"[An important] detailing of the development and evolution of a major institution of the African Diaspora [and] of Brazilian and Afro-Brazilian identity." —Sheila S. Walker The Afro-Brazilian religion Candomblé has long been recognized as an extraordinary resource of African tradition, values, and identity among its adherents in Bahia, Brazil. Outlawed and persecuted in the late colonial and imperial period, Candomblé nevertheless developed as one of the major religious expressions of the Afro-Atlantic diaspora. Drawing principally on primary sources, such as police archives, Rachel E. Harding describes the development of the religion as an "alternative" space in which subjugated and enslaved blacks could gain a sense of individual and collective identity in opposition to the subaltern status imposed upon them by the dominant society.

Sara Franklin is seventeen and, at first glance, seems to have everything. She is beautiful, she is rich, and she is adored by her father. But she is also spoiled and willful and arrogant. And she is pregnant. Her Daddy must NOT knownor her hateful new stepmother, Caroline! The election is fast approaching and she can only imagine what the media would do with this piece of news. She must make some sort of decision, and do it quickly, for Caroline has already made arrangements to send her back to Miss Priscillas Academy for Girls and she certainly cant arrive there in her condition. Sara remembers the girls at that dreadful academy speaking of abortion, and how it is quick and easy and that everybody is doing it these days! She thought it sounded barbaric at the time, but now it would appear that it is her only option. As the taxi pulls to a stop, she sees a sordid building before her and the decrepit sign that reads: The Womens Clinic of Abortion. She shudders with dread, then reaches for her purse. At that moment she notices a discarded magazine on the seat beside her. The picture of a great white house catches her eye, the headline above proclaiming it as THE REFUGE: A Christian Alternative to Abortion. Hey, Miss! You gettin out? But she is busily scanning the caption under that wonderful picture. a beautifully rambling old home where women can find Christian direction, warm understanding, and medical care during an unplanned pregnancy. Sara glances again at the unkempt street outside her window and slowly shakes her head. No, she answers with sudden determination. No, I Ive changed my mind.

A Powerful Story Set Against the Backdrop of Today's Israel Nothing in Abigail MacLeod's life as a wife, a mother, and a teacher has prepared her for what she will experience during her summer in Israel. At forty-two, her life is in chaos, even before she leaves home--her marriage is dissolving before her very eyes, her faith is in shambles. This pilgrimage to Israel was supposed to be a new beginning for her. But by the end of the first day, she is forced to board an Israeli jetliner in spit of a bomb threat, and watches helplessly as a kind, fatherly gentleman she befriended on the plane dies in her arms. This is a summer Abby will spend learning about archaeology, delving into the past. And it's a summer that will change her life in ways she never imagined.