Rejoice in the goodness of God and the gift of friendships we have been given! There’s nothing like celebrating the sweet taste of true friendship. And Karla Dornacher makes it fun and easy with this delightful assortment of friendship merriment. Page after beautiful page, her charming homespun apple-themed artwork adorns recipes, poems, quotes, craft projects, personalization pages, and Scripture. The Sweet Taste of Friendship is a keepsake that’s sure to bring a lasting smile to any friend’s heart each time it’s read.

A woman returns to her small southern hometown in the wake of her mother’s sudden death—only to find the past upended by stunning family secrets—in this intimate debut novel, written with deep compassion and sharp wit. “A deeply moving work of Southern fiction that will appeal to fans of Where the Crawdads Sing . . . a story to remember long after the last page is turned.”—Susan Wiggs, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Lost and Found Bookshop Lila Bruce Breedlove never quite felt at home in Wesleyan, Georgia, especially after her father’s untimely demise when she was a child. Both Lila and her brother, Henry, fled north after high school, establishing fulfilling lives of their own. In contrast, their younger sister, Abigail, opted to remain behind to dote on their domineering, larger-than-life mother, Geneva. Yet despite their independence, Lila and Henry know deep down that they’ve never quite reckoned with their upbringing. When their elderly mother dies suddenly and suspiciously in the muscadine arbor behind the family estate, Lila and Henry return to the town that essentially raised them. But as they uncover the facts about Geneva’s death, shocking truths are revealed that overturn the family’s history as they know it, sending the pair on an extraordinary journey to chase a truth that will dramatically alter the course of their lives. The Sweet Taste of Muscadines reminds us all that true love never dies.

The bestselling author of American Housewife and Southern Lady Code returns with an “inspiring, hilarious, straight-to-the-point” (Entertainment Weekly) collection of essays on friendship among grown-ass women. "Ellis' prose is filled with so many laugh lines, you might want to go ahead and book the Botox.” —NPR When Helen Ellis and her lifelong friends arrive for a reunion on the Redneck Riviera, they unpack more than their suitcases: stories of husbands and kids, lost parents and lost jobs, powdered onion dip and photographs you have to hold by the edges, dirty jokes and sunscreen with SPF higher than they hair-sprayed their bangs senior year, and a bad mammogram. It's a diagnosis that scares them, but could never break their bond. Because women pushing fifty won't be pushed around. In these twelve gloriously comic and moving essays, Helen Ellis dishes on married middle-age sex, sobs with a theater full of women as a psychic exorcises their sorrows, gets twenty shots of stomach bile to the neck to get rid of her double chin, and gathers up the courage to ask, "Are you there, Menopause? It's Me, Helen." A book that reads like the best cocktail party of your life, Bring Your Baggage and Don't Pack Light is alive with the sensational humor and ferocious love for her friends that won Helen Ellis legions of fans. This book has a raw vulnerability and an emotional generosity that takes this acclaimed author to a whole new level of accomplishment.

At the scene of the crime, Katinas dresser drawers had been dumped, closets ransacked, her desk had been rambled through and someone had even gone through her private safe. What was the perpetrator looking for? Who would want to take Katinas life?Princeton saw the long, ten inch, knife and knewKatina had fought for her life. There were pieces of glass all over the room, broken bookends and she had a black mask in her hands when they found her body in the bushes below her balcony. Princeton knew his wifes last vision was that of her attacker.

A woman returns to her small southern hometown in the wake of her mother’s sudden death—only to find the past upended by stunning family secrets—in this intimate debut novel, written with deep compassion and sharp wit. “A deeply moving work of Southern fiction that will appeal to fans of Where the Crawdads Sing . . . a story to remember long after the last page is turned.”—Susan Wiggs, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Lost and Found Bookshop Lila Bruce Breedlove never quite felt at home in Wesleyan, Georgia, especially after her father’s untimely demise when she was a child. Both Lila and her brother, Henry, fled north after high school, establishing fulfilling lives of their own. In contrast, their younger sister, Abigail, opted to remain behind to dote on their domineering, larger-than-life mother, Geneva. Yet despite their independence, Lila and Henry know deep down that they’ve never quite reckoned with their upbringing. When their elderly mother dies suddenly and suspiciously in the muscadine arbor behind the family estate, Lila and Henry return to the town that essentially raised them. But as they uncover the facts about Geneva’s death, shocking truths are revealed that overturn the family’s history as they know it, sending the pair on an extraordinary journey to chase a truth that will dramatically alter the course of their lives. The Sweet Taste of Muscadines reminds us all that true love never dies.

Walter is a scientist who has been tragically stripped of the most meaningful people in his life, yet he cannot allow himself to believe that the human mindthe human soulis forever lost in death, as some would have it. His mind equally buckles at the thought of eternal torment, and in his search for truth, he discovers something unexpected. Walters almost-limitless imagination propels him far beyond mere science or religion. He argues like a scientist. He clearly understands religions deeper meanings, yet his solution to this age-old conflict is ultimately very simple and very clear. He has learned how to forgive, trust, love, and then move on in hope. The rewards, he finds, are infinite.

A sweet and soulful romantic debut about rumors, friendship, and discovering who you really are Alice Dyson knows exactly how she’ll be spending her final year of high school—with her head down, quietly concentrating on her textbooks and homework. She is focused on the future, and nothing and no one is going to get in her way. That is, until a bizarre encounter with Teddy Taualai, the school’s most notorious troublemaker, goes viral, derailing her plans and pushing her into the spotlight. Suddenly Alice’s under-the-radar life is one enormous, messy complication. And the worst part? Teddy Taualai is everywhere she turns. In author Poppy Nwosu’s pitch-perfect debut novel, an unlikely pair of outsiders take the daunting, delicate first steps toward becoming friends and maybe, just maybe, something more. Briskly paced with a complex and appealing cast of characters, this contemporary romance explores the ever-tricky dance of staying true to yourself while opening your heart.

In the tender embrace of first love, Imaad and Mahira wove dreams of an eternal bond, but fate had other plans. As their journey unfolds, their love is tested by the cruel hand of circumstance, leaving Imaad grappling with the agony of unrequited affection. Through tear-stained nights and whispered prayers, he navigates the labyrinth of his emotions, haunted by memories of a love that once bloomed like the most exquisite flower, now withered by the winds of change. Amidst the tumult of heartache and longing, Imaad's devotion illuminates the path to redemption, as he discovers the profound truth that love's essence lies not in possession, but in the purity of giving. With each turn of the page, readers will be drawn into a poignant tale of love's triumphs and tribulations, where the bonds of the heart are tested, but never broken. In "Unrequited Love," emotions cascade like torrential rain, evoking a symphony of feelings that resonates with every soul who has dared to love and lost. Through the lens of Imaad's journey, this captivating narrative explores the depths of human connection, reminding us that even amidst life's storms, love endures as an eternal ray of hope.

In these articles Professor McGuire explores the riches of the Cistercian exemplum tradition. These texts are made up of brief stories, often with a miraculous content, which provided moral support for novices and monks in Cistercian abbeys all over Europe in the High Middle Ages. The Cistercians have been seen mainly in terms of their great writers like Bernard of Clairvaux and the impressive buildings they left behind. But Cistercian literature also provides us with more humble insights from daily life, shedding light on questions of sexuality, anger, depression, and bonds of friendship, also between monks and nuns. They bring a freshness of insight and immediate experience, and their seeming naivety lets us be aware of monks' commitment to each other in individual and community bonds. In Cistercian storytelling, the Gospel's message meets an historical context and bears witness to a transformation of Christian life and idealism, while at the same time allowing us precious insights into how ordinary men and women, not just monks and nuns, lived and thought.