Randy and Yuleisy are orthodox con artists who would go all lengths to get everything that they want. In the purview of deception, strangers, loved ones, and even the government are all the same - potential victims. Acquainting themselves with other crooks as a married couple they meet Bobby; a fine carpenter, a business man, and a career criminal. Despite his legal success, he continues to steal and carjack at gun point which soon landed him in prison for ten years. Bobby is later deported back to his country where he continues to break the law as a hit man.Ramon's Birds of a Feather Flock Together is a mysterious and thrilling triumph, a story of crime and obsession, survival and betrayal, and the daunting terror of getting caught.

"This true story will twist your heart like a sponge and renew your faith in the world." —Lee Woodruff, co-author with Bob Woodruff of the New York Times bestseller In an Instant "A heartwarming book." —Vicki Myron, author of New York Times #1 Bestseller Dewey Birds of a Feather is ultimately a love story between veterans and the birds they nurse back to health and between Dr. Lindner and her husband, a veteran with PTSD, who healed at Serenity Park. Full of remarkable people and colorful birds, this book reminds us that we all have the power to make a difference. Animal lover though she was, Lorin Lindner was definitely not looking for a pet. Then came Sammy – a mischievous and extremely loud bright pink Moluccan cockatoo who had been abandoned. It was love at first sight. But Sammy needed a companion. Enter Mango, lover of humans ("Hewwo"), inveterate thief of precious objects. Realizing that there were many parrots in need of new homes, Dr. Lindner eventually founded a sanctuary for them. Meanwhile, she began to meet homeless veterans on the streets of Los Angeles. Before long she was a full time advocate for these former service members, who were often suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Ultimately, Dr. Lindner created a program for them, too. Eventually the two parts of her life came together when she founded Serenity Park, a unique sanctuary on the grounds of the Greater Los Angeles Veterans Administration Healthcare Center. She had noticed that the veterans she treated as a clinical psychologist and the parrots she had taken in as a rescuer quickly formed bonds. Men and women who had been silent in therapy would share their stories and their feelings more easily with animals.

Metaphors are ways of thinking and speaking about God which are based on images. The Bible is full of animal characteristics to describe God. Jesus also describes others by using metaphors. In the Bible God is seen as a Shepherd, Lion, Father, Eagle, Light, Rock, a fortress, the Vinedresser, Our Refuge, the Potter, a Wheel, Fire, etc. These sermons will give Spiritual growth and encouragement. Jeffrey Hunter lives in Columbia, South Carolina where he pastored for serveral years. He has taught in the Religion department of Allen University in Columbia, SC, Limestone College the Columbia SC Campus, and Newberry College in Newberry, SC. He matriculated at Benedict College in Columbia, SC, Lutheran Thelogical Southern Seminary in Columbia, SC, Erskine Theological Seminary in Due West, SC, United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, and Bethany Theological Seminary in Houston, Alabama.

After stumbling upon a book of photographs depicting extinct animals, B.J. Hollars became fascinated by the creatures that are no longer with us; specifically, extinct North American birds. How, he wondered, could we preserve so beautifully on film what we’ve failed to preserve in life? And so begins his yearlong journey to find out, one that leads him from bogs to art museums, from archives to Christmas Counts, until he at last comes as close to extinct birds as he ever will during a behind-the-scenes visit at the Chicago Field Museum. Heartbroken by the birds we’ve lost, Hollars takes refuge in those that remain. Armed with binoculars, a field guide, and knowledgeable friends, he begins his transition from budding birder to environmentally conscious citizen, a first step on a longer journey toward understanding the true tragedy of a bird’s song silenced forever. Told with charm and wit, Flock Together is a remarkable memoir that shows how “knowing” the natural world—even just a small part—illuminates what it means to be a global citizen and how only by embracing our ecological responsibilities do we ever become fully human. A moving elegy to birds we’ve lost, Hollars’s exploration of what we can learn from extinct species will resonate in the minds of readers long beyond the final page. Purchase the audio edition. Watch a book trailer for Hollars’s newest book, Midwestern Strange.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE INDIE AWARD FOR FICTION 2017 LONGLISTED FOR THE MILES FRANKLIN LITERARY AWARD 2017 A beautiful new novel about the innocence of childhood and the scars that stay with you for life, from the award winning author of Mr Wigg and Nest. 'All in?' Kieran pulled me up, and the others followed. We gathered around the bigger tree. No one asked Matty - he just reached up and put his right hand on the trunk with ours. Kieran cleared his throat. 'We swear, on these trees, to always be friends. To protect each other - and this place.' Finding those carved trees forged a bond between Jay and her four childhood friends and opened their eyes to a wider world. But their attempt to protect the grove ends in disaster, and that one day on the river changes their lives forever. Seventeen years later, Jay finally has her chance to make amends. But at what cost? Not every wrong can be put right, but sometimes looking the other way is no longer an option. Praise for Where The Trees Were: 'an entrancing novel from a powerful new voice in Australian literature' - Australian Women's Weekly - APRIL 2016 AWW GREAT READ Praise for Nest: '(a) truly rich novel' - Sydney Morning Herald 'a thoroughly enjoyable, uplifting read from one of the most creative nature writers of our time' - MiNDFOOD Praise for Mr Wigg: 'beautiful and absorbing' - Sydney Morning Herald 'Simpson is a beautiful writer' - The Big Issue **Includes an extract from Simpson's next transporting novel, The Last Woman in the World**

In Birds of All Feathers, speaker, author, and diversity and inclusion expert Michael Bach argues that creating diverse, inclusive workplaces is not just the right thing to do-it is also the smart thing to do. It embraces an ethos of innovation and creativity. It's good for you and your employees, it strengthens your organization, and it benefits the people you serve. Whether you are in the arts, health, nonprofit, for-profit, or another sector, there is a business case for making your organization a space of true inclusion. Birds of All Feathers lays out what can be a complex topic in expertly accessible terms and shows you how to discover your organization's "why," how to implement and sustain beneficial changes, and how to measure its success. Book jacket.

p.B. J. Whiting savors proverbial expressions and has devoted much of his lifetime to studying and collecting them; no one knows more about British and American proverbs than he. The present volume, based upon writings in British North America from the earliest settlements to approximately 1820, complements his and Archer Taylor's Dictionary of American Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases, 1820-1880. It differs from that work and from other standard collections, however, in that its sources are primarily not "literary" but instead workaday writings - letters, diaries, histories, travel books, political pamphlets, and the like. The authors represent a wide cross-section of the populace, from scholars and statesmen to farmers, shopkeepers, sailors, and hunters. Mr. Whiting has combed all the obvious sources and hundreds of out-of-the-way publications of local journals and historical societies. This body of material, "because it covers territory that has not been extracted and compiled in a scholarly way before, can justly be said to be the most valuable of all those that Whiting has brought together," according to Albert B. Friedman. "What makes the work important is Whiting's authority: a proverb or proverbial phrase is what BJW thinks is a proverb or proverbial phrase. There is no objective operative definition of any value, no divining rod; his tact, 'feel, ' experience, determine what's the real thing and what is spurious."