NATIONAL BESTSELLER • “An extraordinary short story collection that deserves our closest attention.”—Detroit Free Press “Elizabeth Berg’s gift as a storyteller lies most powerfully in her ability to find the extraordinary in the ordinary, the remarkable in the everyday.”—The Boston Globe In this superb collection of short stories, Elizabeth Berg takes us into pivotal moments in the lives of women, when memories and events come together to create a sense of coherence, understanding, and change. In “Ordinary Life,” Mavis McPherson locks herself in the bathroom for a week, shutting out her husband and the realities of their life together—and no, she isn't contemplating a divorce. She just needs some time to think, take stock of her life, and to arrive, finally, at a surprising conclusion. In “White Dwarf” and “Martin's Letter to Nan,” the secrets of a marriage are revealed with sensitivity and “brilliant insights about the human condition” (Detroit Free Press) that have become trademark of Berg's writing. The Charlotte Observer has said, “Berg captures the way women think as well as any writer.” Those qualities of wisdom and perception are everywhere present in Ordinary Life.

Jeff Foster invites you to forget everything you know, everything you’ve been taught, and everything you’ve ever read about spiritual awakening, Oneness, enlightenment, non-duality, and Advaita, and to consider a new possibility: the possibility of absolute freedom, right now, right here, in the midst of this very ordinary life. Using everyday language and drawing on both personal experience and age-old wisdom, Foster shares the possibility that all the seeking and longing of the mind can come to an absolute end with the falling away of the sense of being a separate individual, and a plunge into unconditional love. And in that plunge—which is totally beyond anything you have ever imagined—this so-called ordinary life reveals its great Secret. Written with stunning clarity and aliveness, this book is a love letter to the exhausted spiritual seeker who is simply longing to come Home.

A memoir in bite-size chunks from the author of the viral Modern Love column “You May Want to Marry My Husband.” “[Rosenthal] shines her generous light of humanity on the seemingly humdrum moments of life and shows how delightfully precious they actually are.” —The Chicago Sun-Times How do you conjure a life? Give the truest account of what you saw, felt, learned, loved, strived for? For Amy Krouse Rosenthal, the surprising answer came in the form of an encyclopedia. In Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life she has ingeniously adapted this centuries-old format for conveying knowledge into a poignant, wise, often funny, fully realized memoir. Using mostly short entries organized from A to Z, many of which are cross-referenced, Rosenthal captures in wonderful and episodic detail the moments, observations, and emotions that comprise a contemporary life. Start anywhere—preferably at the beginning—and see how one young woman’s alphabetized existence can open up and define the world in new and unexpected ways. An ordinary life, perhaps, but an extraordinary book.

Suzanne Redfearn delivers another gripping page-turner in her latest novel, a story about a young mother's fight to protect her children from the dangerous world of Hollywood. Faye Martin never expected her husband to abandon her and their three children . . . or that she'd have to struggle every day to make ends meet. So when her four-year-old daughter is discovered through a YouTube video and offered a starring role on a television series, it seems like her prayers have been answered. But when the reality of their new life settles in, Faye realizes that fame and fortune don't come without a price. In a world where everyone is an actor and every move is scrutinized by millions, it's impossible to know whom to trust, and Faye finds herself utterly alone in her struggle to save her family. Emotionally riveting and insightful, NO ORDINARY LIFE is an unforgettable novel about the preciousness of childhood and the difficult choices a mother needs to make in order to protect this fragile time in her children's lives.

Frank Derrick is 81 ... and he's just been run over by a milk float. It was tough enough to fill the hours of the day when he was active, but now he's broken his arm and fractured his foot, it looks set to be a very long few weeks ahead. He watches DVDs, spends his money frivolously at the local charity shop and desperately tries to avoid the cold callers knocking on his door. Emailing his daughter in America on the library computer and visiting his friend Smelly John used to be the highlights of his week. Now he can't even do that. Then a breath of fresh air comes into his life in the form of Kelly Christmas, home help. With her little blue car and appalling parking, her cheerful resilience and ability to laugh at his jokes, Kelly changes Frank's life.

Sometimes hope is the most extraordinary gift of all. High-school radio host Jasmine Torres's life is full of family dysfunction, but if she can score the internship of her dreams with a New York City radio station, she knows she can turn things around. That is, until her brother Danny's latest seizure forces her to miss the interview, and she's back to the endless loop of missing school for his doctor appointments, picking up the pieces of her mother's booze-soaked life, and stressing about Danny's future. Then she meets Wes. He's the perfect combination of smart, cute, and funny. He also happens to have epilepsy like her brother. Wes is living a normal life despite his medical issues, which gives Jasmine hope for Danny. But memories of her cheating ex-boyfriend keep Jasmine from going on a real date with Wes, no matter how many times he asks her. Jasmine can't control everything, not who wins the internship, not her mother's addiction, not her brother's health, not even where her heart will lead her. She wishes she could just have an ordinary life, but Jasmine may just discover that what she already has is pretty extraordinary after all.

"An Experiment in Autobiography" was first published in 1934. Within it, Wells recounts his childhood, school days, struggle to make money, his eventual literary success, and latter occupation as a prophet of socialism. A fascinating and unique look into the life and mind of this seminal author, "An Experiment in Autobiography" will appeal to all who have read and loved the works of H. G. Wells. Contents include: "47 High Street, Bromley, Kent", "Up Park and Joseph Wells (1827-1910)", "Sarah Wells at Atlas House (1855-1880)", "A Broken Leg and Some Books and Pictures (1874)", "Mr. Morley's Commercial Academy (1874-1880)", "Puerile View of the World (1878-79)", Mrs. Wells, Housekeeper at Up Park (1880-1893)", "First Start in Life-Windsor (Summer 1880)", et cetera. Herbert George Wells (1866 - 1946) was a prolific English writer who wrote in a variety of genres, including the novel, politics, history, and social commentary. Today, he is perhaps best remembered for his contributions to the science fiction genre thanks to such novels as "The Time Machine" (1895), "The Invisible Man" (1897), and "The War of the Worlds" (1898). Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this book now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially commissioned new biography of the author.

This book is a simple life story of an ordinary fella, just making a point of some important experiences during his life. Peter Hussain is a new Author, his story is quite ordinary and boring really. He is not very experienced in the literary world, he's not even much of a reader. In fact he hardly ever reads anything himself, especially without pictures! Apparently, he thinks he has an interesting life story to tell. It involves amongst many things, cycling, his church, guitars, music, cars, art, technical drawing, his three children, his painful marriage break-up, his new wife Rachel, more cycling, holidays, workplace design, office design, plus a little thing he calls his "Walk of Faith". Pete has an Asian/British/German heritage. He's one of the fussiest, most particular fellas around. Although he's not a perfectionist any more, he does still like things to be "just so". That's probably why he likes straight lines, symmetry and check shirts. Apparently this characteristic is now under control. He always aims for the best in life and he always tries his best in everything he does, if that doesn't get a perfect result, he's ok with that now, he can deal with it! One of the most refreshing things Pete has done in his book is to be open and honest about himself. We often see a culture, especially of blokes, closed and even secretive about what they are thinking and going through. Recently, Mental health has been recognised as a crucial part of overall health and well being. Although it is more healthy, it's sometimes really difficult to get a fella to open up and tell you what's really going on inside their head! If you can identify with any of this, this may be the book for you? If you know someone else who may identify with this, it may be the book for them. If you can't identify with any of these headings, maybe you should buy the book anyway? or better yet, buy it for someone you don't like very much and see if they like you more or less after they've read it!

The Mysticism of Ordinary Life: Theology, Philosophy, and Feminism presents a new vision of Christian mystical theology. It offers critical interpretations of Catholic theologians, postmodern philosophers, and intersectional feminists who draw on mystical traditions to affirm ordinary life. It raises questions about normativity, gender, and race, while arguing that the everyday experience of the grace of divine union can be an empowering source of social transformation. It develops Christian teachings about the Word made flesh, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and the Christian spiritual life, while exploring the mystical significance of philosophical discourses about immanence, alterity, in-betweenness, nothingness, and embodiment. The discussion of Latino/a and Black sources in North America expands the Western mystical canon and opens new horizons for interdisciplinary dialogue. The volume challenges contemporary culture to recognize and draw inspiration from quotidian manifestations of the unknown God of incarnate love. It includes detailed studies of Grace Jantzen, Amy Hollywood, Catherine Keller, Karl Rahner, Adrienne von Speyr, Hans Urs von Balthasar, Michel Henry, Michel de Certeau, Luce Irigaray, Julia Kristeva, Gloría Anzaldúa, Ada María Isasi-Díaz, Alice Walker, M. Shawn Copeland, and more.