My recipe for happiness was simple: Keep your man by your side, keep your game face on, and if at all possible, keep a Coach bag in your hand. Besides, if you keep up the front, they never really know how bad you feel ... Chantell Meyers figures she's got her life together. After all, she's envied for her successful, high-paying executive job; spending all the money and wearing all the clothes she could ever want; and a just-too-perfect fiance, Eric. Sure, she'd be the first to admit she's never really at peace with herself. And she knows it's been way too long since she set foot in church-or thought much about her relationship with God. But Chantell learned long ago, when her beloved mother died, that if you can't forget your pain, the very next best thing to do is to hide it. Little by little, she has started to believe that looking and living good counts more -- and hurts a lot less -- than being real. Then suddenly her father has a near-fatal heart attack-and Chantell gets a major reality check. She promises God she will try to be a better person if her father pulls through. Yet it isn't long before her good intentions begin unraveling her "good life" in the worst way. Before she knows it, she's facing big-time betrayal in her personal life and a major meltdown at work. And when Keith Talbit, a childhood acquaintance, unexpectedly comes back into her life, she finds herself looking longingly at a successful, good-looking Christian man secure in himself and his walk-just the kind of man she's sure she's not worthy to love. Reeling from mega-drama and more bad news, this dedicated shopper must now look to God-and back into her past-to find out how she wants to spend the rest of her life. It will take everything she didn't think she had to put her life in God's hands...and truly "have it all."

"Stunning . . . . This is an immensely courageous story that will break your heart, leave you in tears, and, finally, offer hope and redemption. Brava, Kelly Sundberg." —Rene Denfeld, author of The Child Finder In this brave and beautiful memoir, written with the raw honesty and devastating openness of The Glass Castle and The Liar’s Club, a woman chronicles how her marriage devolved from a love story into a shocking tale of abuse—examining the tenderness and violence entwined in the relationship, why she endured years of physical and emotional pain, and how she eventually broke free. "You made me hit you in the face," he said mournfully. "Now everyone is going to know." "I know," I said. "I’m sorry." Kelly Sundberg’s husband, Caleb, was a funny, warm, supportive man and a wonderful father to their little boy Reed. He was also vengeful and violent. But Sundberg did not know that when she fell in love, and for years told herself he would get better. It took a decade for her to ultimately accept that the partnership she desired could not work with such a broken man. In her remarkable book, she offers an intimate record of the joys and terrors that accompanied her long, difficult awakening, and presents a haunting, heartbreaking glimpse into why women remain too long in dangerous relationships. To understand herself and her violent marriage, Sundberg looks to her childhood in Salmon, a small, isolated mountain community known as the most redneck town in Idaho. Like her marriage, Salmon is a place of deep contradictions, where Mormon ranchers and hippie back-to-landers live side-by-side; a place of magical beauty riven by secret brutality; a place that takes pride in its individualism and rugged self-sufficiency, yet is beholden to church and communal standards at all costs. Mesmerizing and poetic, Goodbye, Sweet Girl is a harrowing, cautionary, and ultimately redemptive tale that brilliantly illuminates one woman’s transformation as she gradually rejects the painful reality of her violent life at the hands of the man who is supposed to cherish her, begins to accept responsibility for herself, and learns to believe that she deserves better.

An abusive drunk of a husband. An invalid mother whose health continues to fail. A son banished from home. Thirty-three-year-old Addie Coulter is certain life can't get any worse. But after a series of tragedies and losses that challenge her will and test her faith, Addie is forced to leave the only home she's ever known and travel with her daughter to live with her brother and sister-in-law in Golden Meadow. It is here, on the road to recovery, that she meets the dashing Hiram Graham and begins to believe it's possible to love again. Set during a time when life itself was filled with strife and hardship, author Ramona Bridges weaves an unforgettable story about unfailing love, deceit, and forgiveness in her debut novel, Sweet By and By. When the revealing of a horrible secret and the arrival of a dangerous criminal threatens to disrupt everything Addie's built and destroy her chance at true love, she's left with only one option: trust in her Savior to bring her safely to the other side. With a cast of characters that will capture your imagination and your heart, Sweet By and By celebrates God's promise of faith and hope amidst life's inevitable disappointments.

"Sentimental, heartfelt….the exploration of Henry’s changing relationship with his family and with Keiko will keep most readers turning pages...A timely debut that not only reminds readers of a shameful episode in American history, but cautions us to examine the present and take heed we don’t repeat those injustices."-- Kirkus Reviews “A tender and satisfying novel set in a time and a place lost forever, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet gives us a glimpse of the damage that is caused by war--not the sweeping damage of the battlefield, but the cold, cruel damage to the hearts and humanity of individual people. Especially relevant in today's world, this is a beautifully written book that will make you think. And, more importantly, it will make you feel." -- Garth Stein, New York Times bestselling author of The Art of Racing in the Rain “Jamie Ford's first novel explores the age-old conflicts between father and son, the beauty and sadness of what happened to Japanese Americans in the Seattle area during World War II, and the depths and longing of deep-heart love. An impressive, bitter, and sweet debut.” -- Lisa See, bestselling author of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan In the opening pages of Jamie Ford’s stunning debut novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Henry Lee comes upon a crowd gathered outside the Panama Hotel, once the gateway to Seattle’s Japantown. It has been boarded up for decades, but now the new owner has made an incredible discovery: the belongings of Japanese families, left when they were rounded up and sent to internment camps during World War II. As Henry looks on, the owner opens a Japanese parasol. This simple act takes old Henry Lee back to the 1940s, at the height of the war, when young Henry’s world is a jumble of confusion and excitement, and to his father, who is obsessed with the war in China and having Henry grow up American. While “scholarshipping” at the exclusive Rainier Elementary, where the white kids ignore him, Henry meets Keiko Okabe, a young Japanese American student. Amid the chaos of blackouts, curfews, and FBI raids, Henry and Keiko forge a bond of friendship–and innocent love–that transcends the long-standing prejudices of their Old World ancestors. And after Keiko and her family are swept up in the evacuations to the internment camps, she and Henry are left only with the hope that the war will end, and that their promise to each other will be kept. Forty years later, Henry Lee is certain that the parasol belonged to Keiko. In the hotel’s dark dusty basement he begins looking for signs of the Okabe family’s belongings and for a long-lost object whose value he cannot begin to measure. Now a widower, Henry is still trying to find his voice–words that might explain the actions of his nationalistic father; words that might bridge the gap between him and his modern, Chinese American son; words that might help him confront the choices he made many years ago. Set during one of the most conflicted and volatile times in American history, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is an extraordinary story of commitment and enduring hope. In Henry and Keiko, Jamie Ford has created an unforgettable duo whose story teaches us of the power of forgiveness and the human heart. BONUS: This edition contains a Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet discussion guide and an excerpt from Jamie Ford's Love and Other Consolation Prizes.

An award-winning author/illustrator team offers a fresh look at the times and transitions all toddlers face daily, giving young children the tools to handle routines with confidence and cooperation. Being dropped off at childcare or cared for by a baby-sitter means saying good-bye to Mom or Dad—and for many toddlers, bye-bye is a big deal. This gentle book helps ease the transition with simple rituals: hugs and kisses, a big wave, a deep breath, and the confidence to seek comfort with the new caregiver or other children. Toddlers learn that good-bye isn’t forever, it’s just for a while. Part of the Toddler Tools series, Bye-Bye Time can be shared before (or during) the desired “time,” or whenever toddlers need encouragement with routines. Includes tips for parents and caregivers.

In this thrilling new series from Edgar®-nominated author Ron Corbett, the most dangerous predator in the Maine wilderness walks on two feet—and it is Danny Barrett's job to bring him down. Something is not right in the North Maine Woods. A small family-run lumber company should not have more than two hundred million unaccountable dollars on their books. Money like that comes from moving something other than wood across the border. The first agent the FBI sent undercover was their best man—sure to get the answers that were needed. He was dead within a month. Now, Danny Barrett is taking his place. Before he was a cop, Danny grew up in the woods of Northern Michigan. He is the only chance the feds have of getting answers, but how many more will have to die first?

THE STORY: The Bradley family has had a long history in the coal-mining town of Glen Daniel, West Virginia. Grandpa Bradley was union leader there for many years. His daughter, Babe--a Mother Courage of the mountains, now uses their home as general

While living this thing called life we may encounter many road blocks, setbacks, and detours As we travel along lifes highways. Thank goodness for friends along the way who help to encourage us as we continue on our Journey. Travel along with me through lifes struggles and triumphs those happy as well as those that Make you cry, If you stay the course it will all be worth it IN THE SWEET BY AND BYE ENJOY!!!