The baby is screaming again. My baby. I hoist her off the narrow hotel bed--again--and try to cradle her as I rock my torso back and forth in an uncomfortable straight-backed chair. This baby does not cradle. She doesn't know how to cuddle, to be soothed in anyone's arms. She howls and arches away, squirms and flops, a sixteen-pound fish out of water. I'm not used to holding babies, and she's not used to be being held, but when I try to put her down, she wails. My arms feel chafed, raw, and my wrists ache from the hours of straining to hang on to her. Huge tears pool in her eyes. These tears could break my heart. These screams could break my eardrums. After years as a temporary college instructor with no real home—her family and longtime friends scattered—Nancy McCabe yearned to settle down, establish a place she could call home, and rear a child there. A tough academic job market led her to accept a position at a church-connected college in the deep South, a move that felt like an uneasy return to the conservative environment of her childhood that she thought she had left behind. McCabe had many reservations about rearing a child alone in this climate, but the desire to become a mother would not go away. Meeting Sophie tells the story of McCabe adopting a Chinese daughter and the many obstacles she faced during the adoption and adjustment process as she renegotiated her role within her family and fought difficulties in her job. Especially poignant is her struggle to bond with a sick, grieving baby while in a foreign country during political unrest—followed, upon her return to the U.S., by a devastating loss and a career crisis.

'This gorgeous book completely carried me away' Jenny Ashcroft, author of Island in the East 'The perfect novel to curl up with on a cosy night in' Hello 'An absolute gem of a novel' Better Reading Australia You are warmly invited to join the Fairvale Ladies book club . . . 1978. Life in Australia's vast Northern Territory isn't always easy. Telephones are not yet common, and the treacherous seasons make even travelling to the next town a struggle. But Sybil Baxter is finding a way to connect . . . Bringing together her daughter-in-law Kate, who is finding it hard to adjust to married life, and her old friend Rita, often far away working hard for the Flying Doctors, Sybil starts a book club. Joined by Sallyanne, a mother of three with a trouble marriage, and Della, who moved to the country looking for adventure, they come together to bond over their favourite stories. But as life throws up challenges to each of its members, the club might just provide these five women with what they need more than anything: a friendship capable of overcoming any distance and weathering all seasons. _________________ Join other readers in discovering the joy of the Fairvale Ladies . . . 'A book showing more kindness between its pages than any I have read before' NetGalley Reviewer 'A warm hearted, generous book . . . it was a pleasure and a comfort to come back to the characters each night' Virginia McGregor, author of Before I Was Yours 'I didn't want this story to end and would happily spend time in this world each day' Amazon Reviewer 'The story is timeless, the characters realistic and descriptions of the landscape breathtaking' Amazon Reviewer 'Heartwarming and fulfilling' Australian Women's Weekly 'Wonderfully atmospheric' Sunday Mirror __________________ Perfect for readers of The Chilbury Ladies' Choir, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, The Sunday Lunch Club and The Lido.

From streets where poverty is a living, tangible presence to the majestic splendour of the Taj Mahal, the contradictions and fascinations of unexpected adventures in India are vividly brought to life in this story about Sophie, the principal character from whom the book takes its name. Invited there to join an old school friend mysteriously connected to her by a peculiar English flower, Sophie experiences a land of exotic customs and breath-taking monuments. After encountering an enigmatic spiritual teacher and eventually acquiring wealth beyond her wildest dreams, she is ultimately faced with a unique opportunity to become an agent of heroic change in the struggling world of a poor, angelic housemaid.

The Louisiana bayou hides a terrifying secret. Coffins rise from the murky depths, each containing a woman who vanished without a trace. Sophie Quinn, a brilliant FBI agent with a haunted past, is called upon to investigate. A gifted hypnotist with a photographic memory, Sophie's expertise in deception and the human mind could be the key to cracking the case. But this investigation cuts too close to home. The bayou where these coffins surface is the same one where Sophie and her sister were once abducted. Now, as she confronts the demons of her past, a desperate race against time unfolds. Will Sophie be able to identify the killer before he strikes again? Can she confront her own buried trauma to unravel the truth? Find out in Mystery in the Marsh: A Sophie Quinn Thriller by Isolde Bennett, a thrilling tale of suspense where the secrets of the swamp threaten to drag everyone under.

Sophie Tucker appeared in only seven American stage musicals and appeared only twice on Broadway but, then, it was difficult to cast her in a show. A buxom and ebullient performer, she--and her audiences--quickly found that playing herself was most effective. This is a biography of a vaudeville and cabaret performer who saw herself as one of the first liberated women and one of the last "red hot mamas." It tells the story of her birth as her mother traveled to Boston from Russia, her childhood in Boston, and her first public performance at Poli's Vaudeville Theatre at the age of 13. It also tells the story of her troubled marriage to Louis Tuck and the birth of their son, her meeting with Willie Howard, a vaudeville veteran who encouraged her to go to New York and pursue a stage career, her discovery by Flo Ziegfeld (of the Ziegfeld Follies), and her rise to headliner status under the guidance of her agent William Morris. She was best known for appearing on stage with just a piano player, and openly discussing her life and Jewish upbringing.

*READERS CROWN AWARD WINNER *Readers' Favorite International Book Award Silver Medalist *National Excellence In Romance Fiction Award Finalist Eventually, he will find you... Jewelry designer Sophie Burke has fled Maine for the anonymity of the big city. She’s starting over with a job she tolerates and a grungy motel room she calls home on the wrong side of town, but anything is better than the nightmare she left behind. Stone McCabe is Ethan Cooke Security’s brooding bad boy more interested in keeping to himself than anything else—until the gorgeous blond with haunted violet eyes catches his attention late one rainy night. Stone reluctantly gives Sophie a hand only to quickly realize that the shy beauty with the soft voice and pretty smile has something to hide. Tangled up in her secrets, Stone offers Sophie a solution that has the potential to free her from her problems once and for all—or jeopardize both of their lives.

This book also explores Sophie Barat's spiritual journey, from her dark Jansenistic roots to her belief in a loving, warm and tender God, as expressed in devotion to the Sacred Heart."--BOOK JACKET.