In times of mingled hope and despair, of longing for the sacred combined with disillusionment, the image of Mary continues to hold tremendous appeal. Not only the mother of Jesus, but the quintessential Mother, the feminine face of the divine, fierce protector and gentle consoler, Mary serves as a source of inspiration, wisdom, vital essence of compassion and forgiveness. In Mother of God, Similar to Fire, priest-iconographer William Hart McNichols and mystical author Mirabai Starr collaborate to help make the perennial wisdom and love of Mary vibrantly accessible. Selected images of Mary, illuminated by Starr's lyrical prose-poems, embrace such diverse expressions as the Black Madonna, Latina, Bosnian, Greek, Italian, and Native depictions of Mother Mary. In these images of Mary we are reminded of what matters most, of what endures when all else seems lost, of what grace may yet be available when we meet fear with love. (Publisher).

Winner of the Oregon Book Award for Fiction. Kesha Ajọsẹ-Fisher's No God Like the Mother follows characters in transition, through tribulation and hope. Set around the world--the bustling streets of Lagos, the arid gardens beside the Red Sea, an apartment in Paris, and the rain-washed suburbs of the Pacific Northwest--this collection of nine stories is a masterful exploration of life's uncertainty.

ALICE FEENEYS NEW YORK TIMES AND INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER “Boldly plotted, tightly knotted—a provocative true-or-false thriller that deepens and darkens to its ink-black finale. Marvelous.” —AJ Finn, author of The Woman in the Window My name is Amber Reynolds. There are three things you should know about me: 1. I’m in a coma. 2. My husband doesn’t love me anymore. 3. Sometimes I lie. Amber wakes up in a hospital. She can’t move. She can’t speak. She can’t open her eyes. She can hear everyone around her, but they have no idea. Amber doesn’t remember what happened, but she has a suspicion her husband had something to do with it. Alternating between her paralyzed present, the week before her accident, and a series of childhood diaries from twenty years ago, this brilliant psychological thriller asks: Is something really a lie if you believe it's the truth?

A sweeping, ambitious study of the Virgin Mary’s emergence and role throughout Western historyHow did the Virgin Mary, about whom very little is said in the Gospels, become one of the most powerful and complex religious figures in the world? To arrive at the answers to this far-reaching question, one of our foremost medieval historians, Miri Rubin, investigates the ideas, practices, and images that have developed around the figure of Mary from the earliest decades of Christianity to around the year 1600. Drawing on an extraordinarily wide range of sources—including music, poetry, theology, art, scripture, and miracle tales—Rubin reveals how Mary became so embedded in our culture that it is impossible to conceive of Western history without her.In her rise to global prominence, Mary was continually remade and reimagined by wave after wave of devotees. Rubin shows how early Christians endowed Mary with a fine ancestry; why in early medieval Europe her roles as mother, bride, and companion came to the fore; and how the focus later shifted to her humanity and unparalleled purity. She also explores how indigenous people in Central America, Africa, and Asia remade Mary and so fit her into their own cultures.Beautifully written and finely illustrated, this book is a triumph of sympathy and intelligence. It demonstrates Mary’s endless capacity to inspire and her profound presence in Christian cultures and beyond.

Honoring the female part of the divine, from a refreshingly modern perspective. Call Her Goddess--call her God the Mother--call her the Feminine Principle--Her children need Her, and our world deeply suffers the pains of Her absence. Through the warmth and the wit of poetry, this book is an invitation for all--women, men, of any religion or of no religion--to welcome Her home and set a permanent place for Her at the family table. Carol Lynn Pearson's poetry are accessible, thoughtful, and thought-provoking--the perfect balance of wisdom, humility, and humor. Carol Lynn Pearson has been a professional writer, speaker, and performer for many years. In addition to her volumes of poetry, she is well known for such books as The Ghost of Eternal Polygamy; Goodbye, I Love You, her autobiography; Consider the Butterfly, which was a finalist in the inspiration/spiritual category of the 2002 Independent Publishers Book Awards; and a series of inspirational books that began with The Lesson. Carol Lynn has been a guest on such programs as The Oprah Winfrey Show and Good Morning, America and has been featured in People magazine. She has a master of arts in theater, is the mother of four grown children, and lives in Walnut Creek, California. You can visit her at www.clpearson.com.

No words, no language about God can ever fully reflect the divine mystery. The "loving Father" image is the one with which children are most familar. This book helps children experience another metaphor for God. Its songs, stories, pictures, prayers, and activities introduce children to the nurturing, tender care of Mother God, who loves them unconditionally.