"In the small Illinois town of Bradbury, change doesn't come often, and it certainly doesn't come easily. So when Pastor Fletcher hires Emily Duke as the new choir director at Zion Lutheran Church, he unknowingly sets in motion a chain of events that turns the life of his congregation upside down. The crusty church secretary, Mrs. Scheinberg, must learn to adjust her curmudgeonly ways. Zion's talented but pompous organist, Evan Ebner, must recognize his shortcomings. Emily must come to terms with her past. Even Pastor Fletcher must face reality when his world is shaken by the baggage Emily brings and by the handsome Zachary Brandt who pursues her."--Amazon.

A brilliant and provocative exploration of the interconnection of private life and the large-scale horrors of war and devastation. A Pulitzer Prize and National Book Critics Circle Award finalist, and a winner of the Bay Area Book Reviewers Association Award, Susan Griffin’s A Chorus of Stones is an extraordinary reevaluation of history that explores the links between individual lives and catastrophic, world-altering violence. One of the most acclaimed and poetic voices of contemporary American feminism, Griffin delves into the perspective of those whose personal relationships and family histories were profoundly influenced by war and its often secret mechanisms: the bomb-maker and the bombing victim, the soldier and the pacifist, the grand architects who were shaped by personal experience and in turn reshaped the world. Declaring that “each solitary story belongs to a larger story”—and beginning with the brutal and heartbreaking circumstances of her own childhood—Griffin examines how the subtle dynamics of parenthood, childhood, and marriage interweave with the monumental violence of global conflict. She proffers a bold and powerful new understanding of the psychology of war through illuminating glimpses into the personal lives of Ernest Hemingway, Mahatma Gandhi, Heinrich Himmler, British officer Sir Hugh Trenchard, and other historic figures—as well as the munitions workers at Oak Ridge, a survivor of the Hiroshima bombing, and other humbler yet indispensible witnesses to history.

Beautiful graduate student Ashley Wells is the victim of a jihadist bombing and is abducted in Jerusalem. She falls in love with a Christian Palestinian and is torn by her Zionist beliefs and her new desire to help the Palestinian cause.

If you've ever thought about community, whether as a lifestyle or simply as an expression of deeper fellowship with others, this book is essential reading. In the fifteen years since it first appeared in English, it has become the classic text on the subject -- read, dog-eared, borrowed, and discussed.Vanier is not a rosy idealist. That is because his writing is based not on theories, but on a wealth of wisdom gleaned over many years living in community, experiencing difficult days and joyous celebrations, times of struggle and hard-won success, moments of doubt and inspiration. He acknowledges the inevitable little frustrations of a life lived with and for others, but he also helps the reader see that without struggle there is no true growth.

Inspired by the lapidaries of the ancient world, this book is a beautifully designed collection of true stories about sixty different stones that have influenced our shared history The earliest scientists ground and processed minerals in a centuries-long quest for a mythic stone that would prolong human life. Michelangelo climbed mountains in Tuscany searching for the sugar-white marble that would yield his sculptures. Catherine the Great wore the wealth of Russia stitched in gemstones onto the front of her bodices. Through the realms of art, myth, geology, philosophy and power, the story of humanity can be told through the minerals and materials that have allowed us to evolve and create. From the Taiwanese national treasure known as the Meat-Shaped Stone to Malta’s prehistoric “fat lady” temples carved in globigerina limestone to the amethyst crystals still believed to have healing powers, Lapidarium is a jewel box of sixty far-flung stones and the stories that accompany them. Together, they explore how human culture has formed stone, and the roles stone has played in forming human culture.

"These images are great and have been tucked away for years" RONNIE WOOD "The REAL Rolling Stones... Consider this your AAA pass to touring with Mick 'n' Keith 'n' co." THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH Take a look inside rock 'n' roll history with over 500 never-before-seen photographs, notes, artworks, diary entries and mementoes from life behind the scenes of the Rolling Stones. Married to legendary Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood for 30 years, Jo Wood lived the rock star life. Her incredible collection of treasures from that time is a once-in-a-lifetime look inside the biggest band in the world. Accompanied by personal memories and behind the scenes anecdotes from Jo, Stoned is a love letter to the rock 'n' roll life and a truly unique window into the eye of the Rolling Stones hurricane.