The sibilant sound of "Girl, you know you crazy!" resonates through our common airspace matter-of-factly. We grow up with different flavors of insanity all around. For our family it was great aunt Henrietta, who stopped wearing underwear because the Lord told her so. At least that is how she interpreted the Lord's divine message. Aunt Henrietta is proof that even the holiest require a personal crusade to stay sane. Chicken on a Leash: Lessons in Strength in Mind recognizes the challenges of growing into personal leadership getting from there to here sane. It is about one African American woman of color who reaches back into her childhood diary to see where her lessons in leadership began. To her amazement, leadership was rooted in the most insane, bizarre, or even violent moments. Susan Raleigh finds that life's path though littered with lessons in insanity, paved the way for purposeful leadership and strength of mind in every facet of her life from the bedroom to the boardroom. Readers will be able to wrestle with their own paths through the experiences of Dr. Susan Raleigh who eventually finds herself asking: "How did I manage to grow up sane?" The answer is amply described in thirty personality-shaping events that she adeptly calls: Lessons in Strength of Mind.

OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI, 1957: Reaching the top of his profession, lawyer Robert Andrews Winslow wins the triple murder/rape trial of black man Otis Lee Williams, but less than a year later, Otis Lee is executed for a similar crime. Guilt-ridden for not helping save Otis Lee and scorned for helping in the first trial, Winslow's slide begins. Alone, broke and usually drunk, he leaves Mississippi and his profession. OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI, 1991: Down and out, Winslow has no place left to go but home to the small bungalow on General's Road outside Oxford, his meager inheritance. Now a writer, he's given two files, which might contain a desperately needed story, and musters himself for a last try to salvage his life. He drags his weary, sedentary and abused body along dusty back roads where he encounters Mississippi Delta families who share the land, wealth and a special desire to conceal secrets long-buried in the rich black soil. Constantly in danger and aided by friends whose motives he doubts, Winslow pieces together the story hinted in two autopsy files: Rosemary Thompson - Antigua, Raymond Thompson - Los Angeles. The twins died almost the same time at age thirty-two, thousands of miles apart, both naked in bed. The dead twins are the story but when Rob discovers the other DUPLICATES, he begins to realize the connection to himself, his past... and his downfall. A few secrets remaining, the murder of his black friend Hook Todd forces Rob Winslow back into to the courtroom in defense of another innocent man. Manipulating the justice system he once loved, Winslow is able to solve six crimes committed over seventy-five years, including his own murder by a so-called crazy man who isn't crazy at all.

Poems for Young People was written mainly for children, teenagers, and young adults--including college students. For young people, the book provides wise guidance and life-long education about living. The more than 100 poems in Poems for Young People are organized under the following themes: (1) Advice for Young People, (2) On Values, Character, and Morality, (3) Natural Beauty of Earth, (4) Courage, Inspiration, and Strength, (5) Healthy, Happy, and Safe Living, (6) Spirituality and Meaning in Life, (7) Love for Family, (8) Friendship, (9) Loss, Sadness, Grief, and Death, and (10) Identity, Understanding, Self-Esteem, and Self-Acceptance.

Climbing the Ladder to Love is a story about Ruby and her experience with what love is. She torments herself thinking that her life is not complete without a man and it is at the moment that she finds the man of her dream-so she thinks. Ruby is educated, intelligent and fun loving. On top of that, she is successful and a great parent. Through all of her happiness, her struggle is basically Why can't I find the perfect man? So she climbs the ladder of love looking for the answers to this question.

The American Renaissance has been a foundational concept in American literary history for nearly a century. The phrase connotes a period, as well as an event, an iconic turning point in the growth of a national literature and a canon of texts that would shape American fiction, poetry, and oratory for generations. F. O. Matthiessen coined the term in 1941 to describe the years 1850–1855, which saw the publications of major writings by Hawthorne, Melville, Emerson, Thoreau, and Whitman. This Companion takes up the concept of the American Renaissance and explores its origins, meaning, and longevity. Essays by distinguished scholars move chronologically from the formative reading of American Renaissance authors to the careers of major figures ignored by Matthiessen, including Stowe, Douglass, Harper, and Longfellow. The volume uses the best of current literary studies, from digital humanities to psychoanalytic theory, to illuminate an era that reaches far beyond the Civil War and continues to shape our understanding of American literature.

100 + Poems for Holidays and Special Occasions by Frederick Douglas Harper celebrates some of the most significant moments in our lives, like weddings and graduations. This anthology of poetry can and should be shared with the people who matter most to us our family, our friends, and our loved ones. The poems in this anthology serve as inspiration for people searching for the perfect poem to honor a special occasion. Through this anthology, poetry aficionados will also realize the power and potential of words to convey meaning at times when we are most speechless. The vast range of special occasions covered in this book ensures that it will appeal to diverse audiences and a wide range of ages. Within these pages, you will also find Harpers prose on spirituality with forgiveness, because healing is a process involved in most relationships and Harper provides a comforting voice that inspires intense introspection. This book is the ideal companion for someone who wants to experience a true love affair with words.

How does love speak? . . . In the embrace where madness melts in bliss, And the convulsive rapture of a kiss– Thus doth Love speak. –Ella Wheeler Wilcox At the heart of love lies the quickening of the senses–the thrill of touch, the perfume of passion, the taste and the voice of love, the vision of the beloved. Sensual love has inspired poets throughout the ages–from the Bible’s beautiful Song of Songs to the lively evocations of sensual love and the private world of lovers created by such gifted contemporary poets as Stanley Kunitz, Maya Angelou, and W. S. Merwin. Here gathered are the truest and the loveliest– verses that tantalize the heart and celebrate the sweet turmoil of passion. Sensual Love Poems is a bouquet the freshness of which never fades, a feast for the senses . . . forever.