I Grew Up In Polish Heaven is an eyewitness account, through the vivid eye of a little boy's memory, of the courage, ingenuity, and industry of the displaced/often-despised Polish Refugees of Wallington. The book spotlights the struggles, survival strategies, and superhuman perseverance of the little boy's seventy-year old father, slowly dying of a lung disease. Central to the story are the sacrificial disciplines of this old Refugee Pole who sired two sons in his old age…and later, the misdeeds and misfortunes of his two fatherless boys. In a broader context, the book is a freeze-frame in time (1950), capturing the spirit and identity of the Refugee community: their attitudes, habits, ingenuities, vices, and contributions into the American Melting Pot. “Polish Heaven” chronicles the paranormal strength and perseverance forged into the human spirit as it passes through the Fiery Furnace of Affliction. The book is an instructive, inspiring history of Polish war-victims who triumphed over their “Everest of Impossibilities,” reconstructing their shattered lives inside that One Square Mile known as Wallington. I Grew Up In Polish Heaven ignites and incinerates the straw Goliath of Hopelessness in the face of impossible odds. It places the single smooth stone of Visionary Courage into the inerrant sling of Hope, in the fullest confidence that every Goliath has a chink in his armor. This book offers genuine hope and encouragement to persevere with what you have, in facing your desperate circumstances – how to “Never Say Die!” It gives case histories of deeply distraught human beings who survived in and triumphed over their darkest hour. The book showcases the Pioneer/Reconstructionist spirit, “starting from scratch”; doing what you can with what you have, despite your staggering losses. [The old Polish father made honest money, three times, on one piece of wood!] This book promotes the Pursuit of Life, even when most of it has been sucked out of you by the Leech of Evil Circumstance. The Author spotlights the universal Law of Sowing And Reaping: if the soil has yielded nothing but thorns and thistles, plow up your ground again and plant new seed! “Polish Heaven” also promotes the eternal ideal of genuine brotherhood, providing some practical cures for racial bigotry. It zooms in on warm interpersonal relationships and camaraderie, highlighting their restorative and healing effects upon people in crisis: both recipient and giver! The author, one of the two sons born in their father's old age, draws upon his vast experience in sales and human relationships; he is also a Christian minister and Bible Teacher. (You won't want to miss his stunning conversion Experience). Conversely, his younger brother, at the time of his death, was the dreaded Vice-President of the “ @#!*% 's Angels,” New York City. The book also paints rich cameos of his volcanic journey from Polish Heaven into the power structure of the notorious Angels. This Little Brother was given the burial of a Big Man, in the private cemetery grounds of the @#!*% 's Angels. “Little Brot” was feared and respected by some of the deadliest men ever spawned by Satan since the Fall of Adam. I Grew Up In Polish Heaven will impart to all readers a different, broader perspective of their own roots – a deeper appreciation of their ancestors' sufferings on their behalf. It will awaken a keener sense of identity and wholesome ethnic pride. The book should enrich all readers with a reverent, joyful gratitude that they themselves, like the author, can now celebrate Life in a New And Better Day, as the beneficiaries of those who have gone before.…One Humorous Highlight…“As soon as the old Polish priest heard my last name, he began to lose his composure, struggling not to laugh. Unhappily, my name, in Polish is one of the most un-flattering words in the language!”

An autobiography unlike other literary forms shows the ego of an author. Aleksandra Ziolkowska-Boehm’s ego is delicate, fascinating, and courageous. Some fragments are almost like a movie with interesting dialog, compelling moments, and realistic characters. Vividly portrayed are dedicated and devoted parents who instilled a love for reading and books that formed the foundation for her career. Detailed descriptions of coping with the rigors of achieving an advanced education, career start, and caring, rearing and devoting love to a young son are outstanding.

Ethan Sterling has been through many trials in his life including losing his father when he was just six years old. After he joins the marines at age seventeen, Ethan quickly excels, wins medals for bravery, marries, and is commanding ten soldiers in Afghanistan by the time he is twenty-three. But when a road accident instigated by guilt sends him to heaven’s gate, everything changes for Ethan. After he is offered a choice to either fight an army that is being sent by hell to invade heaven and humankind or enter heaven and be at peace with his family, Ethan faces a monumental dilemma. If he accepts the difficult task and wins, he will return to Earth to reunite with his wife, son, and the life he left behind. With help from a small army from heaven that includes Noah, disciples James and John, his deceased father, and others, Ethan takes a risk and embarks down an uncertain path that he hopes will not only changes his own fate, but also that of his family and mankind. In this fantasy novel, an American soldier killed in a road accident arrives at heaven’s gate where he must face an agonizing choice with the power to transform the future.

Ian Frazier’s magnum opus: a love song to New York City’s most heterogeneous and alive borough. For the past fifteen years, Ian Frazier has been walking the Bronx. Paradise Bronx reveals the amazingly rich and tumultuous history of this amazingly various piece of our greatest city. From Jonas Bronck, who bought land from the local Native Americans, to the formerly gang-wracked South Bronx that gave birth to hip-hop, Frazier’s loving exploration is a moving tour de force about the polyglot culture that is America today. During the Revolution, when the Bronx was unclaimed territory known as the Neutral Ground, some of the war’s decisive battles were fought here by George Washington’s troops. Gouverneur Morris, one of the most colorful Founding Fathers, owned a huge swath of the Bronx, where he lived when he was not in Paris during the French Revolution or helping write the US Constitution. Frazier shows us how the coming of the railroads and the subways drove the settling of the Bronx by various waves of immigration— Irish, Italian, Jewish (think the Grand Concourse), African American, Caribbean, Puerto Rican (J.Lo is one of the borough’s most famous citizens). The romance of the Yankees, the disaster of the Cross Bronx Expressway, the invention of rap and hip-hop, the resurgence of community as the borough’s communities learn mutual aid—all are investigated, recounted, and celebrated in Frazier’s inimitable voice. This is a book like no other about a quintessential American city and the resilience and beauty of its citizens.

From St. Nicholas shoes, St. Lucy lights, and Simbang Gabi, Wren Day, king cakes, and Candlemas to Easter egg trees, May Crowning, and Dia de los Muertos, Catholic traditions from around the world evoke memories of cherished celebrations that connect us to one another and draw us closer to God. In Festive Faith, Steffani Aquila, founder of Liturgy Culture & Kitchen by His Girl Sunday, brings to life liturgical living as more than simply observing seasons. It’s about joyously celebrating God’s presence in our midst, every day and in every way. Festive Faith is a treasury of more than seventy festive traditions celebrated in various cultural groups during specific seasons or on particular days of our liturgical year. For each one, Aquila shares a brief history, a description of what the custom involves, and practical adaptations for celebrating it today. She tells you the why and the how of these traditions and shares tips on how to make them accessible, attainable, and authentic for everyone in your household, neighborhood, and parish communities. Festive Faith also includes stories from twenty individuals of diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds who share personal experiences of living the liturgical traditions of their communities. Learn from them how the faith of generations has been deepened by traditions such as these: The Mexican tradition of La Posadas, where the community travels from house to house looking for a place in the inn The practice of making and eating king cakes to represent Christ the King The Polish tradition of blessing of the Easter basket on Holy Saturday to signify the end of fasting and the anticipation of the Easter season The Holy Thursday tradition of visiting seven churches with family and friends to stay awake during the time Christ was in the garden of Gethsemane Whether you’re well-versed in these practices or just beginning your journey, Festive Faith equips you with practical tools and insights to make these traditions your own. Each showcased custom is accompanied by actionable steps that invite you to carry on the tradition, adapt it to your context, and extend it from your home into your parish and back again. This handbook isn’t just for personal or family enrichment; it’s a valuable resource for catechists, parish leaders, and religious educators alike. With its blend of personal anecdotes, historical insights, and practical tips, Festive Faith is a celebration of Catholic heritage and a roadmap for embracing liturgical living in today’s world. Dive in and discover the joy of celebrating God’s presence in every season and every moment.

Martin, the central character of Hart Wegner's powerful short-story cycle, is a middle-aged German emigre who has found a home, of sorts, in the isolated and often surreal setting of contemporary Las Vegas. Exiled at the end of World War II with his parents from their beloved Silesia, the family struggles to come to terms with the turmoil of history and memory while they cope with the challenges of assimilation in an alien setting. In stories that range from the Nevada desert to the lost world of prewar Silesia, Wegner explores, through the perspectives of Martin, his aging parents, and their small circle of fellow emigres, the intricate tapestry of the exile experience--childhood recollections of the vast and fertile plains of East Germany and the shelter of comfortable and loving homes, memories of the horrors of war, the guilt and terror and despair of displacement, the frustrations of finding one's way in a new and alien culture, the precious ties of family and longtime friendship. And most of all, loss--the loss of home; of an identity formed by an ancient language, the details of a shared culture, and a common sense of past and of future; of loved ones; and finally, and most tragically, of memory itself. Wegner's characters are vividly and bravely human, bitter, tender, despairing, and full of hope. And ever-seeking a new home, a new place in which to belong after their long sojourn in the wilderness. The inner world of the exile has never been examined with such sympathy, such clarity, or such eloquence.

Sitt Zubaida’s idyllic childhood on the al-Ajami Beach in Jaffa is nothing short of paradise. She spends her days with her loving family and with the enchanting sea, and spends her nights reading novels, immersing herself in stories of romance. But Sitt Zubaida’s world is changed with the arrival of the Palestinian Nakba in 1948, and her paradise is lost forever. The girl and her family join the more than 750,000 Palestinian Arabs displaced from their homes. Due to the tumultuous Israel-Palestine conflict, Sitt Zubaida and her family move from home to home, city to city, and country to country, causing years of anguish as she reflects on what was and yearns to return to her paradise. The partly autobiographical, partly fictionalized narrative of daily life and family traditions before and after the Nakba is interspersed with nostalgic memories and emotional reflections. Sitt Zubaida’s story captures the deeply human experience of loss and displacement, combined with a love and longing that can never be extinguished. A Girl’s Paradise Lost shines a humanizing light on the personal and social impact of a tragedy too often ignored in political accounts of historic Palestine and portrayals of Palestinians as either victims or terrorists.