Originally published: Ukraine: A-BA-BA-HA-LA-MA-HA Publishers, 2012.

In this carefully researched and hauntingly written memoir, Lisa Gruenberg not only records her own life, but also that of relatives long lost to darkness, terror, and murder. In dreamlike sequences she weaves known facts of the lives of those lost into tableaus of imagined family dinners, conversations and leisure activities set in the Vienna landscape. She especially brings back to life some of the girls and women whose fates remain largely unknown. Indeed, she embodies her aunt Mia as she walks in her shoes, sees with her eyes, and speaks with her voice. These flights into the past are presented within the framework of Gruenberg's own family, her husband and daughters, and her father. He escaped from Vienna in 1939 and shared few of his memories with her, and that only late in life when disease had beaten down his defenses against remembering. The trauma and feeling of guilt often described in Holocaust survivors is reflected in this memoir, also the burden shared by so many of their children and grandchildren. At the same time, this tale is one of lightness and finding balance in all these difficulties and trials. There is an endless network of cousins and friends of cousins, one more colorful than the next. They are spread all over the world and Gruenberg seeks many of them out in her search for the past. At the center stands author's ability to look at the truth unflinchingly, including truths apparent in herself. She shares her insights in all their nakedness, starkness and, yes, hilarity. This, together with the author's luminous prose, make My City of Dreams an important landmark in 21st century testimony of the Holocaust.

Buildings, bridges, and books don't exist without the workers who are often invisible in the final product, as this joyous and profound picture book reveals from acclaimed author of The Christmas Boot Lisa Wheeler and New York Times bestselling illustrator of Love Loren Long All across this great big world, jobs are getting done by many hands in many lands. It takes much more than ONE. Gorgeously written and illustrated, this is an eye-opening exploration of the many types of work that go into building our world--from the making of a bridge to a wind farm, an amusement park, and even the very picture book that you are reading. An architect may dream up the plans for a house, but someone has to actually work the saws and pound the nails. This book is a thank-you to the skilled women and men who work tirelessly to see our dreams brought to life.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Astonishing . . . one of those hard-to-put-down-until-four-in-the morning books . . . a story with characters who enter a reader’s life, take up residence, and illuminate the myriad decisions and stories that make up human history.”—Los Angeles Times In her most powerful novel yet, acclaimed author Lisa See returns to the story of sisters Pearl and May from Shanghai Girls, and Pearl’s strong-willed nineteen-year-old daughter, Joy. Reeling from newly uncovered family secrets, Joy runs away to Shanghai in early 1957 to find her birth father—the artist Z.G. Li, with whom both May and Pearl were once in love. Dazzled by him, and blinded by idealism and defiance, Joy throws herself into the New Society of Red China, heedless of the dangers in the Communist regime. Devastated by Joy’s flight and terrified for her safety, Pearl is determined to save her daughter, no matter the personal cost. From the crowded city to remote villages, Pearl confronts old demons and almost insurmountable challenges as she follows Joy, hoping for reconciliation. Yet even as Joy’s and Pearl’s separate journeys converge, one of the most tragic episodes in China’s history threatens their very lives. BONUS: This edition contains a Dreams of Joy discussion guide. Praise for Dreams of Joy “[Lisa] See is a gifted historical novelist. . . . The real love story, the one that’s artfully shown, is between mother and daughter, and aunt and daughter, as both of the women who had a part in making Joy return to China come to her rescue. . . . [In Dreams of Joy,] there are no clear heroes or villains, just people who often take wrong turns to their own detriment but for the good of the story, leading to greater strength of character and more durable relationships.”—San Francisco Chronicle “A heartwarming story of heroic love between a mother and daughter . . . No writer has better captured the voice and heart of Chinese culture.”—Bookreporter “Once again, See’s research feels impeccable, and she has created an authentic, visually arresting world.”—The Washington Post

A life changing book that chronicles the troubled marriage of a Pastor and his wife which included adultery and mental, emotional and spiritual abuse. Discover the principles that helped Pastors Joel and Kathy Davisson escape this challenged marriage and enjoy 10 years of an outrageously happy marriage which continues to this day.

Two ordinary teens become extraordinary, when the Super meets the natural. Margo, a nobody at high school who longs for something more than the ordinary, hopes her dream of burning hands will lead her to adventure. But, it’s only a dream. Bastion, a mysterious boy, moves from the mountains of Tennessee to the flat country of New Jersey, perking Margo’s interest as her new neighbor. As he struggles with adjusting to a new place and his secretive past which is hidden in blood and shadows, evil seeks to destroy his life. Inadvertently, as their relationship develops, Bastion entangles them both in a deadly cat-and-mouse game, as Margo’s dream of fiery hands intensify. She seeks for answers, leading her to some unlikely help, raising the question if a higher power can save them or if they are truly alone in this world. They must choose a side in a supernatural war that has been raging for centuries, while they struggle to find out who they are. As they are thrown into a world they never knew existed between angels and demons, they are faced with tough questions and even tougher realities. They soon learn the role they play between Heaven and Earth, is the key to everything.

Go into the vault and get the big bills, John commanded. Lisa hesitated. Her eyes moved anxiously to the open vault door; its heavy hinges cast shadows that blended into the darkness of the interior. She said in a soft voice, I dont like the vault. It gives me nightmares. John laughed cruelly. Do you really expect me to believe youre a bank teller whos scared of bank vaults? Lisa nodded her head. John waved his gun at her. This is a robbery, and this gun is not a dream. Lisa Reilly, teller at First National Consumer Bank in Rhode Island, ballroom dancer, and hopeful romantic, is a dreamer. She experiences lucid dreams now and again, and she hopes to harness them, making the plots of her dreams bend to her will. She also has terrible nightmares of being stuck inside the vault at the bank and sometimes dreams of having a boyfriend too. Lisa never really thought shed be a victim in an actual armed robbery, but when she suddenly finds herself moving toward the vault, trying to survive a real-life bank robbery, her worst nightmares are realized. Will Lisa ever be able to have a lucid dream where she is in control? Will she be able to overcome her bank vault nightmares? Will she survive the real-life robbery? Find out as you travel through Lisas dreams and reality, crossing the bridge between the two worlds in Dr. Karen Petits exciting and romantic novel, Banking on Dreams.