My name is Harlow, and I've just been attached to a ShiftARS unit on an army base far from where I was settled. I'm 23 and recently out of training, so although I rank higher than the three guys in my team, they treat me like the newbie. The three guys are gay and also lovers so the team dynamics are off. Luckily these guys look at me like a conquest and welcome me in. They are huge guys, solid muscle and tower 6 inches above me. Despite coming top of my class in fitness, martial arts and target shooting, to them my 5ft10 frame makes me seem like a delicate flower. They think I'm straight, I won't tell them I've been tempted before. Just like I won't tell them my shift beast. But all my secrets might come out anyway as these guys peel away my layers until they break my core.

As the phoenix emerges from its ashes, Zebian emerges ablaze in these pages, not only as a survivor of abuse, but as a teacher and healer for all those who have struggled to understand, reclaim, and rise above a history of pain. The book is divided into six chapters, and six stages of healing: Falling, Burning to Ashes, Sparks of Phoenix, Rising, Soaring, and finally, A New Chapter, which demonstrates a healthy response to new love as the result of authentic healing. With her characteristic vulnerability, courage, and softness, Zebian seeks to empower those who have been made to feel ashamed, silenced, or afraid; she urges them, through gentle advice and personal revelation, to raise their voices, rise up, and soar.

ALL MAGIC IS EVIL. Maya has known magic is evil her whole life. Raised happily in a remote village at the steps of the sprawling Forent Mountain Range, she hasn't had to think too much about it either way. She and her grandmother survive the harsh Voldarian winters by their wits and hard work, and they were doing quite well for themselves. When Maya's best friend is taken from her, the illusion of safety is shattered. Forced to adapt to life on the run, she soon discovers she is a powerful creature with ancient magic in her bones. Still, will it be enough to save her from the military forces bearing down on them and the strange magic running wild inside her own body? Will she ever see her friend alive again? A Phoenix Rises will appeal to fans of Sorcery of Thorns, by Margaret Rogerson and Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian.

If you struggle with self‐defeating thoughts and feelings of inadequacy, you are not alone. We’ve all felt inadequate, believing that we’re broken or otherwise unworthy. But this doesn’t have to be a life sentence. Presenting four guiding principles and five core practices based in deep spiritual wisdom, Suffering Is Optional reveals how to liberate yourself from the prison of false self‐beliefs holding you back. Millions of people feel that they are not good enough. They may struggle every day, seeing themselves as deficient, pathetic, or damaged, and destined to fail. They convince themselves they aren’t worthy of love or respect, and view themselves with self-hatred. When you believe and cling to painful, self-defeating thoughts like “I can’t do it,” “It won’t work,” or “I’m a loser,” they become your personal reality—and the more you repeat them, the more you believe them, until they come to define you. Sadly, these limiting self-definitions lead to even more pain and suffering: hidden shame, problems in relationships, opportunities lost, and a life not fully lived. In Suffering Is Optional, clinical psychologist Gail Brenner offers practical ways to discover that you are not what your thoughts tell you you are. Rather than showing you how to become a better version of yourself, this book goes straight to the heart of the problem—that you’ve mistakenly identified yourself as broken and undeserving—to guide you out of these limiting thoughts and into an investigation of the nature of reality that ultimately liberates you from your suffering. With these exercises, experiments, reflections, practices, and inspiring stories, you’ll have a spiritual solution to your personal problem of limitation and self-sabotage. Using the four guiding principles and five core practices presented in this book—including turning toward direct experience, grounding in aware presence, losing interest in thoughts, welcoming feelings, and the sacred return to presence—you’ll be able to shed your false identity and wake up to the inherent peace and happiness that is available to you in any given moment.

In an age when the supply of gasoline to feed this modern American society has become both more expensive and more scarce questions are being pondered. Inquires like, How can a modern society scale back its dependence on gasoline as a motive source?' Are there genuine alternative power sources?' Are they the answer to a growing crisis?' Recent announcements of hybrids like those from Honda, Toyota, and Ford have really brought attention to this issue. Hybrids that use both gasoline engines and electric motors. Really, though, alternative power sources have been around for as long as the automobile has been. The battle between and among the steam car, the electric and the gas car was fought out in the first couple of decades of the twentieth century. This book explores the ins and outs of that battle. A struggle from which the gasoline car emerged completely victorious. To such an extent that steam cars and electric cars virtually disappeared from the scene for many decades. We will look over all three alternatives, exploring their advantages and disadvantages. We will also look over the obstacles to the steamers and the electrics. Barriers that still exist to a certain extent. Handicaps that caused their disappearance in the first place.

Cast out by his own family after a wolf's bite infects him, a young thirteen-year-old boy is forced to roam the streets and fend for himself. In a world of Humans and Others, he belongs to neither. No longer considered Human, but nor a purebred Other, a race of powerful supernatural beings, he will be unwanted and hunted by both. Danger lurks at every turn. Young, vulnerable and afraid, he tries to come to terms with the physical changes taking place in him while at the same time trying to find a way to survive. In a menacing world filled with threats and hate, is there any hope of salvation for this orphaned fledgling? Please note, this is a Society Short.