Are our identities attached to our faces? If so, what happens when the face connected to the self is gone forever—or replaced? In Face/On, Sharrona Pearl investigates the stakes for changing the face–and the changing stakes for the face—in both contemporary society and the sciences. The first comprehensive cultural study of face transplant surgery, Face/On reveals our true relationships to faces and facelessness, explains the significance we place on facial manipulation, and decodes how we understand loss, reconstruction, and transplantation of the face. To achieve this, Pearl draws on a vast array of sources: bioethical and medical reports, newspaper and television coverage, performances by pop culture icons, hospital records, personal interviews, films, and military files. She argues that we are on the cusp of a new ethics, in an opportune moment for reframing essentialist ideas about appearance in favor of a more expansive form of interpersonal interaction. Accessibly written and respectfully illustrated, Face/On offers a new perspective on face transplant surgery as a way to consider the self and its representation as constantly present and evolving. Highly interdisciplinary, this study will appeal to anyone wishing to know more about critical interventions into recent medicine, makeover culture, and the beauty industry.

Desirae Fontaine, better known by her friends as Destiny, is on her way to see her friend Peyton in Blue Cove. Having gone through a lot in her life the past few months, Destiny needs some downtime to reset her life. Her adventure begins on the plane when she meets a sweet older woman named Mila Ferris. Their conversation during the flight leads to her sharing her heart with the kind woman and ends with a bit of unseen magic in a bag of jellybeans. Evan Parker has his own hardships to overcome and could use the help of the kind old gentleman who comes with a little magic of his own. Can two lonely hearts find love and two weary fairies find help in helping Anything can happen. It’s Destiny’s spring.

Focusing on techniques of spiritual development and awareness of the presence of spirit in ordinary life, Robbins challenges the reader to move beyond spiritual blockages and obstacles and raise the vibrational frequencies that bring us to greater enlightenment. This reduces negative emotions such as despair, meaninglessness, and unhappiness. Robbins wants to help us increase our pro-social activity thereby contributing to a more open-minded service towards others. In this book he shows how to use effective techniques for practical and spiritual change while following a path of heart.