A WOMAN’S BATTLE WITH THE BILLION-DOLLAR BABY BUSINESS Cracked Open is Miriam Zoll's eye-opening account of growing into womanhood with the simultaneous opportunities offered by the U.S. women's movement and new discoveries in reproductive technologies. Influenced by the pervasive media and cultural messages suggesting that science had finally eclipsed Mother Nature, Zoll postponed motherhood until the age of 40. When things don't progress as she had hoped, she enters a world of medical seduction and bioethical quagmires. Desperate to conceive, she surrenders to unproven treatments and procedures only to learn that the odds of becoming a mother through reproductive technologies are far less than she and her generation had been led to believe.

Dragons, bonded mates, and irreversible decisions. After a car accident left my only parent – my father in the hospital, I was swept away to the Dragon Born Academy by my estranged grandmother. If I had to be there, I’d be an observer of this place with its rituals and superstitions… After all, everyone’s made it clear I don’t belong. But then it happened…and Ashe Carrick – my impossibly irresistible bond-mate happened. Being Cracked Open changed everything… Who I thought I was, WHAT I thought I was… DRAGON BORN. The words alone bring to mind monsters and princesses in castles. I am the princess and the monster they locked away. However, my story has no damsels in distress, waiting to be rescued. It’s self-rescue time, and I’m done playing nice. “the chemistry, the romance, the anger, the betrayal just wow!... in my top 5 2020 reads!!” – Goodreads reviewer “Wonderfully written… impossible to put down.” – Goodreads reviewer “Wow! Absolutely loved this book, cannot wait for the next in the series.” – Goodreads reviewer The Dragon Born Academy Series: Cracked Open Over Easy Hard Boiled Frying Night Sunny Side Up For extras and sneak peeks visit www.tlchristianson.com

"This book will make a profound difference for the church in this moment in history." — The Most Reverend Michael B. Curry Sometimes it takes disruption and loss to break us open and call us home to God. It’s not surprising that a global pandemic and once-in-a-generation reckoning with white supremacy—on top of decades of systemic decline—have spurred Christians everywhere to ask who we are, why God placed us here and what difference that makes to the world. In this critical yet loving book, the author explores the American story and the Episcopal story in order to find out how communities steeped in racism, establishment, and privilege can at last fall in love with Jesus, walk humbly with the most vulnerable and embody beloved community in our own broken but beautiful way. The Church Cracked Open invites us to surrender privilege and redefine church, not just for the sake of others, but for our own salvation and liberation.

"This book will make a profound difference for the church in this moment in history." — The Most Reverend Michael B. Curry Sometimes it takes disruption and loss to break us open and call us home to God. It’s not surprising that a global pandemic and once-in-a-generation reckoning with white supremacy—on top of decades of systemic decline—have spurred Christians everywhere to ask who we are, why God placed us here and what difference that makes to the world. In this critical yet loving book, the author explores the American story and the Episcopal story in order to find out how communities steeped in racism, establishment, and privilege can at last fall in love with Jesus, walk humbly with the most vulnerable and embody beloved community in our own broken but beautiful way. The Church Cracked Open invites us to surrender privilege and redefine church, not just for the sake of others, but for our own salvation and liberation.

Seed Cracked Open is the second book in the Stories of an Everyday Pilgrim series. It contains 78 stories, poems and reflections about God's intimate and attentive love for us. Through the events of Esther's everyday life and her exploration of contemplative Christian spirituality, she is drawn deeper in love with God, her neighbour and creation. "The seed has cracked open," she says, "and I discovered, as the poet Hafiz did, that 'there are two of us housed in this body': God and me! Wherever we go, whatever we do, God is there-inspiring, transforming and enjoying me as I am. That's led to some delightful 'love-mischief' for the world." Seed Cracked Open also contains five prayer retreat outlines designed for individuals or groups. The contents were originally published as posts on her blog An Everyday Pilgrim from July 2013 to December 31, 2014.

Solving complex problems and selling their solutions is critical for personal and organizational success. For most of us, however, it doesn’t come naturally and we haven’t been taught how to do it well. Research shows a host of pitfalls trips us up when we try: We’re quick to believe we understand a situation and jump to a flawed solution. We seek to confirm our hypotheses and ignore conflicting evidence. We view challenges incompletely through the frameworks we know instead of with a fresh pair of eyes. And when we communicate our recommendations, we forget our reasoning isn’t obvious to our audience. How can we do it better? In Cracked It!, seasoned strategy professors and consultants Bernard Garrette, Corey Phelps and Olivier Sibony present a rigorous and practical four-step approach to overcome these pitfalls. Building on tried-and-tested (but rarely revealed) methods of top strategy consultants, research in cognitive psychology, and the latest advances in design thinking, they provide a step-by-step process and toolkit that will help readers tackle any challenging business problem. Using compelling stories and detailed case examples, the authors guide readers through each step in the process: from how to state, structure and then solve problems to how to sell the solutions. Written in an engaging style by a trio of experts with decades of experience researching, teaching and consulting on complex business problems, this book will be an indispensable manual for anyone interested in creating value by helping their organizations crack the problems that matter most.

Cracked Open is a down to earth and vulnerable journey following the human heart as it searches for love. This collection cracks the reader's chest wide open and nourishes the heart it touches. Rising author Megan O'Keeffe offers a raw and open narrative to pull you into every poem and emotion. Divided into five chapters, this debut book also features twenty never before seen poems as well as fresh illustrations to create a complete experience for its audience.