A wife. A husband. A lover. A chance to leave her ordinary life?

If anybody had told Prissy, a conservative Southern housewife, she would one day be driving around town with a stoned, drunk black man named Willie in her backseat while she begged--no, ordered--him into her house for the night, she would have told them they were nuts. But it happened. An emotionally honest account, Far Outside the Ordinary chronicles the period in Prissy's life when, during a routine physical, her fifty-year-old husband is given less than a year to live. Southern black caregivers move into her home and work around the clock to aid her family. Soon, Prissy finds herself a spectator in her own home, observing events far outside the boundaries of her once ordinary life. Far Outside the Ordinary is also a story of happily ever after, a romantic fairy tale. When her high school boyfriend reappears in her life, Prissy learns love has no expiration date. Sometimes a second chance at love can come disguised, and when least expected.

A study of heroism in the myths of the world - an exploration of all the elements common to the great stories that have helped people make sense of their lives from the earliest times. It takes in Greek Apollo, Maori and Jewish rites, the Buddha, Wotan, and the bothers Grimm's Frog-King.

Long recognized as a master teacher at writing programs like VONA, the Loft, and the Stonecoast MFA, with A Stranger’s Journey, David Mura has written a book on creative writing that addresses our increasingly diverse American literature. Mura argues for a more inclusive and expansive definition of craft, particularly in relationship to race, even as he elucidates timeless rules of narrative construction in fiction and memoir. His essays offer technique-focused readings of writers such as James Baldwin, ZZ Packer, Maxine Hong Kingston, Mary Karr, and Garrett Hongo, while making compelling connections to Mura’s own life and work as a Japanese American writer. In A Stranger’s Journey, Mura poses two central questions. The first involves identity: How is writing an exploration of who one is and one’s place in the world? Mura examines how the myriad identities in our changing contemporary canon have led to new challenges regarding both craft and pedagogy. Here, like Toni Morrison’s Playing in the Dark or Jeff Chang’s Who We Be, A Stranger’s Journey breaks new ground in our understanding of the relationship between the issues of race, literature, and culture. The book’s second central question involves structure: How does one tell a story? Mura provides clear, insightful narrative tools that any writer may use, taking in techniques from fiction, screenplays, playwriting, and myth. Through this process, Mura candidly explores the newly evolved aesthetic principles of memoir and how questions of identity occupy a central place in contemporary memoir.

THIS BOOK REVEALS THE CONSPIRACY BY LEONARDO, NEWTON, GOETHE AND OTHER MEMBERS OF THE INITIATE TRADITION TO INFLUENCE THE COURSE OF HISTORY BY MAGIC. From the dawn of history and perhaps beyond a small group of magi working within a specific magical tradition have believed they have been influencing the course of history, guiding mankind towards higher levels of consciousness. Theirs is a reincarnationist philosophy and they believe that, as initiates of the highest order, they return in local groups at key moments to conspire to change the course of events. Whether or not their beliefs are right, whether or not their magical practices work in the way they believe, this book will prove that certain remarkable individuals, many of them famous in other areas, have undoubtedly held these beliefs. Bestsellers such as HOLY BLOOD, HOLY GRAIL and THE TOMB OF GOD have been written by amateur historians trying to penetrate the veil of secrecy that surrounds this conspiracy; here for the first time an initiate of the order reveals the truth.

Strategic leadership is broadly defined as utilizing particular approaches in the management of employees. The main objective is productivity. It provides the vision and direction for the long term growth and success of an organization. It requires objectivity and potential to look at the broader picture. It is leaders’ responsibility to incorporate aspects of both the analytical and human dimensions to effectively drive the organizations forward. As an academic subject, it is taught in both education and business. Leaders and mangers have turned to strategic leadership to inspire and guide their visions, and to formulate the directions so essential for the long term growth and success of an organization or a country. Leaders need the skills and tools for strategy formulation and implementation in order to deal with change in our society. Managing change and ambiguity requires strategic leaders who not only provide a sense of direction, but who can also build ownership and alignment within their workgroups to implement change. The goal of strategic leadership is to drive innovation, and maximize team performance to enhance organizations’ long term growth and success in today’s complex world of fastpaced, dramatic change. Research on strategic leadership has been going on for decades. Textbooks on this subject are readily available. If we look deeper, we realize the vast majority of these books were written from a practitioner’s perspective. In other words, these books were not based on empirical research. Naturally, these existing books have failed to better serve the needs of today’s graduate students who should be equipped with empirical research on such an academic subject. This book will investigate emergent administrative techniques and business practices being used within educational establishments and corporate worlds. It will highlight empirical research and best practices within strategic leadership.

Offering a unique perspective on the Enneagram, Essential Wholeness describes the how human beings grow and evolve from biological, psychological, cultural, mythological and spiritual perspectives. It reveals the underlying patterns that inform these diverse disciplines and provides therapists, coaches and self-helpers an effective guide for therapeutic change and spiritual awakening. Advance Praise for Essential Wholeness Both profound and practical, this book integrates cutting edge neuroscience, esoteric wisdom, a heartfelt appreciation of the natural world, and powerfully effective psychological methods. It's genuinely brilliant. Rick Hanson, Ph.D., author of Buddha's Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom Eric Lyleson has written a beautiful and helpful book on living life as a journey of awakening. I highly recommend it! Stephen Gilligan, Ph.D. author of The Courage to Love Essential Wholeness provides a blueprint for understanding and working with the complexity of human nature and behavior. It is an inspiring and valuable resource for therapists and anyone interested in the dynamics of personal transformation. Peter Chown, Psychologist. Consultant, NSW Centre for Advancement of Adolescent Health; Specialist Consultant, Adolescent Health, World Health Organization Eric somehow manages to distil a lifetime of experience, spiritual practice, and psychological learning into a very accessible, comprehensive model of human psychology and behavior. Not since Ken Wilber have I read such a concise and useful synthesis of psychology, spirituality, and ecology. I find it incredibly useful in my work as a therapist and as a guide on my own spiritual journey. Richard Chambers, PhD, Clinical Psychologist Co- author of Mindful Learning