Second Chances: Worthy of Redemption is the follow-up to Humble Pie: A Gift from God. Anyone who has truly lived has probably made at least one mistake. In some cases, the mistake is something one has to learn to live with for the rest of one's life. If this blemish on one's life's record doesn't result in public humiliation, it can at least serve as a thorn in one's side to help keep the person humble. Even when we forget and move beyond our transgressions, others will occasionally appear to remind us, and, in some cases, try to define us by who we were or by what we did or what was done to us. Second Chances: Worthy of Redemption is about those of us who have made mistakes. Since we can't undo the past that added an imperfection or two to our lives, we have to learn and grow from our experiences and do our best to continue living without repeating our transgressions. It is said that we never get a second chance to make a first impression, but we always have a chance to make a lasting impression. Connect with the author on Facebook at https: //www.facebook.com/KollinLTaylor

The author of the heartwarming Craig and Fred tells the deeply emotional and inspiring story of the next phase of their lives together: working closely with prison inmates in Maine who raise and train puppies to become service dogs. Former US Marine Craig Grossi and his dog Fred appeared on the "Today Show' and 'Rachael Ray', and in schools, bookstores, and military bases across America as they told the uplifting story of how Craig found Fred, a stray, while serving in Afghanistan--and brought him home. During their travels, Craig was invited to speak at Maine State Prison—the penitentiary that inspired Stephen King’s famous “Shawshank.” While there, he met a group of very special inmates, participants in a program run by the non-profit America’s Vet Dogs. Craig discovered that many of the prisoners are veterans—former soldiers serving their country in an entirely different way: by transforming purebred Labrador Retrievers from floppy puppies into indispensable companions for disabled vets. These service dogs literally and figuratively open doors for men and women, offering hope and a renewed sense of freedom. Yet these disabled vets are not the only lives changed by these dogs. The inmates who train them “are given a purpose, they’re given experience, and most importantly they’re given a sense of self-worth,” Craig explains. “The men at Maine State are given a second chance—something that I believe everyone deserves.” For Craig, the visit had a profound impact. “There was something special going on inside its walls and it was calling out to me. I quickly realized that the program and its men had something to show the world.” In this emotionally powerful book, he introduces these men and challenges us to look deeper, to see them as human beings deserving of a new shot at life. “We’re quick to give second chances to celebrities, politicians and famous athletes when they screw up,” Craig reminds us, “but when it comes to those who’ve been convicted for their mistakes, we too often dismiss them as forever lost.” Second Chances poignantly shows that no life is irredeemable and that each of us can make a difference if given the opportunity.

She saw in him what no one else could see. He found in her what he could never find. One moment changed everything but, even with a break in time, their connection could never be severed. In the beginning he may have been her salvation, but in the end she will be his redemption. *** This is Book One in the Acts Of Honor series, the spin-off series to Men Of Honor. It's Anna and Logan's story and is told in dual POV, has an HEA with no cliffhanger and it can be read as a standalone. However, I highly recommend that you read the Men Of Honor series prior, as characters play recurring roles in both series. Warning: Due to mature subject matter, such as explicit sexual situations and coarse language, this story is not suitable for anyone under the age of 18.

Let Go of the Past--Embrace Your Second Chance You have a destiny. You may have lost sight of it, opened a wrong door, taken a misleading path, but it's there--you haven't missed your chance! Yet it can be hard to see, hard to find, when the only things in front of you are challenging circumstances, lost opportunities, or overwhelming obstacles. But there is hope! With warmth and insight, Pat Smith shares the truths she and other women have learned on their own journeys from heartache to hope. She encourages and empowers you to recommit to the destiny God has for you in life, love, work, and faith. She also shows how to let go of what's holding you back, reinvent yourself, and rediscover your purpose and joy. There is a second chance waiting for you--it's time to celebrate your new life!

A former parole officer shines a bright light on a huge yet hidden part of our justice system through the intertwining stories of seven parolees striving to survive the chaos that awaits them after prison in this illuminating and dramatic book. Prompted by a dead-end retail job and a vague desire to increase the amount of justice in his hometown, Jason Hardy became a parole officer in New Orleans at the worst possible moment. Louisiana’s incarceration rates were the highest in the US and his department’s caseload had just been increased to 220 “offenders” per parole officer, whereas the national average is around 100. Almost immediately, he discovered that the biggest problem with our prison system is what we do—and don’t do—when people get out of prison. Deprived of social support and jobs, these former convicts are often worse off than when they first entered prison and Hardy dramatizes their dilemmas with empathy and grace. He’s given unique access to their lives and a growing recognition of their struggles and takes on his job with the hope that he can change people’s fates—but he quickly learns otherwise. The best Hardy and his colleagues can do is watch out for impending disaster and help clean up the mess left behind. But he finds that some of his charges can muster the miraculous power to save themselves. By following these heroes, he both stokes our hope and fuels our outrage by showing us how most offenders, even those with the best intentions, end up back in prison—or dead—because the system systematically fails them. Our focus should be, he argues, to give offenders the tools they need to re-enter society which is not only humane but also vastly cheaper for taxpayers. As immersive and dramatic as Evicted and as revelatory as The New Jim Crow, The Second Chance Club shows us how to solve the cruelest problems prisons create for offenders and society at large.

"Highly irreverent, but filled with wisdom and infused with deep caring, Mixed Nuts is a memoir of a life working in psychotherapy." "Some people assume that all therapists are new-agey hand-holders who just listen and nod like bobbleheads, then suggest an astrology reading, a gluten-free diet, and your choice of complimentary love flower or polished healing stone on your way out the door. That's not me. My job is to help fix what's broken." Speaking to the layperson and the practitioner alike, even Rick's signature humor can't hide his deep understanding of mental illness, his desire to help heal it quickly and effectively, and his pragmatic and often creative approach to treatment."

“Alice Adams turns dreams and moments, the stuff of memories, inside out and makes of them beautiful, haunting, bittersweet tales.” --Publishers Weekly Second Chances, perhaps Alice Adams most accomplished novel, is a rich, moving, and beautifully drawn portrait of six women and men, friends for years, who suddenly, and with amazement, find themselves growing old. They live in a beautiful small California town called San Sebastian, and they see each other almost daily-- Dudley and Sam Venable; Edward Crane and his younger lover, Freddy Fuentes; the widowed Celeste Timberlake; the eccentric, secretive Polly Blake. With generosity and humor and remarkable insight, Adams takes us into rich emotional territory in a novel that evokes the ways in which people continually astonish themselves, at any age, with their capacity for wonder and change.

I'm in love with my neighbor. Typical, I know.God, it was stupid of me to let my guard down, but I did. If you knew him, though, you wouldn't blame me.The man is everything you never thought you needed and everything you've always wanted. He's smart, sexy as hell, funny... Did I say sexy? He's a great listener, he loves football, which is a plus, and he saves lives for a living. What more could a woman want, right?The man is also just an all-around good guy, a boy scout in every since of the word. It was easy to get to know him, to open up to him. He became my best friend in a matter of weeks. No wait, best friend? Hell, scratch that, he's my soulmate.Crazy, right?Also, he's the complete opposite of what I usually go for, and yet I can't stop thinking about him. The way he walks, his scrumptious scent, the sound of his sexy as sin voice, those dimples, and, f@*k, that panty dropping smile of his. So, don't you see? I'm in trouble.I'm in love with my soulmate, my best friend, and there's nothing I can do about it.Not a damn thing!F@*K MY LIFE!**** WARNING ****This story ends in a cliffhanger. The finale will release on December 31st.

This book promotes the notion of second chances and the importance of human services within the communities most affected by crime and the criminal justice system. Recognition of the fallibility of humans and the necessity of redemption is the first step to change our attitude toward guilt and punishment. Barring citizens with criminal records from obtaining housing, employment, education, and public benefits like Medicaid and food stamps is not only unjust but unproductive for a human society. The contributors to this volume argue that second chances are a foundational principle of the human services field.