After 20 years apart, the author reconnected with her severely handicapped brother when he became gravely ill. This is the story of her struggle to obtain humane treatment for Raymond after he was admitted to the hospital, and the lessons she learned from him. (Motivation)

The first biography of america’s best-known short story writer of the late twentieth century. The London Times called Raymond Carver "the American Chekhov." The beloved, mischievous, but more modest short-story writer and poet thought of himself as "a lucky man" whose renunciation of alcohol allowed him to live "ten years longer than I or anyone expected." In that last decade, Carver became the leading figure in a resurgence of the short story. Readers embraced his precise, sad, often funny and poignant tales of ordinary people and their troubles: poverty, drunkenness, embittered marriages, difficulties brought on by neglect rather than intent. Since Carver died in 1988 at age fifty, his legacy has been mythologized by admirers and tainted by controversy over a zealous editor’s shaping of his first two story collections. Carol Sklenicka penetrates the myths and controversies. Her decade-long search of archives across the United States and her extensive interviews with Carver’s relatives, friends, and colleagues have enabled her to write the definitive story of the iconic literary figure. Laced with the voices of people who knew Carver intimately, her biography offers a fresh appreciation of his work and an unbiased, vivid portrait of the writer.

George "Yoye" Lopez grew up in a distinctive area of Tampa, Florida known as Roberts City. Named for the Roberts Cigar Company, the borders of the neighborhood were on the north and east by the Hillsborough River, on the west by North Boulevard and on the south by Green Street. He and members of his family persevered through the Depression years and emerged with a deep appreciation for their neighbors and their experiences in a multi-ethnic community. Eventually, Roberts City was leveled by "progress" in the form of Interstate 75 and urban renewal

A global manhunt sweeps up a former federal agent when his childhood friend becomes the chief suspect in a terrorist rampage. His hazardous stint in U.S. law enforcement behind him, Valentine Pescatore has started over as a private investigator in Buenos Aires. Then he runs into a long-lost friend: Raymond Mercer, a charismatic, troubled singer who has converted to Islam. After a terrorist attack kills hundreds, suspicion falls on Raymond -- and Pescatore. Angry and bewildered, Pescatore joins forces with Fatima Belhaj, an alluring French agent. They pursue the enigmatic Raymond into a global labyrinth of intrigue. Is he a terrorist, a gangster, a spy? Is his loyalty to Pescatore genuine, or just another lethal scam? From the jungles of South America to the streets of Paris to the battlegrounds of Baghdad, The Convert's Song leads Pescatore on a race to stop a high-stakes campaign of terror.

These true drama stories will help others to stop and think about consequences before actions. The story concerning one’s child or children will cause better awareness of the people we think we can trust. Many times, we are spared from danger and we survive heartaches without realizing that it is not a coincidence but the mighty hand of God.