The Thunderous Silence of Love narrates the experience of Lulu, a vivacious teenager whose life is transformed by an experience in a far away country. The story of the protagonist captures the impulsive and tumultuous emotions of youth from the pedestal of artistic suspense and a lucid language. The writer takes the reader on a memorable journey not just into the life of a down-to-earth and willful character, but importantly into various cultures, faiths and attitudes. Lulu soon personifies the challenges inherent in missionary work, the terrors of being captured and tortured, the sweetness of escape and the humbling realization of the awesome power of a benevolent Creator. In spite of her religious upbringing and in spite of leading a life she believed was consistent with the tenets of her faith, she eventually encounters the beacon of her life in an unexpected way that confounds the reader's imagination.

Thunderous Silence throws light on the Heart Sutra--a pithy encapsulation of the essence of Perfection of Wisdom literature--using stop-by-step analysis and an easy, conversational voice. Dosung Yoo examines the sutra phrase by phrase, using rich explanations and metaphors drawn from Korean folklore, quantum physics, Charles Dickens, and everything in between to clarify subtle concepts for the reader. This book invites us to examine the fundamentals of Buddhism--the Four Noble Truths, emptiness, enlightenment--through the prism of the Heart Sutra. Both those new to Buddhism and longtime practitioners looking to revisit a core text from a fresh perspective will find this work appealing.

When one thinks of prison, the element that is most commonly omitted is love. Like in the outside world, love has its ups and its downs, its ins and its outs and complexities that send one soaring to the highest of highs and plummeting to the lowest of lows. Prison Love is a personal and thoughtful account of the different types of love in a place that is known for backstabbing, cutthroat deals and deadly violence. It is a place that can degrade the goodness of humanity, harden the heart and kill one’s joy. Serving a six-year prison term in Alderson, West Virginia, Dr. D. Braxtonbrown-Smith glimpsed another side of prison life. This unspoken aspect of incarceration is a way of survival for the growing number of women who find themselves snatched away from their families. In this new life experience, Dr.Braxtonbrown-Smith had to consciously decide how to handle her own love life. Like thousands of women behind bards, the choice of lesbianism and sex with officers were among the many choices. The choice she made not only strengthened her marriage, but also helped others realize their own strength. Prison Love is a true account of choices that women make in an effort to survive isolation while trying to hold on to what it means to be a woman.

Patrick de Gramont draws upon evidence from infant observaton and linguistics as well as from information theory in order to make two related points. First, he demonstrates how our prevailing theories of meaning have failed to account for how we distort meaning.

Scarlet Letters explores the fascination exerted by adultery throughout the long history of western cultures. Critics from the UK, USA and Australia, working in a variety of specialisms, have contributed to this substantial new collection of close readings and wider contextualisations. As well as focusing on the bourgeois nineteenth century as the high age of representations of adultery, the book offers historicist and psychoanalytic analyses of texts ranging from the Amphitryon myth to Fatal Attraction and The Piano .

I am a survivor even though I have had to suffer hell most of my life. I lost all my family in childhood and of all things, I have even lost three children by death. One son committed suicide, and another son died of alcoholism. My thirteen month old baby girl died of a heart defect. Even so, I have managed to live through the tragedies and traumas I listed below IF you don't drink and are still haunted by alcohol and think you have been through hell or feel like you have been locked into hell, and abandoned by God, this book is for YOU IF you too feel like you have been a failure and a victim soul that climbed that EIGHTH STORY MOUNTAIN OF BLOOD AND TEARS don't give up IF, a mesa-mess like myself can survive, and be positive and happy, believe me, YOU CAN TOO IF as a child you were continually shipped out to only God knows where, and Santa Claus didn't ever come, and you continually lost your identity this book is for YOU IF you have felt unloved, didn't have a mother, father or any other family and have been named PIG in your childhood, and told that you are UGLY, this book is for YOU IF you have been molested and physically abused by your father or mother this book is for YOU IF you are Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, or whatever this book is for YOU I have survived all those things mentioned above. And I have finally found joy, peace and love with the help of Fr. Louis (Thomas) Merton) OCSO, Fr. Chrysogonus Waddell OCSO, Fr. Michael Casagram OCSO, Br. Chrysostom Castel OCSO, Fr. Joachim Johnson OCSO, and other monks of Our Lady of Gethsemani Monastery, in Trappist, Kentucky. www.eighthstorymountain.com

Readings for each weekday and Sunday of each of the three cycles are summarized. Reflections for each day are given based on scriptural scholarship. +

In his extraordinary new book, Terrence Real, distinguished therapist and bestselling author, presents a long overdue message that women need to hear: You aren’t crazy–you’re right! Women have changed in the last twenty-five years–they have become powerful, independent, self-confident, and happy. Yet many men remain irresponsible and emotionally detached. They don’t know how to respond to frustrated partners who just want their mates to show up and grow up. Enter the good news: In this revolutionary book, Real shows women how to master the new rules of twenty-first-century marriage by offering them a set of effective tools with which they can create the truly intimate relationship that they desire and deserve. He identifies five non-starters to avoid and shares practical strategies for bringing honesty, passion, and joy back to even the most difficult relationship. Using his experience helping thousands of couples shift from despair to profound emotional closeness, Real guides you through the process of relationship repair with exercises that you can do alone or with your partner. With this program you’ll discover how to - identify and articulate your wants and needs - listen well and respond generously - set limits, and stand up for yourself - embrace and appreciate what you have - know when to seek outside help The New Rules of Marriage will introduce you to a radically new kind of relationship, one based on the idea that every woman has the power to transform her marriage, while men, given the right support, have it in them to rise to the occasion. We have never wanted so much from our relationships as we do today. More than any other generation, we yearn for our mates to be lifelong friends and lovers. The New Rules of Marriage shows us how to fulfill this courageous and uncompromising new vision.

The beloved author of A Wrinkle in Time takes an introspective look at her life and muses on creativity in this memoir, the first of her Crosswicks Journals. Every so often I need OUT. . . . My special place is a small brook in a green glade, a circle of quiet from which there is no visible sign of human beings. . . . I sit there, dangling my legs and looking through the foliage at the sky reflected in the water, and things slowly come back into perspective. Set against the lush backdrop of Crosswicks, her family’s farmhouse in rural Connecticut, this deeply personal memoir details Madeleine L’Engle’s journey to find balance between her career as a Newbery Medal–winning author and her responsibilities as a wife, mother, teacher, and Christian. As she considers the roles that creativity, family, citizenship, and faith play in her life, L’Engle reveals the complexities behind the author whose works—honored with the National Book Award, the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, and countless other prizes—have long been cherished by children and adults alike. Written in simple, profound, and often humorous prose, A Circle of Quiet is an insightful woman’s elegant search for the meaning and purpose of her life. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Madeleine L’Engle including rare images from the author’s estate.

The New York Times–bestselling author of A Wrinkle in Time takes an introspective look at her life and muses on creativity in these four memoirs. Set against the lush backdrop of Crosswicks, Madeleine L’Engle’s family farmhouse in rural Connecticut, this series of memoirs reveals the complexity behind the beloved author whose works have long been cherished by children and adults alike. A Circle of Quiet: In a deeply personal account, L’Engle shares her journey to find balance between her career as an author and her responsibilities as a wife, mother, teacher, and Christian. The Summer of the Great-Grandmother: Four generations of family have gathered at Crosswicks to care for L’Engle’s ninety-year-old mother, whose health is rapidly declining and whose once astute mind is slipping into senility. L’Engle takes an unflinching look at diminishment and death, all the while celebrating the wonder of life and the bonds between mothers and daughters. The Irrational Season: Exploring the intersection of science and religion, L’Engle uncovers how her spiritual convictions inform and enrich the everyday. The memoir follows the liturgical year from one Advent to the next, with L’Engle’s reflections on the changing seasons in her own life as a writer, wife, mother, and global citizen. Two-Part Invention: L’Engle beautifully evokes the life she and her husband, actor Hugh Franklin, built and the family they cherished. Beginning with their very different childhoods, their life in New York City in the 1940s, and their years spent raising their children at Crosswicks, this is L’Engle’s most personal work yet. Offering a new perspective into her writing and life and how the two inform each other, the National Book Award–winning author explores the meanings behind motherhood, marriage, and faith.