How do combat veterans and their loved ones bridge the divide that war, by its very nature, creates between them? How does someone who has fought in a war come home, especially after a tour of duty marked by near-daily mortar attacks, enemy fire, and roadside bombs? With a journalist's eye and a mother's warmth, Sue Diaz asks these questions as she chronicles the two deployments to Iraq of her son, Sgt. Roman Diaz, from the perspective of the home front. Sergeant Diaz's second deployment put him south of Baghdad in the region aptly termed the Triangle of Death. There his platoon experienced extraordinarily heavy casualties during the height of the Iraqi insurgency. That unit has since become the focus of considerable media attention following events that made headlines in the summer of 2006: an insurgent attack at a remote outpost on three of their own—one killed at the scene, the other two kidnapped, their bodies found days later; and a terrible war crime committed against an Iraqi family by four soldiers from First Platoon. Minefields of the Heart adds a very personal dimension to the larger story of this Bravo Company platoon from the 101st Airborne's 502nd Infantry Regiment, a unit known since World War II as the “Black Heart Brigade.” Diaz recounts the emotional rollercoaster her family and other soldiers' families experience during and after deployment. She explores this terrain not only through stories of her son's and family's experiences connected to the Iraq War, but also by insights she's gained from other veterans' accounts—from what she calls “the box” that soldiers returning from any war carry within. This added layer gives her narrative broader meaning, bringing home the impact of war in general on those who fight and on those who love them. Minefields of the Heart is a story of innocence lost, understanding gained, and hope reaffirmed. In addition to veterans and their families, this book will appeal to anyone who wants to understand war's impact on individuals as well as on the fabric of our society.

The Holocaust, civil war in Bosnia, drug wars in the cities, random violence in schools, streets, and homes - such events and their aftermath pose special problems for mental health professionals, educators, and others who must help children make sense of acts that endanger them physically and psychically. In this book, edited by Drs. Roberta J. Apfel and Bennett Simon, mental health professionals share their knowledge, experiences, and hopefulness in working with children exposed to war and violence. The result is a moving history of young lives affected by war, persecution, and communal violence, and an invaluable resource for anyone working with children subjected to such traumas. The contributors to this book - who include psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers, all with direct experience working with children who are victims of war and violence - address the ethics involved in working with children in war zones, children's development under circumstances of war or violence, post-traumatic stress disorder and other stress reactions, refugee children, "survivor guilt," interventions and treatments, and the emotional health of the caretakers. The book includes case studies on children of war in Kuwait, on a program involving children of Holocaust survivors and children of Nazi perpetrators, and on the Child Development-Community Policing Program in New Haven.

Dr. Stanley identifies seven destructive temptations and gives Christians the hope and skills they need to live an abundant and obedient life. He shows readers how to identify, avoid, or defuse landmines of pride, jealousy and envy, insecurity, compromise, unforgiveness, sexual sin, and laziness.

A memoir of a quest to eradicate landmines from the face of the Earth—and replace dangerous ground with productive farmland: “Kuhn is an inspiration.” —Gillian Sorensen, former United Nations Assistant Secretary-General After surviving a bout with cancer, Heidi Kühn decided to devote herself to ridding the world of another kind of life-threatening scourge: landmines in regions as far-flung as Croatia, Vietnam, and Afghanistan. Inspired by the work of the late Princess Diana, Heidi began the humanitarian organization Roots of Peace from the basement of her Northern California home. She gained the support of famed Napa Valley vintners Robert Mondavi and Mike Grgich, and soon her “mines-to-vines” mission began to take hold. In this powerful memoir, Heidi tells the Roots of Peace story, from the early days in which she built her vision to her current presence on the global stage, where she has worked with presidents, prime ministers, landmine survivors, and religious leaders from around the world to spread a message of peace and recovery. In the years since the founding of Roots of Peace, its agricultural projects have made tremendous progress to fight against landmines, revitalizing devastated land and uplifting the lives of countless people in the process. This is a story of healing, faith, and how an ordinary person can inspire remarkable change—and plant the seeds of a brighter future.

When your very life is a minefield, only faith, friends, and family will get you through... Dancing through Minefields is a truly explosive story of will and wisdom. Protagonist Anne Schroeder walks the reader through a life of danger, abuse, and fear; avoiding landmines as she protects her children and unwaveringly keeps her eyes on the light at the end of the tunnel. Which will terrify you more? Mike, who threatens her safety and sanity, or Breast Cancer, which threatens her womanhood, sexuality, and her very life? Will she survive one only to be taken down by the other? Debut author Carol Feller creates a magnificent story of courage in the midst of fear, confronting real issues with corresponding emotionally- charged accounts of Anne's fight against both spousal abuse and Breast Cancer. "Descriptions were most apt and put me right in the story. Your story is compelling, convincing and uplifting." Lois Hjelmstad, author of Fine Black Lines "What you had to say was powerful, in spite of being very sad..." Jane Lukic, lyricist and performer, Breath after Breath from album After the Storm "Vivid, relatable, and above all, encouraging!" Rachel Mitchell Library Director

Thousands of people around the world are maimed and killed by landmines and unexploded ammunition every year. International law classifies landmines as 'evil in themselves', but minefields are expressions of 'political minefields' that create them and allow them to persist. In this travelogue through Iraq, Laos, Cambodia, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Sudan, South Sudan and New York City, we follow Matthew Bolton's quest for solutions to the landmine crisis and emerging autonomous weapons. Throughout his journey we meet deminers, paramilitaries, journalists, mercenaries, diplomats, aid workers, and campaigners working in and around the minefields. It is a must-read for those working to alleviate the devastation of war.

Animals cannot use words to explain whether they feel emotions, and scientific opinion on the subject has been divided. Charles Darwin believed animals and humans share a common core of fear, anger, and affection. Today most researchers agree that animals experience comfort or pain. Around 1900 in the United States, however, where intelligence was the dominant interest in the lab and field, animal emotion began as an accidental question. Organisms ranging from insects to primates, already used to test learning, displayed appetites and aversions that pushed psychologists and biologists in new scientific directions. The Americans were committed empiricists, and the routine of devising experiments, observing, and reflecting permitted them to change their minds and encouraged them to do so. By 1980, the emotional behavior of predatory ants, fearful rats, curious raccoons, resourceful bats, and shy apes was part of American science. In this open-ended environment, the scientists' personal lives--their families, trips abroad, and public service--also affected their professional labor. The Americans kept up with the latest intellectual trends in genetics, evolution, and ethology, and they sometimes pioneered them. But there is a bottom-up story to be told about the scientific consequences of animals and humans brought together in the pursuit of knowledge. The history of the American science of animal emotions reveals the ability of animals to teach and scientists to learn.

Maribeth Ditmars offers hope and a beautiful journey of faith in God amidst great adversity, tribulation, and grief. Dancing in the Minefields gives inspiration to all those who have suffered through trials, tragedy, even the loss of a child, or to those that are familiar with drug and alcohol addiction. The Ditmars married in the late 70's. They were like any other young and in love couple. Together they had great hopes and high expectations for the future. Yet, trauma came knocking on their door in the form of childhood cancer. With their world crumbling, both Maribeth and her husband fought hard as a team through the diagnosis of leukemia. As the Ditmars persevered through tragedy, Maribeth's journey of faith and finding God begins to unfold into a beautiful testimony of the faithfulness and love of God. She advocates and reveals the effectiveness of the 12 step recovery program that was also fundamental in her healing from the grief, and alcohol that captivated her mind and soul. Certainly life is not without troubles, tragedy and grief; yet, Maribeth presents to readers the eternal treasures of Heaven and hope found in Jesus Christ as her family found themselves among the minefields of life. Learning to dance among the minefields speaks of faith tried in the fires of adversity. Her words expressed in this book coupled with some heavenly experiences of the life yet to come display the reality of a world that awaits us that is far beyond this trivial place we call Earth. This is a place where a piece of her heart resides, as she knows that she will see her beloved sons once again. This reunion and redemption on Earth for the meantime is something all of us have to look forward to being in the family and Body of Christ. Her book inspires and gives those that have experienced great tragedy to look forward to eternity and to live enjoying their present.