Audie Award Finalist for best inspirational book! IMAGE AWARD (Native Daughters of the Golden West) "The Mission Walker is a marvelous book, a moving meditation on the relationships between courage and faith, endurance and transcendence." Randall Sullivan, Creator, The Miracle Detective, Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) Have you ever wanted to just start walking, and never ever stop? To leave behind "WHO I AM" to find "WHO I AM." Walking alone, and with one lung (the other lost to cancer), Edie Littlefield Sundby became the first person in history to walk the 1,600-mile El Camino Real de las California's mission trail through the mountain wilderness of Mexico and one of the hottest deserts on earth, and across the border to Northern California - a walk that elevated her life with meaning and purpose that transcended pain and fear – and healed her broken body. THE MISSION WALKER is a first-hand account of harrowing adventure along the old Jesuit mission trail in Baja California Mexico -- desert heat and cold, walls of cactus, sleeplessness, hunger, both physical and spiritual exhaustion, the dangers of wild creatures, and encounters with drug smugglers and weeks with no water other than what a pack mule could carry; and the tortuous agony and transcendent beauty of walking the northern half of the mission trail through California, a trek Edie made six months after losing her right lung to cancer – a journey that restored health and spirit after fighting recurrent stage 4 cancer, including 79 rounds of chemotherapy, four radical surgeries (liver, lung, colon/stomach, and throat), and dozens of radiation treatments. Edie's story is both an adventure story and a reflection on the universal experience of confronting our own mortality. It is a story of what we will do when faced with the potential end of our life. What do we do with our time left on earth. And how much do we still really, truly want to live. The book cites more than 50 original historical sources and captures the untamed wilderness adventure experienced for centuries along the old Jesuit and Franciscan mission trail that unites California and Mexico and defines the Old West. For those who crave a spirit of adventure, who ache like Edie to know what our bodies and spirits are truly capable of, this book is a must-read. A true testament to faith, courage, and the power of hope. Editorial Reviews: "Edie Sundby's account of her amazing trek along the entirety of the 1,600-mile California Mission Trail is not only captivating and inspiring but also one heck of an outdoors adventure. "Les Standiford, Author and Historian "This powerful story of determination and faith will stay with you forever." Ken Budd Journalist/Author "...a gripping narrative that takes us through the author's harrowing journeys, inward and outward." JoBeth McDaniel Journalist/Author "The Mission Walker is a marvelous book, a moving meditation on the relationships between courage and faith, endurance and transcendence. "Randall Sullivan, Creator, The Miracle Detective, Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN)

This book is the story of California's Mission San Juan Capistrano, the people who built it, the people served by it, and the tens of thousands of people who visit it each year.Author Kathleen Walker and photographer Marc Muench celebrate the soul of this mission, and relate in words and pictures the mission's place in history, art, and architecture. The missions of the Southwest all showcase their own sense of spirit and place and time. in Mission San Jan Capistrano find stories and myths from history, along side observations of people at work in the mission today.

Brantley Walker has dedicated his life to serving his country. Having given seventeen years to the US Navy, the last ten as a SEAL, the mission was the only thing he knew, the only thing that mattered. He never even considered what life would look like after the mission was over. Until he’s forced to. After months of recovering from career-ending injuries, Brantley finds himself back in his hometown of Coyote Ridge, Texas. Once again a permanent resident, with the full support of his family and friends, he embarks on a journey to start over, forced to figure out what to do with the rest of his life—a task that is far easier said than done. Then the unthinkable happens. When his cousin Travis’s daughter is kidnapped, Brantley puts himself right back in the action, partnering up with Reese Tavoularis to find the little girl and bring her home where she belongs. As events unfold, Brantley and Reese find themselves undertaking another mission. Only this one results in a journey that takes them in a direction neither of them expected to go.

African American schools in the segregated South faced enormous obstacles in educating their students. But some of these schools succeeded in providing nurturing educational environments in spite of the injustices of segregation. Vanessa Siddle Walker tells the story of one such school in rural North Carolina, the Caswell County Training School, which operated from 1934 to 1969. She focuses especially on the importance of dedicated teachers and the principal, who believed their jobs extended well beyond the classroom, and on the community's parents, who worked hard to support the school. According to Walker, the relationship between school and community was mutually dependent. Parents sacrificed financially to meet the school's needs, and teachers and administrators put in extra time for professional development, specialized student assistance, and home visits. The result was a school that placed the needs of African American students at the center of its mission, which was in turn shared by the community. Walker concludes that the experience of CCTS captures a segment of the history of African Americans in segregated schools that has been overlooked and that provides important context for the ongoing debate about how best to educate African American children. African American History/Education/North Carolina

The author of the best-selling Found Dogs combines duotone photographs with inspiring profiles of dogs and cats who have emerged from abuse-marked backgrounds to become assistance animals working as nursing home therapy pets, service animals for the blind and more.

Brantley Walker and Reese Tavoularis are diving into their very first case as a task force, and it’s close to home. The Off the Books task force is eager to tackle the case of a fifteen-year-old girl who mysteriously went missing nine years ago in their hometown of Coyote Ridge, Texas. Though it seems she disappeared without a trace, they soon stumble upon unsettling clues that lead back to someone once trusted by the town. As Brantley and Reese work to bring closure to the girl’s family, they’re also navigating a challenging journey of their own. While they embrace their new careers, they are also exploring uncharted waters in their relationship.

"Humanity's last hope of survival lies in space... but will a random death doom the venture? Our planet is dying and the world's remaining nations have pooled their resources to build a seed ship that will carry colonists on a multi-generational journey to a distant planet. Everything is set for a bright adventure... and then someone is found hanging dead just weeks before the launch. Fear and paranoia spread as the death begins to look more and more like a murder. The authorities want the case settled quickly and quietly so as not to cause panic... and to prevent a murderer from sabotaging the entire mission."--Amazon.com.