Embark on a journey of the soul with this exquisite collection of illustrations, where the mystical world of the Japanese shrine maiden merges with the profound spirituality of her prayers. Each page unveils an elegantly depicted maiden, accompanied by her heartfelt words of prayer. These phrases resonate with the reader, evoking the often overlooked beauty and emotion in our everyday lives. The shrine maiden symbolizes harmony with nature, the changing seasons, and the flow of time. Her representations reflect introspection in silence, acceptance of change, and the hope of new beginnings, offering peace and inspiration to the reader. This collection invites you to explore the enigmatic realm of the shrine maiden, providing an opportunity to engage with your inner self. Through beautiful illustrations and memorable words of prayer, it takes you on a journey away from the mundane, deepening the dialogue with yourself.

Miss Jessie's is a memoir and business guide rich with inspirational life lessons and unique business advice from Miko Branch, the Chief Executive Officer of the dynamic Miss Jessie’s — the company that revolutionized the hair care industry. When Miko and her sister, Titi, were children, their grandmother, Miss Jessie, taught them independence and showed them the value of being “do it yourself” women, all while whipping up homemade hair concoctions at her kitchen table. As co-founders of Miss Jessie's, Miko reveals how she and Titi applied those lessons to create a successful business from scratch. A family memoir with a wealth of practical business advice and handy hair tips, told in Miko's funny and relatable voice, Miss Jessie’s is her remarkable story — from her childhood learning independence as a latchkey kid in Jamaica, Queens, to building a highly regarded company with her sister in their shared home salon in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Miko reflects on her hard-won insights working for her autocratic, iron-fisted father, and how the self-sufficiency she learned in childhood helped her blossom as a single mother with bills to pay, a child to raise, and a dream to pursue. She speaks honestly of her mistakes and successes, and of her role as an industry leader, negotiating multi-million dollar deals while at the same time restoring the self-esteem of natural and curly haired women. Charming and enlightening, chock full of entertaining stories and invaluable instruction that can be applied to any business, and illustrated with 16 pages of photos, Miss Jessie's confirms that with effort the American Dream is possible.

The author chronicles his 2013 investigation and findings surrounding the 2004 U.S. federal arrest and subsequent trials and sentencing of the "Holy Land Foundation Five."

In Search of Japan's Hidden Christians is a remarkable story of suppression, secrecy and survival in the face of human cruelty and God’s apparent silence. Part history, part travelogue, it explores and seeks to explain a clash of civilizations—of East and West—that resonates to this day. For seven generations, Japan’s ‘Hidden Christians’ preserved a faith that was forbidden on pain of death. Just as remarkably, descendants of the Hidden Christians continue to practise their beliefs today, refusing to rejoin the Catholic Church. Why? And what is it about Japanese culture that makes it so resistant to Western Christianity?

"Inside Deaf Culture relates deaf people's search for a voice of their own, and their proud self-discovery and self-description as a flourishing culture. Padden and Humphries show how the nineteenth-century schools for the deaf, with their denigration of sign language and their insistence on oralist teaching, shaped the lives of deaf people for generations to come. They describe how deaf culture and art thrived in mid-twentieth century deaf clubs and deaf theatre, and profile controversial contemporary technologies." Cf. Publisher's description.

Where's Stephanie? Is a faith-filled story about a grandmother placing clues in unlikely places, hoping her granddaughter, who was placed for adoption, will one day follow the clues and find her. When her granddaughter Stephanie was born, Anna Weber got to hold her before saying goodbye. Longing to see her granddaughter again, she places clues in unlikely places, including a letter in Stephanie's Social Services file, hoping that one day, by some miracle, Stephanie will follow the clues and find her. Based on actual events, this inspirational novel follows Anna on a long journey about loss, separation, and the power of family love. Realizing others are facing similar situations, Livingston provides readers with a list of adoption groups that can help in search for surrendered family members.

Experience life as it is in the U.S. for those who cannot hear.