An account of the murder of Phillip Bogdanoff describes how two youths, at the urging of Bogdanoff's stepdaughter and with the consent of his wife, murdered Bodganoff's as he was sunbathing on the beach. Original.

A “brilliant and fascinating” (Eben Alexander, MD, author of Proof of Heaven) exploration—rich with powerful personal stories and convincing research—of the many ways the living can and do accompany the dying on their journey into the afterlife. In 2000, end-of-life therapist William Peters was volunteering at the Zen Hospice Project in San Francisco when he had an extraordinary experience as he was reading aloud to a patient: he suddenly felt himself floating midair, completely out of his body. The patient, who was also aloft, looked at him and smiled. The next moment, Peters felt himself return to his body…but his patient never regained consciousness and died. Perplexed and stunned by what had happened, Peters began searching for other people who’d shared similar experiences. He would spend the next twenty years gathering and meticulously categorizing their stories to identify key patterns and features of what is now known as the “shared crossing” experience. The similarities, which cut across continents and cultures and include awe-inspiring visual and sensory effects, and powerful emotional aftershocks. The book is filled with “moving and tender” (Jack Kornfield, PhD, author of A Path with Heart) tales of spouses seeing their loved ones reach the other side after decades together and bereaved parents who share their children’s entry into the afterlife. Applying rigorous research, Peters digs into the effects of these shared crossing experiences impart—liberation at the sight of a loved one finding joy, a sense of reconciliation if the relationship was fraught—and explores questions like: What can explain these shared death experiences? How can we increase our likelihood of having one? What do these experiences tell us about what lies beyond? And, most importantly, how can they help take away the string of death and better prepare us for our own final moments? How can we have both a better life and a better death?

When this book was first published as a bestseller in 1960, reviewers noted that the 400-year history of Ranchero Dos Pueblos mirrored in microcosm the history of California itself. Dos Pueblos bears one of California’s oldest place-name, christened by Cabrillo during his voyage of discovery in 1542. Dubbed a “royal rancho” by historians because it was a gift of King Carlos III of Spain, Dos Pueblos was intended to support Mission Santa Barbara during the presidio period following Santa Barbara’s founding in 1782. The first private owner, Irish-born Nicholas A. Den, a medical man, was awarded ownership of the ranch in 1842 by Mexican governor Juan B. Alvarado. When Col. John C. Fremont came over the mountain to seize Santa Barbara for the U.S. during the Mexican War, he emerged onto Dos Pueblos Ranch. During the Gold Rush of ‘49, Den made his fortune selling Dos Pueblos beef to mining camps. Following Den’s death in 1862 the ranch was subdivided among his widow and numerous children. Before and after the turn of the century Royal Ranch was the scene of many diverse activities. One of its later owners bred racehorses. Another converted Dos Pueblos into the world’s largest orchid farm. A major oil company established off-shore petroleum production from pumps operated on the ranch. At the present time the historic spread specializes in such exotic crops as macadamia, cherimoyas and avocados.

Robbie Jordan is temporarily leaving Pans ’N Pancakes, her country store in South Lick, Indiana, to visit Santa Barbara, California—where wildfire smoke tinges the air, but a more immediate danger may lie in wait . . . While looking forward to her high school reunion back in California, Robbie’s anticipation is complicated by memories of her mother’s untimely death. At first, she has fun hanging out with her old classmates and reuniting with the local flavors—avocados, citrus, fish, and spicy Cali-Mex dishes. But then she gets wind of rumors that her mother, an environmental activist, may not have died of natural causes. With the help of friends, Robbie starts clearing the smoke surrounding the mystery—but what she finds could make it hard to get back to Indiana alive . . . Includes Recipes for You to Try!

A revelatory resituation of Van Gogh's familiar works in the company of the surprising variety of nineteenth-century art and literature he most revered Vincent van Gogh's (1853-1890) idiosyncratic style grew out of a deep admiration for and connection to the nineteenth-century art world. This fresh look at Van Gogh's influences explores the artist's relationship to the Barbizon School painters Jean-François Millet and Georges Michel--Van Gogh's self-proclaimed mentors--as well as to Realists like Jean-François Raffaëlli and Léon Lhermitte. New scholarship offers insights into Van Gogh's emulation of Adolphe Monticelli, his absorption of the Hague School through Anton Mauve and Jozef Israëls, and his keen interest in the work of the Impressionists. This copiously illustrated volume also discusses Van Gogh's allegiance to the colorism of Eugène Delacroix, as well as his alliance with the Realist literature of Charles Dickens and George Eliot. Although Van Gogh has often been portrayed as an insular and tortured savant, Through Vincent's Eyes provides a fascinating deep dive into the artist's sources of inspiration that reveals his expansive interest in the artistic culture of his time. Published in association with the Santa Barbara Museum of Art Published in association with the Santa Barbara Museum of Art Exhibition Schedule: Columbus Museum of Art (November 12, 2021-February 6, 2022) Santa Barbara Museum of Art (February 27-May 22, 2022)

When former Oregon Governor Barbara Roberts' husband, State Senator Frank Roberts, was dying from lung cancer, she had to look inside of herself as well as beyond herself to find ways to survive what felt unbearable. What Barbara Roberts learned during the final year of her husband's life, and her subsequent years of grieving, fill the pages of this honest and inspiring new book. At the time of Frank's cancer recurrence, Barbara was governor of Oregon, and Frank was an Oregon State Senator both passionately committed to their work and to one another. They also strongly supported Oregon's Death with Dignity Act, which allowed physician-assisted death. The law had not yet passed, and their was lively debate throughout Oregon whether or not to permit this law. Together they had faced many challenges, but Frank's impending death would be their final, and perhaps their most trying and enriching journey. The Robertses turned to hospice for guidance and assistance once Frank decided to stop medical intervention. This practical and compassionate guide looks at the personal as well as the societal issues surrounding death and grief. Written for both the individual facing death and for those who must grieve after a death, Roberts offers readers enthusiastic support to abandon the silence that too often accompanies impending death and those who must grieve. Chapter titles include "A Culture in Denial," "Hospice," and "Permission to be Weird.""

Cielo Drive cuts like a beautiful scar along the bottom of a V-shaped canyon in the hills of Bel Air, off of Benedict. In February, 1969, as she looked out on it from the red farmhouse at 10050 Cielo she and her husband Roman Polanski had just rented, Sharon had no way of knowing that she only had 6 months to live. On the night of August 9th, members of "The Manson Family" would invade that house and murder Sharon and three of her closest friends. But strangely, half a year earlier, she'd had a brush with a different killer. It happened after her younger sister Patti, then 11, looked across at the ominous Spanish-Moorish estate Sharon called "The Haunted House." In "Restless Souls," their remarkable memoir, Alisa Statmen and Brie Tate write that Patti then hiked down and across Cielo, walking up to No. 1436 Bella Drive. There, she encountered an open gate where white pillars bore the name: Falcon Lair. Once the home of Rudolf Valentino, it had been purchased in 1953 by the fabulously wealthy heiress Doris Duke. The wrought iron gates were open when Patti wandered inside. Suddenly, she heard, the caretaker yell, "This is private property!" Startled, she turned and lost her balance, skinning her knee, when just then, a black limo pulled in. A tinted window went down and a tall woman in back lowered her sunglasses to ask who she was. Once she ID'd herself as Patti, whose sister Sharon lived "across in the red barn," Doris knew that this wasn't just any child. She was the sibling of the hottest young star in town. So Doris snapped to the caretaker, "Stop being such an ogre and bring Patti in, so we can clean those scraps. And get me the Polanski's phone number." Later, the Duke staff was bandaging Patti's knee when Sharon arrived, "nervously chewing her lower lip" and apologizing to the blond billionaire who was the 3rd richest woman in the world behind Queen Elizabeth & Queen Juliana. But by then, Sharon Tate was Hollywood royalty herself; her husband Roman, coming off "Rosemary's Baby," was a kind of cinematic prince. So why was she nervous? What would make her bite her lip in the face of a woman whose caretaker's aggressive warning had caused her little sister to draw blood? Since Sharon was killed that summer, we'll never know. But one thing is clear: this wasn't the first time Sharon Tate had been pulled into Doris Duke's orbit. 2 1/2 years earlier, one of Sharon's closest friends, Eduardo Tirella, had been violently killed after Doris crushed him under a two-ton station wagon. At the time, all of Eduardo's friends suspected he'd been murdered. The brutal stabbing of Sharon Tate is the tragic tale of a young woman of great promise cut down in the prime of life. But the same could be said for Eduardo, whose own Hollywood career was just catching fire, when he told the possessive, heiress he was leaving her, just minutes before she ran him down outside the gates of her Newport, RI estate. Because she had the money and power, Doris Duke succeeded in effectively erasing his death from the narrative of her troubled life. For more than 50 years, the real truth behind what happened at Rough Point in 1966 has been hidden. Until now!

Like a warm blanket on a chilly night and a compass for a wandering soul, Honoring the Mystery is a collection of inspiring and insightful stories that explore the mystery of death. Reading Honoring the Mystery provides a healing balm all its own. The reader will discover better ways to support themselves and others during this very tender time of transition. This book is for you if you are: supporting someone who is dying; facing your own mortality through illness and a life-limiting prognosis; grieving the death of someone you love; a health professional who works with the dying and bereaved; wanting to learn more about the dying process. This heartfelt book encourages the reader to adapt the attitude of an explorer venturing into unknown realms while listening and absorbing all that is being shared by the dying and bereaved. Barbara Morningstar has lived at the frontier of death both personally-through the death of her husband to cancer-and professionally in the hospice field for more than twenty years. Her hands-on hospice and palliative care experience presents us with compassionate context for some of the more sensitive turning points witnessed during the dying phase of life. Barbara highlights key themes within the transcendent realm of mystery that are important to be aware of when companioning those nearing death or grieving. In turn, these make the journey less clinical, more approachable, less threatening, softer, and more loving. When embraced, these moments can help with healing and aid in a more peaceful passing. Important touch stones that are explored within the chapters are: Metaphoric Language-When approaching death, language can become poetic or metaphoric. Understanding this can lead to greater communication and awareness. Visual-The dying and those who are bereaved speak of loved ones who have passed on coming to greet them; they also speak of an inspirational presence or a bright light that offers guidance and reassurance. Auditory-A range of sounds that are soothing-such as music, wind, or the voice of a loved one-may aid in the journey at hand. Kinesthetic-The sensation of feeling the inspirational presence of a departed loved one can be incredibly comforting. Dreams-A wealth of insight can come from dreams for both the dying and bereaved. Love and Compassion-To hold genuine space with these qualities can aid in a more peaceful death for the one who is facing the end of their physical life. These essential ingredients are similarly much needed by those who are grieving and integrating the loss of a loved one into their lives. Being open to and embracing these transcendent experiences can aid in healing and support a greater comfort for all engaged in the journey at end of the physical life. Please take a peek at the "Look Inside" feature to have a greater understanding of the themes that are explored.