Deceit, corruption and forced prostitution are words that never crossed Charlotte's mind as she finalized arrangements for a trip to India. Her travel partner pulls out at the last minute and Charlotte's father steps in forbidding her to leave alone. Failing to persuade her brother Eli to join her, Charlotte slips away under the cover of night setting off a chain of events that would change her life forever. Snatched from her world on the streets of Mumbai young Shanti now faces unspeakable horrors. Her short life had always been one of hardship but she'd always felt protected and loved by ten-year-old Ashok, her only family. Where was Ashok now? Would he come for her? Why was this happening? Eli and Ashok are determined to rescue their sisters from the dark world of human trafficking. Will their courage and love be enough to bring them home or will they find more than what they were looking for? Valley of Chaya, a story that rasps every emotion and certain to stir every readers heart.
Holy Woman chronicles the life, times, hardships, and legacy of Rebbitzen Chaya Sara Kramer, an extraordinary woman whom many considered a Jewish saint. A survivor of the medical experiments of Nazi death camp Doctor Joseph Mengele, she made a new life in Israel, where she married an unusually gifted mystic. In spite of penury and deprivation, the couple was an inspiration and guide to thousands. More of a life manual than a biography, this book explicates the profound life lessons by which Rebbitzen Kramer lived. Author Sara Yoheved Rigler draws the reader into the inner circle of her own close relationship with the Rebbitzen. Herself a serious searcher, Rigler spent 15 years in an Indian ashram before coming to Israel to reconnect with her Jewish origins. Refreshingly written and elegantly relevant, Holy Woman is a book for spiritually oriented persons who yearn to learn secrets of personal greatness from a truly hidden and humble Jewish luminary.
A heartfelt and inspiring personal account of a woman raised as a Lubavitcher Hasid who leaves that world without leaving the family that remains within it. Even as a child, Chaya Deitsch felt that she didn’t belong in the Hasidic world into which she’d been born. She spent her teenage years outwardly conforming to but secretly rebelling against the rules that tell you what and when to eat, how to dress, whom you can befriend, and what you must believe. Loving her parents, grandparents, and extended family, Chaya struggled to fit in but instead felt angry, stifled, and frustrated. Upon receiving permission from her bewildered but supportive parents to attend Barnard College, she discovered a wider world in which she could establish an independent identity and fulfill her dream of an unconfined life that would be filled with the secular knowledge and culture that were largely foreign to her friends and relatives in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. As she gradually shed the physical and spiritual trappings of Hasidic life, Chaya found herself torn between her desire to be honest with her parents about who she now was and her need to maintain a loving relationship with the family that she still very much wanted to be part of. Eventually, Chaya and her parents came to an understanding that was based on unqualified love and a hard-won but fragile form of acceptance. With honesty, sensitivity, and intelligence, Chaya Deitsch movingly shows us that lives lived differently do not have to be lives lived apart.
Beautiful, fragile Dina Reich, a young woman in Jerusalem's ultra-Orthodox haredi enclave, stands accused of the community's most unforgivable sin: adultery. Raised with her sisters to be an obedient daughter and a dutiful wife, Dina secretly yearned for the knowledge, romance, and excitement that she knew her circumscribed life would never satisfy. When her first romance is tragically thwarted, she willingly enters into an arranged marriage with a loving but painfully quiet man. Dina's deeply repressed passions become impossible to ignore, finding a dangerous outlet in a sudden and intense obsession with a married man, with terrible consequences. Exiled to New York City, Dina meets Joan, a modern secular woman who challenges all she knows of the world and herself. Set against the exotic backdrop of Jerusalem's glistening white stones and ancient rituals, Sotah is a contemporary story of the struggle to reconcile tradition with freedom, and faith with love.
In a land brought to life by warriors and lovers, war and honor, the legendary tower Tornor Keep is invaded by raiders. No longer the watchtower at the winter end of a summer land, Tornor turns to a young prince with the hopes that he might protect the future of the enchanting land.
From a two-time winner of the World Fantasy Award, this epic trilogy is a “marvelous blend of fantasy [and] realism” (Marion Zimmer Bradley). Tornor is a land of warriors and lovers, a diverse place where devotion knows few bounds and honor stands strong in the face of adversity. Spread across generations, these three novels feature a trio of courageous heroes as they come of age in a magical world. In the World Fantasy Award–winning Watchtower, Tornor Keep is the legendary tower that protects the winter end of a summer land. But when Tornor is overrun by raiders, Prince Errel and the tenacious warrior Ryke must fight the usurpers to save their home. In The Dancers of Arun, a student must learn to control his gifts. As the scholar and scribe of Tornor, Kerris has been in training for the past seventeen years. But it’s not until his brother Kel—of the Cheari culture—teaches him the psychic art of patterning that the city of Elath comes under attack and Kerris must draw on his new talents to fight the dangers of psychic warfare. In the epic conclusion to this fantasy saga, The Northern Girl, a young servant must find her inner strength as she hides a magical talent. The visions begin when Sorren is only thirteen years old and she’s marked as a member of the White Clan of Arun. But this honor of being a witch frightens Sorren and she does not want to come within the Tanjo and serve. Instead, she’s determined to keep this gift a secret for as long as she can—whatever the cost may be. Elizabeth A. Lynn’s groundbreaking series was one of the first to feature same-sex relationships as an accepted part of a fantasy world. Filled with provocative ideas, haunting prose, and boundless imagination, the trilogy will captivate fantasy lovers both new and old.
Felix and Zelda have escaped the train to the death camp, but where do they go now? They're two runaway kids in Nazi-occupied Poland. Danger lies at every turn of the road. With the help of a woman named Genia and their active imaginations, Felix and Zelda find a new home and begin to heal, forming a new family together. But can it last? Morris Gleitzman's winning characters will tug at readers' hearts as they struggle to survive in the harsh political climate of Poland in 1942. Their lives are difficult, but they always remember what matters: family, love, and hope.
When Chaya Ben Baruch gave birth to her sixth child, a son with Down syndrome, she led her family on a spiritual journey, moving from Alaska to Israel, and adopting more children with special needs, on the way. Whether she’s watching her son with Downs marry her adopted daughter with Downs, or fighting for the rights of all special needs children, life is never dull. Chaya even managed to find time to donate a kidney, leaving everyone to wonder, “What’s next?” There are few people who have Chaya’s combination of character traits: brilliance; bravery; altruism; honesty; and her ability to love, whether it's her own family or other people’s children. It is our aspiration for the reader to appreciate the uniqueness and joy that Chaya and her husband, Yisroel, have experienced as parents of children with Downs, and to open the hearts of people, across the globe. Ghandi wrote: “A nation’s greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest.” Join Chaya and her family on their enchanting odyssey. The world needs this heart-rending story, more than ever! Ariella Bracha Waldinger’s Review: “Every pregnant woman fears the possibility of birthing a child with special needs, but Chaya Ben Baruch, in her spiritually uplifting book, Chaya’s Angels teaches the reader the true beauty of raising these special souls. Chaya’s book allows the stereotypical belief of Downs babies to crumble: she removes all the negative labels attached to them; depicting their true beauty and inner light. Chaya takes the reader on an epic journey into the personal lives of she and her husband, as they dive into the unchartered waters of raising multiple Down syndrome babies. Gifted with an overflowing love and a passion to meets the needs of these babies, Chaya and her husband love these children unconditionally. They band together, through love and devotion, to give these children exactly what they need to thrive. As a result of reading Chaya’s book, I learned key information and extensive details about the demands of parenting special needs children. I also learned the rich rewards bestowed upon the brave of heart, who dare to embrace this difficult task. Anyone who has an interest in reading an amazing story of inspiration, or is curious about what it takes to raise babies and children with Down syndrome, will benefit from reading Chaya’s Angels. This book is a powerful contribution to children and adults with special needs, giving the reader a deeper understanding of the joys and rewards of life with these remarkable individuals.” Shira Yehudit’s Review: “Chaya’s Angels is an honest, no-holds-barred account of the life of an incredible woman, who has devoted her life to rescuing and caring for special needs children – not in some cold, clinical, institution, but in her home, and in her heart. Chaya makes no bones about sharing the trials and tribulations, the hardships and heartache of caring for and bringing up these special children – and sometimes losing them. But most of all, “Chaya’s Angels” shows us, in a vivid, personal language that speaks from the heart, the joy of having a special needs child in our lives, as part of our family. Chaya lets us feel the pure love that these children radiate to those around them, and helps us to understand that these children really are just that - special. And if this book does nothing more than persuade just one family to think twice about giving away their newborn special needs baby - for that, it was worth writing. But “Chaya’s Angels” is a very powerful, moving book, and I believe it will do much, much more than that…”
