I took on this case when a beautiful, headstrong photographer accidentally blew the cover of a federally protected witness. In stepped rogue cop Lucas West, and the two were in for a high-noon duel with some scary killers. But whose paw really steered the getaway car? It amazed me to see the bipeds fighting their instincts to care for each other. Why couldn't they see what really matters in life? It's not like they have nine of them!
A companion to the popular website APracticalWedding.com and A Practical Wedding Planner, A Practical Wedding helps you sort through the basics to create the wedding you want -- without going broke or crazy in the process. After all, what really matters on your wedding day is not so much how it looked as how it felt. In this refreshing guide, expert Meg Keene shares her secrets to planning a beautiful celebration that reflects your taste and your relationship. You'll discover: The real purpose of engagement (hint: it's not just about the planning) How to pinpoint what matters most to you and your partner DIY-ing your wedding: brilliant or crazy? How to communicate decisions to your family Why that color-coded spreadsheet is actually worth it Wedding Zen can be yours. Meg walks you through everything from choosing a venue to writing vows, complete with stories and advice from women who have been in the trenches: the Team Practical brides. So here's to the joyful wedding, the sensible wedding, the unbelievably fun wedding! A Practical Wedding is your complete guide to getting married with grace.
On the surface Christianity and Zen Buddhism can appear to be worlds apart, even antithetical. Christianity affirms the reality of the Tri-personal God and the eternal salvation of mortal human beings; Zen denies both the existence of God and the soul. Yet Thomas Merton, the Catholic spiritual master, and D. T. Suzuki, the famous teacher of Zen, engaged in an extensive dialogue and found ways of mutually affirming shared meanings of God and person that each regarded to be true. This book explores that dialogue within the larger context of Merton's attraction to Buddhism and considers the implications of their achievement for contemporary theologies of religious pluralism.
In Veil and Vow, Aneeka Ayanna Henderson places familiar, often politicized questions about the crisis of African American marriage in conversation with a rich cultural archive that includes fiction by Terry McMillan and Sister Souljah, music by Anita Baker, and films such as The Best Man. Seeking to move beyond simple assessments of marriage as "good" or "bad" for African Americans, Henderson critically examines popular and influential late twentieth- and early twenty-first-century texts alongside legislation such as the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act and the Welfare Reform Act, which masked true sources of inequality with crisis-laden myths about African American family formation. Using an interdisciplinary approach to highlight the influence of law, politics, and culture on marriage representations and practices, Henderson reveals how their kinship veils and unveils the fiction in political policy as well as the complicated political stakes of fictional and cultural texts. Providing a new opportunity to grapple with old questions, including who can be a citizen, a "wife," and "marriageable," Veil and Vow makes clear just how deeply marriage still matters in African American culture.
Draws on Red Cloud's autobiography, which was lost for nearly a hundred years, to present the story of the great Oglala Sioux chief who was the only Plains Indian to defeat the United States Army in a war.
"Nina, as part of the treaty negotiations with the Gold Mountain Pack, I have agreed to a marriage alliance. You, Nina Boyton, will marry the Alpha's son, Nolan Pierceson on the next new moon." I felt like someone had punched me, knocked the air out of me. "What? Daddy! How could you??" I whispered in shock. Arranged marriages were an archaic thing of the past. Nobody did that anymore, did they? Daddy looked pained. "I did it for the sake of our pack, Nina. We are a small pack, and since your mother..." he couldn't quite bring himself to say the word "died"..."We are weak and vulnerable. We need the protection of a larger, stronger pack. This political alliance will ensure our safety and our survival." I felt so many emotions whipping through me, I couldn't grab ahold of them. "But... why me?" I had two sisters, one older, and one younger. Janice was smart and strong, one of our best warriors. And the younger, Hannah was the beautiful one. None of us had found our mates, we were all single and available. I was almost sure if the Alpha of Gold Mountain had ever seen the three of us, he would have picked one of them. Not me. I am the most ordinary, non-descript, and insignificant of the Alpha's daughters. --------------------- My father has forced me into an arranged marriage with Nolan Piereson of the Gold Mountain Pack. What could be worse than being forced to marry a complete stranger that you don't love? Turns out, there are a lot of things that are even worse.
Ben Hecht's critically acclaimed autobiographical memoir, first published in 1954, offers incomparably pungent evocations of Chicago in the 1910s and 1920s, Hollywood in the 1930s, and New York during the Second World War and after. "His manners are not always nice, but then nice manners do not always make interesting autobiographies, and this autobiography has the merit of being intensely interesting."--Saul Bellow, New York Times Named to Time's list of All-Time 100 Nonfiction Books, which deems it "the un-put-downable testament of the era's great multimedia entertainer."
One Face in a Million is an entirely fictional story evolved over many years. The author began thinking about writing a story after he visited southern Africa in 1967, where his wife had been born and raised and was often called Mu Shangaaniana when she was young. He began to formulate a story about a young gal who had been raised on a mission station in Mozambique. She was anxious to leave Africa for America to have a more interesting life. A plot began his my mind, and he envisioned a striking gal to have a life that was quite amazing. She would travel and fall in love, meet notable people, and experience a lot of success. Would that prove to be satisfying? During the years that followed, William was privileged to travel to many places throughout the world, so his story evolved in a way that readers could share in some of his traveling experiences. His protagonist had to decide what was really important in her life. Her story takes place across the span of a few decades; therefore, the story eventually developed into a series of five books which should be considered as one. Because the title is One Face in a Million, William knew her appearance would be of real interest. He looked at images of several notable actresses of the past, but the one that he preferred was of Merle Oberon. Perhaps it would be just as well for any reader to formulate their own ideas of what his characters would look like. Although this is a fictitious story, he hopes that it entertains those who choose to read it.
She'd been there before. Could she risk her heart again? After her husband is killed in combat, Meredith Ridgemont returns to her hometown to raise her young daughter alone. Settling into her new normal as a widow and single mum, she swears off anything to do with the military. Until she’s encouraged to send a care package to soldiers serving overseas. What begins as a way to move forward from her grief, and to teach her young daughter compassion, soon morphs into a friendship between her and the soldier who received the package. Meredith finds healing in the letters she receives from Sean Southern, and over time, their exchanges become to mean more than just pen pals as they share their thoughts, their dreams, and encouragement through scripture and prayer. When Sean announces his return home and invites Meredith to meet him, her heart is torn. Exchanging letters was safe and a place for her to daydream about the future. But now he wants to meet her in person? She’d done the military life before. Is she willing to risk her heart again? Lines of Promise is a heart-warming read capturing faith and the promise of new beginnings.
In our years together, I’ve heard all the rumors, faced all the dark secrets, and survived the danger that comes hand-in-hand with loving a powerful magnate like Damien Stark. Now we’re ready to celebrate our legacy and turn our eyes toward the future by renewing our wedding vows. I didn’t expect anyone to object… Especially not the son my husband never knew existed. But he’s here, he’s real, and he’s absolutely livid. Our vows of love and fidelity are forgotten as this wayward heir instead promises to destroy everything we hold dear, everything that should have belonged to him instead of my children. Our world falls to chaos, Damien is wrecked, and I don’t know where to turn. What might this unexpected blast from the past mean for our family’s future?
