This book is an exploration of the complex relationship between suffering andcreativity, driven by the belief that there is art in the agony.

This book is an exploration of the complex relationship between suffering andcreativity, driven by the belief that there is art in the agony.

"An exciting vision of the future" --Michael Eric Dyson Everything Is Spiritual is an unexpected and compelling invitation to see your life in a whole new way. We have the great moments of our lives, the highs, those times when we soar, when it all makes sense, when it feels like it all has purpose and meaning. And then there are all those other moments—the lows and aches and failures and struggles and experiences that leave us wondering what the point of it all is. Are our lives ultimately bits and pieces and fragments—you try to find a little peace and hope and then it’s over? Or is there more going on here? In our increasingly polarized and disoriented world, Everything Is Spiritual gives us a radical new take on how it all fits together, how it works, how it’s all connected. Part memoir, part extended riff on the quantum nature of reality, part history of the universe, Rob Bell takes us back through the twists and turns and struggles of his story in order to help us see the larger story so that we can reconnect with our story.

Winner at the 2012 Living Now Book Awards This beautiful story talks about solidarity, respect for nature, overcoming obstacles by helping another one, and the benefits of teamwork. Guided Reading Level: R, Lexile Level: 720L

“Suspenseful…emotionally compelling. I found myself eagerly following in a way I hadn’t remembered for a long time, impatient for the next twist and turn of the story."—NPR An Afghan American woman returns to Kabul to learn the truth about her family and the tragedy that destroyed their lives in this brilliant and compelling novel from the bestselling author of The Pearl That Broke Its Shell, The House Without Windows, and When the Moon Is Low. Kabul, 1978: The daughter of a prominent family, Sitara Zamani lives a privileged life in Afghanistan’s thriving cosmopolitan capital. The 1970s are a time of remarkable promise under the leadership of people like Sardar Daoud, Afghanistan’s progressive president, and Sitara’s beloved father, his right-hand man. But the ten-year-old Sitara’s world is shattered when communists stage a coup, assassinating the president and Sitara’s entire family. Only she survives. Smuggled out of the palace by a guard named Shair, Sitara finds her way to the home of a female American diplomat, who adopts her and raises her in America. In her new country, Sitara takes on a new name—Aryana Shepherd—and throws herself into her studies, eventually becoming a renowned surgeon. A survivor, Aryana has refused to look back, choosing instead to bury the trauma and devastating loss she endured. New York, 2008: Thirty years after that fatal night in Kabul, Aryana’s world is rocked again when an elderly patient appears in her examination room—a man she never expected to see again. It is Shair, the soldier who saved her, yet may have murdered her entire family. Seeing him awakens Aryana’s fury and desire for answers—and, perhaps, revenge. Realizing that she cannot go on without finding the truth, Aryana embarks on a quest that takes her back to Kabul—a battleground between the corrupt government and the fundamentalist Taliban—and through shadowy memories of the world she loved and lost. Bold, illuminating, heartbreaking, yet hopeful, Sparks Like Stars is a story of home—of America and Afghanistan, tragedy and survival, reinvention and remembrance, told in Nadia Hashimi’s singular voice.

‘Gone to the stars’ is the story of a young man who grew up in a privileged world but gave it all up to go and search for a deeper spiritual meaning to life. After being raised in the most beautiful palace on Earth, the young man goes to work for the richest chairman of the board in corporate America and gets involved in high-stakes takeovers, living the super jet-set life. One day, while on a business trip to New York City, his soul separates itself from his body and rises up into the sky along a beam of light. His soul travels to a bright star, which is the entrance to heaven. Returning to Earth, the young man has realized that he now has a soul that is eternal. So he decides to renounce his lifestyle and go look for proofs to what is eternal in man: his soul. This begins a pilgrimage throughout the great American and Mexican wilderness, looking to strip his soul down to its naked essence and travel to the star again, among a string of colorful characters whom he encounters living on the margin of society. Critics comments on ‘Gone to the stars’: “A loveable adventure story, wonderful insight, great art”; “extremely persuasive and in places highly emotive”; “deeply inspirational fiction”; “ambitious and eventful”; “very well written, eloquently and confidently, and a great spiritual adventure”; “a clever idea, with fast-paced narrative that is easy to get into and laced with satire”; “excellent, gripping, exciting, powerful, frightening, beautiful.”