A Darkness of Her Own chronicles what happens when a couples most joyous occasionthe birth of their first childgoes horribly wrong. A riveting personal story and compelling court room drama, it begins on the day that Ken and Lorraine Zarecor meet for the first time. The story follows them through their courtship, marriage, and birth of their only child, Heatherand the shocking and heartbreaking events that followed. Heather suffered severe brain damage at birth. While trying to preserve her life and dignity, her parents encountered many obstacles. The tragedy caused turmoil in their lives and their marriage. They found the medical professionals and governmental agencies largely impotent, intolerant, or unwilling to offer assistance. These failures forced the Zarecors to turn to the courts to discover the cause of Heathers brain damage, to redress the consequences of medical malpractice. Over the course of ten years, they encountered many obstacles, including missing or altered medical records, and attorneys who misstated facts attempting to protect guilty parties. Their goal was to insure that Heather would have the best possible care for the rest of her life, and, in the end, to see that she got justice.

“In The Radiant Midnight you will find not merely abstract ideas about the essence of darkness or how to go about facing it. You will also find humor, Wisdom. Honesty. You will find Melissa’s very bone and blood…it is here, then, in reading—rather, perhaps, listening to—her words, that your heart, trapped as it may feel in its own midnight, begins to see the first signs of dawn.” –Curt Thompson, MD, author of Anatomy of the Soul Grace and Hope for Long Dark Nights Have you ever suffered with depression, sadness, or the feeling that you just can't seem to get it together? Do you wonder if you could ever view your deepest wounds in a different light? Through candid storytelling, biblical truth, honest lament, and unexpected humor, The Radiant Midnight is a bold refusal to simplify the experience of suffering by moving too quickly to try to relieve it. With questions to guide you and practical suggestions to lead you through dark moments, this book takes you on a journey of surrender, suffering, rest, and restoration as it encourages and comforts you in whatever struggle you face. The message of The Radiant Midnight is fueled by the passionate belief that not only will God lead you out of darkness, He will be fully and beautifully present within it. You can find deep contentment in painful circumstances and discover a profound intimacy with a compassionate, tender God who is with you in every moment—in each hope-filled dawn and every radiant midnight.

The Dark Has Its Own Light chronicles the authors experience as a patient in a psychiatric hospital, at a time when limited treatment methods meant less chance of recovery. Alternating between recounting the family history that resulted in hospitalization, and the relationships that developed in the hospital, the book charts a story of loss, suffering, and the discovery of hope and love where none seemed possible.

Understand the dark side of your psyche—a Jungian approach to transformative self-acceptance. We all have shadows—the unlit part of our ego that is hidden and never goes away, but merely—and often painfully—turns up in unexpected places. This powerful work from the acclaimed Jungian analyst and bestselling author of Inner Work and We explores our need to “own” our own shadow: learn what it is, how it originates, and how it impacts our daily lives. It is only when we accept and honor the shadow within us that we can channel its energy in a positive way and find balance.

"A gripping tale told by a gifted writer."--Beverly Lewis Caroline Fletcher is caught in a nation split apart and torn between the ones she loves and a truth she can't deny The daughter of a wealthy slave-holding family from Richmond, Virginia, Caroline Fletcher is raised to believe slavery is God-ordained and acceptable. But on awakening to its cruelty and injustice, her eyes are opened to the men and women who have cared tirelessly for her. At the same time, her father and her fiance, Charles St. John, are fighting for the Confederacy and their beloved way of life and traditions. Where does Caroline's loyalty lie? Emboldened by her passion to make a difference and her growing faith, will she risk everything she holds dear?

Written in 1927 but barred from timely publication by the Lincoln family, The Dark Days of Abraham Lincoln's Widow, as Revealed by Her Own Letters is based on nearly two dozen intimate letters written between Mary Lincoln and her close friend Myra Bradwell mainly during the former's 1875 incarceration in an insane asylum. By the 1920s most accounts of Mrs. Lincoln focused on her negative qualities and dismissed her as "crazy." Bradwell's granddaughter Myra Helmer Pritchard wrote this distinctly sympathetic manuscript at the behest of her mother, who wished to vindicate Mary Lincoln in the public eye by printing the private correspondence. Pritchard fervently defends Mrs. Lincoln's conduct and sanity, arguing that she was not insane but rather the victim of an overzealous son who had his mother committed. The manuscript and letters were thought to have been destroyed, but fortunately the Lincolns' family lawyer stored copies in a trunk, where historian Jason Emerson discovered them in 2005. While leaving the manuscript intact, Emerson has enhanced it with an introduction and detailed annotations. He fills in factual gaps; provides background on names, places, and dates; and analyzes Pritchard's interpretations, making clear where she was right and where her passion to protect Mrs. Lincoln led to less than meticulous research and incorrect conclusions. This volume features an easy-to-follow format that showcases Pritchard's text on the left-hand pages and Emerson's insightful annotations on the right-hand pages. Following one of the most revered and reviled, famous and infamous of the First Ladies, this book provides a unique perspective of Mrs. Lincoln's post-White House years, with an emphasis on her commitment to a sanitarium. Emerson's contributions make this volume a valuable addition to the study of the Lincoln family. This fascinating work gives today's Lincoln enthusiasts the chance to read this intriguing interpretation of the former First Lady that predates nearly every other book written about her.

One of the most influential schools of classical philosophy, stoicism emerged in the third century BCE and later grew in popularity through the work of proponents such as Seneca and Epictetus. This informative introductory volume provides an overview and brief history of the stoicism movement.

In this long awaited follow-up to the best-selling An Altar in the World, Barbara Brown Taylor explores ‘the treasures of darkness’ that the Bible speaks about. What can we learn about the ways of God when we cannot see the way ahead, are lost, alone, frightened, not in control or when the world around us seems to have descended into darkness?

The New York Times bestselling author and Fox News senior meteorologist Janice Dean returns with more inspiring stories of people who know how to find light in dark times. While the news is filled with villains and villainy, we do see a few famous heroes now and again. But what about the everyday heroes? The people going out of their way bring a little love into someone else's life? They deserve a time in the spotlight to inspire us all. Life can be tough—but it helps to know other people have come through hard times with a smile on their face. In Make Your Own Sunshine, Janice Dean shares inspiring stories that will lift your spirit and touch your heart. Good people are all around us doing selfless deeds, from a firefighter who bravely battled for his colleague’s health after 9/11 to a good Samaritan who secretly pays for the coffees of everyone in line behind him. You can’t help but smile reading about the teacher who cut her hair to make her student feel better. And you may shed a tear when you hear the story of the dad who never missed writing a napkin note for his daughter, including stashing extra notes in case he lost his batter with cancer. From a young man who makes bow ties for dogs waiting to be adopted to an Uber driver who brightened a new mom’s day by helping her buy baby clothes, the heroes in this story will warm your heart and stick in your mind. Janice has made it her mission to uncover and document these good stories to inspire us and gives us a much-needed boost of optimism. All we have to do is open our minds and our hearts, to look for the light on a cloudy day. Because as she reminds us, if we don’t make our own sunshine—who will?

The New York Times bestselling Christmas classic. Over 250,000 books in print. An annual bestseller. Thousands of readers have already fallen in love with Ann Voskamp’s One Thousand Gifts, and this Christmas, Ann will help readers celebrate the lineage and the majesty of God’s greatest gift—Jesus Christ. In what has already become a holiday classic, Voskamp reaches back into the pages of the Old Testament to explore the lineage of Jesus via the advent tradition of “The Jesse Tree.” Beginning with Jesse, the father of David, The Greatest Gift retraces the epic pageantry of mankind, from Adam to the Messiah, with each day’s reading pointing to the coming promise of Christ. Sure to become a holiday staple in every Christian home, The Greatest Gift is the perfect gift for the holidays and a timeless reminder of the true meaning of Christmas.