This is the extraordinary story of a young girl who made many mistakes and created a life that some would consider pathetic, while others would consider a miracle. It will tug at your heartstrings as you cry, laugh and admire what she accomplished in her short life. She was a brave young child, a disturbed teen, a very young mother and, through it all, was a beautiful woman who fought hard to make life worthwhile. Her young demise will hopefully help some parents who have lost a child to cope with their loss as well.

The belief that with hard work and determination, all children have the opportunity to succeed in life is a cherished part of the American Dream. Yet, increased inequality in America has made that dream more difficult for many to obtain. In Too Many Children Left Behind, an international team of social scientists assesses how social mobility varies in the United States compared with Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Bruce Bradbury, Miles Corak, Jane Waldfogel, and Elizabeth Washbrook show that the academic achievement gap between disadvantaged American children and their more advantaged peers is far greater than in other wealthy countries, with serious consequences for their future life outcomes. With education the key to expanding opportunities for those born into low socioeconomic status families, Too Many Children Left Behind helps us better understand educational disparities and how to reduce them. Analyzing data on 8,000 school children in the United States, the authors demonstrate that disadvantages that begin early in life have long lasting effects on academic performance. The social inequalities that children experience before they start school contribute to a large gap in test scores between low- and high-SES students later in life. Many children from low-SES backgrounds lack critical resources, including books, high-quality child care, and other goods and services that foster the stimulating environment necessary for cognitive development. The authors find that not only is a child’s academic success deeply tied to his or her family background, but that this class-based achievement gap does not narrow as the child proceeds through school. The authors compare test score gaps from the United States with those from three other countries and find smaller achievement gaps and greater social mobility in all three, particularly in Canada. The wider availability of public resources for disadvantaged children in those countries facilitates the early child development that is fundamental for academic success. All three countries provide stronger social services than the United States, including universal health insurance, universal preschool, paid parental leave, and other supports. The authors conclude that the United States could narrow its achievement gap by adopting public policies that expand support for children in the form of tax credits, parenting programs, and pre-K. With economic inequalities limiting the futures of millions of children, Too Many Children Left Behind is a timely study that uses global evidence to show how the United States can do more to level the playing field.

From Dr. Patricia Love, a ground-breaking work that identifies, explores and treats the harmful effects that emotionally and psychologically invasive parents have on their children, and provides a program for overcoming the chronic problems that can result.

One day, Frankie Roberts hears a preacher pronounce that a woman’s place is in the home, not in the pulpit. But this mother of four daughters and wife of a pastor in New Jersey won’t hear of it; she knows she has a special calling. In 1959, Frankie packs up her children, leaves her husband, and moves to Sioux City, Iowa, to start a ministry. In this memoir, one of Frankie’s daughters, the author Debra Roberts Torres-Reyes narrates her mother’s story. Availing herself of both humor and honesty, Torres-Reyes describes being raised by Pentecostal Holiness Ministers and living with a fanatical preacher mother who inflicts both physical and verbal abuse on her offspring. The author reflects on how the church’s views and actions—speaking in tongues, casting out demons, and dancing in the spirit—caused her to grow up with poor self-esteem, to suffer panic attacks, and to live in constant mental and emotional torment about The Rapture, demons, the devil, and hell. The Evangelical’s Daughter describes how Torres-Reyes ultimately breaks out of a self-destructive lifestyle, joins the military, and later attends college and law school, finally becoming an attorney. This is one woman’s true story about finding God and leaving religious dogma behind.

"Lark Rise" is a captivating semi-autobiographical fiction full of informative facts about Victorian life in a hamlet of Oxfordshire, England. It tells the story of ordinary men working on farms and women in their homes with children, washing, and cooking. The well-written factual details delivered by Flora Thompson make this work enjoyable.

Has PTSD invaded your world? Are you always walking on eggshells? Feel like nothing you do is right. Are you the victim of physical, emotional or verbal abuse? Are you in a relationship with someone who suffers from PTSD? Then this book is a must read for you. There is hope! So many spouses of PTSD sufferers have the false belief that nobody can understand what they are going through. Believe me when I say, you are not alone. There are literally thousands of victims just like you. Facing the same issues everyday that you are facing. This book is written for you, the spouse, to offer hope by giving you detailed knowledge of PTSD and Secondary PTSD and also offer you coping mechanisms for living in a world of PTSD.

With reports of County farmers' institutes for the year ...