Mark Nepo is emerging as one of the truly significant writers and thinkers of today. Nepo has a singular way of distilling great truths down to their essence. Moreover, during his cancer journey, Nepo relied on the power of expression and the writing process to keep him tethered to life. In Reduced to Joy, Mark Nepo explores the places where pain and joy are stitched to resilience, uncovering them with deep wisdom, poetic passages and personal revelations. Nepo reminds us all of the secret and sacred places within, forgotten in the noise and chatter of our busy distracted 21st Century lives. Reduced to Joy is a lesson in stillness, in standing in the mystery and, above all, in the work of love.

Stories carry the seeds of our humanness. They help us, teach us, heal us, and connect us to what matters. As Far As the Heart Can See is an invitation to be in relationship with deep and life-giving material. Many spiritual gurus present dense metaphysical theses with an intellectual approach for "working" a spiritual path; poet and philosopher Mark Nepo reaches people through their hearts, bringing something fresh and new to the field by stimulating change through reflection of thoughts and feelings. The stories he shares in As Far As the Heart Can See come from many places—from Nepo's personal history to dreams to the myths of our ancestors. Each one is an invitation to awaken an aspect of living in relationship with the sacred. Following each of the forty-five stories are three forms of an invitation to further the conversation: journal questions, table questions, and meditations. The questions, whether reflected upon in a journal or discussed in deeper conversation with friends or family, are meant to lead the seeker down unimagined paths and back into life; the meditations are meant to ground the learning. These stories and parables about universal concepts and themes offer a poet's sensuality and a philosopher's sensibility to personalizing the journey of the human experience in the world.

From her 40 years as a chi kung practitioner and master teacher, Vicki Dello Joio has developed a profound and practical system for conscious living. In this book, you will learn how Joy can fuel your life, guide every choice you make, and sustain you even in your most challenging times. Vicki demonstrates how Joy is a life-force, a fuel we can draw from, allowing us to embrace life's complexities while expanding our capacity to achieve our full potential. Inspired by Taoist philosophy, Vicki presents a world-view of three Laws, Principles, and Practices within the context of three realms: Heaven (Inspiration) Human (Intention) and Earth (Manifestation). The Practice chapters include Chi Kung forms with illustrations, meditations, and writing as well as self-observation exercises. Using vivid stories, each Law, Principle, and Practice is so clearly articulated and beautifully integrated that the book becomes a vibrant, multi-dimensional map for living.

John Paul II, the most charismatic religious leader of our time, is a man whose actions truly reflect his beliefs. At the dawn of the new Millennium, AN INVITATION TO JOY brings together a selection of John Paul's messages with the most poignant photographs documenting his life both before and after his election to papacy. For the first time, here is an illustrated devotional keepsake album that distills the essence of his message and shows the intimate connection between his words and deeds. Three main sections, THE HUMAN FAMILY, THE PEOPLE OF GOD, THE DIGNITY OF THE HUMAN PERSON, encompass the themes that are most important to the Pontiff. Resonant passages on everything from love and family, suffering and evil, freedom and human rights, other religions and the role of women are coupled with striking photographs. A fourth section, A LIFETIME OF DEVOTION, provides a portrait of the Pope's entire life in pictures, from his early childhood to his current day-to-day activities in the Vatican. Reflecting the Pope's all-embracing outreach to people around the world, AN INVITATION TO JOY will inspire both those inside and outside the Catholic Church.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Joyce Meyer points out, "You can't give away something you don't have!" Many people who are trying to walk in God's love are doing so in their own strength, but they can't demonstrate God's love because they never stop to receive it themselves. Because God is love, loving and being loved is what makes life worth living. Once you learn how to truly accept God's unconditional love for you and walk in love like Jesus did, you will discover the sweet peace, deep joy, and unfailing strength that come with being willing to say, "REDUCE ME TO LOVE!"

An accidental death, and the cover-up that follows, sparks a dark series of events that reverberates through the lives of four people who will never be the same again. When Darl Moody went hunting after a monster buck, a kill that could make the difference between meat for the winter and an empty freezer, he never expected he'd accidentally shoot a man digging ginseng. Worse yet, he's killed a Brewer, a family notorious for vengeance and violence. With nowhere to turn, Darl calls on the help of the only man he knows will answer, his best friend, Calvin Hooper. But when Dwayne Brewer comes looking for his missing brother and stumbles onto a blood trail leading straight back to Darl and Calvin--and to Calvin's girlfriend, Angie--a nightmare of revenge rips apart their world. A story of friendship and family, The Line That Held Us is a tale balanced between destruction and redemption, where the only hope is to hold on tight, clenching those you love. From a writer whose stories are "like a pull from a bottle of Appalachian moonshine: smooth and elegant with a punch in the gut that lingers a while after you're done" (Garden & Gun), Joy's book is another masterwork of Southern noir.

Critically acclaimed author David Joy, whose debut, Where All Light Tends to Go, was hailed as "a savagely moving novel that will likely become an important addition to the great body of Southern literature" (The Huffington Post), returns to the mountains of North Carolina with a powerful story about the inescapable weight of the past. A combat veteran returned from war, Thad Broom can't leave the hardened world of Afghanistan behind, nor can he forgive himself for what he saw there. His mother, April, is haunted by her own demons, a secret trauma she has carried for years. Between them is Aiden McCall, loyal to both but unable to hold them together. Connected by bonds of circumstance and duty, friendship and love, these three lives are blown apart when Aiden and Thad witness the accidental death of their drug dealer and a riot of dope and cash drops in their laps. On a meth-fueled journey to nowhere, they will either find the grit to overcome the darkness or be consumed by it.