A Gathering of Spirit flows from beginning to end with no chapter division to hold back the energy. It offers life experiences through the eyes of those who have lived them. This book also lightly touches on spiritual concepts that may or may not be accepted by the reader. We are all in this life together and each has a special job to do. While performing our jobs, we touch and are touched by other spirits, some living and some deceased. A Gathering of Spirit quietly points out how important these atouching experiencesa are to our individual growth. Sometimes reading about ordinary people in our universe and how they deal with their life challenges enables us to become more fulfilled human beings. Opportunities to change negative habits are all around us, and we only need to reach out and take them. Nobody can do it for us!

"Hosts of all kinds, this is a must-read!" --Chris Anderson, owner and curator of TED From the host of the New York Times podcast Together Apart, an exciting new approach to how we gather that will transform the ways we spend our time together—at home, at work, in our communities, and beyond. In The Art of Gathering, Priya Parker argues that the gatherings in our lives are lackluster and unproductive--which they don't have to be. We rely too much on routine and the conventions of gatherings when we should focus on distinctiveness and the people involved. At a time when coming together is more important than ever, Parker sets forth a human-centered approach to gathering that will help everyone create meaningful, memorable experiences, large and small, for work and for play. Drawing on her expertise as a facilitator of high-powered gatherings around the world, Parker takes us inside events of all kinds to show what works, what doesn't, and why. She investigates a wide array of gatherings--conferences, meetings, a courtroom, a flash-mob party, an Arab-Israeli summer camp--and explains how simple, specific changes can invigorate any group experience. The result is a book that's both journey and guide, full of exciting ideas with real-world applications. The Art of Gathering will forever alter the way you look at your next meeting, industry conference, dinner party, and backyard barbecue--and how you host and attend them.

"It comes down to this. I believe in each and every Indian woman whose words and pictures lie between the pages of this book. Some hands are comfortable with a typewriter, with a pen. Some hands have only just begun to touch paper and pencil without fear. Our hands are strong. We make baskets, life heavy machinery, bead earrings, soothe our lovers -- female or male -- hold our elders. We braid our hair. These hand fight back. We use our fists, our pens, our paints, our cameras. We drive the trucks to the demonstrations, we tie the sashes of our children, dancing for the first time in the circle of the drum. We weave the blankets. We keep us a culture. Our hands live and work in the present, while pulling on the past. It is impossible for us to not do both."--Google Books.

"The single best source for experiencing the vibrancy and breadth of contemporary Indian women's writing."--Jacket.

One of Essence's Best Books of the Decade! A New York Times Notable Book of 2012! Gathering of Waters is a finalist for a Phillis Wheatley Fiction Book Award! Gathering of Waters was named a finalist for a 2013 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award! Gathering of Waters has been selected as a Go On Girl! April 2013 Book Pick. "McFadden works a kind of miracle--not only do [her characters] retain their appealing humanity; their story eclipses the bonds of history to offer continuous surprises...Beautiful and evocative, Gathering of Waters brings three generations to life...The real power of the narrative lies in the richness and complexity of the characters. While they inhabit these pages they live, and they do so gloriously and messily and magically, so that we are at last sorry to see them go, and we sit with those small moments we had with them and worry over them, enchanted, until they become something like our own memories, dimmed by time, but alive with the ghosts of the past, and burning with spirits." --Jesmyn Ward, New York Times Book Review, Editors' Choice "Read it aloud. Hire a chorus to chant it to you and anyone else interested in hearing about civil rights and uncivil desires, about the dark heat of hate, about the force of forgiveness." --Alan Cheuse, All Things Considered, NPR "McFadden combines events of Biblical proportions--from flooding to resurrection--with history to create a cautionary, redemptive tale that spans the early twentieth century to the start of Hurricane Katrina. She compellingly invites readers to consider the distinctions between 'truth or fantasy'...In McFadden's boldly spun yarn, consequences extend across time and place. This is an arresting historical portrait of Southern life with reimagined outcomes, suggesting that hope in the enduring power of memory can offer healing where justice does not suffice." --Publishers Weekly "The rich text is shaped by the African American storytelling tradition and layered with significant American histories. Recalling the woven spirituality of Toni Morrison's Beloved, this work will appeal to readers of mystic literature." --Library Journal "McFadden makes powerful use of imagery in this fantastical novel of ever-flowing waters and troubled spirits." --Booklist "In this fierce reimagining, the actual town of Money, MS narrates the story about the ghost of Emmett Till and his from-the-other-side reunification with the girl he loved as a child in Gathering of Waters by Bernice L. McFadden." --Ebony Magazine Gathering of Waters is a deeply engrossing tale narrated by the town of Money, Mississippi--a site both significant and infamous in our collective story as a nation. Money is personified in this haunting story, which chronicles its troubled history following the arrival of the Hilson and Bryant families. Tass Hilson and Emmett Till were young and in love when Emmett was brutally murdered in 1955. Anxious to escape the town, Tass marries Maximillian May and relocates to Detroit. Forty years later, after the death of her husband, Tass returns to Money and fantasy takes flesh when Emmett Till's spirit is finally released from the dank, dark waters of the Tallahatchie River. The two lovers are reunited, bringing the story to an enchanting and profound conclusion. Gathering of Waters mines the truth about Money, Mississippi, as well as the town's families, and threads their history over decades. The bare-bones realism--both disturbing and riveting--combined with a magical realm in which ghosts have the final say, is reminiscent of Toni Morrison's Beloved.

A child of a typical 1950s suburb unearths her mother's hidden heritage, launching a rich and magical exploration of her own identity and her family's powerful Native American past.

"Prepare for a sampling of Japanese ghosts and spirits, from sources that include the worlds oldest novel, the urban legends of contemporary Japanese schoolchildren, movies both classic and modern, anime, manga, and more." For hundreds of years Japan has lived in a reality consisting of the real world and the spirit world; sometimes the wall between the two worlds gets thin enough for spirits to cross over. In such a reality, ghost stories have been popular for centuries. Patrick Drazen, author of "Anime Explosion", looks at these stories: old and new, scary or funny or sad, looking at common themes and the reasons for their popularity. This book uses one Japanese ghost story tradition: the "hyaku monogatari" (hundred stories). In the old tradition, people tell each other one hundred ghost stories in one sitting. These hundred tales run from folklore to cartoons, but all are designed to send chills up the spine ...

Join Margaret Feinberg, one of America's most beloved teachers and writers, as she sets out on a remarkable journey to unearth God's perspective on food. What you discover will forever change the way you read the Bible--and approach every meal. This groundbreaking book provides a culinary exploration of Scripture. You'll descend 400 feet below ground into the frosty white caverns of a salt mine, fish on the Sea of Galilee, bake fresh matzo at Yale University, ferry to a remote island in Croatia to harvest olives, spend time with a Texas butcher known as "the meat apostle," and wander a California farm with one of the world's premier fig farmers. With each stop, Margaret asks, "How do you read these Scriptures, not as theologians, but in light of what you do every day?" Taste and See teaches us that: As we break bread, we find the satisfaction of our deepest hungers in the community our souls crave As we share our lives, we taste and see God's fruitfulness When we're tempted to lose heart--and we all will be--we find courage in listening to and participating in stories of God's rescuing ways In the midst of a busy life, we can all create space to taste and see God's goodness Taste and See is a delicious read that includes dozens of recipes for those who, like Margaret, believe some of life's richest moments are spent savoring a meal with those you love. See you around the table! Praise for Taste and See: "Margaret Feinberg's appetite for the feast of His grace makes you hunger for more of a fulfilling life. Read and taste the richest food for the soul!" --Ann Voskamp, bestselling author of WayMaker and One Thousand Gifts "Margaret is a storyteller who never ceases to see the beauty of the world around us. If you love God, good food, and life around the table, this book will take you on an unforgettable culinary journey through the Bible." --Jennie Allen, bestselling author of Get Out of Your Head and founder of IF:Gathering

A groundbreaking collection of essays and stories by, about, and selected by gay American Indians from over twenty North American tribes. From the preface by Randy Burns (Northern Paiute): Gay American Indians are active members of both the American Indian and gay communities. But our voices have not been heard. To end this silence, GAI is publishing Living the Spirit: A Gay American Indian Anthology. Living the Spirit honors the past and present life of gay American Indians. This book is not just about gay American Indians, it is by gay Indians. Over twenty different American Indian writers, men and women, represent tribes from every part of North America. Living the Spirit tells our story---the story of our history and traditions, as well as the realities and challenges of the present. As Paula Gunn Allen writes, “Some like Indians endure.” The themes of change and continuity are a part of every contribution in this book---in the contemporary coyote tales by Daniel-Harry Steward and Beth Brant---in the reservation experiences of Jerry, a Hupa Indian---in the painful memories of cruelty and injustice that Beth Brant, Chrystos, and others evoke. Our pain, but also our joy, our love, and our sexuality, are all here, in these pages. M. Owlfeather writes, “If traditions have been lost, then new ones should be borrowed from other tribes,” and he uses the example of the Indian pow-wow---Indian, yet contemporary and pantribal. One of our traditional roles was that of the “go-between”---individuals who could help different groups communicate with each other. This is the role GAI hopes to play today. We are advocates for not only gay but American Indian concerns, as well. We are turning double oppression into double continuity---the chance to build bridges between communities, to create a place for gay Indians in both of the worlds we live in, to honor our past and secure our future. Published by Stonewall Inn Editions in partnership with St. Martin’s Press, 1988.