This guide provides adoptive parents advice in getting through the difficult emotions and decisions about adoption, from dealing with the emotional upheaval of dealing with the issue of infertility, to the ups and downs of the adoption process, the bureaucracy of adoption, and more.

In private life, we try to induce or suppress love, envy, and anger through deep acting or "emotion work," just as we manage our outer expressions of feeling through surface acting. In trying to bridge a gap between what we feel and what we "ought" to feel, we take guidance from "feeling rules" about what is owing to others in a given situation. Based on our private mutual understandings of feeling rules, we make a "gift exchange" of acts of emotion management. We bow to each other not simply from the waist, but from the heart. But what occurs when emotion work, feeling rules, and the gift of exchange are introduced into the public world of work? In search of the answer, Arlie Russell Hochschild closely examines two groups of public-contact workers: flight attendants and bill collectors. The flight attendant’s job is to deliver a service and create further demand for it, to enhance the status of the customer and be "nicer than natural." The bill collector’s job is to collect on the service, and if necessary, to deflate the status of the customer by being "nastier than natural." Between these extremes, roughly one-third of American men and one-half of American women hold jobs that call for substantial emotional labor. In many of these jobs, they are trained to accept feeling rules and techniques of emotion management that serve the company’s commercial purpose. Just as we have seldom recognized or understood emotional labor, we have not appreciated its cost to those who do it for a living. Like a physical laborer who becomes estranged from what he or she makes, an emotional laborer, such as a flight attendant, can become estranged not only from her own expressions of feeling (her smile is not "her" smile), but also from what she actually feels (her managed friendliness). This estrangement, though a valuable defense against stress, is also an important occupational hazard, because it is through our feelings that we are connected with those around us. On the basis of this book, Hochschild was featured in Key Sociological Thinkers, edited by Rob Stones. This book was also the winner of the Charles Cooley Award in 1983, awarded by the American Sociological Association and received an honorable mention for the C. Wright Mills Award.

Like you, Sherri McConnell loves to quilt and fill her home with special creations. Online influencer, fabric designer, and quilt designer Sherri reveals her fresh and simple approach to scrap quilting in step-by-step instructions for a dozen splendidly scrappy projects. From small wall hangings and table toppers to larger throws and bed quilts, Sherri shares not only her patterns but also her tips for sewing success, for saving time (and using the time you have wisely), and for collecting, storing, and--best of all--using the scraps of fabric you treasure.

A brilliant and surprising investigation into why we date the way we do

'"Labor Of Heart" is a set of poems and lessons. the poetry relates to the author's thoughts, imaginations, and the complicated realities of the world. The lessons however are gained by the author from various faces and experiences. This book touches on the aspects of vulnerabilities in the author's life. The book is an effort by the author to connect with the world on a deeper, meaningful, and emotional level.

With Mindful Birthing, Nancy Bardacke, nurse-midwife and mindfulness teacher, lays out her innovative program for pregnancy, childbirth, and beyond. Drawing on groundbreaking research in neuroscience, mindfulness meditation, and mind/body medicine, Bardacke offers practices that will help you find calm and ease during this life-changing time, providing lifelong skills for healthy living and wise parenting. SOME OF THE BENEFITS OF MINDFUL BIRTHING: Increases confidence and decreases fear of childbirth Taps into deep inner resources for working with pain Improves couple communication, connection, and cooperation Provides stress-reducing skills for greater joy and wellbeing