A compilation of true stories, letters, and poems about painful times in women's lives caused by some type of abuse or trauma. Each woman found hope and redemption through a relationship with God. This book is written to give hope to those experiencing personal darkness.

What if there are people, just like some flowers, who require the dark to bloom? When we are plunged into the dark and difficult times in life, one of three things can happen next: the darkness can destroy us; it can leave us relatively unchanged; or it can help to transform us. In this hope-inspiring guide, clinical psychologist, Michelle Pearce, PhD, provides practical tools and wisdom for transforming and thriving in adversity and loss. Just as some flowers require the dark to bloom, there are some people who do their best growing and becoming during dark and challenging times. With a compassionate voice, Pearce shares her clinical expertise, her own journey through the dark, and inspiring stories of other Night Bloomers to help individuals learn how to heal and transform their lives not in spite of their difficult times, but because of them. “Reading Night Bloomers is like having a dear friend right alongside you for support when most needed. Through stories, strategies, and writing prompts, Pearce provides powerful tools for building resilience, confidence, and joy. She reminds us that like plants, we don’t bloom just once, as she gently, masterfully paves a path for us to enjoy a lifetime of growing and blossoming. A ‘must-read’ for anyone seeking some light in the darkness.” --Caroline Welch, CEO and cofounder of the Mindsight Institute and author of The Gift of Presence “A gem of a book! Michelle Pearce has written an enlightening guide for anyone trying to find the path through a dark time in life. Through the wisdom gleaned from psychological research and practice and the lessons learned from her own personal encounter with pain and loss, Pearce points the way to growth and transformation when hope is in short supply. Down-to-earth, compassionate, and inspirational, Night Bloomers should be on everyone's bookshelf.” --Kenneth I. Pargament, Ph. D. author of Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy

Rorke Burningsoul, Paladin of Weltyr, has been betrayed. With the object of his most recent quest stolen out from under him, Rorke has been left for dead in the treacherous Nightlands: a place hateful to all surface-dwellers, full of things the human--even the elfin--eye has never seen. Gray-faced berich dwarves, frightful half-spider misshapens--and, of course, the sensual and dark-complexioned durrow elves, a race of power-hungry women who live in service to the goddess Roserpine. Praise Weltyr, Rorke is rescued by two such splendid durrow--and told that, in exchange for his life, he must now submit to slavery as, among other things, breeding stud to the female race. He willingly agrees, hopeful that his obedience will help him find a way out of the Nightlands and back to the business of retrieving the lost artifact: but when the Materna of the durrow city decides during his appraisal that she needs a new guard, he is soon surprised to find himself taken, heart and soul, by the exquisite durrow high priestess known as Valeria. But Valeria's need of a personal guard is not just some ruse to keep her new slave in her bedroom without controversy--would that it were. The high priestess's life is at stake, and as her assassins' attacks grow more frequent all the time, she needs the assistance of a man capable of keeping himself alive along with her. Who better than a paladin she's seen in dreams for decades? Mature readers only! This fantasy harem adventure in the style of Dungeons & Dragons contains explicit encounters between the lucky hero and many gorgeous women he encounters on his quest. Use discretion when purchasing.

Provides an examination of the use of dark humor in classic literary works.

"The perfect book right now for young readers searching for hope, strength, inspiration — and just a little horticultural havoc."—New York Times The first book in a can't-put-it-down, can't-read-it-fast-enough action-thriller trilogy that's part Hatchet, part Alien! The invasion begins--but not as you'd expect. It begins with rain. Rain that carries seeds. Seeds that sprout--overnight, everywhere. These new plants take over crop fields, twine up houses, and burrow below streets. They bloom--and release toxic pollens. They bloom--and form Venus flytrap-like pods that swallow animals and people. They bloom--everywhere, unstoppable. Or are they? Three kids on a remote island seem immune to the toxic plants. Anaya, Petra, Seth. They each have strange allergies--and yet not to these plants. What's their secret? Can they somehow be the key to beating back this invasion? They'd better figure it out fast, because it's starting to rain again....

"What a pretty flower to keep locked in a big, rocky tower." Nineteen years ago, I was plucked from the heart of a bloody massacre that spared nobody else. Small. Fragile. An enigma. Now ward to a powerful High Master who knows too much and says too little, I lead a simple life, never straying from the confines of an imaginary line I've drawn around the castle grounds. Stay within. Never leave. Out there, the monsters lurk. Inside, I'm safe...though at a cost far greater than the blood I drip into a goblet daily. Toxic, unreciprocated love for a man who's utterly unavailable. My savior. My protector. My almost executioner. I can't help but be enamored with the arcane man who holds the power to pull my roots from the ground. When voracious beasts spill across the land and threaten to fray the fabric of my tailored existence, the petals of reality will peel back to reveal an ugly truth. But in a castle puddled with secrets, none are greater than the one I've kept from myself. No tower is tall enough to protect me from the horror that tore my life to shreds. To Bleed a Crystal Bloom is a dark Rapunzel reimagining full of immersive imagery and breathtaking angst.