There is a place that promises acceptance, spiritual growth, and friendship, but instead delivers criticism, abuse, and exploitation. A place that declares marriages will be strengthened, treasured, and protected, but instead weakens, diminishes, and marginalizes them. A place that claims to obey the word of God, but in practice weaponizes the word against those who disagree or doubt. A place where the good news of a tenderhearted, loving Savior is blurred by leaders who are controlling, traumatizing, and self-serving. A place that calls loudly to the storm-tossed at sea, only to lure them to the rocks where they flounder and fall apart. A place that appeared to be a house of friendship but was a place of betrayal. That place might be a Christian church. It might be a cult. It is probably both. In the House of Friends: Understanding and Healing from Spiritual Abuse in the Christian Church is written for survivors of abusive churches, their families and friends, and all who want to understand spiritual abuse and help the abused. Dr. Garrett is a long-term pastor of a diverse, urban congregation and combines personal experience, sound academic research, and pastoral theology to address a poorly understood, rarely admitted problem today—spiritual abuse in Christian churches.

Laura Ingalls shares adventures and good times with her friends while growing up on the western frontier.

"Don't expect sense from these poems, in which grief, politics, literary theory, and sexuality interweave. But do expect language surprise and beautiful metaphors. . . . When [Akilah] Oliver presents her experiences in metaphor-rich language, the reader feels what she feels: incredible loss, infinite pain."--Library Journal "An extraordinary gift for everyone."--Alice Notley Written for her son, Oluchi McDonald (1982-2003), Akilah Oliver's poems incorporate prose, theory, and lyric performance into a powerful testimony of loss and longing. In their journey through the borderlands of sorrow, they grapple with violence, find expression in chants, and, like the graffiti she analyzes, become a place of public and artistic memorial. "If memory is the act of bearing witness," she writes, "then the dream is a friend driving us somewhere." Akilah Oliver is the author of the she said dialogues, recipient of the PEN/Beyond Margins Award. Born and raised in Los Angeles, she currently lives in Brooklyn and curates the Monday Night Reading Series at the Poetry Project.

Seth is so confused. If Coulson is straight, why is he checking Seth out? Seth is an out and proud Secret Service agent. When he’s asked to assist the FBI on an investigation, he meets FBI agent Coulson. Coulson is straight. Or so he says. Seth has no reason to doubt that, not even when they become close friends. Really close friends. But that’s all they are: friends. Until Seth finds himself checking Coulson out a little too closely—especially certain over-sized body parts—and notices Coulson doing the same to him. For someone who’s straight, Coulson shows a lot of interest in Seth’s dating life, his preferences, and his hookups. Could it be that he’s not so straight after all? Meanwhile, every discovery they make in their investigation leads to even more questions. Who’s really behind the assassination? How did they pull it off? And most importantly: what are they planning next? Friends is a friends-to-lovers romance that begins with a slow burn friendship but ends in high steam. The White House Men series is a romantic suspense set in the White House. Like what would happen if The West Wing and The American President had a gay lovechild. Each book has a new love story with a happily ever after, but the suspense plot ends on a cliffhanger and will be continued in the rest of the series, so the series needs to be read in order. Strong TW for detailed description of terrorist attack.

Casa Facebook Mark Zuckerberg, His Friends and the Mystical House that Launched Them Judy Fusco with Kevin Paterson In Casa Facebook, the author weaves together fascinating real-life stories of the founders of Facebook, the Silicon Valley kingpins, and a mystical house that became headquarters to the social networking startup that changed the world. This compelling narrative provides readers with an insightful view into the lives and community that launched Facebook and the dynamics that can transform wild dreams into reality. "Casa Facebook is a captivating story of Judy Fusco's experience with American values seen in the context of her Asian heritage," says Anita Wonder, author and close observer of the drama that played out at the house. "One can't read this book without feeling there is a deeper meaning to the extraordinary home where an American institution took shape." According to Judy Fusco, author of Casa Facebook, "In recent years I've had the opportunity of closely watching a transformational idea take shape around my dining room table, as a team of young entrepreneurs took a dream and unveiled it to the world. This social revolution has made a positive difference in the lives of millions-800 million members to be exact-and in the events of nations." "It seems," she says, "as if destiny brought these social revolutionaries to my house for a brief season and a great purpose. Perhaps, too, the mystique surrounding the house played a significant role in launching the global invasion of social networking and in propelling the Facebook founders to world renown. By taking a look through a window of time-a window I and many others have called Casa Facebook-we can listen and learn from the carriers of this grand idea, and in their lives we can find inspiration that can shape our own destinies." You can access blogs and 8 narrative videos about Casa Facebook which provide a visual look inside the many compelling stories surrounding this social networking phenomenon and the startup team - Mark Zuckerberg and his friends. The videos include a compelling video tour of the many Casas (headquarters) of Facebook. To register for additional content, go to www.thecasafacebook.com.