Through language rich in descriptive imagery and thoughtful reflections, Lindsey Arnold conveys what daily life was like for her family while living and volunteering in The Land of Happiness, the Kingdom of Bhutan. She describes sacred sites where it is possible to witness such miracles as water emerging from stone, levitating statues and weeping paintings. She also describes her family's personal miracle-the adoption of a Bhutanese boy. More than a travel memoir, this is a guide for a spiritual journey about facing fears, letting go of control and embracing the unfolding of life. Included is a collection of original parables about abundance, awareness and compassion. Written from a perspective enriched with an inter-religious faith and a background in philosophy, this book presents not only a glimpse of Bhutanese Buddhist culture and Himalayan landscape, but also a look at a few of the spiritual lessons (blessings) that can be received on the path to finding happiness.
NATIONAL BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE RBC TAYLOR PRIZE WINNER OF THE EDNA STAEBLER AWARD FOR CREATIVE NON-FICTION "Every day on a bike trip is like the one before--but it is also completely different, or perhaps you are different, woken up in new ways by the mile." As a teenager, Kate Harris realized that the career she most craved--that of a generalist explorer, equal parts swashbuckler and philosopher--had gone extinct. From her small-town home in Ontario, it seemed as if Marco Polo, Magellan and their like had long ago mapped the whole earth. So she vowed to become a scientist and go to Mars. To pass the time before she could launch into outer space, Kate set off by bicycle down a short section of the fabled Silk Road with her childhood friend Mel Yule, then settled down to study at Oxford and MIT. Eventually the truth dawned on her: an explorer, in any day and age, is by definition the kind of person who refuses to live between the lines. And Harris had soared most fully out of bounds right here on Earth, travelling a bygone trading route on her bicycle. So she quit the laboratory and hit the Silk Road again with Mel, this time determined to bike it from the beginning to end. Like Rebecca Solnit and Pico Iyer before her, Kate Harris offers a travel narrative at once exuberant and meditative, wry and rapturous. Weaving adventure and deep reflection with the history of science and exploration, Lands of Lost Borders explores the nature of limits and the wildness of a world that, like the self and like the stars, can never be fully mapped.
Millions of readers have fallen in love with Ava's bestselling books...come join the family with this uplifting story about one woman's search for happiness in the hardest of times. Fans of Brene Brown and Gretchen Rubin’s THE HAPPINESS PROJECT will love this powerful personal happiness memoir. In 2013, Ava left a successful, six-figure career working as a conflict expert rebuilding war zones to launch herself as a writer. What most people don’t know is that choice was born on a transformational night of self-discovery in war-torn Sierra Leone when Ava realized writing made her happy—something she hadn’t felt in a long time. Living on the street of Just Okay wasn’t good enough. She made a right turn at what she calls The Happiness Corner and never looked back. In these reflections, Ava shares how she dared to say no to negative people and patterns in her life that drained her natural positive energy, remained positive with a best friend with cancer, discovered pursuits that increased her happiness like dancing and play dates with the neighborhood boy, and, most of all, how she chose to stay happy and spread her happiness message as a bestselling author. Some reflections include: Happiness is Finding Your Voice. Happiness is Trusting the Vision. Happiness is Saying No to Approval. Happiness is Thriving. PRAISE: "Ava's story is witty and charming." Barbara Freethy #1 New York Times Bestselling Author on Nora Roberts Land "On par with Nicholas Sparks' love stories." Jennifer's Corner Blog “The constant love, and the tasteful sexual interludes, bring a sensual, dynamic tension to this appealing story.” Publisher’s Weekly "I am adding Ava Miles to my list of always reads like Susan Mallery, Jill Shalvis, Kristen Ashley, and NORA ROBERTS." Marjay's Reading Blog "Miles' story savvy, sense of humor, respect for her readers and empathy for her characters shine through..." USA Today on The Gate to Everything
KT Euzen, a lifelong learner, explores the joy of being an entrepreneur in this memoir. She chronicles a transformative decade across France, Bhutan, China, and Singapore, allowing readers to traverse diverse cultures and join her on a quest toward knowledge and happiness. Her odyssey towards joy began with introspection, a message she highlights with vivid stories of individuals finding bliss in passion, mindfulness, generosity, and authenticity. A theme running throughout the book is that it’s often the simplest things that bring us the greatest joy. A burst of laughter from a baby, the aroma of a home-cooked meal, the delicate touch of a loved one’s hand, the comforting hug of a friend—these moments, though seemingly trivial, hold within them the essence of the universe. She also highlights how happiness is found in our struggles, as well as in the resilience we must show to overcome challenges. The author also delves into her Ph.D. work on Bhutan’s unique happiness ethos, offering profound insights. In the end, her book is not only a memoir – it’s a passport to understanding joy’s global language.
When Nouwen was asked by a secular Jewish friend to explain his faith in simple language, he responded with "Life of the Beloved, " which shows that all people, believers and nonbelievers, are beloved by God unconditionally.
Civilization has many faces. One of its looks is the presence of Sophia in our midst. It is a smart robot armed with artificial intelligence. Its job is to help humans with the technological sophistication they have. Furthermore, civilization does not only present Sophia. There is another thing that civilization shows: Syria. In Syria, there is an endless civil war that has cost thousands of lives. Of course, there-is a lot more to civilization. During the last 17 Years (2002-2019), I've crossed five continents from Australia to North Korea, from Beijing to Prague, then from Russia to Denmark. I witnessed various civilizations ranging from the most ancient civilizations in Egypt to the most advanced civilizations in the United States, France, Norway, and Great Britain, starting from Mecca to Venice. So many things that I saw. So many encounters I had with the geniuses and the dead giants. So deep and high are the achievements of art, economics, science, and human's spirituality that I have observed. There is also a great example the warriors advised me through their sacrifices. Now, I have put those entire encounters in this little book. Civilizations are indeed very varied. There's Sophia on the left, and, there's Syria On the right. Hopefully, Indonesia will not choose the wrong choice.
Two quokkas, two snails, one strawberry patch . . . Suzy and Sam Snail live in the Land of Sadness, constantly working hard to feel loved. But their gloomy lives just might change when they meet two friendly quokkas who tell them all about the Creator and what life is like in the Land of Happiness. Will the Snails remain sad and empty? Or will they eagerly journey to a new land where grace, joy, and contentment grow instead? Join these four quirky friends in the strawberry patch, and let this parable-style story offer your family a powerful conversation starter and a celebration of God’s gift of grace.
Eduardo Lalo is a writer, essayist, and artist from San Juan, Puerto Rico. His many books include the award-winning novel Simone, which we published in translation. Suzanne Jill Levine is a leading translator of Latin American literature who runs the translation doctoral program at UCSB. A tale of social, spiritual, and intellectual yearning, Uselessness follows the life of its narrator, a young Puerto Rican writer studying in Paris, the city of his dreams. There he finds an appreciation of the arts that he has always longed for, yet he remains alienated from it because of his uncertain identity. Meanwhile, he grapples with two long, tumultuous love affairs. He conveys these events in a dark yet witty tone, as if aware of the futility of his youthful follies. After some time he chooses to end perhaps his greatest love affair, that with the city of Paris itself, and return to San Juan. Upon his return, he finds himself just as estranged and alienated at home as he felt abroad. In his writing and academic careers he gains little notoriety, but he tries to help a student whose struggles in many ways reflect his own early days. As he observes this young man's mistakes, the narrator confronts a path he very nearly traveled down himself and, in doing so, accepts his small place in the narrative of countless generations.
An intensely moving memoir of a young man who left heartbreak in Maine to seek healing Out West in the company of horses. Growing up in a small Maine town, Chris Lombard had never ridden a horse—never even touched one. But on one fateful night, as what he’d thought was a happy twenty-something life full of love and possibility fell suddenly apart, he met two horses and looked into their eyes. What he saw inspired him to leave everything he had, and everything he didn’t have, behind, and go in search of what was missing. With the little he needed packed in his ten-year-old Pontiac Grand Prix, and little more to go on than a belief that someone would give him a chance, Chris headed west to find work on a horse ranch. His journey took him first to the mountains of Colorado, then the Hollywood Hills of California, and finally, the wild borderlands of Southern Arizona. The settings changed but the same lessons came in quiet moments, movingly captured in these pages: watching horses, reaching out to them, swinging upon their backs. Chris learned new meanings for words—presence, connection, softness, and balance—the elements of good horsemanship feeding a deep hunger he didn’t know he had. But learning to ride a horse, learning to communicate with him, to teach him things, these required qualities Chris was only beginning to cultivate. Human nature plans; it pushes and it rushes. And it would take a terrible accident to awaken a whole new awareness for time and space, and Chris's place within it, beside a horse. In the austere beauty of the Sonora Desert, Chris met a cowboy whose intense love for life on the back of a horse held a deep sadness at bay, but only for so long. Their brief time together, working land and livestock, would bring Chris to the realization that the richly fulfilling new life he’d found held all the answers he sought, but only if he could ultimately leave it behind. Evocatively written, interweaving the author’s growing understanding of horses and how we connect with them with his deeply personal experiences, Land of the Horses brings to life a young man’s transformation alongside the horses, people, and dramatic landscapes of the American West. Healing heartbreak, falling and getting back on, searching for something true—this is a story that is in all of us. And it shows we are all capable of creating the life we truly want to live.
