Lucy never confessed her love to her best friend, Harlan, before he passed away. Two months after his funeral, she is haunted by the power of things left unsaid. But then she receives the first of his e-mails arranged to be sent after his death. So begins the year that everything changes--Lucy's watershed year ... In her grief, she suddenly rediscovers hope, journeying to Russia to adopt a four-year-old boy. When she meets her son, Mat, for the first time, she realizes he's also mending a wounded heart and is just as lost as she is."--Page 4 of cover.

Table of contents

The year 1816 found America on the cusp of political, social, cultural, and economic modernity. Celebrating its fortieth year of independence, the country's sense of self was maturing. Americans, who had emerged from the War of 1812 with their political systems intact, embraced new opportunities. For the first time, citizens viewed themselves not as members of a loose coalition of states but as part of a larger union. This optimism was colored, however, by bizarre weather. Periods of extreme cold and severe drought swept the northern states and the upper south throughout 1816, which was sometimes referred to as "The Year Without a Summer." Faced with thirty-degree summer temperatures, many farmers migrated west in search of better weather and more fertile farmlands. In 1816, historian C. Edward Skeen illuminates this unique year of national transition. Politically, the "era of good feelings" allowed Congress to devise programs that fostered prosperity. Social reform movements flourished. This election year found the Federalist party in its death throes, seeking cooperation with the nationalistic forces of the Republican party. Movement west, maturation of political parties, and increasingly contentious debates over such issues as slavery characterized this pivotal year. 1816 marked a watershed in American history. This provocative new book vividly highlights the stresses that threatened to pull the nation apart and the bonds that ultimately held it together.

Water is our most vital resource, yet few understand even the basics of watershed ecology. This new edition has been updated to reflect growing environmental challenges, such as climate change, the insidious spread of invasive species and the loss of biodiversity. Watersheds: A Practical Handbook for Healthy Water is an engaging and informative introduction to ecology and environmental issues that focus on water-related issues. Well suited for youth or general readers of any age, Watersheds combines a profusion of beautiful illustrations with non-technical and accessible text, making it attractive as well as informative. The book explains ecological principles, environmental challenges, introduces North America's major biological regions, outlines the complexities of water and nutrient cycles and explains the ecology of wetlands and waterways. Watersheds also explains some of the major environmental issues facing North America, including air pollution, water pollution, invasive exotic species, and habitat loss and destruction. Watersheds provides detailed information on: water and nutrient cycles bioregions and aquatic habitats exotic species invasions water and air pollution ecological restoration habitat loss. While Watersheds identifies and explains multiple ecological challenges, the book is engaging, empowering, and positive, providing practical "How Can I Help?" sections aimed to inspire participation in efforts to restore watersheds and protect the environment. As the book explains, what's good for one's local watershed is also good for the planet -- so we can all help protect and restore our natural environment.

In June 2008, the rivers of eastern Iowa rose above their banks to create floods of epic proportions; their amazing size—flowing in places at a rate nearly double that of the previous record flood—and the rapidity of their rise ruined farmlands and displaced thousands of residents and hundreds of businesses. In Cedar Rapids, the waters inundated more than nine square miles of the downtown area; in Iowa City, where the flood was also the most destructive in history, the University of Iowa’s arts campus was destroyed. By providing a solid base of scientific and technical information presented with unusual clarity and a wealth of supporting illustrations, the contributors to this far-reaching book, many of whom dealt firsthand with the 2008 floods, provide a detailed roadmap of the causes and effects of future devastating floods. The twenty-five essays fall naturally into four sections. “Rising Rivers, Spreading Waters” begins by comparing the 2008 floods with the midwestern floods of 1993, moves on to trace community responses to the 2008 floods, and ends by illuminating techniques for forecasting floods and determining their size and frequency. “Why Here, Why Now?” searches for possible causes of the 2008 floods and of flooding in general: annual crops and urban landscapes, inflows into and releases from reservoirs, and climate change. “Flood Damages, Flood Costs, Flood Benefits” considers the complex mix of flood costs and effects, emphasizing damages to cities and farmlands as well as potential benefits to natural communities and archaeological sites. “Looking Back, Looking Forward” lays out approaches to managing the floods of the future that are sure to come. While the book draws most of its examples from one particular region, it explains flooding throughout a much larger region—the midwestern Corn Belt—and thus its sobering yet energizing lessons apply well beyond eastern Iowa. By examining the relationships among rivers, floodplains, weather, and modern society; by stressing matters of science and fact rather than social or policy issues; and by addressing multiple environmental problems and benefits, A Watershed Year informs and educates all those who experienced the 2008 floods and all those concerned with the larger causes of flooding.

WINNER OF THE 2019 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD 1919 was a world-shaking year. America was recovering from World War I and black soldiers returned to racism so violent that that summer would become known as the Red Summer. The suffrage movement had a long-fought win when women gained the right to vote. Laborers took to the streets to protest working conditions; nationalistic fervor led to a communism scare; and temperance gained such traction that prohibition went into effect. Each of these movements reached a tipping point that year. Now, one hundred years later, these same social issues are more relevant than ever. Sandler traces the momentum and setbacks of these movements through this last century, showing that progress isn't always a straight line and offering a unique lens through which we can understand history and the change many still seek.

In 1990 David Kaufman decided to explore Peachtree Creek from its headwaters to its confluence with the Chattahoochee River. For thirteen years he paddled the creek, photographed it, and researched its history as the Atlanta area's major watershed. The result is Peachtree Creek, a compelling mix of urban travelogue, local history, and call for conservation. Historical images and Kaufman's evocative color photographs help capture the creek's many faces, past and present. Most Atlantans only glimpse Peachtree Creek briefly, as they pass over it on their daily commute, if at all. Looking down on the creek from Piedmont or Peachtree Roads, few contemplate how it courses through the city, where it originates and flows to. Fewer still-many fewer-would ever consider paddling down it, with its pollution and flash floods. Through his expeditions down Peachtree Creek and its five tributaries--North Fork, South Fork, Clear Creek, Nancy Creek, and Tanyard Creek--Kaufman takes readers through such places as Piedmont and Chastain Parks, which, aside from the polluted water, are beautiful, even bucolic. Other stretches of creek, like those draining Midtown and Atlantic Station, are channeled into massive culverts and choked with discarded waste from the city. One day, floating past the Bobby Jones Golf Course, he surprises a golfer searching for his stray ball along the creek bank; another he spends talking to a homeless man living under a bridge near Buckhead. Kaufman reveals fascinating aspects of Atlanta by examining how Peachtree Creek shaped and was shaped by the history of the area. Street names like Moore's Mill Road and Howell Mill Road take on new meaning. He explains the dynamics of water run off that cause the creek to go from a trickle to a torrent in a matter of hours. Kaufman asks how a waterway that was once people's source of water, power, and livelihood became, at its worst, an open sewer and flooding hazard. Portraying some of our worst mishandling of the environment, Kaufman suggests ways to a more sustainable stewardship of Peachtree Creek.