A domestic story told in numerous original and endearing voices. The story opens with Wesley, a tenth grader, and involves his two sets of parents (the mom and her second husband, a very thoughtful doctor; and the father who has become a major gay lawyer/activist and his fabulous "significant other" who owns a restaurant). Wesley is a fabulous kid, whose equally fabulous best friend Theo has just won a big school election and simultaneously surprises everyone in his life by announcing that he is gay. No one is more surprised than Wesley, who actually lives temporarily with his gay father and partner, so that he can get to know his rather elusive dad. When a dramatic and unexpected trauma befalls the boys in school, all the parents converge noisily in love and well-meaning support. But through it all, each character ultimately is made to face certain challenges and assumptions within his/her own life, and the playing out of their respective life priorities and decisions is what makes this novel so endearing and so special.
Greg Fleet's hilarious, heartbreaking account of the life-or-death battle for his soul For 30 years Greg Fleet has been one of Australia's most widely known and best loved comedians. For the same period, he's had a drug habit that has delivered him comedy and tragedy in equal parts. On the high road: a genius wit and prodigious work ethic take him from NIDA and Neighbours, to Shakespeare and award-winning theatre, and on to acclaim and adoration on stand-up stages all over the world. On the low road: a yearning for true love mutates into a downward spiral of addiction - a maelstrom of faked and near deaths, shared houses and needles, twisted trysts with cocaine and ice on the road to rock bottom... and, just maybe, redemption. From first gentle kiss to hate-fuelled wrecking ball, Greg Fleet has written the most mesmeric of memoirs - part guilty pleasure, part sweet poison. These things happen ... PRAISE FOR THESE THINGS HAPPEN "for all its deadpan style this is a cautionary tale ... about drug addiction, being rocked by life and salvaging the things you love." The Saturday Age "These Things Happen strikes a rare balance, tackling a difficult subject with redemptive humour but never hiding from the gravity of it." Irvine Welsh
Wesley, a tenth grader, tries to navigate through life, despite having divorced parents, a father who has come out as gay and a popular friend who also comes out as gay right after winning a school election.
Offers an inspirational and compassionate approach to understanding the problems of life, and argues that we should continue to believe in God's fairness.
Was the historical Jesus a preacher of imminent apocalyptic judgment or altogether a 'non-eschatological' teacher? Despite the popularity of both of these extreme portraits in contemporary scholarship, Wilson demonstrates a via media, in which Jesus, viewed especially through the window of Matthew 21-25, is both prophet and sage, but preeminently a judge during his ministry, in his invisible coming against Jerusalem in AD70, and at God's final assize. An important contribution. --Craig Blomberg, Distinguished Professor of New Testament, Denver Seminary In the crowded field of Matthean studies, this book offers something new, a discussion of the theme of judgment in Matthew 21-25, the account of Jesus' confrontation with the Jerusalem authorities. Dr Wilson is well abreast of current scholarship, but not afraid to take an independent line, not least in his robust defense of the view that reference to the 'coming of the Son of Man' refers not to the parousia but to the imminent vindication of the rejected Messiah. This exegesis enables him to link ch. 24 closely with the preceding dialogue and diatribe and to offer a satisfyingly coherent interpretation of the whole 'Jerusalem' section of the gospel which precedes the passion narrative. Over against Marcus Borg's non-eschatological Jesus, Wilson shows convincingly that Matthew's Jesus had a clear eye to the future, looking both to coming events in Palestinian history for his own vindication on the world stage and also to a more ultimate judgment in which he would play the leading role. Whether or not other scholars agree with Wilson's conclusions, this is the sort of careful exegetical scholarship which is needed to carry constructive discussion forward. --R. T. France, formerly Principal, Wycliffe Hall, Oxford Alistair Wilson has written a study that reveals first-class scholarship. He demonstrates that he is fully abreast of issues that are currently being discussed. In his interactions he is tactful, serene, and persuasive. While applauding the views of others, he nevertheless shows his difference from them by carefully demonstrating, on the basis of Matthew's Gospel, that Jesus indeed is judge both in the first century and at the consummation. This book is an excellent addition to evangelical research that champions a high view of Scripture. --Simon J. Kistemaker, Professor of New Testament Emeritus, Reformed Theological Seminary Alistair Wilson's monograph goes right to the heart of contemporary debate concerning the role of Jesus by drawing attention to the motif of judgment in his role as prophet and sage that so impressed the Evangelist Matthew. His fresh study of judgment in this Gospel shows that the early church was far removed from seeing in him the non-eschatological teacher of the late twentieth-century 'Jesus seminar.' This is an important scholarly contribution to the ongoing study of how Jesus was seen and understood by his contemporaries with considerable significance for how we ought to understand him today. --I. Howard Marshall, Emeritus Professor of New Testament Exegesis and Honorary Research Professor, University of Aberdeen Alistair Wilson is a minister of the Free Church of Scotland. He has taught New Testament at Highland Theological College in Dingwall, Scotland, and currently serves as Principal of Dumisani Theological Institute in South Africa.
How to create the change you want to see in the world using the paradigm-busting ideas in this "utterly fascinating" (Adam Grant) big-idea book. Most of what we know about how ideas spread comes from bestselling authors who give us a compelling picture of a world, in which "influencers" are king, "sticky" ideas "go viral," and good behavior is "nudged" forward. The problem is that the world they describe is a world where information spreads, but beliefs and behaviors stay the same. When it comes to lasting change in what we think or the way we live, the dynamics are different: beliefs and behaviors are not transmitted from person to person in the simple way that a virus is. The real story of social change is more complex. When we are exposed to a new idea, our social networks guide our responses in striking and surprising ways. Drawing on deep-yet-accessible research and fascinating examples from the spread of coronavirus to the success of the Black Lives Matter movement, the failure of Google+, and the rise of political polarization, Change presents groundbreaking and paradigm-shifting new science for understanding what drives change, and how we can change the world around us.
From the Executive Director of Mental Health for Correctional Services in New York City, comes a revelatory and deeply compassionate memoir that takes readers inside Bellevue, and brings to life the world—the system, the staff, and the haunting cases—that shaped one young psychiatrist as she learned how to doctor and how to love. Elizabeth Ford went through medical school unsure of where she belonged. It wasn’t until she did her psychiatry rotation that she found her calling—to care for one of the most vulnerable populations of mentally ill people, the inmates of New York's jails, including Rikers Island, who are so sick that they are sent to the Bellevue Hospital Prison Ward for care. These men were broken, unloved, without resources or support, and very ill. They could be violent, unpredictable, but they could also be funny and tender and needy. Mostly, they were human and they awakened in Ford a boundless compassion. Her patients made her a great doctor and a better person and, as she treated these men, she learned about doctoring, about nurturing, about parenting, and about love. While Ford was a psychiatrist at Bellevue she becomes a wife and a mother. In her book she shares her struggles to balance her life and her work, to care for her children and her patients, and to maintain the empathy that is essential to her practice—all in the face of a jaded institution, an exhausting workload, and the deeply emotionally taxing nature of her work. Ford brings humor, grace, and humanity to the lives of the patients in her care and in beautifully rendered prose illuminates the inner workings (and failings) of our mental health system, our justice system, and the prison system.
Offers a collection of essays on philosophies and strategies for defining, leading, and managing projects. This book explains to technical and non-technical readers alike what it takes to get through a large software or web development project. It does not cite specific methods, but focuses on philosophy and strategy.
We are approaching the last days at breakneck speed, yet multitudes of people are oblivious to it because they do not believe the Bible is credible. Join author Dave Gaffney as he exposes the weakness of dissenters' opposition to the Bible while offering real hope based on the truth of things to come. Dave believes the Bible is more than just a collection of stories; it is a guide to the past, present, and future. In These Things Must Happen, Dave answers questions of biblical reliability, providing proof that the Bible can and should be trusted. He then delves deep into biblical study and the warnings of Daniel, Paul, Jesus and John to illustrate how past and present events will shape the future. Expounding on such topics as America's Christian heritage, the mark of the beast, and the identity of the antichrist, Dave gives straightforward details of what America must do in preparation for perilous times ahead. Presented in five parts—foundational background information, what was, what is, what is to come, and what we should do now—These Things Must Happen is a must-read for anyone who has questions about the end times.
