Juanita takes the dove she received for her fourth birthday to the Old Mission Church for the blessing of the animals.

When everything in her life came to a stop, Pastor Juanita Rasmus found that she had to learn to be—with herself and with God—all over again. Offering both practical and spiritual insights, she shares a wise, frank, and witty account of her own story of exhaustion and depression, acting as a trustworthy companion through dark days.

A magical story of a Guatemalan girl named Juanita, who loved cooking crunchy maize tortillas and counting stars every night. For a long time, Guatemala has had an important place in my heart. My son has raised a beautiful family there, and I believe that when you love the places you visit, the land gives back that love in the form of unforgettable experiences. Mayan temples, majestic volcanoes, most of them active, with the heat throbbing inside them, contrast with the lush green of the tropical forests. Rivers and lakes meander through the mountains, ending in breathtaking waterfalls, which naturally sustain the extensive coffee and corn crops. Corn is the daily bread of Guatemala and the main food for the entire indigenous population throughout the year. Many varieties are grown, and they all are of different colors. The local women make delicious white, yellow, black, and red corn tortillas. The inhabitants of this beautiful country are kind and loving. I met Juanita one sunny morning. That day, Lake Atitlán woke up slowly, and we quietly sailed away, visiting the small villages that surround the lake. When we arrived in Santa Catarina Palopó, a pretty seven-year-old girl with jet-black hair and a gummy smile-she was missing two of her baby teeth-was sitting on the pier, wearing a beautiful huipil embroidered in blue tones. She looked like a little Mayan princess sitting on a wooden throne. The huipil is a square piece of cloth with a hole in the center. Guatemalan women and girls wear it as a blouse, and in each region they weave them in different colors. Juanita sold woven cotton bracelets. She did it to help her mother, who sat on the floor weaving a few meters away from her, while she rocked to sleep a tiny baby that she was carrying on her back. Back in Spain, with a head full of memories, the words began to take shape on paper, until Juanita came to form a part of this little tale. --Lola Walder

Centers on the extended visit of Helen Wentworth, a New England teacher, to a childhood friend's plantation, where she witnesses African slaves' arrivals and their sale and gross mistreatment at the hands of coffee and sugar planters. Juanita is a beautiful mulatta slave with whom the plantation owner's son falls in love. Extending the tradition of Gothic fiction in the Americas, Mann's novel raises questions about the relation of slavery in the Caribbean to that in the United States, and between romance and race, adding an important element to our understanding of nineteenth-century American literature.

The story of one of the most important Chickasaw leaders of the past 200 years, as told by a Chickasaw elder and direct descendant.

Though the choice seems simple, Juanita is torn. What is freedom really, if you’re separated from those you love? Does living the life of a wealthy socialite mean turning her back on her poor family? Does she have the courage to face up to the rich girls who bully her in her new school? Juanita Freedom Seeker is a story of love, despair, and liberation. Enjoy Juanita’s spunk as well as her serious side as she straddles the class barrier on her way to adulthood in San Carlos. She shares many valuable lessons to all, regardless of age, seeking freedom to transcend limits.

Though the choice seems simple, Juanita is torn. What is freedom really, if you’re separated from those you love? Does living the life of a wealthy socialite mean turning her back on her poor family? Does she have the courage to face up to the rich girls who bully her in her new private girls school? Does she have the freedom to love the boy, introduced to her by her best friend, in a forbidden relationship? Juanita Freedom Seeker is a story of love, despair, and liberation. Enjoy Juanita’s spunk as well as her serious side as she straddles the class barrier on her way to adulthood in San Carlos. She shares many valuable lessons to all, regardless of age, seeking freedom to transcend limits.

Johnny, the eldest daughter of Mexican farm workers, is expelled from high school, but with the help of a Latina psychologist and a civil rights attorney, she fights the discriminatory treatment and returns determined to finish school.