In My Valley, Claude Ponti leads us on a journey through an enchanted world inhabited by "Touims" (tiny, adorable, monkey-like creatures), secret tree dwellings, flying buildings, and sad giants. Clever language and beautifully detailed maps of imaginary landscapes will delight children and adults alike. Ponti himself has said, "My stories are like fairytales, always situated in the marvelous, speaking to the interior life and emotions of children. That way each child can get what they want out of the images: the characters and dreams are their own."
"How Green Was My Valley" is Richard Llewellyn's bestselling -- and timeless -- classic and the basis of a beloved film. As Huw Morgan is about to leave home forever, he reminisces about the golden days of his youth when South Wales still prospered, when coal dust had not yet blackened the valley. Drawn simply and lovingly, with a crisp Welsh humor, Llewellyn's characters fight, love, laugh and cry, creating an indelible portrait of a people.
This narrative documentary portrays the life of a thirteen-year-old girl who breaks out of an abusive environment by escaping the grasp of a tyrannical stepmother who had victimized her and seven of her siblings for many years. Except for the people who made her escape possible, she was essentially on her own as she worked her way through high school. After working for a year as a private secretary in a civil service position, she was encouraged to apply for a scholarship to the University of Illinois. A second scholarship and a secretarial position at the university made it possible for her to acquire a bachelors degree in speech pathology and to graduate debt free in four years. She continued her education during a busy career and earned a masters degree in speech and language pathology from Northwestern University. By rising above what she considered to be a lost childhood, she manages to have a successful career along with marriage and a family. It appears that this author never looked down after leaving a childhood of abuse, compounded by the problems of the Great Depression. Those who encouraged her along the way are acknowledged as the angels in her life. Through these special mentors she meets movie stars and Hollywood moguls in the west and through her marriage to a naval officer she meets military and foreign dignitaries in Washington, D.C. Throughout this story, success and happiness in this family are often eclipsed by poignant periods of sadness, but only to rise again as their upbeat spirits prevail. Although the author is the central figure in this memoir, her eight siblings contribute immensely to the central theme of this story the will to survive and succeed. They beat the odds against the oft-quoted premise that growing up in violence will perpetuate violence. This story was written to provide insight into the problem of child abuse. Along with this moving commentary and narration, helpful information is provided for everyone working with children and young adults laymen and professionals alike.
This is a powerful, inspiring, and interesting story of triumph. On a journey of accomplishment overshadowed by challenges and adversity, Gertrude invites readers into her world as she gives an account of how her strong faith in God helped her to triumph over adversity. She refused to allow her humble beginning to limit or define her destiny. Using captivating experiences backed by biblical characters who had their own valley encounters as well as a peep into her prayer life, she shares her story. In spite of the struggles, disappointment, grief, and loss, Gertrude maintained a close relationship with God. She showed how her faith helped her bypass the stresses of life and overcome the challenges. Her strong will to rise above the circumstances that were intended to dehumanize her allowed her to experience the supernatural power of God. She relied on him for inner peace, strength, protection, and direction as she tried to beat the odds and fulfill her purpose. This book will encourage and empower you to accept the things you cannot change and activate your faith to trust God as he is in control of your life.
Providing a searing insight and honest portrayal of post-industrial communities ravaged by decades of abandonment, How Black Was My Valley is the story of lives defined by poverty, catastrophe and the fading dreams of better futures. How Black Was My Valley is a people's history of the former mining communities of South Wales. Weaving together the personal with the political, it offers a damning depiction of the hardship and suffering, the tragedy and pain, as a politically abandoned people went from powering the British Empire and the Great Wars, to a broken post-industrial community, lost in time. It travels with devastating and yet humane insight across the dark shadows of the valley’s history. In doing so, it deals with disaster and resistance; memory and landscapes of despair; the brutal past and the neglected present; hardship and poverty; unemployment and isolation; lack of opportunity and the normalisation of hopelessness; death and suffering; structural violence and everyday subjugation; onto the crises of white male subjectivity and the exponential rise in drug abuse and personal suicide, whose troubling effects can no longer be easily contained within its mountainous walls. This is not a story of resilience. Instead, readers are taken on a journey into an open wound, whose once silent screams can no longer be ignored.
Relates the fascinating history of the valley from Neolithic peoples to present-day tourists. The area was controlled by the Stoney Indians in the mid-1800's when James Sinclair and Captain John Palliser travelled the valley in search of a pass across the Rocky Mountains. In the early 1900's trapper, surveyors and gold seekers set the stage for the commercial exploitation of the 1940's and '50's when the valley became a source of lumber, coal and power for the rapidly-growing City of Calgary. Nowadays the Kananaskis Valley is the heart of Kananaskis Country, a multi-use recreation area developed for Albertans in 1977.
The tests had all come back negative before. But this time, the test was positivea "breast cancer. Thrust into the valley of the shadow, Alice Fletcher was about to endeavor on a spiritual journey that would forever change her life. When Alice was diagnosed, God brought to her memory scriptures that gave her immediate peace. But at a time when it would have been easy to turn her back on God, she chose the hard road and continued believing her cancer had a purpose, which taught her the lessons now shared in this meaningful memoir. Alice guides readers through her valley, giving them a closer look at the emotions of a cancer survivor. She skillfully uses Scripture and poems to relate her experiences and inspire readers to continue praising God even when trials and tribulations are at the worst. Alice's Out of my Valley experience is one perfect to share with anyone who may need help walking out of their valley."
Humorous travel book about moving to France from Wales by IPPY, Royal Dragonfly and Global Ebook Award Winner Jean Gill 'Laugh out loud ... such a vivid picture of the fields of lavender, sunflowers and olive trees that you could almost be there with her.' - Living France Magazine The true scents of Provence? Lavender, thyme and septic tank. There are hundreds of interesting things you can do in a bath but washing dishes is not one of them, nor what writer Jean Gill had in mind when she swopped her Welsh Valley for a French one. Keen to move out of the elephant's stomach, that stew of grey mists called weather in Wales, she offered her swimming certificate to a bemused Provencal estate agent and bought a house with good stars and its own spring-water. Or rather, as it turns out, a neighbour's spring-water that is the only supply to the kitchen, which, according to the nice men from the Water Board, is emptying its dirty water directly and illegally onto the main road... and there's worse ... But how can you resist a village called Dieulefit, `God created it', the village 'where everyone belongs'. Discover the real Provence in good company.
This book deals with a broad range of social issues facing Mexican-origin people in the United States. The studies presented in this volume are brought together by two main themes: (1) social inequalities-cultural, educational, and economic-endured by the Chicano/Mexicano community in the United States and (2) the community's efforts to eradicate the source of those inequalities. The second edition of Chicanas and Chicanos in Contemporary Society takes into consideration the most recent demographic changes affecting the Chicano/Mexicano people. With one-third of persons of Mexican descent under the age of fifteen, many of the challenges center on the current well-being of children and their future prospects. Unlike any other book in the market, several chapters closely examine issues related to children and youth, with particular attention given to children's ethnic identity, schooling practices, and educational policies. Two additional features set this book apart from other books. First, it includes new chapters focused on Chicana/Mexicana mothers, including adolescent mothers, interactions with their children and their efforts to reform schools. Second, it has contributions that analyze relations between Mexican immigrants and their coethnics born in the United States. The studies offered in this volume employ multiple theoretical perspectives and research methods. The studies invoke theories from social science disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, and psychology. Contributors use a variety of analytical strategies, including ethnographic methods and quantitative analysis.
