Fleur had married Alain Comte de Treville, because she loved him, not because he was blind and she felt sorry for him, or because she cared only for his money and his title, as he suspected.

The Study of Plants in a Whole New Light “Matt Candeias succeeds in evoking the wonder of plants with wit and wisdom.” ―James T. Costa, PhD, executive director, Highlands Biological Station and author of Darwin's Backyard #1 New Release in Nature & Ecology, Plants, Botany, Horticulture, Trees, Biological Sciences, and Nature Writing & Essays In his debut book, internationally-recognized blogger and podcaster Matt Candeias celebrates the nature of plants and the extraordinary world of plant organisms. A botanist’s defense. Since his early days of plant restoration, this amateur plant scientist has been enchanted with flora and the greater environmental ecology of the planet. Now, he looks at the study of plants through the lens of his ever-growing houseplant collection. Using gardening, houseplants, and examples of plants around you, In Defense of Plants changes your relationship with the world from the comfort of your windowsill. The ruthless, horny, and wonderful nature of plants. Understand how plants evolve and live on Earth with a never-before-seen look into their daily drama. Inside, Candeias explores the incredible ways plants live, fight, have sex, and conquer new territory. Whether a blossoming botanist or a professional plant scientist, In Defense of Plants is for anyone who sees plants as more than just static backdrops to more charismatic life forms. In this easily accessible introduction to the incredible world of plants, you’ll find: • Fantastic botanical histories and plant symbolism • Passionate stories of flora diversity and scientific names of plant organisms • Personal tales of plantsman discovery through the study of plants If you enjoyed books like The Botany of Desire, What a Plant Knows, or The Soul of an Octopus, then you’ll love In Defense of Plants.

I believe this book will be a great help both emotionally and spiritually to all those who are caregivers. I invite you to come and explore my journey as a caregiver. My story may be helpful for those contemplating leaving your loved one in a nursing home, or like me, you just left your loved one in a nursing home. You might wonder what's next. Where do you go from here? How do you handle this new giant in your life? What do you do when you come up against a Red Sea that looks impossible to cross? This book contains the chronicles of my journey during my three and a half years visiting my husband in a nursing home. It starts out with my fear of the unknown and thoughts of shattered dreams. It also conveys how broken dreams can be reversed and burst into true genuine life and living. I found out that this episode in my life was not to dread or fear. It was a time of growing into the person God created me to be. God knows how to make something authentic out of the ashes of our lives and turn our hopelessness into a time of hope and expectation. It's a time to fear not, and see the deliverance of the Lord. As we learn to sit still, hold our peace and remain at rest, we will see the giant go down and the Red Sea open up to allow us to walk-on dry land, into a future He has ordained for each one of us. There you will find Lilies in your Valley.

A masterful new translation of one of Kierkegaard's most engaging works In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells his followers to let go of earthly concerns by considering the lilies of the field and the birds of the air. Søren Kierkegaard's short masterpiece on this famous gospel passage draws out its vital lessons for readers in a rapidly modernizing and secularizing world. Trenchant, brilliant, and written in stunningly lucid prose, The Lily of the Field and the Bird of the Air (1849) is one of Kierkegaard's most important books. Presented here in a fresh new translation with an informative introduction, this profound yet accessible work serves as an ideal entrée to an essential modern thinker. The Lily of the Field and the Bird of the Air reveals a less familiar but deeply appealing side of the father of existentialism—unshorn of his complexity and subtlety, yet supremely approachable. As Kierkegaard later wrote of the book, "Without fighting with anybody and without speaking about myself, I said much of what needs to be said, but movingly, mildly, upliftingly." This masterful edition introduces one of Kierkegaard's most engaging and inspiring works to a new generation of readers.

Difficulty unlooked for. Loss unforeseen. Hope forever. They'd never heard about the darker sides of adoption. Never counted on illness. Or loss. As for Dann, his head had always ruled his heart. Now Lily was dying, and he was about to find out just how little he knew about love. Dann Robert Johnson's humor and acute honesty hurtle the reader through a memoir that reads like fiction but shines with hope for the times real life deals us its worst. It's for adoptive families. It's for those who have lived cross-culturally. But more than anything it may be a story for adoptees who wonder if someone could have loved them before they came home. It's the story of a flawless Lily in the darkest valley. "This gut-wrenching struggle through the mysterious strains of deepest love arrested me. It's no fairy-tale version of a princess in a castle." Dr. Ken Castor, adoptive father, 2002, and contributing editor for the Jesus Centered Bible.

In Search of the Perfect Green -- and Orange, too! is a book about natural dyes and how to use them. Stefania Isaacson, a well-known colorist with natural dyes, shares her experience and knowledge, covering the dye process, mordanting, extracting dye from plant material, scouring fiber, and overdyeing. The book has an emphasis on safety for the dyer, as well as the environment. Stefania gives many suggestions on proportions of dyes for a desired effect, as well as opening possibilities to tap one's creativity. She goes through a step by step explanation of the use of an indigo vat in a clear and systematic way. The book is filled with pictures to inform and guide the reader. This book is an excellent resource for the natural dyer.

I spent my whole life training to become a ballet dancer-a soloist, a star. Today, I'm a toy, a plaything, a distraction... An offering. A sacrifice to a caged god, to the Norse trickster. Loki. Trapped in a cave for the sins of his past, he waits for the end of days. Modern worshippers curry favor with gifts and trinkets, spilled blood-and women like me. Women who resemble his long-dead wife. We all have that look, you see. I'm supposed to be flattered that I remind him of a goddess in an age gone by. Screw that. I'm furious. The ones who came before me were sweet, docile, compliant-just like her. But I'm not sweet. I'm not docile, and I will never be compliant. I am resilient. I am determined. I am-not-drawn to him. I will survive this. I will survive him. My name is Nora Olsen, and I will not die here. To Love a God is a full-length standalone soft dark paranormal romance novel set in the Lily of the Valley universe. Each book in the series can be read on its own, but characters will occasionally pop up in other stories. No cliffhangers. Always a happy ending-because even villains deserve a happily-ever-after.

A new translation of one of Balzac’s finest novels, this tale of misguided passion centers on a young aristocrat who falls into a cloaked, coded entanglement with an older countess—a relationship that is upended when he becomes involved with a new lover. A story of impossible and unsatisfied desire, Balzac’s The Lily in the Valley opens with a scene of desire unleashed. Félix de Vandenesse, the shy teenage scion of an aristocratic family, is at a ball, when his eyes are drawn to a beautiful woman in fashionable undress: before he knows what he is doing, he throws himself upon her, covering her bare back with kisses. In shock, she pushes him away. He leaves the party in shame. The woman at the party is Henriette de Mortsauf, married to a much older count. Time passes, and Félix is reintroduced to her. Nothing is said of what transpired, though nothing is forgotten, and a courtship begins whose premise is that Félix will worship Henriette without displaying the least sign of desire. He waits on her. He plays endless board games with her impossible husband. He develops a language of flowers and presents her with elaborately coded bouquets. Félix and Henriette are in a swoon, until he departs for Paris to pursue a career in politics and takes up with the uninhibited Arabella Dudley. Meanwhile Henriette is on her deathbed. She writes him, “Do you remember your kisses? They have dominated my life and furrowed my soul. . . . They are my death!” The Lily in the Valley is a terrible fairy tale of two people lost in a game of love—or is it? Peter Bush’s new translation brings out the psychological dynamics of one of Balzac’s masterpieces.