"Beautifully written and wise … [Martin Prechtel] offers stories that are precious and life-sustaining. Read carefully, and listen deeply."—Mary Oliver, National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize winner Inspiring hope, solace, and courage in living through our losses, author Martín Prechtel, trained in the Tzutujil Maya shamanic tradition, shares profound insights on the relationship between grief and praise in our culture--how the inability that many of us have to grieve and weep properly for the dead is deeply linked with the inability to give praise for living. In modern society, grief is something that we usually experience in private, alone, and without the support of a community. Yet, as Prechtel says, "Grief expressed out loud for someone we have lost, or a country or home we have lost, is in itself the greatest praise we could ever give them. Grief is praise, because it is the natural way love honors what it misses." Prechtel explains that the unexpressed grief prevalent in our society today is the reason for many of the social, cultural, and individual maladies that we are currently experiencing. According to Prechtel, "When you have two centuries of people who have not properly grieved the things that they have lost, the grief shows up as ghosts that inhabit their grandchildren." These "ghosts," he says, can also manifest as disease in the form of tumors, which the Maya refer to as "solidified tears," or in the form of behavioral issues and depression. He goes on to show how this collective, unexpressed energy is the long-held grief of our ancestors manifesting itself, and the work that can be done to liberate this energy so we can heal from the trauma of loss, war, and suffering. At base, this "little book," as the author calls it, can be seen as a companion of encouragement, a little extra light for those deep and noble parts in all of us.

When Tears Turn to Rain tells the personal story of a woman who, at forty, made a vow to herself to give up drinking, to pursue sobriety, and to save her own life. Based upon her journal entries, where she recorded her reflections along the way, she has crafted a sparse, unblinking, and straightforward account of her struggles and achievements along the path to living a sober life. When Tears Turn to Rain focuses on the turn toward living and away from dying that the author made. As she writes, At the age of forty, I realized that my journey was coming to an end. By this time, I was sick and shook so badly that I should have been hospitalized. But still determined to reach my destination of Skid Row, I pedaled all the harder. In December 2012, one block before I reached Skid Row, I noticed a beautiful sign that was lit up with sunshine. Its two words were the most beautiful I had ever seen: Sobriety Place. This is the story of what happens when she heads toward that beautiful place. This memoir reveals the details of an individuals journey into sobriety, showing how one woman faced her addiction and changed the direction of her life.

“A searingly candid chronicle of the heroic struggle of two adoptive parents to raise their multiply disabled son . . . inspiring.” —Kirkus Reviews When Rain Hurts is the story of one mother’s quest to find a magical path of healing and forgiveness for her son, a boy so damaged by the double whammy of prenatal alcohol abuse and the stark rigors of Russian orphanage life that he was feral by the time of his adoption at age three. Bizarre behaviors, irrational thoughts, and dangerous preoccupations were the norm—no amount of love, it turns out, can untangle the effects of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. More people are coping with and caring for those affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders than individuals living with autism, but because there is a stigma associated with this preventable, devastating birth defect, it is a pandemic of disability and tragedy that remains underreported and underexplored. When Rain Hurts puts an unapologetic face to living and coping with this tragedy while doggedly searching for a more hopeful outcome for one beautiful, innocent, but damaged little boy. “Emotionally complex, fascinating, gritty, exhausting, and teeming with protective mother-energy and love. Three cheers for Mary Greene’s fighting spirit and the work she’s doing to create and protect her family while educating so many of us about the complexities of international adoption and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders.” —Sheri Reynolds, #1 New York Times-bestselling author “Greene’s searing account of learning to parent her prenatal alcohol-exposed, bipolar, orphanage-veteran son is an unforgettable lesson in commitment, fortitude, and unconditional love.” —Jessica O’Dwyer, author of Mamalita: An Adoption Memoir

Kate's life is changed forever when, at a party, she is date raped by a well known guy in her peer group.

A Good Morning America Book Club Pick and New York Times Bestseller! From debut author Asha Lemmie, “a lovely, heartrending story about love and loss, prejudice and pain, and the sometimes dangerous, always durable ties that link a family together.” —Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of The Nightingale Kyoto, Japan, 1948. “Do not question. Do not fight. Do not resist.” Such is eight-year-old Noriko “Nori” Kamiza’s first lesson. She will not question why her mother abandoned her with only these final words. She will not fight her confinement to the attic of her grandparents’ imperial estate. And she will not resist the scalding chemical baths she receives daily to lighten her skin. The child of a married Japanese aristocrat and her African American GI lover, Nori is an outsider from birth. Her grandparents take her in, only to conceal her, fearful of a stain on the royal pedigree that they are desperate to uphold in a changing Japan. Obedient to a fault, Nori accepts her solitary life, despite her natural intellect and curiosity. But when chance brings her older half-brother, Akira, to the estate that is his inheritance and destiny, Nori finds in him an unlikely ally with whom she forms a powerful bond—a bond their formidable grandparents cannot allow and that will irrevocably change the lives they were always meant to lead. Because now that Nori has glimpsed a world in which perhaps there is a place for her after all, she is ready to fight to be a part of it—a battle that just might cost her everything. Spanning decades and continents, Fifty Words for Rain is a dazzling epic about the ties that bind, the ties that give you strength, and what it means to be free.

How far would you go to protect the ones you love? Rain has taken care of Ethan all of their lives. Before she even knew what autism meant, she was her twin brother's connection to the world around him. Each day with Ethan is unvarying and predictable, and Rain takes comfort in being the one who holds their family together. It's nice to be needed—to be the center of someone's world. If only her longtime crush, Liam, would notice her too... Then one night, her life is upended by a mistake she can't undo. Suddenly Rain's new romance begins to unravel along with her carefully constructed rules. Rain isn't used to asking for help—and certainly not from Ethan. But the brother she's always protected is the only one who can help her. And letting go of the past may be the only way for Rain to hold onto her relationships that matter most.

A personal journal with insights into Mary's family life, background, and even her experiences with the Starborn.

It all begins when Soft Rain's teacher reads a letter stating that as of May 23, 1838, all Cherokee people are to leave their land and move to what many Cherokees called "the land of darkness". . .the west. Soft Rain is confident that her family will not have to move, because they have just planted corn for the next harvest but soon thereafter, soldiers arrive to take nine-year-old, Soft Rain, and her mother to walk the Trail of Tears, leaving the rest of her family behind. Because Soft Rain knows some of the white man's language, she soon learns that they must travel across rivers, valleys, and mountains. On the journey, she is forced to eat the white man's food and sees many of her people die. Her courage and hope are restored when she is reunited with her father, a leader on the Trail, chosen to bring her people safely to their new land. Praise for Soft Rain: "An eye-opening introduction to this painful period of American history."--Publisher's Weekly "The characters themselves transform a sorrowful story of adversity into a tale of human resilience."--Kirkus Reviews "This gentle child's-eye view will move readers enormously."--Jane Yolen

When unexpected grief brings two families together, how do they start their journey to healing? Join Michael and Gina Spehn--bestselling authors and founders of the New Day Foundation--as they tell their story of resilience, remembrance, and reliance on their shared faith. Matt Kell and Cathy Spehn had known each other since grade school. As adults, they each got married, lived in their hometown, and attended the same church. Their kids even attended school together. Matt died at home on Christmas Day after a three-year battle with cancer, leaving behind his wife, Gina, and two young boys. After attending Matt's inspirational funeral and reaching out to Gina with offers of support, Cathy was diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer. She died only 17 days later, leaving behind her husband, Michael, and three young children. In her final hours, Cathy instructed Michael to call Gina Kell. The Color of Rain illuminates the stepping stones of loss and healing that ultimately led to a joyful new life for Michael, Gina, and their five children. Their path to becoming a modern-day Brady Bunch was paved with grief, laughter, and the willingness to be restored to a new and even better life despite the inevitable resistance they faced. As you learn more about Michael and Gina's story, you'll learn: The importance of keeping God at the center of your marriage How they navigated becoming a blended family The life-changing power of faith, even on your darkest days As their dual first-person narrative reveals what it is like to walk through loss and love simultaneously, you'll have an intimate look at how Michael and Gina lived, lost, and ultimately persevered through extraordinary circumstances. Praise for The Color of Rain: "The Color of Rain is a testament to God's restoration and grace. Even in our suffering, there is beauty. It rarely makes sense, but it's always true: 'He makes all things beautiful, in His time.'" --Katie Davis, New York Times bestselling author of Kisses from Katie "Michael and Gina Spehn's The Color of Rain is not only an instant bestseller but also an instant classic, certain to be pressed into the hands of hundreds of thousands of grieving men and women by their closest friends, for it is a book that is painfully honest about the depths of sorrow but also full of the joy of the hard path back from near despair. It is another reminder that God is there, however dark the day, and that he will comfort those who call on him." --Hugh Hewitt, bestselling author and radio host

Shows how important learning is in a country where only a few children are able to go to school.