Born into an Odawa family in Michigan in 1932, Frances "Geri" Roossien lived a life that was both ordinary and instructive. As a child, she attended Holy Childhood Boarding School; as an adult, she coped with her trauma through substance abuse; and in recovery she became a respected elder who developed tribally centered programs for addiction and family health, including the first Native American Recovery Group. While a graduate student, Andrea Riley Mukavetz was invited into Geri's home to listen to her stories and assist in compiling and publishing a memoir. Geri wanted her stories to serve as a resource, form of support, and affirmation that Indigenous people can be proud of who they are and overcome trauma. Geri hoped to be a model to current and future generations, and she believed strongly that more Indigenous people should become substance abuse counselors and work with their communities in tribally specific ways. Geri died in 2019, but Riley Mukavetz carried on the work. This book presents Geri's stories, lightly edited and organized for clarity, with an introduction by Riley Mukavetz that centers Geri's life and the process of oral history in historical and theoretical context.

"Born into an Odawa family in Michigan in 1932, Frances "Geri" Roossien lived a life that was both ordinary and instructive. As a child, she attended Holy Childhood Boarding School; as an adult, she coped with her trauma through substance abuse; and in recovery she became a respected elder who developed tribally centered programs for addiction and family health, including the first Native American Recovery Group. While a graduate student, Andrea Riley Mukavetz was invited into Geri's home to listen to her stories and assist in compiling and publishing a memoir. Geri wanted her stories to serve as a resource, form of support, and affirmation that Indigenous people can be proud of who they are and overcome trauma. Geri hoped to be a model to current and future generations, and she believed strongly that more Indigenous people should become substance abuse counselors and work with their communities in tribally specific ways. Geri died in 2019, but Riley Mukavetz carried on the work. This book presents Geri's stories, lightly edited and organized for clarity, with an introduction by Riley Mukavetz that centers Geri's life and the process of oral history in historical and theoretical context"--

Part of the bestselling Emotionally Healthy Spirituality book collection, The Emotionally Healthy Woman provides women a way out of surface-level spirituality to genuine freedom in Christ. Geri Scazzero knew there was something desperately wrong with her life. She felt like a single parent raising her four young daughters alone. She finally told her husband, "I quit," and left the thriving church he pastored, beginning a journey that transformed her and her marriage for the better. This book is for every woman who thinks, "I can’t keep pretending everything is fine!" Geri speaks like a friend as she uses personal stories and biblical principles to help you find your way out of superficial spirituality and move to a deep, meaningful, lifechanging relationship with God. And the journey begins by quitting. Geri quit being afraid of what others think. She quit lying. She quit denying her anger and sadness. She quit living someone else's life. When you quit those things that are damaging to your soul or the souls of others, you are freed up to choose other ways of being and relating that are rooted in love and lead to life. When you quit for the right reasons, at the right time, and in the right way, you're on the path not only to emotional health, but also to the true purpose of your life. Check out the full line of Emotionally Healthy Spirituality books dedicated to many different key areas of life. Workbooks, study guides, curriculum, and Spanish editions are also available.

This accessible book explores the therapeutic possibilities of poetry and stories, providing techniques for facilitating personally relevant and growth-enhancing sessions. The author provides ideas for writing activities that emerge from this discussion, and explains how participants can create their own poetic and narrative pieces.

A candid memoir of building an acting career—and a happy life—with cerebral palsy: “It’s a joy to read this book” (Ian McShane). Exposing real pain, unstoppable perseverance, and unquestionable faith in the human spirit, this autobiography offers a true glimpse beyond actress Geri Jewell’s public image as a one-dimensional hero. Born with cerebral palsy, Jewell made history when she became the first person with a disability cast in a recurring role on American television in The Facts of Life, and in the years that followed she experienced a string of other successes, including a performance at the White House and a role on HBO’s Deadwood. But along with such accomplishments, this personal story also depicts some of the less-than-rosy events that happened behind closed doors during her initial climb to fame—among them, her release from The Facts of Life; her manager’s embezzlement of the money she made on the show; and her struggle with chronic pain, despair, and a fear of revealing her true sexual identity. Told with grace and humor, this inspirational narrative presents an honest portrayal of a woman who refused to give up when others kept knocking her down.

This interdisciplinary account of a contemporary Great Lakes Algonkian community explores how the ethical system underlying Odawa (Ottawa) myth and ritual sustains traditionalists' efforts to confront the legal and social issues threatening tribal identity. Because many Odawa are not members of federally recognized communities, anthropologist Melissa A. Pflug focuses on their struggle to overcome long-term social marginalization and achieve collective sovereignty. In profound ways, contemporary Odawa people are "walking the paths" of their ancestors Neolin, Pontiac, The Trout, and Tenskwatawa. Those prophetic leaders, together with mythic Great Persons, established a legacy tied to land, language, and tradition - a sovereign identity that defines Odawa life in terms of pimadaziwin: life-sustaining, moral, and healthy interrelationships.

Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction A New York Times Bestseller Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction Winner of the WSU AOS Bonner Book Award Winner of the 2022 At Home With Growing Older Impact Award As revelatory as Atul Gawande's Being Mortal, physician and award-winning author Louise Aronson's Elderhood is an essential, empathetic look at a vital but often disparaged stage of life. For more than 5,000 years, "old" has been defined as beginning between the ages of 60 and 70. That means most people alive today will spend more years in elderhood than in childhood, and many will be elders for 40 years or more. Yet at the very moment that humans are living longer than ever before, we've made old age into a disease, a condition to be dreaded, denigrated, neglected, and denied. Reminiscent of Oliver Sacks, noted Harvard-trained geriatrician Louise Aronson uses stories from her quarter century of caring for patients, and draws from history, science, literature, popular culture, and her own life to weave a vision of old age that's neither nightmare nor utopian fantasy--a vision full of joy, wonder, frustration, outrage, and hope about aging, medicine, and humanity itself. Elderhood is for anyone who is, in the author's own words, "an aging, i.e., still-breathing human being."

Gardens have often been used as metaphors for spiritual nurturing and growth. Zen rock gardens, monastery rose gardens, even your grandmother's vegetable garden all have been described as places of refuge and reflection. Drawing on her experience working at Seattle's premier gardening center, Zen teacher Geri Larkin shows how the act of gardening can help you uncover your inner creativity, enthusiasm, vigilance, and joy. As your garden grows, so will your spirit. Larkin takes you through the steps of planning, planting, nurturing, and maintaining a garden while offering funny stories and inspiring lessons on what plants can teach us about our lives. As soothing as a bowl of homemade vegetable soup, Plant Seed, Pull Weed will entertain, charm, and inspire you to get your hands dirty and dig deep to cultivate your inner self.

Four of today's hottest romance writers invite you to come home for the holidays, where the spicy smells from the kitchen, the warm embrace of family, and the gifts of Kwanzaa are just the beginning of a magical season filled with true love and sensual delights... Be careful what you wish for. That's the lesson a fine brother with a wounded heart learns when an eccentric old woman grants him a wish for true love--if he's not too blind to see it--in Francis Ray's The Wish. Beverly Jenkins spins a soul-touching tale of a soldier reunited with the woman who deserted him as they discover that love isn't just sweeter the second time around, it's downright decadent in Homecoming. In Monica Jackson's The Way Back Home, a biracial young woman sets out to spend Kwanzaa with the African-American family she never knew and finds and extra gift in the strong, loving professor who wants to teacher her about her heritage...and so much more. When a mild-mannered high school principal battles small-town prejudice over a Kwanzaa celebration, he fins an unlikely ally in a fiery woman from his past in Geri Guillaume's moving story, The Seventh Principal. The love of a good man. The hope of a new family. The promise of a fantasy fulfilled. This soulful collection of holiday stories proves there's more than one reason for gettin' merry...and they all lead straight to the heart.

The former Spice Girl known as "Ginger Spice" takes readers inside the life that led to "Girl Power", revealing the real woman beneath the glamorous facade. Part coming-of-age story, part celebrity memoir, Halliwell relates how she has gone from an international pop star who walked away from it all to her role as Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations.