"I set out to find a group of people who, like me, were possessed by a history they had never lived." The daughter of Holocaust survivors, Helen Epstein traveled from America to Europe to Israel, searching for one vital thin in common: their parent's persecution by the Nazis. She found: • Gabriela Korda, who was raised by her parents as a German Protestant in South America; • Albert Singerman, who fought in the jungles of Vietnam to prove that he, too, could survive a grueling ordeal; • Deborah Schwartz, a Southern beauty queen who—at the Miss America pageant, played the same Chopin piece that was played over Polish radio during Hitler's invasion. Epstein interviewed hundreds of men and women coping with an extraordinary legacy. In each, she found shades of herself.

In addressing her grandchildren in the foreword to this autobiography, Helen Hayes writes: 'It is no longer fashionable to have faith; but your grandmother has never been famous for her chic.' It is, in fact, because of her tenacious faith in the world that Helen Hayes decided to write this book as a legacy for her grandchildren; to be read one day when they are grown. In setting down all the family stories, the backstage anecdotes and her recollections of spiritual struggle, she has produced a legacy for all of us. After years of unwillingness to discuss her private world—which even her bestselling book A Gift of Joy did not do—she has looked beyond her legend and directly at life’s lessons as she was forced to learn them. Deeply moving and affectionately witty, her autobiography is an affirmation of the faith that first gave it impetus. All the Helens are here: the ‘unrehearsed’ child and her shy but ambitious mother; the young actress who so appealed to such luminaries as John Drew and William Gillette; the young woman who forged a marriage with a brilliant renegade named Charles MacArthur; the mother of Mary and Jim; the keeper of an endless procession of hilariously tyrannical poodles; the friend of Fitzgerald, Harpo Marx and Dietrich; the lady who became out ‘First Lady of the Theater’; the mature woman, looking forward; and still, and always, the actress. On Reflection is in every sense, an unforgettable book.

What would theological reflection look like if scripture were the starting point? For many, beginning the process of formation the bible is already a natural place to begin, and models of theological reflection which start in other places can be hard to swallow. All too often, as a result, they reject the idea of reflecting theologically altogether, an outcome which is damaging for their future ministry and for the church as a whole. This book to re-discover the theological heart of the discipline of practical theology and develop new methods which take scripture and tradition more seriously. Offering an alternative to the usual models of theological reflection, this careful and helpful guide demonstrates to students the possibilities which emerge when the starting point for theological reflective practice

The New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice • Now in a new edition with a foreword by Rumaan Alam, a modern classic from one of Australia’s greatest writers • "It’s high time American readers knew her generous, category-defying imagination."—New York Times "The Children’s Bach is [Garner’s] masterpiece."—Public Books Set in suburban Melbourne in the early 1980s, The Children’s Bach centers on Dexter and Athena Fox, their two sons, and the insulated world they’ve built together. Despite the routine challenges of domestic life, they are largely happy. But when a friend from Dexter’s past resurfaces and introduces the couple to the city’s bohemian underground—unbound by routine and driven by desire—Athena begins to wonder if life might hold more for her, and the tenuous bonds that tie the Foxes together start to fray. A literary institution in Australia, Helen Garner’s perfectly formed novels embody the tumultuous 1970s and 1980s. Drawn on a small canvas and with a subtle musical backdrop, The Children’s Bach is “a jewel” (Ben Lerner) within Garner’s revered catalogue, a beloved work that solidified her place among the masters of modern letters, a finely etched masterpiece that weighs the burdens of commitment against the costs of liberation.

Practical theology and theological reflection are growing areas of theological studies. This book aims to create a bridge between pastoral practice and public theology.

This book engages with the question of how music expresses and responds to the profound existential disturbance that death and loss present to the living. Singing Death ranges across genres from medieval love song to twenty-first-century horror film music. Each chapter offers readers an encounter with music as a distinct way of speaking or responding to human mortality. The chapters cover a wide range of disciplines: musicology, ethnomusicology, literature, history, philosophy, film studies, psychology and psychoanalysis. The collection is accompanied by a website including some of the music associated with each of its chapters.

A collection of 120 haiku poems, exploring and celebrating the wonder and unique beauty of each of the four seasons. Each poem captures the essence of a seasonal experience or observation, written in the haiku poetry form of: 3 lines and 17 syllables. Take a break from the stress and hectic pace of everyday life to enjoy the captivating verse in this book. Here's what readers are saying about Haiku Reflections (Volume I) by Geraldine Helen Hartman: "Exquisitely written poetry that will wash over your inner most being with a cascade of nature's colours. Haiku Reflections by Geraldine Hartman will nourish your spirit through every season and inspire you to live each day with purpose and gratitude. A beautiful gift." Cam M., a reader from BC, Canada "There are many haiku sites/books with several contradictory rules (as is the way with "experts"). Haiku poet: Geraldine Hartman always seems to have full command of this poetry form." Sue Turner, poet and author of: When the Wind Blows and North of Summer. "I am always amazed when so much can be told in only 17 syllables and Ms. Hartman is gifted at telling a story with beautiful brevity." Jan Morrill, poet and author of: The Red Kimono.