Commenced in 1958 with 142 young women who were seniors at Mills College, the Mills Study has become the largest and longest longitudinal study of women’s adult development, with assessments of these women in their twenties, forties, fifties, sixties, and seventies. Women on the River of Life synthesizes five decades of research to paint a picture of women’s personality and development across the lifespan. The book explores questions of family, work, life-path, maturity, wisdom, creativity, attachment, and purpose in life, unfolding in the context of a rapidly changing historical period with far-reaching consequences for the kinds of lives women would envision for themselves. Helson and Mitchell breathe life into abstract theories and concepts with the real-life stories and voices of the study’s participants. Woven throughout the book are the authors’ reminiscences on the profound endeavor of sustaining a longitudinal study of women’s lives through time.

In the Baptist tradition, baptism marks the unique launch into a life of discipleship, drenched in God's love. Communion is the repeated experience of God's invitation into life-sustaining relationship, overflowing with grace. As such, baptism and communion are profoundly interconnected in the life of the Christian disciple. Theology happens in those moments. Affirming there is no single right way to perform these rites of the church, this book provides students, pastors, and congregations with the analytical skills needed to create robust services of their own, services that will help to shape our understandings of who God is, how God cares about the world, and how Christ-followers can perceive God's invitation to a life of grace through participation in meaningful services of baptism and communion. This book equips readers through, Identifying common struggles and questions concerning the ordinances, Offering multicultural liturgies that engage biblically rooted themes, Honing the analytical skills needed to create theologically robust services of your own, The author's website (https://jenniferwdavidson.com) offers supplemental materials and additional worship resources, making this a must-have resource to lead local congregations toward radical and faithful discipleship. Book jacket.

Commenced in 1958 with 142 young women who were seniors at Mills College, the Mills Study has become the largest and longest longitudinal study of women’s adult development, with assessments of these women in their twenties, forties, fifties, sixties, and seventies. Women on the River of Life synthesizes five decades of research to paint a picture of women’s personality and development across the lifespan. The book explores questions of family, work, life-path, maturity, wisdom, creativity, attachment, and purpose in life, unfolding in the context of a rapidly changing historical period with far-reaching consequences for the kinds of lives women would envision for themselves. Helson and Mitchell breathe life into abstract theories and concepts with the real-life stories and voices of the study’s participants. Woven throughout the book are the authors’ reminiscences on the profound endeavor of sustaining a longitudinal study of women’s lives through time.

Lela Rhoades has a voice so sharp, so funny, warm, and honest, that the stories of her life and the traditions of her parents will barely sit still on the page. As told to Molly Curtis in the 1970's, this memoir takes us back into a world where men chased mother grizzlies out of their dens for their meat, where manzanita berries were ground up into sugar and houses built with the door right in the middle of the roof. It was an intricate, complex life that was unknown to the strangers that would take over the land. For all of her recollections, old recipes, and legends, this is also a story of transition for Lela Rhoades, her Achumawi people, and for Native California in general. Here, Rhoades walks the line between tradition and change, watching the land and hunting rights of her people vanish, telling creation stories that blend both Coyote and Jesus, and recounting her marriage to a white rancher. Come, sit down at the feet of Lela Rhoades, and listen to the strength and beauty of her world. "There was an aristocratic presence, an aristocratic aura about the heavy, elder lady, Lela Grant Rhoades, slowly rocking in her chair as she quietly embroidered a delicate pattern, silver needles flashing in the fading evening light, black-rimmed glasses resting on her nose a mysterious aristocratic something, like she knew many secrets or something more necessary than life. I thought of Grandmother Spider creating her web with great confidence." From the Foreword by Darryl Babe Wilson

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • In a powerful debut about modern-day motherhood, immigration, and identity, a pregnant Chinese woman stakes a claim to the American dream in California. “Utterly absorbing.”—Celeste Ng • “A marvel of a first novel.”—O: The Oprah Magazine • “The most eye-opening literary adventure of the year.”—Entertainment Weekly NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post • NPR • Real Simple Holed up with other mothers-to-be in a secret maternity home in Los Angeles, Scarlett Chen is far from her native China, where she worked in a factory and fell in love with the married owner, Boss Yeung. Now she’s carrying his baby. To ensure that his child—his first son—has every advantage, Boss Yeung has shipped Scarlett off to give birth on American soil. As Scarlett awaits the baby’s arrival, she spars with her imperious housemates. The only one who fits in even less is Daisy, a spirited, pregnant teenager who is being kept apart from her American boyfriend. Then a new sonogram of Scarlett’s baby reveals the unexpected. Panicked, she goes on the run by hijacking a van—only to discover that she has a stowaway: Daisy, who intends to track down the father of her child. The two flee to San Francisco’s bustling Chinatown, where Scarlett will join countless immigrants desperately trying to seize their piece of the American dream. What Scarlett doesn’t know is that her baby’s father is not far behind her. A River of Stars is a vivid examination of home and belonging and a moving portrayal of a woman determined to build her own future. Praise for A River of Stars “Vanessa Hua’s story spins with wild fervor, with charming protagonists fiercely motivated by maternal and survival instincts.”—USA Today “A River of Stars is the best of all worlds: part buddy cop adventure, part coming-of-age story and part ode to female friendship.”—NPR “Hua’s epic A River of Stars follows a pair of pregnant Chinese immigrant women—two of the more vibrant characters I’ve come across in a while—on the lam from Los Angeles to San Francisco’s Chinatown.”—R. O. Kwon, author of The Incendiaries, in Esquire “A delightful novel of motherhood and Chinese immigration . . . Without wading into policy debates, Ms Hua dramatises the stories and contributions of immigrants who believe in grand ideals and strive to live up to them.”—The Economist

"As hip and breathless as William Gibson, but spiced with dark humor and the horrible realisation that Noon knows of what he writes....Vurtis passionate, distinctive, demanding and enthralling--first-time novelist Noon has started with a bang."--The London Times.

Set in Jamaica and New York, this acclaimed first novel explores the ties that bind mother to child and weaves a mesmerizing tale of promises broken and dreams deferred.