They say the truth will set you free. They lie. Roxal is desperate to stay alive. So desperate that she pretends to obey her gods even though she knows they are false. But now her gods are hunting down and executing the non-believers, and Roxal fears her pretense may no longer keep her safe. Overachiever Lauren is on the verge of a brilliant technological breakthrough when an unexpected illness stops her in her tracks. Urgent visits to a hypnotherapist reveal an alien named Roxal is responsible. Is the alien a symptom of the illness? Or worse, is she real? Two women are in danger on two different worlds. Can their connection to each other be the key to saving them? Or will only one survive? The Heaviness of Knowing is the first book in a suspenseful, action-packed series for readers who love stories of overthrowing dystopian leaders and uncovering alien conspiracies. Buy your copy today and be transported to a world where knowing the truth is a death sentence. The Complete Conscious Dreamer Series Includes: The Heaviness of Knowing, Conscious Dreamer Series Book 1 The Peril of Knowing, Conscious Dreamer Series Book 2 The Sacrifice of Knowing, Conscious Dreamer Series Book 3 Science Fiction series, aliens, alien invasion, secret alien invasion conspiracy, thriller, alternate dimension, parallel dimension, scifi, sci fi, alien planet, dystopian, metaphysical

You can't unknow the truth. Roxal wishes she didn't know Trebor's gods, The Keepers, were fake. Because even though she knows the truth, to stay alive, she continues to use her Dream Traveler abilities to manipulate an Earth woman named Lauren to do their bidding. Roxal's acutely aware of what this will mean for Earth, and yet she's content pretending to be a loyal follower. But now The Keepers are searching for non-believers, and her mate's activities with a rebel faction have put them both in danger. Meanwhile on Earth, Lauren is struggling to find balance at work and at home. To make matters worse, she develops an acute case of insomnia which totally disrupts her life. While trying to cure her condition, Lauren discovers that not only do aliens exist, but that she's been in contact with one for most of her life. And that's just for starters. Now Lauren's world is turned upside down. And Roxal knows pretending will no longer keep her safe. Can Roxal figure out how to fight for her survival now that hiding is no longer an option?

*Selected as One of the Best Books of the 21st Century by The New York Times* *Named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, NPR, Broadly, BuzzFeed (Nonfiction), The Undefeated, Library Journal (Biography/Memoirs), The Washington Post (Nonfiction), Southern Living (Southern), Entertainment Weekly, and The New York Times Critics* In this powerful, provocative, and universally lauded memoir—winner of the Andrew Carnegie Medal and finalist for the Kirkus Prize—genre-bending essayist and novelist Kiese Laymon “provocatively meditates on his trauma growing up as a black man, and in turn crafts an essential polemic against American moral rot” (Entertainment Weekly). In Heavy, Laymon writes eloquently and honestly about growing up a hard-headed black son to a complicated and brilliant black mother in Jackson, Mississippi. From his early experiences of sexual violence, to his suspension from college, to time in New York as a college professor, Laymon charts his complex relationship with his mother, grandmother, anorexia, obesity, sex, writing, and ultimately gambling. Heavy is a “gorgeous, gutting…generous” (The New York Times) memoir that combines personal stories with piercing intellect to reflect both on the strife of American society and on Laymon’s experiences with abuse. By attempting to name secrets and lies he and his mother spent a lifetime avoiding, he asks us to confront the terrifying possibility that few in this nation actually know how to responsibly love, and even fewer want to live under the weight of actually becoming free. “A book for people who appreciated Roxane Gay’s memoir Hunger” (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel), Heavy is defiant yet vulnerable, an insightful, often comical exploration of weight, identity, art, friendship, and family through years of haunting implosions and long reverberations. “You won’t be able to put [this memoir] down…It is packed with reminders of how black dreams get skewed and deferred, yet are also pregnant with the possibility that a kind of redemption may lie in intimate grappling with black realities” (The Atlantic).

A compelling debut novel and deft exploration of the delicate dynamic between First Nations communities and non-native outsiders from writer Jennifer Manuel.

The Spirit of Heaviness and All Its Cousins is a book that details the behaviors of the demons associated with depression, heaviness, perversion, gluttony, poverty, lust, whoredom and murder. This detailed guide also teaches the reader how to be delivered from the strongholds associated with these demons.

Knowing and Seeing is teachings given by the Myanmarese meditation master, the Most Venerable Pa-Auk Tawya Sayadaw, at a two-month retreat for monks and nuns in Taiwan. In strict accordance with the standard Pali Texts, the Most Venerable Pa-Auk Tawya Sayadaw gives a practical overview of how you develop absorption (jhāna) with mindfulness-of-breathing, the thirty-two parts of your own body and that of others (near and far), repulsiveness of the body, the ten kasiṇas and four immaterial states. He then explains how you use the 'strong and powerful' jhāna concentration to perfect lovingkindness, compassion, appreciative joy, equanimity, recollection-of-The-Buddha, foulness, and recollection-of-death. Next, he explains how, with the light of jhāna, you penetrate the delusion of compactness and see the sub-atomic particles of materiality, and see the ultimate materiality of your own body, that of others, and throughout the universe; how likewise you see the cognitive-processes of your own mind and that of others; how likewise you examine your materiality and mentality of past lives, your present life and future lives (on this and other planes); and how likewise you develop the remaining knowledges till 'Your mind knows and sees Nibbāna directly: it is fully aware of the (unformed) Nibbāna as object.' The Sayadaw also answers questions from meditators at the retreat, on details regarding meditation, related matters, and the Bodhisatta Path etc. Finally, there is a stirring talk where he exhorts us to 'breathe according to The Buddha's instructions', followed by a talk on the most superior type of offering. [From a book published by Pa-Auk Meditation Centre, a Centre of Theravāda Buddhist Tradition]

“Part Annie Dillard, part Anne Lamott, essayist and NPR commentator Heather Lende introduces readers to life in the town of Haines, Alaska . . . subtly reminding readers to embrace each day, each opportunity, each life that touches our own and to note the beauty of it all.” —The Los Angeles Times Tiny Haines, Alaska, is ninety miles north of Juneau, accessible mainly by water or air—and only when the weather is good. There's no traffic light and no mail delivery; people can vanish without a trace and funerals are a community affair. Heather Lende posts both the obituaries and the social column for her local newspaper. If anyone knows the going-on in this close-knit town—from births to weddings to funerals—she does. Whether contemplating the mysterious death of eccentric Speedy Joe, who wore nothing but a red union suit and a hat he never took off, not even for a haircut; researching the details of a one-legged lady gold miner's adventurous life; worrying about her son's first goat-hunting expedition; observing the awe-inspiring Chilkat Bald Eagle Festival; or ice skating in the shadow of glacier-studded mountains, Lende's warmhearted style brings us inside her small-town life. We meet her husband, Chip, who owns the local lumber yard; their five children; and a colorful assortment of quirky friends and neighbors, including aging hippies, salty fishermen, native Tlingit Indians, and volunteer undertakers—as well as the moose, eagles, sea lions, and bears with whom they share this wild and perilous land. Like Bailey White's tales of Southern life or Garrison Keillor's reports from the Midwest, NPR commentator Heather Lende's take on her offbeat Alaskan hometown celebrates life in a dangerous and breathtakingly beautiful place. Heather Lende's new book, Of Bears and Ballots: An Alaskan Adventure in Small-Town Politics is available now.