In this memoir, Anna McGahan shares the story of reconciling with her body, mapping its journey from a cheapened product in a marketplace to a vessel of astonishing worth. This is a deeply personal and radical story, of a body rescued and set free. Of a life completely and irrevocably changed.

Western culture is in a moment when wholly new kinds of personal transformations are possible, but authentic transformation requires both personal testimony and public recognition. In this book, Adam Ellwanger takes a distinctly rhetorical approach to analyzing how the personal and the public relate to an individual’s transformation and develops a new vocabulary that enables a critical assessment of the concept of authenticity. The concept of metanoia is central to this project. Charting the history of metanoia from its original use in the classical tradition to its adoption by early Christians as a term for religious conversion, Ellwanger shows that metanoia involves a change within a person that results in a truer version of him- or herself—a change in character or ethos. He then applies this theory to our contemporary moment, finding that metanoia provides unique insight into modern forms of self-transformation. Drawing on ancient and medieval sources, including Thucydides, Plato, Paul the Apostle, and Augustine, as well as contemporary discourses of self-transformation, such as the public testimonies of Caitlyn Jenner and Rachel Dolezal, Ellwanger elucidates the role of language in signifying and authenticating identity. Timely and original, Ellwanger’s study formulates a transhistorical theory of personal transformation that will be of interest to scholars working in social theory, philosophy, rhetoric, and the history of Christianity.

At the very beginning of the Gospels, Jesus calls us to a radical new way of life, saying: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mk 1:15). The word “repent” in Greek is metanoia — but the original Greek word means much more than just repentance. It means to change, to turn, to think differently. Metanoia is not a one-time event but a process, and as Christians we are called to live a life of metanoia. Living Metanoia explores what this looks like in our daily lives, encouraging believers in all walks of life to go deeper in their relationship with Jesus. In his down-to-earth, approachable style, Fr. Dave Pivonka, TOR, addresses basic topics such as who Jesus actually is (rather than who we think he is or who we want him to be); what we need to do in order to inherit eternal life; the reality of evil; and our daily call to a deeper commitment to Christ. Each chapter contains Sacred Scripture to give context and direction, along with reflection questions and a practical “metanoia moment” to help us live a life of change. We all need metanoia — over and over again. Realizing this should be a source of hope and encouragement, for only by living metanoia can we find true and lasting freedom and fulfillment in Jesus Christ. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Fr. Dave Pivonka, TOR, is the president of Franciscan University of Steubenville. He has served for more than thirty years as a spiritual director, retreat leader, and formation director, and also served as the director of Franciscan Pathways. He is a well-known author, conference speaker, and pilgrimage leader. Fr. Pivonka is active in the charismatic renewal and serves on the board of Renewal Ministries.

Western culture is in a moment when wholly new kinds of personal transformations are possible, but authentic transformation requires both personal testimony and public recognition. In this book, Adam Ellwanger takes a distinctly rhetorical approach to analyzing how the personal and the public relate to an individual’s transformation and develops a new vocabulary that enables a critical assessment of the concept of authenticity. The concept of metanoia is central to this project. Charting the history of metanoia from its original use in the classical tradition to its adoption by early Christians as a term for religious conversion, Ellwanger shows that metanoia involves a change within a person that results in a truer version of him- or herself—a change in character or ethos. He then applies this theory to our contemporary moment, finding that metanoia provides unique insight into modern forms of self-transformation. Drawing on ancient and medieval sources, including Thucydides, Plato, Paul the Apostle, and Augustine, as well as contemporary discourses of self-transformation, such as the public testimonies of Caitlyn Jenner and Rachel Dolezal, Ellwanger elucidates the role of language in signifying and authenticating identity. Timely and original, Ellwanger’s study formulates a transhistorical theory of personal transformation that will be of interest to scholars working in social theory, philosophy, rhetoric, and the history of Christianity.

Ten years ago, Hollywood filmmaker Betsy Chasse co-created a movie on science and mysticism (subjects she knew nothing about), and was forevermore plucked from the oblivion of Valley Girl "shoe consciousness." The movie, "What the Bleep Do We Know ?," changed her life and the life of millions as it went on to make spiritual cinema history. Her latest creation, a "little book of essays" called Metanoia: a transformational change of heart, reveals a much wiser and infinitely more humble woman than the post "Bleep" successful thirty-something who hit the New Age conference circuits and radio shows back in 2005. "After the movie was released, people were coming to me for advice about how to make their lives as perfect as mine," Chasse recalls. "I had it all. I knew everything. All you had to do was ask me " Enter life, stage left. Metanoia: a transformational change of heart is, above all, a book about getting real. The nineteen short essays poetically and ruthlessly reveal a woman in the aftermath of public and domestic success; a woman in the process of being humbled by life; a woman who yearns for vulnerability and authenticity even as she rails against the need for facing the limiting self-concepts she holds inside that keep her from embracing-and loving-her true self. An "every woman" journey that every woman who has lived and loved and lost it all ... and then yearned for something greater and deeper to blossom within her can relate to. Delicate, surprising, potent and raw, each essay is accompanied by relevant quotes from sources as diverse as Victor Hugo, Rumi and Lucille Ball.

Fusing speculative realism, analytical and linguistic philosophy this book theorises the fundamental impact the experience of reading has on us. In reading, language provides us with a world and meaning becomes perceptible. We can connect with another subjectivity, another place, another time. At its most extreme, reading changes our understanding of the world around us. Metanoia- meaning literally a change of mind or a conversion-refers to this kind of new way of seeing. To see the world in a new light is to accept that our thinking has been irrevocably transformed. How is that possible? And is it merely an intellectual process without any impact on the world outside our brains? Innovatively tackling these questions, this book mobilizes discussions from linguistics, literary theory, philosophy of language, and cognitive science. It re-articulates linguistic consciousness by underlining the poetic, creative moment of language and sheds light on the ability of language to transform not only our thinking but the world around us as well.