Have you ever had a crush? Fallen out with your best friend? Cathy Cassidy is here for you. There are no questions Cathy hasn�t been asked and isn�t afraid to answer, from growing-up to dating, making friends, following your dreams and much more. Through the happy times, the mad and crazy times and the days when you simply find yourself asking �Why? �� whatever�s bugging you, Cathy can help . . .

Here is the dramatic story of Catherine Wood, a suburban wife and mother, and Gwendolyn Graham, her lesbian lover, two nurse's aides at the Alpine Manor nursing home in Grand Rapids, Michigan, who smothered five helpless patients to death. Photo insert.

In 1961, Murray and Dorothy Leiffer went to Singapore to study the status of Methodism in that country. They befriended Samuel Wong, then a college student, and encouraged him to pursue advanced training in the United States. Upon Wong’s graduation, they adopted him as their “number two son.” Over a thirty-year period, they wrote him letters from different parts of the world and the United States, telling him of their work and of life in America. They spoke of their visits with friends. They shared about their social and civic engagements as residents, citizens, and church members. They wrote freely about their travel experiences and their observations on jobs, marriage, family, nature, and retirement. Their letters are evidence of an unconditional love flowing through all those years, a vivid reminder that Wong was loved as he was, not “despite of” or “because of.” They groomed Wong for church service, but he became a bureaucrat in the federal government. They expected him to honor the marriage vow of “till death us do part,” but he broke it in the pursuit of academic and career advancement. Yet they never said they were disappointed in Wong. These letters, published as Unconditional Love: Letters to an Adopted Son and Unconditional Love: Letters to an Adopted Family, draw a portrait of an extraordinary couple that demonstrates in their everyday life the essence of unconditional love. They are complementary to the couple’s reminiscences on a seminary campus, Enter the Old Portals (1987), and a companion to Wong’s autobiography, A Chinese from Singapore (2009). Their letters are testimonies to grace and fidelity, a reminder of that which is true and honorable, civil and decent.

'Poignant, funny and highly readable. Would make a wonderful present.' Sue Leonard, Examiner 'A real snapshot in time ... a celebration of female friendship ... fantastic - such a good read' Irish Times Women's Podcast 'Engaging ... tender and true and spiced with wit and no little wisdom' RTE Guide 'Heart-warming ... nostalgic ... the letters brim over with the kind of humour and honest reflection that only best friends exchange' Irish Independent 'I highly recommend this unusual and fantastic book. It's a great trip down memory lane.' Librarian Lavender 'Isn't it great, Cathy, being where we are (age-wise I mean)? I really enjoy being 18 cos you have a degree of independence and yet you can act the gom if you want cos we're not "all growed up" yet.' 'I don't know if I agree about it being great being 18. I'm kinda apprehensive, waiting for "it all" to come. I think 22-23'd be better. Then you'd be sophisticated and knowledgeable ...' It's the era of Dynasty, Murphy's Micro Quiz-M and MT-USA on the telly, Kajagoogoo, Culture Club and Chris de Burgh in the charts. And also a time of mass emigration and creeping social change. In 1983 in Carrick-on-Suir two 18-year-olds take tentative steps into the future: Cathy to become an au pair, Mary to study accountancy. For a year they exchange long gossipy letters. The letters are touching, funny, tender and gutsy. They show the girls' growing pains as they make sense of their new lives, dream about finding love, and start to realise that the world is a more complex and challenging place than they had ever imagined. Most of all, Cathy and Mary's letters are filled with the eternal optimism and sense of wonderment of youth.

What happened after Mr. Darcy married Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice? Where did Heathcliff go when he disappeared in Wuthering Heights? What social ostracism would Hester Prynne of The Scarlet Letter have faced in 20th century America? Great novels often leave behind great questions, and sequels seek to answer them. This critical analysis offers fresh insights into the sequels to seven literary classics, including Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, the Bronte sisters' Jane Eyre, Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, and Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca.

By homing in, we activate our inner compass for belonging. A Miraculous Adoption Story About Reunion and Divine Timing. Dr. Susan Mossman Riva was adopted in Omaha, Nebraska in 1963. In 1995, she sought the help of the Nebraska Children's Home to find her birth mother, leading to the discovery of her birth family in 1996. Miraculously, her search and reunion coincided with her biological sister's search. The awe and joy of homecoming brought her to the realization that synchronicity acts as a guidepost, repairing relational brokenness. The divine timing of their reunion happened months before their biological, maternal grandmother died. Susan connects the phases of her life in an intricate story mandala. As an adopted child, she innately understands all that can be lost through her experience of separation. This awareness became a driving force as she steadfastly worked for reconciliation in all her relations. With loving intent, she embarked upon a journey seeking to reunite and reconcile with all those she belonged to. By connecting and engaging in an intentional forgiveness process. Susan was ultimately able to forge a pathway homing in to wholeness. Readers will discover the power of the homing in mechanism that can be activated and used as an inner compass for all pathfinders. Susan's social science background provides an explanatory framework, sharing knowledgeability about generative and transformative processes.

In 1885 Victorian England was scandalized by a court case that lifted the veil on prostitution and the sex trade. In the Old Bailey dock stood W.T. Stead, the editor of the Pall Mall Gazette, which had recently published a series of articles on the sex trade; Rebecca Jarrett, a reformed brothel keeper; and the second-in-command of The Salvation Army, Bramwell Booth. They were accused of abducting a thirteen-year-old girl, Eliza Armstrong, apparently buying her for the purpose of prostitution. In fact they had done this as a sensational exposé of the trade in young girls. The scandal triggered a massive petition and ultimately resulted in the raising of the British age of consent from thirteen to sixteen. Today human trafficking is once again making world headlines - as are recent calls to lower the age of consent. Eliza's story is a thrilling account of what can be achieved by those brave enough to believe that change is not only possible but has to come.