You hold the first of two volumes of one giant love story in your hands! In essence, this story is about Anna Arapakos’ father and how she came to care for him when he was elderly; this phenomenon is a universal experience all will share or witness in one capacity or another. If you are interested in probing into life’s hows and whys, you will appreciate the information she shares in this first volume. Here, you’ll discover the science behind Huntington’s disease (HD) and her Greek father’s life from birth until age sixty through carefully chosen family stories that bring to life historical facts that shaped his outlook and foundational experiences. That way, you will have a baseline to see how HD impacts and distorts certain inherent features, ways, and tendencies of her father. You will learn about genetics, neurology, and critical characteristics of this rare and progressive disease and will be able to distinguish it from other neurodegenerative diseases. She shares this foundational information on HD so you can appreciate how and why changes occur at every level — intellectual, physical, psycho-emotional, and spiritual. In A Labor of Love, Vol. 1: Understanding Hercules, Miss Arapakos’ father is “Hercules,” and the portion of the myth she shares in this volume revolves around everything in Hercules’ life before he undertakes the labors for which he has become so well-known. Here is also where she recounts her father’s cultural-historical background and the essentials of Huntington’s disease, including its features, the genetic backdrop, its impact on the brain, and much more. Then, she proceeds to make apt analogies between Hercules and her father during the formative years; this book stops at the point when her dad retires and his disease really “kicks in.”

A brilliant and surprising investigation into why we date the way we do

A complete guide to childbirth for the mind, body, and soul of the Jewish woman. This sensitively-written, comprehensive book leaves no aspects of labor and delivery unmentioned. From epidurals to exercises, breathing to breastfeeding, and lots of positive encouragement, this is a book every expectant Jewish mother will find valuable. The author, a renowned childbirth teacher, with over twenty-five years of experience, combines vital information, practical guidance, and the timeless wisdom of our rich Jewish heritage to empower women to make their birth a labor of love. With a foreward by Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski, M.D. Includes ribbon bookmark and a special bonus CD featuring deep relaxation techniques.

Like you, Sherri McConnell loves to quilt and fill her home with special creations. Online influencer, fabric designer, and quilt designer Sherri reveals her fresh and simple approach to scrap quilting in step-by-step instructions for a dozen splendidly scrappy projects. From small wall hangings and table toppers to larger throws and bed quilts, Sherri shares not only her patterns but also her tips for sewing success, for saving time (and using the time you have wisely), and for collecting, storing, and--best of all--using the scraps of fabric you treasure.

A magnificent and audacious attraction that hosts some of the finest winemaking in the Napa Valley, Castello di Amorosa is one of California's most successful wineries How the winery came to be is an inspiring entrepreneurial tale of one man's daring vision and his determination to see it realized no matter what. That man is Dario Sattui, founder of the V. Sattui Winery in St. Helena. For as long as he can remember, Dario has cultivated a passion for medieval European architecture. Inspired by stories of the old country from his Italian great-grandfather and other relatives, he made it a hobby to study old castles, lodges, and monasteries almost religiously during the dozens of visits he made to Europe -- particularly Tuscany and Umbria -- throughout the years. In 1993, when he semi-retired from V. Sattui, he began to explore this fascination in a new way, vowing to bring a slice of Italy to Napa by building a modest, authentic medieval monastery on his dream property in Calistoga, where he intended to live and grow grapes for V. Sattui. Over the next 15 years, this plan took on a life of its own and evolved into a massive new winery project with a 136,000-square-foot authentic medieval castle known as Castello di Amorosa at its center. Full of hundreds of lush photos of the magnificent castle and grounds, Castello di Amorosa: A Labor of Love tells the improbable story of the castle's construction and includes an exclusive tour of the castle that only its creator could deliver. Bound to delight readers interested in Napa history, winemaking, and medieval architecture, Castello di Amorosa will undoubtedly thrill the castle's legion of fans around the world.

The forces that shaped the institution of slavery in the American South endured, albeit in altered form, long after slavery was abolished. Toiling in sweltering Virginia tobacco factories or in the kitchens of white families in Chicago, black women felt a stultifying combination of racial discrimination and sexual prejudice. And yet, in their efforts to sustain family ties, they shared a common purpose with wives and mothers of all classes. In Labor of Love, Labor of Sorrow, historian Jacqueline Jones offers a powerful account of the changing role of black women, lending a voice to an unsung struggle from the depths of slavery to the ongoing fight for civil rights.

Agnes M. Penny Your Vocation of Love is a book by the mother of four young children, who has written this little manual to encourage mothers of young children in their sublime vocation of motherhood and to assist them in this glorious role with scores of practical tips on what to do in the challenging situations that automatically arise in raising and educating a family. Here the author shares with her readers both the spiritual and the practical solutions she has found to the normal problems and struggles women typically experience with motherhood. And she covers these in 34 short but insightful chapters that make a quick read for mothers on the go-who often have only a few minutes reading time to gain some quick but much-needed inspiration. Agnes M. Penny, mother of five, was born the youngest of twelve children in Norwood, Massachusetts. In 1997 she graduated from Christendom College in Virginia, earning a degree in English literature. A year later she married Daniel, a teacher at Allentown Central Catholic High School. Agnes Penny is the author of two maternal-based books entitled Your Labor of Love and Your Vocation of Love. She and her family currently reside in Whitehall, Pennsylvania.