Throughout history we have told ourselves stories to try and make sense of our place in the universe. Richard Holloway takes us on a personal, scientific and philosophical journey to explore what he believes the answers to the biggest of questions are. He examines what we know about the universe into which we are propelled at birth and from which we are expelled at death, the stories we have told about where we come from, and the stories we tell to get through this muddling experience of life. Thought-provoking, revelatory, compassionate and playful, Stories We Tell Ourselves is a personal reckoning with life’s mysteries by one of the most important and beloved thinkers of our time.

The average American watches 5 hours of TV every day. Collectively, we spend roughly $30 billion on movies each year. Simply put, we're entertainment junkies. But can we learn something from our insatiable addiction to stories? Mike Cosper thinks so. From horror flicks to rom-coms, the tales we tell and the myths we weave inevitably echo the narrative underlying all of history: the story of humanity's tragic sin and God's triumphant salvation. This entertaining book connects the dots between the stories we tell and the one, great Story—helping us better understand the longings of the human heart and thoughtfully engage with the movies and TV shows that capture our imaginations.

Includes questions for discussions and an excerpt from another novel.

“A lyrical exploration of love and longing, secrets and suspicion, family and friendship”from the bestselling author of The Secret Book of Flora Lea (Mary Kay Andrews, New York Times–bestselling author). Eve and Cooper Morrison are Savannah’s power couple. They’re on every artistic board and deeply involved in the community. The perfect juxtaposition of the old and the new, they are the beautiful people. The lucky ones. And they have the wealth and name that comes from being part of an old Georgia family. But things may not be as good as they seem. After twenty-one years together, Eve and Cooper know each other. They count on each other. They know what to expect. But when Cooper and Eve’s sister are involved in a car accident, the questions surrounding the event bring the family close to the breaking point. Sifting between the stories—of Cooper, of her sister, of the evidence—Eve has to find out what really happened. And what she’s going to do about it. A riveting story about the power of truth, The Stories We Tell will open your eyes and rearrange your heart. “From the intriguing beginning to the touching ending, The Stories We Tell is filled with the warmth, heart, and compassion that have become the trademark of her novels.” —Diane Chamberlain, New York Times–bestselling author “Full of twists and turns, this book will be one that you just can’t put down.” —Southern Living “Everything you expect from Patti Callahan Henry—lyrical writing, characters worth rooting for, a sure-footed belief in the power of goodness—plus a twisty plot that will keep the pages turning long into the night.” —Joshilyn Jackson, New York Times–bestselling author

In this contemporary retelling of The Canterbury Tales, a group of teens on a bus ride to Washington, DC, each tell a story—some fantastical, some realistic, some downright scandalous—in pursuit of the ultimate prize: a perfect score. Jeff boards the bus for the Civics class trip to Washington, DC, with a few things on his mind: -Six hours trapped with his classmates sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. -He somehow ended up sitting next to his ex-best friend, who he hasn’t spoken to in years. -He still feels guilty for the major part he played in pranking his teacher, and the trip’s chaperone, Mr. Bailey. -And his best friend Cannon, never one to be trusted and banned from the trip, has something “big” planned for DC. But Mr. Bailey has an idea to keep everyone in line: each person on the bus is going to have the chance to tell a story. It can be fact or fiction, realistic or fantastical, dark or funny or sad. It doesn’t matter. Each person gets a story, and whoever tells the best one will get an automatic A in the class. But in the middle of all the storytelling, with secrets and confessions coming out, Jeff only has one thing on his mind—can he live up to the super successful story published in the school newspaper weeks ago that convinced everyone that he was someone smart, someone special, and someone with something to say. In her debut novel, Kim Zarins breathes new life into Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales in a fresh and contemporary retelling that explores the dark realities of high school, and the ordinary moments that bring us all together.

A collection of twenty-six of the finest stories by the finest women writers to come out of the U.S. and Canada in the past fifty years. Organized by publication date, authors include Eudora Welty, Flannery O'Connor, Joyce Carol Oates, Ann Beattie, Margaret Atwood, Anne Tyler, Tama Janowitz, Sandra Cisneros, Mary Gordon, and Alice Walker.

One out of seven children will lose a parent before they are 20. The statistics are sobering, but they are also a call for preparedness. However, pastors and counselors of all types are often at a loss when dealing with a grieving child. Talking to adults about death and grief is difficult; it's all the more challenging to talk to children and teens. The stakes are high: grieving children are high-risk for substance abuse, promiscuity, depression, isolation, and suicide. Yet, despite this, most of these kids grow up to be normal or exceptional adults. But their chance to become healthy adults increases with the support of a loving community. Supporting grieving children requires intentionality, open communication, and patience. Rather than avoid all conversations on death or pretend like it never happened, normalizing grief and offering support requires us to be in-tune with kids through dialogue as they grapple with questions of “how” and “why.” When listening to children in grief, we often have to embrace the mystery, offer love and compassion, and stick with the basics. The author says, "We don’t have to answer the why and how for them, but we can assure our children that God is with us as we suffer. We can do so by doing good for others and pointing out all of those moments when someone has done something good for us. I believe that most of the time that’s as far as we will get, and that is okay."