An original, thought-provoking meditation on the corrosive legacy of slavery from the 16th century to the present.--Elizabeth Schmidt, "The New York Times."

"What are the greatest qualities of a Mother? Love, forgiveness, and patience." Much has been written about the feminine faces of God. Now The Path of the Mother introduces us to a divinity more whole than any we have yet encountered--her arms open to men and women of any persuasion or practice. She is at once masculine and feminine, creator and transformer, joy and anguish, the all-loving Mother and the true, realized human Self. Drawing on her most vibrant expression, this inspiring book traces her myriad faces--compassionate, fierce, enchanting, challenging, passionate--in male and female deities of many religions. "As far as Mother is concerned, everyone is her child. . . . Children, did not Mother come when you called? Thus did she not obey you?" The Path of the Mother is a six-stage journey to union with the Great Mother, framed by Savitri Bess's own years of devotion to one of her most famous incarnations--the Hindu mystic Ammachi. Interweaving Hindu myths with her own quest and those of others, Bess reveals this journey as an exodus from aloneness to the wondrous integration of love, worship, and service into life's daily tasks. Practical exercises, meditations, yoga, and prayers will help both novice and veteran seekers to rediscover their innocence, balance their inner masculine and feminine energies, resolve their buried wounds, desires, and talents, and open their hearts to the nurturing guidance of the Mother-God within us all. "Love is Amma's nature. She cannot be otherwise. . . . Amma cannot return our anger, hatred, or abuse. Amma can only bestow boundless compassion and love." From the Trade Paperback edition.

In A Simple Path, Saint Teresa, senior members of the Missionaries of Charity and volunteers at their homes around the world offer their advice and long experience of how we can practise a fuller love for each other, help those less fortunate than ourselves and find peace in doing so. They discuss such fundamental issues as happiness, fear, compassion, the family and death - all themes of direct relevance to those seeking the deeper meaning of life today. This inspiring work is a unique spiritual guide, for Catholics and non-Catholics alike: full of wisdom and hope, from the one person who gave the greatest example of love in action in our time.

In Buddha Mom, Jacqueline Kramer beautifully illuminates the ways in which motherhood can be woven with the spiritual life. Drawing upon her twenty years as a practicing Buddhist, as well as many other wisdom traditions from around the world, she offers powerful insights into cultivating a more spiritual attitude toward parenting. In chapters, guided by central Buddhist themes-Simplicity, Nurturance, Joyful Service, Unconditional Love-Kramer's personal experience of pregnancy, birth, and then raising her daughter to adulthood serves as a guide to integrating the roles of parent and spiritual being. A celebration of all that motherhood can be, Buddha Mom presents an inspiring vision of child rearing.

In Our Mothers, Ourselves, Henry Cloud and John Townsend show how understanding how our mothers have profoundly influenced our lives can set us on a path toward wholeness and growth. No one has influenced the person you are today like your mother. The way she handled your needs as a child has shaped your worldview, your relationships, your marriage, your career, your self-image - your life. Our Mothers, Ourselves can help you identify areas that need reshaping, to make positive choices for personal change, and to establish a mature relationship with Mom today. The Phantom Mom The China Doll Mom The Controlling Mom The Trophy Mom The Still-the-Boss Mom The American Express Mom You'll learn how your mom affected you as a child and may still be affecting you today. Our Mothers, Ourselves is a biblical, realistic, and empowering route to wholeness and growth, to deeper and more satisfying bonds with your family, friends, and spouse - and to a new, healthier way of relating to your mother. This book was previously titled The Mom Factor.

Praise for Touching the Edge "Touching the Edge is an homage to love, loss, and the rising grace that comes when grief is transformed into peace. Margaret Wurtele's bow to her son, Phil, is a story we can all recognize within the context of each family's dance with death. Her words can heal the fall of a human heart." -Terry Tempest Williams, author of Refuge, Red, and Leap "Touching the Edge is an extraordinary memoir. Margaret Wurtele writes of the most painful events a parent can ever imagine, and yet she writes so honestly, so clearly, with prose as lucid and shimmering as cut crystal, that the book shines with a quiet grace. I too have a single grown child. I read this book and trembled. But I also saw, through Margaret Wurtele's eyes, a glimpse of the light that guided her through the darkness. It was a privilege to read this book." -Susan Allen Toth, author of Blooming: A Small-Town Girlhood and My Love Affair with England "I happened to be climbing on Rainier the day that Phil was killed, and I often wondered who he was, what he was like. Now, thanks to this beautifully told account, I have a very good idea. And I have an even clearer sense of what it means to be a parent, and a child of God. This book will choke you up, but the tears will be more than worth it." -Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature and Long Distance: Testing the Limits of Body and Spirit in a Year of Living Strenuously "The experience of love and loss, when shared, can become the alchemy of a rebirth of the spirit in others. In this journey to the other side of grief, Margaret Wurtele is fearlessly true to her experience of loss and makes herself available to be an agent of transformation for her readers. This is the glory of the human story: we really are 'members of one another' whether we realize it or not." -Alan Jones, Dean of Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, and author of Seasons of Grace, The Soul's Journey, and Living the Truth

“Mom, I have something I need to tell you…” They didn’t talk. Not for ten years. Not about faith anyway. Instead, a mother and daughter tiptoed with pain around the deepest gulf in their lives – the daughter’s choice to leave the church, convert to Islam and become a practicing Muslim. Undivided is a real-time story of healing and understanding with alternating narratives from each as they struggle to learn how to love each other in a whole new way. Although this is certainly a book for mothers and daughters struggling with interfaith tensions , it is equally meaningful for mothers and daughters who feel divided by tensions in general. An important work for parents whose adult children have left the family’s belief system, it will help those same children as they wrestle to better understand their parents. Undivided offers an up close and personal look at the life of an Islamic convert—a young American woman—at a time when attitudes are mixed about Muslims (and Muslim women in particular), but interest in such women is high. For anyone troubled by the broader tensions between Islam and the West, this personal story distills this friction into the context of a family relationship—a journey all the more fascinating. Undivided is a tremendously important book for our time. Will Patricia be able to fully trust in the Christ who “holds all things together?” Will Alana find new hope or new understanding as the conversation gets deeper between them? And can they answer the question that both want desperately to experience, which is “Can we make our torn family whole again?”