Explores the fundamental relationships that make life meaningful, discussing the meaning of "belonging" while prescribing solutions to staying "connected" to people in the digital age.

We live in an increasingly isolated and lonely world. How do we find genuine relational connection? According to psychologist Todd Hall, real human growth doesn't come through head knowledge alone but through relational knowledge and strong attachment bonds. This accessible introduction invites us into lasting relationships—with God and others—that lead to authentic transformation.

Living with the Stars tells the fascinating story of what truly makes the human body. The body that is with us all our lives is always changing. We are quite literally not who we were years, weeks, or even days ago: our cells die and are replaced by new ones at an astonishing pace. The entire body continually rebuilds itself, time and again, using the food and water that flow through us as fuel and as construction material. What persists over time is not fixed but merely a pattern in flux. We rebuild using elements captured from our surroundings, and are thereby connected to animals and plants around us, and to the bacteria within us that help digest them, and to geological processes such as continental drift and volcanism here on Earth. We are also intimately linked to the Sun's nuclear furnace and to the solar wind, to collisions with asteroids and to the cycles of the birth of stars and their deaths in cataclysmic supernovae, and ultimately to the beginning of the universe. Our bodies are made of the burned out embers of stars that were released into the galaxy in massive explosions billions of years ago, mixed with atoms that formed only recently as ultrafast rays slammed into Earth's atmosphere. All of that is not just remote history but part of us now: our human body is inseparable from nature all around us and intertwined with the history of the universe.

Celebrated scientists Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler explain the amazing power of social networks and our profound influence on one another's lives. Your colleague's husband's sister can make you fat, even if you don't know her. A happy neighbor has more impact on your happiness than a happy spouse. These startling revelations of how much we truly influence one another are revealed in the studies of Dr. Christakis and Fowler, which have repeatedly made front-page news nationwide. In Connected, the authors explain why emotions are contagious, how health behaviors spread, why the rich get richer, even how we find and choose our partners. Intriguing and entertaining, Connected overturns the notion of the individual and provides a revolutionary paradigm-that social networks influence our ideas, emotions, health, relationships, behavior, politics, and much more. It will change the way we think about every aspect of our lives.

Human beings are fundamentally relational—we develop, heal, and grow through relationships. Integrating insights from psychology and theology, Todd W. Hall and M. Elizabeth Lewis Hall present a definitive model of spiritual transformation based on a relational paradigm, showing how transformation works practically in the context of relationships and community.

Author Bio: Christine Organ grew up in a small town in Wisconsin. She is a double-Badger, having earned both her B.A. and J.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She currently lives in suburban Chicago with her husband, two sons, two dogs, lizard, and fish. A pragmatic believer and hopeful optimist, Christine writes about faith, love, and the human condition. She writes at www.christineorgan.com and has appeared on Headline News (a division of CNN). Her work also appears on Huffington Post, Scary Mommy, Patheos, Mamalode, and RELEVANT. Endorsements/Reviews: "Gifted in the use of delightful analogies, Organ transforms even the messiest moments of everyday life into windows opening outward toward grace, wonder and miracles. -- Margaret Placentra Johnston, award winning author of Faith Beyond Belief: Stories of Good People Who Left Their Church Behind "Christine Organ not only talks about faith and spirituality, she lives it, digging into each experience with a contagious curiosity and passion." --Michelle DeRusha, author of Spiritual Misfit: A Memoir of Uneasy Faith

In the tradition of Being Digital and The Tipping Point, Steven Johnson, acclaimed as a "cultural critic with a poet's heart" (The Village Voice), takes readers on an eye-opening journey through emergence theory and its applications. A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK A VOICE LITERARY SUPPLEMENT TOP 25 FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR AN ESQUIRE MAGAZINE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR Explaining why the whole is sometimes smarter than the sum of its parts, Johnson presents surprising examples of feedback, self-organization, and adaptive learning. How does a lively neighborhood evolve out of a disconnected group of shopkeepers, bartenders, and real estate developers? How does a media event take on a life of its own? How will new software programs create an intelligent World Wide Web? In the coming years, the power of self-organization -- coupled with the connective technology of the Internet -- will usher in a revolution every bit as significant as the introduction of electricity. Provocative and engaging, Emergence puts you on the front lines of this exciting upheaval in science and thought.