In Finding Joy in the Broken Pieces, Joy takes us along on her personal journey through brokenness, restoration and redemption. Where do we run when life circumstances find you broken on the floor 8, 000 miles from home? How do we heal when our feet are planted firmly in paradise? What do you do with a life restored and taken to new heights of redemption? Let's find out...
In a time of uncertainty and devastation--from pandemics to environmental catastrophe--a call to action for finding beauty, creating art, and healing in community. When a beloved place is decimated by physical damage, many may hit the donate button or call their congressperson. But award-winning author Trebbe Johnson argues that we need new methods for coping with these losses and invites readers to reconsider what constitutes “worthwhile action.” She discusses real wounded places ranging from weapons-testing grounds at Eglin Air Force Base, to Appalachian mountain tops destroyed by mining. These stories, along with tools for community engagement—ceremony, vigil, apology, and the creation of art with on-site materials—show us how we can find beauty in these places and discover new sources of meaning and community.
“An inspiring, intimate memoir about faith, resilience and the tenacity of love.”—People “In this emotional tale, a young couple see their lives changed in the blink of an eye—and learn to find love again.”—US Weekly Five months pregnant, on a flight to their “babymoon,” Allison Pataki turned to her husband when he asked if his eye looked strange and watched him suddenly lose consciousness. After an emergency landing, she discovered that Dave—a healthy thirty-year-old athlete and surgical resident—had suffered a rare and life-threatening stroke. Next thing Allison knew, she was sitting alone in the ER in Fargo, North Dakota, waiting to hear if her husband would survive the night. When Dave woke up, he could not carry memories from hour to hour, much less from one day to the next. Allison had lost the Dave she knew and loved when he lost consciousness on the plane. Within a few months, she found herself caring for both a newborn and a sick husband, struggling with the fear of what was to come. As a way to make sense of the pain and chaos of their new reality, Allison started to write daily letters to Dave. Not only would she work to make sense of the unfathomable experiences unfolding around her, but her letters would provide Dave with the memories he could not make on his own. She was writing to preserve their past, protect their present, and fight for their future. Those letters became the foundation of this beautiful, intimate memoir. And in the process, she fell in love with her husband all over again. This is a manifesto for living, an ultimately uplifting story about the transformative power of faith and resilience. It’s a tale of a man’s turbulent road to recovery, the shifting nature of marriage, and the struggle of loving through pain and finding joy in the broken places. Praise for Beauty in the Broken Places “Bold and commendable . . . A strength of this memoir is [Allison Pataki’s] scrupulous honesty.”—USA Today “A memoir about . . . determination and gratitude, and the value of putting one foot in front of another during a crisis.”—The Washington Post “Heart-wrenching.”—Women’s Health “Powerful and immersive . . . Pataki delivers an insightful look at how two people faced a life-altering test as a team ‘fighting to make the dreams of our future possible.’”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
We are all broken. It's a unified human experience. And we all need a hope that doesn't disappoint, a love that anchors us, joy that survives in unthinkable conditions, and a perspective shift that goes beyond our circumstances. Some days we feel the perfection of sunshine and a light breeze. Other days hold wet, gray skies with drowning grief. In the wake, comes promise of new growth. Still other days a cold winter frost catches us by surprise, halting our journey toward fruitful blooms. We step back, reeling at the damage from this frost. We question the system and environment we grow in. We can exist in this garden dictated by the changing weather patterns. Or, we can see a different kind of brave living-that which exists beyond our fragile stems and dainty leaves, living instead deep in our roots. This book is for those sitting in the deep-down dark, traveling with grief as a constant companion, and anyone whose life path has taken an unexpected turn. Bekah shares the heart break of a fatal diagnosis for not just one, but both her children. As she journeyed through dark valleys of death, it was there she experienced Jesus in a whole new way-in deeply broken places. Her journey holding pain in one hand and joy in the other is vulnerably scribbled out on these pages as she tore open the wounds in her soul to share how Christ created beauty and goodness in it all. It was in this journey, she learned to see wholeness in cracks, courage in the broken-hearted, and bravery in the act of letting go. May you discover the Life-Giver of joy, see your beautiful bloom, and know that hope is always worth holding on to, because redemption is coming--and in fact--is already happening here and now. "Can't Steal My Joy is an honest, real-life account of a life storm that drops down right on top of you with no warning - and the unspeakable beauty that blooms from the wreckage. Bekah's heart beats in every page, every word. To read her story from start to not-yet-finished, it's only natural to wonder how anyone could survive something like this. But the truth is that Bekah and Danny have done much more than survive. They have thrived. And as for the how? Jesus - only Jesus. God's grace weaves seamlessly throughout each moment of confusion, devastation, hope, surrender, and triumph. You cannot read this book without seeing the Creator and longing for all things new." Anne Riley, author of Voyage to the Star Kingdom "I had the absolute pleasure of being able to read Bekah Bowman's book, Can't Steal My Joy, before it hit the bookshelves. I honestly have not read anything so moving and soul stirring since, The Shack. Whether you are in a season of mourning or grief, or in my case, struggling in the heaviness of life to find peace and joy within, this book helps lift the veil of sadness to reveal God's promise that He never leaves you. God makes his presence known everyday in little ways if you only stop to look for the joy outside the pain. Bekah is a gifted writer and I'm so excited to share this book with my friends and family." Melinda, founder of WhenLife Co
A BuzzFeed "Best Book of June 2021" From sixteen-year-old Dara McAnulty, a globally renowned figure in the youth climate activist movement, comes a memoir about loving the natural world and fighting to save it. Diary of a Young Naturalist chronicles the turning of a year in Dara’s Northern Ireland home patch. Beginning in spring?when “the sparrows dig the moss from the guttering and the air is as puffed out as the robin’s chest?these diary entries about his connection to wildlife and the way he sees the world are vivid, evocative, and moving. As well as Dara’s intense connection to the natural world, Diary of a Young Naturalist captures his perspective as a teenager juggling exams, friendships, and a life of campaigning. We see his close-knit family, the disruptions of moving and changing schools, and the complexities of living with autism. “In writing this book,” writes Dara, “I have experienced challenges but also felt incredible joy, wonder, curiosity and excitement. In sharing this journey my hope is that people of all generations will not only understand autism a little more but also appreciate a child’s eye view on our delicate and changing biosphere.” Winner of the Wainwright Prize for UK nature writing and already sold into more than a dozen territories, Diary of a Young Naturalist is a triumphant debut from an important new voice.
A wise, uplifting memoir about a rabbi’s search for understanding and his discovery of hope and joy after his young son suffered a catastrophic brain-stem stroke: “Deeply moving, extraordinarily thought-provoking, and entirely humane” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review). As a young, ambitious rabbi at one of New York’s largest synagogues, Charles Sherman had high expectations for what his future would hold—a happy and healthy family, professional success, and recognition. Then, early one morning in 1986, everything changed. His son Eyal spiked a fever and was soon in serious respiratory distress. Doctors discovered a lesion on the four-year-old’s brain stem. Following high-risk surgery, Eyal suffered a stroke. Sherman and his wife later learned that their son would never walk, talk, feed himself, or breathe on his own again—yet his mind was entirely intact. He was still the curious, intelligent boy they had always known. The ground had shifted beneath the Sherman family’s feet, yet over the next thirty years, they were able to find comfort, pleasure, and courage in one another, their community, their faith, and in the love they shared. The experience pointed Rabbi Sherman toward the answers of some of life’s biggest questions: To what lengths should parents go to protect their children? How can we maintain faith in God when tragedy occurs? Is it possible to experience joy alongside continuing heartbreak? Now, with deep insight, refreshing honesty, humor, and intelligence, Charles Sherman reflects back on his life and describes his struggle to address and ultimately answer these questions. The Broken and the Whole “inspirationally sets forth how to survive in the face of calamity” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) beautifully showing what it means to embrace life after everything you’ve known has been shattered to pieces.
Victorious Disciples is a study of biblical principles. By imparting spiritual knowledge and encouragement, this book is designed to help Christian women and men move from knowing the Word of God, to living the Word of God. If you are a new Christian but feel lost, this book is for you. If you have been in Christ for some time, but life is taking a toll on you, this book is for you. If you are a believer, but have no joy and feel defeated, this book is for you. If your church desires to develop a strong discipleship/mentoring ministry, this book is for you. Victorious Disciples provides the following guidelines for your Christian walk: How to study the Bible; How to have an effective prayer life; How to experience victory in spiritual warfare; How to have strong faith; and How to live a Spirit-filled life; How to become disciple leader.
From bestselling author of The Book of Delights and award-winning poet, a book of lyrical mini-essays celebrating the everyday that will inspire readers to rediscover the joys in the world around us. In Ross Gay’s new collection of small, daily wonders, again written over the course of a year, one of America’s most original voices continues his ongoing investigation of delight. For Gay, what delights us is what connects us, what gives us meaning, from the joy of hearing a nostalgic song blasting from a passing car to the pleasure of refusing the “nefarious” scannable QR code menus, from the tiny dog he fell hard for to his mother baking a dozen kinds of cookies for her grandchildren. As always, Gay revels in the natural world—sweet potatoes being harvested, a hummingbird carousing in the beebalm, a sunflower growing out of a wall around the cemetery, the shared bounty from a neighbor’s fig tree—and the trillion mysterious ways this glorious earth delights us. The Book of (More) Delights is a volume to savor and share.
You don’t have to understand God to trust him. “Just trust me.” Those are the words we often hear in movies just before something bad happens. And yet, we are told to trust God. In a culture where we tend to take control of our own lives, trusting God has become a religious platitude rather than a life-changing attitude. We say it, but do we really mean it? And what does trusting God really look like? Sharon, Mary, and Gwen—the Girlfriends in God ministry team—have been there. They’ve traveled the tough roads of life to discover the peace and power that comes from grabbing the hand of God and trusting his plan. The life stories they share bring laughter and sometimes tears, but always spiritual growth. Each of the 12-week sections concludes with a Bible study guide and journal page, inviting you to lock arms with Sharon, Mary, and Gwen and share with other women in a small group setting or to use individually in your own quiet time.
Personal Development/Relationships Are you tired of feeling crazy in your most intimate relationship? Are you sick of empty promises, lies, and feeling betrayed by your partner? Are you frustrated that despite all the work you’ve done on yourself you feel more alone than ever before? Samantha Kaaua knows these feelings all too well. While embarking on her journey to become a marriage therapist, she faced her own marital challenges and found herself on the brink of divorce. Her new book, Finding Beauty in Your Broken Pieces, is a testament to this journey. It’s not just another relationship guide; it’s a personal account of transformation and triumph. Samantha’s Inner Mosaic® method will help you love and trust the parts of yourself that feel broken and craft a stunning mosaic of love and understanding in your relationship. You will learn the Triple A’s of Transformation and use them to: ● Become aware of your disempowering beliefs ● Change yourself to change your relationship ● Learn to trust yourself and your partner ● Distinguish between your intuition and your fears ● Master the art of forgiveness ● Transcend into your best self ● Discover your Inner Mosaic Dance Don’t wait for change—be the change. It’s time to find the beauty in your broken pieces and transform your relationship.
