When the nurturing nature of women meets the loyalty and unguarded affection of dogs, remarkable stories ensue. This book showcases these amazing connections and the resulting courageous and compassionate acts of love and healing they bring about.
2017 Gold Medal IPPY Award in Autobiography/Memoir They first meet in Paris in the spring of 1996. David is a divorced American attorney living on a converted barge moored on the banks of the Seine; Roni Beth is an empty-nested clinical and research psychologist working from her home in Connecticut. Now in their fifties, both have signed off on loving again—until they meet each other. Miracle at Midlife tells the inspiring story of Roni Beth and David’s intense and transformative transatlantic courtship. Along the way, David the loner, living amid the beauty, freedom, and pleasures of Paris, brings Roni Beth, a responsible and overextended professional haunted by earlier loss and trauma, back to her core as a woman, while she helps him reclaim connections that tie him to a larger world. They wrestle internal demons (mostly hers) and external threats (friends, family and different perspectives) as they share adventures in their respective worlds. Throughout their journey, stories of courage, joy and integrity bring hope and delight to those who wonder how romantic love appears and evolves; inspiration to people in mid-life who, knowingly or unknowingly, have completed a chapter in their lives and are ready to move on; and comfort to anyone who longs to wrestle and conquer the demons of fear, born of history or of the unknown, and win. Testimony that love is real.
Pets are such a big part of so many of our lives. As any pet lover knows, a wagging tail or a tender purr can soothe the soul after a hard day. And sometimes, the presence of dogs and cats in our lives can do even more. In these delightful books, Callie Smith Grant collects stories that celebrate the dogs and cats in our lives--stories that touch our hearts, renew our spirit, and show us how God created these beasts for unique purposes. A funny little dog named Prince earns his title by protecting the children of the house. A "dickens of a cat" gives a cancer survivor something else to think about. A lively litter of puppies soothes a troubled child. A scrawny kitten helps an anorexic girl begin to eat. Well-known authors, including Melody Carlson, Tracie Peterson, and Robert Benson, as well as new voices share their inspirational true stories of these otherwise ordinary cats and dogs whose presence in the lives of humans make them remarkable. Each book also includes interesting sidebars, memorable quotes, helpful hints for living with dogs and cats, and forewords by H. Norman Wright. The stories are warm, captivating, and ideal for a good curl-up-and-read or for a gift to any pet lover. Cat lovers, dog lovers, and anyone who likes to read uplifting stories will cherish these books.
Like their human friends, dogs come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Some are smart, like Ma-Buku, a five-pound Chihuahua who squeaks her toy in perfect time with her owners drums. Some refuse to adhere to dog clichés, like four-year-old Elmer, who loves to chase a tennis ball but refuses to pick it up and bring it back, or six-year-old Barnabas, who can’t be bothered to chase cats but will bark vehemently at the wind. There are pretty dogs, heroic dogs, and dogs that are loyal, intuitive, or just plain strange, like Bocci, who goes into a trance when his owner’s pager goes off, and can only be "reset" by being picked up and put back down again. All make an appearance in this delightful collection of stories. Submitted by hundreds of real dog owners, these true tales of mutual love and loyalty affirm that there’s no better friend than a dog.