamic genome, which exhibits a remarkable fluidity and interactivity with the environment; 2) Symbiosis, which involves the creative merger of two types of organisms; 3) Sexuality, in which sexes merge to produce unique offspring; 4) Multicellularity, which makes for most of earth's macroscopic life; 5) Development, which are changes during the fragile period of immaturity. 6) The principle of the "head", a holistic/controlling dimension of the organism, which is inherently fragile and dynamic; 7) The social dimension, with both fragile cooperative and competitive interactions, and; 8) The ecological dimension with its interwoven, delicate web of connections. To this we can add a cumulative dimension, embraces a spirituality of biology. Instructing youth and having the public become aware of models, which consider the fragility and sacrificial dimension of dynamic change, would enhance our personal lives and increase the chances for humanity's and the biosphere's survival on earth. Read this work to gain a healthy view of the reality of biological organisms and how dynamic change occurs.
Fifteen-year-old Jessie and the other rebellious teenage members of a wilderness survival school team abandon their adult leader, hijack his boats, and try to run the dangerous white water at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.
This work is a philosophic exploration of markings on a quartzite cobblestone found near the Shenandoah River. Questions have arisen as to the origins of the markings, what meaning they might have, and its resonance with Eastern Woodland Cosmology. One conclusion reached is the finding of something simple as a stone can bring unexpected significance. Come, take this journey of how a "mystery stone" can become a portal for novel dimensions to unfold.
