In a new historical interpretation of the relationship between Australia and East Timor, Susan Connelly draws on the mimetic theory of René Girard to show how the East Timorese people were scapegoated by Australian foreign policy during the 20th century. Charting key developments in East Timor's history and applying three aspects of Girard's framework – the scapegoat, texts of persecution and conversion – Connelly reveals Australia's mimetic dependence on Indonesia and other nations for security. She argues that Australia's complicity in the Indonesian invasion and occupation of East Timor perpetuated the sacrifice of the Timorese people as victims, thus calling into question the traditional Australian values of egalitarianism and fairness. Connelly also examines the embryonic conversion process apparent in levels of recognition of the innocent victim and of the Australian role in East Timor's suffering, as well as the consequent effects on Australian self-perception. Emphasising Girardian considerations of fear, suffering, forgiveness and conversion, this book offers a fresh perspective on Australian and Timorese relations that in turn sheds light on the origins and operations of human violence.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • From authors of Lean In and Originals: a powerful, inspiring, and practical book about building resilience and moving forward after life’s inevitable setbacks After the sudden death of her husband, Sheryl Sandberg felt certain that she and her children would never feel pure joy again. “I was in ‘the void,’” she writes, “a vast emptiness that fills your heart and lungs and restricts your ability to think or even breathe.” Her friend Adam Grant, a psychologist at Wharton, told her there are concrete steps people can take to recover and rebound from life-shattering experiences. We are not born with a fixed amount of resilience. It is a muscle that everyone can build. Option B combines Sheryl’s personal insights with Adam’s eye-opening research on finding strength in the face of adversity. Beginning with the gut-wrenching moment when she finds her husband, Dave Goldberg, collapsed on a gym floor, Sheryl opens up her heart—and her journal—to describe the acute grief and isolation she felt in the wake of his death. But Option B goes beyond Sheryl’s loss to explore how a broad range of people have overcome hardships including illness, job loss, sexual assault, natural disasters, and the violence of war. Their stories reveal the capacity of the human spirit to persevere . . . and to rediscover joy. Resilience comes from deep within us and from support outside us. Even after the most devastating events, it is possible to grow by finding deeper meaning and gaining greater appreciation in our lives. Option B illuminates how to help others in crisis, develop compassion for ourselves, raise strong children, and create resilient families, communities, and workplaces. Many of these lessons can be applied to everyday struggles, allowing us to brave whatever lies ahead. Two weeks after losing her husband, Sheryl was preparing for a father-child activity. “I want Dave,” she cried. Her friend replied, “Option A is not available,” and then promised to help her make the most of Option B. We all live some form of Option B. This book will help us all make the most of it.

With insights into the thought of Gabriel Marcel, Tragic Humanity and Hope recognizes that in our age scientific knowing is becoming a dominant form of knowledge. The leadership, influence, growth, and gravitational center of human existence depend, it seems, on scientific knowledge. As a result, we live in an information age that prizes production and immediate satisfaction but devalues the cultivation of wisdom. We risk diminishing the significance of sapiential knowing to deal with the immensely complex and intricate domains of human relationality. Furthermore, inquiry into moral discernment methods expands, becoming more diverse; yet, scholarly conversations that engage the vital exigencies as founding moral sensibility seem noticeably insufficient. Tragic Humanity and Hope strives to overcome this lack. But Ojara also seeks ethical groundings that exceed the language of pragmatic utility and aesthetic preference. Foundations of morality cannot exclude questions of the common good and shared moral obligations that free people to reach out to one another with hopes and memories that endow life with shared meaning. Through continuity and cohesion that the interlacing of scientific, sapiential, and moral knowing bring, life becomes a marvelous expression of light, joy, and fervor.

This book describes the privatized power structures of the nascent World Government being engineered by "deep state" players.

“I Hope You Have a Good Life addresses the most fundamental questions about adoption, families, life, and love. . . . Heartbreaking and beautiful.” —Publishers Weekly “A passionate memoir of love retrieved.” —The Times (London) “Campbell Amstrong understands and communicates the devotion of mother and daughter and the special poignancy of their brief and stress-filled time together.” —Kirkus Reviews The remarkable story of two extraordinary women who had to live a whole lifetime of caring in a few short weeks. When Campbell Armstrong and his first wife became lovers, she shared her most intimate secret with him—as a teenager she had given up her first child for adoption. Years later, at the side of his ex-wife, Armstrong witnessed a mother and daughter unite in the most overwhelming circumstances. With compassion and empathy, Armstrong presents the triumphant reunion of his estranged family with a delicate grace that captivates the joy and despair, sadness and laughter they felt when joined. He paints a beautiful and unforgettable portrait of a mother and daughter brought together out of desperation, but whose lives ultimately provide an uplifting, redemptive story. I Hope You Have a Good Life is an inspirational memoir, a testament to the human spirit and to the ability of families to reunite when it matters most.

One thing has saved her: the heaven-sent hope found only in Christ. If hope is scarce in your life, this special booklet will draw you-toward a fresh perspective on suffering, true scriptural encouragement, and this beloved author's hard-won insights about the goodness of God. In her life's journey Joni has learned to meet suffering on God's terms. She has learned that joy is for real. And most of all, she has learned that hope is the best of things when we give it a chance. This book powerfully communicates all these truths from someone who has lived them, so that you can live them too, no matter what you're going through.

This definitive biography of Pope John Paul II explores his historic influence on the world stage: “Magnificent. A tremendous achievement” (Washington Post). As head of the Catholic Church from 1978 until his death in 2005, John Paul II was one of the world’s most transformational figures. With unprecedented cooperation from the Pope, as well as the people who knew and worked with him throughout his life, George Weigel offers a groundbreaking portrait of him as a man, a thinker, and a leader whose religious convictions defined a new approach to world politics—and changed the course of history. The Pope played a crucial yet underexplored role in some of the most momentous events of his time, including the collapse of European communism, the quest for peace in the Middle East, and the democratic transformation of Latin America. With an updated preface, this edition of Witness to Hope explains how this “man from a far country” did all of that, and much more—and what both his accomplishments and the unfinished business of his pontificate mean for the future of the Church and the world.