Practically everybody loves to travel; to discover something new. We want to escape, to be free, to feel the sun on our faces. So we venture forth to far away places. But whether we are package tourists, culture vultures or backpackers the questions can still arise: Is this really all there is? Is there nothing beyond what we can see - something MORE? Can we find space and time on our journey to find new realities? The outward journey can be the start of an inner journey. This book, superbly translated from the original Swedish, reflects on our modern obsession with travel whilst discussing existential questions. During his visits to Rome, Paris, Venice and the Canary Islands, the author depicts an inner journey. On the way we meet such diverse figures as the philosopher Seneca, the author Proust, Emperor Marcus Aurelius, and the 'Man in the corner', whose radical doubts question all kinds of pretentious talk. We click on computer icons - the world opens up. But the pocket icon is of a different sort. It speaks of another journey. At a time when many people feel confused and embarrassed by talk about spirituality, this book puts forward powerful ideas in an eminently readable style - but perhaps it poses more questions than it answers . 'A barely discernable, but serious and calm look stares at me from the cheap plastic Russian icon. The icon's reverse perspective means that the observer is always observed wherever he is. Or rather - the observer is drawn into the icon's world. The diminutive pictures' faded colours: dark red, gold and pale blue light up my study. The icon watches over me whilst I sleep on train journeys or at dreary airports. It is placed next to my bed when I come home. At this moment it is standing on the railing of a balcony several miles off the coast of Africa. But mostly it rests in my pocket. Holiness doubly concealed.' Owe Wikström is the author of fifteen books and is professor of the Psychology of Religion at Uppsala University, Sweden. A Lutheran minister and psychotherapist, he has written several books on psychology, philosophy, literature, music and culture. He is a popular speaker and a frequent contributor to radio and television programmes. His bestseller Långsamhetens lov (In Praise of Slowness) has already been translated into six languages. He was awarded the Swedish C. S. Lewis Prize for 2007.

The short pieces assembled in Salvation in My Pocket are miniature experiments in Christian joy. They are attempts at describing the difference God makes to ordinary experience, and to discover glimpses of God's light in everyday life. If there is any thread that holds these haphazard reflections together, it is just the conviction that beneath the surface of things there lurks an invitation, gentle and alluring; that even in sadness and misfortune there is always rising up, as if from hidden wells, the promise of peace; and that the final word spoken over this world, and over each human life, will be a word of joy.

By the author of 2021 Pura Belpré Honor Book The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez, a sweeping, emotional middle grade historical novel about a twelve-year-old boy who leaves his family in Cuba to immigrate to the U.S. by himself, based on the author's family history. “I don’t remember. Tell me everything, Pepito. Tell me about Cuba.” When the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 solidifies Castro’s power in Cuba, twelve-year-old Cumba’s family makes the difficult decision to send him to Florida alone. Faced with the prospect of living in another country by himself, Cumba tries to remember the sound of his father’s clarinet, the smell of his mother’s lavender perfume. Life in the United States presents a whole new set of challenges. Lost in a sea of English speakers, Cumba has to navigate a new city, a new school, and new freedom all on his own. With each day, Cumba feels more confident in his new surroundings, but he continues to wonder: Will his family ever be whole again? Or will they remain just out of reach, ninety miles across the sea? A Kirkus Best Children's Book of the Year "...Cuevas’ latest is a triumph of the heart...A compassionate, emotionally astute portrait of a young Cuban in exile." —Kirkus, STARRED REVIEW "Cuevas’ intense and immersive account of a Cuban boy’s experience after the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion brings a specific point in history alive." —Booklist, STARRED REVIEW "Cuevas packs this sophomore novel with palpable emotions and themes of friendship, love, longing, and trauma, attentively conveying tumultuous historical events from the lens of one young refugee." — Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW

Dive into USA Today bestselling author Cali Mann and Freya Black's intriguing world of shifters, werewolves, demons, and reverse harem paranormal romance. This succubus wants nothing more than a man immune to her charms until she's captured by three demanding shifters who refuse to let her go. These wolves are immune all right and frustratingly attractive, but they're at war. And with a younger sister left to face Hell's dangers alone, Del isn't willing to waste time with the twin brothers' battle for pack leader. But with dark magic binding her to their will, Del must swallow her fury and rely on her natural charms to free herself. Luckily, all men crave a succubus, and even these stubborn wolves will fall into line... eventually. Werewolves and demons clash in a red-hot tussle for control and it's anyone's guess who'll come out on top in this sexy enemies-to-lovers fated mates paranormal romance series. READ THE COMPLETE SERIES: This box set includes a short prequel, Guarded by the Hellhounds, and the following full-length novels: Book 1: Called Book 2: Scorned Book 3: Unleashed One-click now for an exciting paranormal romance where the heroine doesn't need to choose. Keywords: paranormal romance, fantasy romance, reverse harem romance, shifter romance, demon romance, steamy romance, shifters, alpha heroes, alpha shifters, love story, RH paranormal romance, RH romance, female protagonist, menage, paranormal romance with sex, fated love, fated mates, fantasy, steamy romance, shapeshifter, magic romance.

Powerful, off-beat stories about women living in the shadow of the now-frozen, now-thawing war in Ukraine Out of the impoverished coal regions of Ukraine known as the Donbass, where Russian secret military intervention coexists with banditry and insurgency, the women of Yevgenia Belorusets’s captivating collection of stories emerge from the ruins of a war, still being waged on and off, ever since the 2014 Revolution of Dignity. Through a series of unexpected encounters, we are pulled into the ordinary lives of these anonymous women: a florist, a cosmetologist, card players, readers of horoscopes, the unemployed, and a witch who catches newborns with a mitt. One refugee tries unsuccessfully to leave her broken umbrella behind as if it were a sick relative; a private caregiver in a disputed zone saves her elderly charge from the angel of death; a woman sits down on International Women’s Day and can no longer stand up; a soldier decides to marry war. Belorusets threads these tales of ebullient survival with a mix of humor, verisimilitude, the undramatic, and a profound Gogolian irony. She also weaves in twenty-three photographs that, in lyrical and historical counterpoint, form their own remarkable visual narrative.

That sudden yearning you feel when you see a sunset. That pang of longing you sense deep in your bones when you attend a funeral or even gaze at a poignant piece of art. Those experiences that sting you to attention in moments of beauty, peace, or sorrow—the ones you can sense are offering you a twinkling, piercing hint of heaven: Are these meant to do more than point you to eternity? What if they could enable you to live more fully on the way there? Through personal reflections, evocative stories, and profound writing, author Amy Baik Lee offers This Homeward Ache, inviting you to remember the times you've been deeply moved by a glimpse, a spark, of something you know is beyond the visible present—moments that other cultures and times have called Sehnsucht, saudade, hiraeth, or galmang. In each spellbinding chapter, Amy traces her own brushes with this longing, unfolding her discovery that it is designed to enrich and alter every area of our lives: our valleys of pain, our relationships with other people, and ultimately our reception of the love of God. If you’ve ever wondered how to keep going in this world while holding on to the hope of the world to come, This Homeward Ache offers you courage, companionship, and a stirring sense of the scope of our journey home to Christ.

When the town of Mud Wagon Creek is destroyed by desperadoes it is just the start of a twisted trail of revenge for outlaw-boss, Bass Ollinger. He has sworn to make society pay for the time he spent in the Oregon State Penitentiary, shackled by the infamous Oregon Boot, and he intends blazing a trail of death and destruction clear from Texas to the Beaver State. Riding the border country, Brant Forrest unwittingly rides into Ollinger's path and with others also in the renegade's line of fire, comes to the inevitable conclusion: stop Ollinger!