"A compelling story about a man who finds his voice, transcends adversity, and elevates his life to a whole new level of existence. I highly recommend it for anyone committed to living with purpose and meaning." Dr. Stephen R. Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and The 8th Habit "An inspiring tale that celebrates the power of possibility and human potential."Jan Austin, founding director of Corporate Coach U. training program and author of What No One Ever Tells You about Leading for Results "Beautifully illustrates how a person who discovers his soul can bring out the best in everyone around him."Dr. Lance Secretan, award winning columnist, speaker, coach, consultant, and author of One: The Art and Practice of Conscious Leadership "Teaches and inspires a new way of being based on authenticity, accountability, honesty, and love."Larry Wilson, founder of Wilson Learning and author of Play to Win: Choosing Growth over Fear in Work and Life "Brilliant! I got chills reading it."Alfred T. Zirkle, international speaker and president of IndustryProHal Stratton's life is turned upside down when, without warning, the board of directors of his own company fires him. The event sends Hal into a tailspin and he alienates everyone around him as he struggles desperately to make sense out of what happened and find a way forward. Eventually, the crisis awakens him to a new way of seeing and thinking. But old habits die hard. Gradually and haltingly, Hal opens his heart to the lessons of life and eventually discovers an inner peace, joy, love, and abundance he'd never thought possible. Circumstances have not changed. But life, for Hal, has changed dramatically. The book is a beautiful story of becoming; of learning to handle the challenges of life in new and empowering ways; of coming from a "bigger place" of learning to communicate openly so people can stop seeing one another as adversaries and come to a shared understanding of the challenges they face.

Why Do All the Nice Girls End Up Getting Kidnapped and Held for Ransom? In this book, YOU, the reader, are a thirtysomething part-time actor/full-time waiter suddenly caught up in a kidnapping. Julia, the girl you went out with last night, has been TAKEN HOSTAGE. What will you do? Will you go to the police and ask for help? Will you burst into the hideout, killing everyone in sight, then tell Julia that she shouldn't misinterpret this as some sort of big commitment? Or will you unplug your phone and just get really, really drunk? The choice is yours! You awake to the sound of the phone ringing. "Hello?" You hear a man's voice. It is muffled. "We've got Julia." "Wait, what do you mean?" "We have kidnapped your girlfriend. If you ever want to see her again---" "Whoa, she's not my girlfriend," you say. "I just met her. I mean, I had a good time with her and all, but I wanna take it slow with this one, I think." "We understand," the voice says. "But she's new to the city, and presently, you're all she has. Give us fifty thousand dollars by tomorrow or we'll blow her head off." If you want to go and ask your parents if you can borrow fifty thousand dollars, go to page 173. If you want to have sex with your ex-girlfriend, consider getting back together with her, then think better of it, go to page 183. BE VERY CAREFUL! You're directing the story and the CHOICES you make can result in MURDER, GRADUATE SCHOOL ENROLLMENT, TORTURE, MARRIAGE, POST-APOCALYPTIC SLAVERY, UNWANTED PREGNANCY, even TEMPING! It's YOUR STORY and YOUR LIFE. All you've got to do is decide which page you want to turn to. JUST MAKE A CHOICE!

In a realm beset by natural disasters, only the magical abilities of the bonded Pairs—Source and Shield—make the land habitable and keep the citizenry safe. The ties that bind them are far beyond the relationships between lovers or kin—and last their entire lives… Whether they like it or not. Since she was a child, Dunleavy Mallorough has been nurturing her talents as a Shield, preparing for her day of bonding. Unfortunately, fate decrees Lee’s partner to be the legendary, handsome, and unbearably self-assured Lord Shintaro Karish. Sure, he cuts a fine figure with his aristocratic airs and undeniable courage. But Karish’s popularity and notoriety—in bed and out—make him the last Source Lee ever wanted to be stuck with. The duo is assigned to High Scape, a city so besieged by disaster that seven bonded pairs are needed to combat it. But when an inexplicable force strikes down every other Source and Shield, Lee and Karish must put aside their differences in order to defeat something even more unnatural than their reluctant affections for each other…

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.

Parenting is tough and mistakes made in a moment can take years to repair. Therefore, learning the skills of effective parenting will be one of the most worthwhile ventures you ever pursue. Roger K. Allen, PhD, has studied family relationships for many years and developed a time-tested set of tools to help parents succeed in raising responsible, emotionally mature children. Replete with examples and case studies, his must-read guide gives you concrete strategies you can immediately put into practice. We know that good communication is at the heart of a healthy family. But so often our natural tendencies are to either over control or cave-in and overindulge our children. Either way, our children either fail to learn from their experiences or grow in emotional maturity and self-responsibility. Dr. Allen will teach you skills to establish loving authority in your home, put an end to conflict and power struggles, and communicate with your children (from toddlers to teens) in ways that solve problems, build trust, enhance self-worth, and help your children learn personal responsibility. Are you ready to start the journey?

Two allegorical ancient Greek stories about a young hero’s career- defining choice are shown in this book to have later been appropriated to radically differing effects. E.g. a male’s choice between female personifications can morph into a female’s choice between the same, or between various male personifications. Never before have so many instances of this process from art, literature, music, even landscape gardening, been culled. Illustrations, mainly colour, many brought into this context for the first time, are conveniently incorporated into the text, thus mimetically mirroring a central theme of the book, the process of ‘visualising the verbal, verbalising the visual.’

The Shape of Fantasy is an in-depth look at Heroic Epic Fantasy. It depicts structural and narrative patterns with models stemming from science and philosophy. Although Fantasy Fiction is generally defined by its impossibility, Fantasy Fiction not an illogical form. It is, in fact, governed by a sense of rules and structure, one that reflects our current understanding of space-time and cosmology. These models are an integral part of the structure of Heroic Epic Fantasy itself. Thus, this book introduces new ways of perceiving current productions of the Fantasy genre. In doing so, it also explores how Fantasy Fiction exhibits a conscious awareness of its own form.