Over a million years in the future, a desperate stowaway lies concealed in a space freighter’s cargo hold. Tam Amergan is bound for the prison world Corustloth, where his partner Brogan has been abducted. Ever since the Senate took over the planetary system decades earlier, gay men like Tam and Brogan—degens, as they are labeled under Senate—rule have been forced to live in secrecy. But Brogan is Tam’s life-line, bound to his soul in a ritual performed by a secret sisterhood of women with ancient, unknown designs. Tam has no choice but to follow Brogan wherever he goes. What Brogan sees, Tam sees; what Tam feels, Brogan feels. Neither can live without the other. Thousands of lightyears away, an ancient brotherhood of mentalists works at uncovering the mystery of humanity’s long-forgotten origins. Their leader, Father, enlists the help of Bennett, who is able to connect with the mind of a space freighter stowaway on the other side of the galaxy. Is Bennett the key to humanity’s origins? Could Tam’s quest to find Brogan have a wider purpose? Both a soaring love story and sweeping sci-fi epic, Life-Line: Origins is a thrilling gay romance and science fiction novel. Ambitious, gripping, and full of heart, it is a must-read for anyone hungry for adventure and intrigue.

Adoptions that cross the lines of culture, race and nation are a major consequence of conflicts around the globe, yet their histories and representations have rarely been considered. Life Lines: Writing Transcultural Adoption is the first critical study to explore narratives of transcultural adoption from contemporary Britain, Ireland and America: fictions, films and memoirs made by those within the adoption 'triad' or those concerned with the pain and possibilities of transcultural adoption. While acknowledging the sobering inequalities which engender transcultural adoptions and the lasting upset of sundered relations, at the same time John McLeod considers the transfigurative and creative propensity of imagining transcultural adoption as radically calling into question ideas of biogenetic attachment, racial genealogy, cultural identity and normative family-making. How might the predicament of 'being adopted' transculturally enable the transformative agency of 'adoptive being' for all? Exploring works by Andrea Levy, Barbara Kingsolver, Toni Morrison, Sebastian Barry, Caryl Phillips, Jackie Kay and several others, Life Lines makes a groundbreaking intervention in such fields as transcultural studies, postcolonial thought, and adoption theory and practice.

In shock and grief the last remnants of the human race watched from space as the holocaust of war raged across the face of the Earth. Now the future rested in the hands of three fragile space colonies: Aguinaldo—The Philippine L-5 colony whose brilliant biochemist engineered a limitless supply of food. Kibalchich—The Soviet space exploration platform that harbors a deadly secret. Orbitech 1—The American space factory whose superstrong weavewire could be a lifeline to link the colonies—or a cutting-edge weapon of destruction. As allies, they could unite to rebuild a better world. As enemies, they could destroy mankind’s last hope for survival.

From medical expert Leana Wen, MD, Lifelines is an insider's account of public health and its crucial role—from opioid addiction to global pandemic—and an inspiring story of her journey from struggling immigrant to being one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People. “Public health saved your life today—you just don’t know it,” is a phrase that Dr. Leana Wen likes to use. You don’t know it because good public health is invisible. It becomes visible only in its absence, when it is underfunded and ignored, a bitter truth laid bare as never before by the devastation of COVID-19. Leana Wen—emergency physician, former Baltimore health commissioner, CNN medical analyst, and Washington Post contributing columnist—has lived on the front lines of public health, leading the fight against the opioid epidemic, outbreaks of infectious disease, maternal and infant mortality, and COVID-19 disinformation. Here, in gripping detail, Wen lays bare the lifesaving work of public health and its innovative approach to social ills, treating gun violence as a contagious disease, for example, and racism as a threat to health. Wen also tells her own uniquely American story: an immigrant from China, she and her family received food stamps and were at times homeless despite her parents working multiple jobs. That child went on to attend college at thirteen, become a Rhodes scholar, and turn to public health as the way to make a difference in the country that had offered her such possibilities. Ultimately, she insists, it is public health that ensures citizens are not robbed of decades of life, and that where children live does not determine whether they live.

There is more to the human origins, development, intelligence, and civilization, than the epic debate Creationism versus Evolution, simply because there is more to the human condition than what authorities and ideologies want you to believe. Therefore, when you study the human origins, you have to search beyond the moment when the first humans had detached from the firmament or previous species, since there are other significant events in humanity’s lifespan and achievement defining its specific timeline. While you have to study everything, otherwise you risk understanding these significant events only from simplistic empirical or ideological perspectives, ending up learning what you already know, while following the crowd throughout unending debates. Since you want the accurate truth, because you already know all theories, beliefs, speculations, and debates regarding the human origins. And this is why, when you study the human origins, you expect to understand everything about the origins of life, the nature and origins of this world, the nature of the human higher self and intelligence, the origins and debut of the human consciousness and human intelligent reasoning, along with all details related to the Creator of this entire world, of Life, and of humanity. Additionally, it is relevant to know how all these affect you personally, and how they affect your family, your genetic line, and your nation, how your family and genetic line originate, where and how it happened, under what circumstances, and with what status and privileges for you, for your family, for your nation, and for the humankind. And this is exactly what we cover throughout this book, in all details and from all perspectives. This book studies the human origins, along with the origins of life, human intelligence, human species, human development, human society, human current civilization along with various past civilizations of Earth, integrating humans, their origins, and their original and current conditions in an elaborate comprehensive model.

Designed for small groups or individuals who want to study the key doctrines of the Bible in an easy-to-use format; covers 27 topics in two books.

While personality traits and talents may help to predict a predisposition to a career type, this method of analysis neglects the influences of human purpose, passion, and life history. In Career Counseling, author Larry Cochran fills the void by introducing the theory of narrative construction, a method of counseling that injects personal identity into career development in a practical way. Cochran demonstrates how literary models and constructivist methods can be used in career development to provide the essential subjective dimension that has been lacking in practical counseling. In addition, he provides the innovative materials that are necessary for making this process both efficient and effective. This volume will be widely used by scholars and professionals in the fields of career counseling, clinical/counseling psychology, social psychology, and management.