When Lorraine Dube went for her annual mammogram on September 4, 1997, she asked the technician for compression films of her upper chest area, right front shoulder, and underarm areas. She explained that, for almost a year, she had felt a pulling sensation in these areas. Although her doctor had assured her many times that it was nothing, probably just an after effect of the radiation treatment she had after her lumpectomy seven and a half years earlier, she still had a nagging concern about that odd tight feeling in her chest. When the technician took the films, it was five times more painful than when she did the routine compression shots of the breast. Tears were running down Lorraine´s face, but she not dare move. Four days later, her doctor called. Lorraine, this is Dr. V. How long have you had that mass in your chest? You have to see a surgeon immediately. Lorraine asked herself why Dr. V had ignored her concerns all those times. She reprimanded herself for not seeking a second opinion when she first experienced that pulling sensation and did not feel comfortable with his lack of response to her concern. So many things went through her mind, yet memories of her own lumpectomy were just the tip of the iceberg. She relived the horror of more than thirty years earlier when, as a mother of three small children at age 22, she heard those terrible words from Dr. DeVillers about her 26-year old husband´s cancer condition & four to six weeks the doctor had said. All of this flashed through her mind at speed warp ten ... literally in just a few seconds. Her life path had taken her through quite a few coaster rides throughout her 57 years, but all those were kiddy rides compared to this one. And so, the mother-of-all-roller coaster rides of life began with that fateful phone call from Dr. V. Lorraine Dube beat the odds. She beat that aggressive Stage 3 sarcoma lodged in her chest wall. But the battle was not without many, many scars. In the process, she lost five ribs, all her lymph nodes in the right arm area, a piece of her clavicle, most of the use of her right arm and hand "and nearly her life. After seven surgeries, chemotherapy treatments, experimental brachytherapy and countless battles with infection, including a flesh eating bacteria inside her chest wall, Lorraine Dube was cancer free but left suffering from chronic, debilitating pain, a souvenir from her ordeal that she would carry for the rest of her life. Lorraine was a survivor, always had been. But this time it was different. Why had God spared her from the terrible cancer and its aftermath of surgery, infections and lost body parts " only to leave her suffering from such unimaginable pain? The cancer was gone, but at what cost? What the heck was she supposed to do with the rest of her life? On her way to figuring it out, her daughter suggested that she write a book about her life. Don´t worry about writing a best seller, Mom. Just write it from the heart. Write it for your grandsons. Five years later, Ms. Dube began writing this book, the story of her life. She tells the story of her life from the earliest recollections of childhood, through the sometimes rough years of adulthood all with a few purposes in mind. She wants to tell her grandsons about her history, their history, and to relate all her adult experiences some good, some bad, some easy, some tough, all with the purpose of showing them that they, too, are survivors like their Memere. Her message: Life may, indeed, be a roller coaster, but nothing is impossible. Somewhere along the line, writing this book became Lorraine´s therapy. She began to make peace with, and sense of, the chronic pain that gripped her and kept her from leading the life she wanted, the life she expected. After all, her golden years were supposed to be her happiest. This b

This is my true life story of surviving divorce and finding my real self. This is a book about new life; after twenty plus years of marriage, life as I knew it had ended. I share my pain, anger, grief, and the loss I felt and how over time as I crawled out of the abyss I had fallen into I was able to turn my life around discovering true joy, happiness, peace, and love. This presentation is a little different than what you may have seen before; as I use poetry and humor as well as narrative to tell my story. Youll see the coping tools Ive learned and put to use. I hope through telling my story you can see the humor and absurdity to some of the situations Ive been through and maybe my perspective will help you as well.

When World War I ended, hundreds of British veterans stayed in France to work for the newly chartered Imperial War Graves Commission. Through the 1920s and 1930s, these veteran-gardeners married local women, raised bilingual children, and dedicated themselves to caring for the graves of their fallen comrades. When World War II swept through Europe in 1940, more than 200 War Graves gardeners were stranded in Nazi-occupied France. Their bosses explicitly ordered them to remain at their posts, even when their villages were under attack by the invading Germans. While some escaped, others were arrested by the Nazis. A handful managed to stay free and join the French Resistance. With their English-language skills and unshakable loyalty to the Allied cause, the gardeners and their families took on crucial roles in the effort to save British and American airmen shot down in France. In some cases, they hid the airmen in World War I cemeteries. In The Caretakers, internationally renowned cemetery expert Caitlin Galante DeAngelis tells the true story of three of these unlikely heroes: Ben Leech, a barman from Manchester who became a cemetery gardener in Beaumont-Hamel and joined the Resistance; Rosine Witton, the wife of a British gardener, who served as a key conductor on the famous Comet Line and survived Ravensbrück; and Robert Armstrong, an Irish gardener who worked for the Resistance until he was captured by the Nazis and sentenced to death. Through meticulous research, never-before-published journals and papers, and compassionate storytelling, DeAngelis honors the sacrifices made by War Graves gardeners and their families.

Everyone goes through a storm at some point in their life. It may feel that it has drained every ounce of breath that you have left in your body. So tell me, is this when you give up on God? After The Storm is poetically empowered to touch your spirit. It will inspire you to step back and take a look at your own storm. It also takes you through the life of people that arranges from childhood to adulthood. Satan does not discriminate. If he can stop you while you're young, then he won't have to worry about you when you get older. The key to coming out of your storm is to lean on God. He has never failed us. He will bring you through the most devastating life tragedy and turn it around for it to be used for His glory. After The Storm is written to touch the hearts and souls of people who are going through any situation. Receive this message. Take your burdens and leave them at the altar. Your healing will come because After The Storm...There Is Healing.

I will begin by telling you a little about the person who I am and how I came to write these pages..... Today, I own and operate a real working cattle ranch along with a Country Western Bar and Grill, Western Wear, Feed and Saddle at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina. I grew up in a small farming community in rolling hills of rural Ohio. I enlisted in the Military at age 17 and was selected by the US CID to do covert operations in the North Carolina region of USACIDC. I worked as a CID Agent for 7 years and then left the CID but continued to work with special operations for an additional two years. After 10 years of working as a covert undercover officer. I decided to change direction and become and retired a North Carolina State Trooper. The following poems and short stories were inspired by true events or friends who have touched my life in some matter and have forever changed my life. It is said that friendship is clairvoyant. With a true friend words are never needed. What you enjoy doing together will come natural and such a friendship shall stand throughout the ages. I hope you find such a friendship in your life and then you savor each day and share it with that someone special in your life as you go. Whether we realize it or not, everyone we know is very special to us. When we look back on our younger years, we will remember The people who went to school with us, the people who made us laugh, the people who hung out with us when nobody else would, and the people who made our lives much better simply by being a part of it. That's the wonderful thing about friendship--you always feel loved and cared about. The most important thing to remember is to always appreciate the friends that you have.... Seek out and find the time in each day to see the Beauty and Love in the world around you....

Life upended by trauma. Overwhelming uncertainty. Faith unraveling. What do you do when your God image and self-image crumble? How do you risk again? Nothing shapes our beliefs, actions, and behaviors more than our image of God and the image we have of ourselves. In Wild Ride, Sherill Hostetter leads readers through her journey of transformation. When accepting a call to serve in West Africa involves intense suffering, Sherill questions what she signed up for. As her sense of control and certainty in life crumbles, she is left with doubts, fears, questions, and laments. Readers accompany Sherill through her broken childhood in living with a mentally ill mother, her struggle to be good enough, her trauma in overseas missions, her wrestling to make sense of it all in light of her faith, and her courage to risk again. In these pages, you’ll be invited to consider the landscape of your own life and engage with your own inner questions of who you are and who your God is in the suffering and uncertainties of life.

Tony Martello, an author like no other, transforms ordinary events into exciting mini adventures of romance, treasure hunts, and humor. Join him in exploring the wonders of wild nature and funny humans.

Tori My life had been going just fine until the night I met him. He was darkness, sex, and danger, all wrapped into one perfectly muscled package, and he had his sights set on me. But that same night, everything I knew about my life was turned upside down. One glimpse of Trick’s tattoo, and the memories consume me. That’s when my anger was born. Someone in his club killed my parents, and I had watched it happen. I can’t remember much, but I will stop at nothing to find out who that someone was, and make them pay. Getting close to Trick is the only way to do that, but he’s loyal to his club. As things heat up, conspiracies are revealed, and I’m about to learn just how deep those loyalties run. Trick From the instant I laid eyes on Tori, I wanted her. And for the first time ever, I find myself having to work at getting close to a woman. She’s mysterious and gorgeous, and I never quite know what she’s going to do next. She’s fascinating, but something’s not right. Something is holding her back from me. Something I intend to find out. But then she does something crazy. After she accuses my club of being responsible for the death of her parents, I know I should cut ties with her. I have a responsibility to my club—to my brothers. But what if she’s telling the truth? I've introduced her to them, and that means she’s now in danger. As a member of Satan’s Wrath, I have to let this play out, but how can I protect her without going against my brothers?