Learn to overcome trauma, adversity, and struggle by unleashing the science of hope in your daily life with this inspiring and informative guide. Hope is much more than wishful thinking. Science tells us that it is the most predictive indicator of well-being in a person’s life. Hope is measurable. It is malleable. And it changes lives. In Hope Rising, Casey Gwinn and Chan Hellman reveal the latest science of hope using nearly 2,000 published studies, including their own research. Based on their findings, they make an impassioned call for hope to be the focus not only of our personal lives, but of public policy for education, business, social services, and every part of society. Hope Rising provides a roadmap to measure hope in your life. It teaches you to assess what may have robbed you of hope, and then provides strategies to let your hope flourish once again. The authors challenge every reader to be honest about their own struggles and end the cycle of shame and blame related to trauma, illness, and abuse. These are important first steps toward increasing your Hope score—and thriving because of it.

Emeka and Barbara had met before but only for a moment. When they ran into each other again eight years later and married, Emeka felt he had married the loveliest and most dependable woman. However, after their daughter, Jyoti, died of sickle cell disease and Emeka discovered he did not have the sickle cell gene; he began to have second thoughts... was Barbara really the epitome of virtue he took her for and if she was not, then, who was the covert father of the girl he had always believed was his daughter...? Latent Error is an ironic story of love ideals and individuality versus the more imperfect facts of actual life. It centres on the "old fashioned" principles of its main character, Emeka Obiora, and how these survive within modern life, having first to deal with the slyness of his friend and housemate Mickey and then with the question of paternity - what is more important, the bloodline or real personal attachment? This allows an affecting discussion of the nature of the bonds between human beings. This is a well-executed piece of writing that presents its ideas in an accessible but thought-provoking way. The narrative flows easily, with good rendition of tension and atmosphere all the way to the ending, while the different motivations of the central characters and the contrasting ways they have of fitting in with the human world are acutely drawn.

Emeka is an immigrant who has just arrived in America, landing at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. He quickly realizes that he is now in a new world, far from the life he lived in Africa. He’s not the only one facing challenges. The values decreed in Chief Agu’s household are threatened by his Americanized son, and the chief rethinks sending his son away to study. Prince Ichie, a man whose wealth seemed undeserved, dies unexpectedly. Okon struggles with universal minority stature, and Nene is incarcerated by her in-laws due to her husband’s death. Aunty Elizabeth is forced to fling her baby into a fast-moving stream to save her own life during civil war. Finally, Emeka seeks love on foreign soil and might find it in Nicole, but a miscarriage of justice and Emeka’s arrest for crimes he didn’t commit throws his future into chaos. Just Arrived is a vivid portrait of several individuals struggling to acclimate to new cultures and new lives. The challenges they face are all too real in a world both cruel and kind, loving and filled with hate.

Omanma was in love with Emeka. Suddenly, she was thrown into Chinedu's hands by a banana skin. This was a turning point in the life of Omanma, as things began to take a dramatic and gradual change. Omanma's love had magically come to be through the hand of the banana skin. In the course of exploring her different roles in the book, we see several others who come into contact with her. Through Omanma's eyes, we see the full picture of her family and some of the societal happenings, such as Eze coronation, New Yam Festival, and several other exciting instances. Unfortunately, Omanma's real love did not mature early; she went through lots of experiences before she discovered herself and her true lover, Chinedu.

Ifi and Job, a Nigerian couple in an arranged marriage, begin their lives together in Nebraska with a single, outrageous lie: that Job is a doctor, not a college dropout. Unwittingly, Ifi becomes his co-conspirator—that is until his first wife, Cheryl, whom he married for a green card years ago, reenters the picture and upsets Job's tenuous balancing act. Julie Iromuanya has short stories and novel excerpts appearing or forthcoming in the Kenyon Review, Passages North, the Cream City Review, and the Tampa Review, among other journals. She is a finalist for the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Fiction. Mr. and Mrs. Doctor is her first novel.

Emeka was born in a lowly African village. He grew to become a bully that most children of his age dreaded. He left the village after his primary education to his uncles house in the city where he went for an adventure with his cousin. That singular adventure changed the course of his entire life and he made an unbelievable discovery that made him a hero.

This highly philosophical play is set in Ikeoha village, Enugu State, Nigeria and is a portrayal of the fate of tradition in Ikeoha as it is invaded and haunted by modernity. The two are in a perpetual fight, and the play digs deep into the nitty-gritty of each side of the divide. The play is stubbornly gripping and sets you thinki