Surviving the suicide of a loved one is brutal. Readers can share the journey of faith and a new perspective on God's comfort and healing as they travel from grief to joy.

From the author of Imaginary Me and SIAOPE comes a book that asks the question: What if there was a world without humor? Meet Jerry Stinson. He's an accountant. He has a roommate named Carl. Carl doesn't work. Jerry does. Until suddenly Jerry doesn't. Then Jerry discovers something unexpected. Unexpected with consequences. His brain tells him to say words that when spoken cause others to react in a never-before-seen way. It's something Jerry can't put a name to because his world has never experienced it before: humor, jokes, laughter. The words cause great joyfulness but also cause great harm. Now Jerry is worried. Does he share what he's discovered with others? Or keep it to himself? Bottle it up? Or pour it out? Whatever he decides will have a lasting impact on the future of his world. The latest book from Desmond Shepherd explores the importance of humor in society and emphasizes that we all have something in life to laugh for.

Therapy referrals for a child or young person can be motivated for a number of reasons. The parents, carers or professionals responsible for their wellbeing might describe a sudden change in presentation, risk taking behaviour, such as self-harm or experimentation with drugs, alcohol or sex, or they might label the young person as over reacting, under reacting or attention seeking. Such behaviour prompts concern for their safety and confusion about why the child or young person is presenting the way they are. This book offers a thoughtful approach to making sense of such behaviour and encourages adults to ‘reflect on’ rather than ‘react to’ young peoples’ outward presentations. Based on the author’s work with children, young people and families over two decades, this book shares reflections from the therapy room and illustrates how the therapist can try to make sense of mood, behaviour and presentations that previously made no sense. The content relies heavily on clinical experience as well as drawing on classical and contemporary psychotherapeutic literature. So often adults find themselves reacting to observable behaviour in a judgmental or punitive way, rather than pausing to consider what the behaviour might be communicating. The author aims to model a thoughtful reflective approach to making sense of what might be going on for children and young people and this book will be of great interest to child and adolescent psychotherapists, related professionals and those with an interest in young persons’ mental health.

Landing the career of her dreams as a reporter for Portland's largest newspaper, former beauty queen Carly Barnett engages in a battle of wits against Pulitzer Prize-winning co-worker Mark Holbrook, which leads to unexpected love and passion.

Carly Barnett's lifelong dream was to be a journalist-tracking down leads, interviewing important people, making a difference. A job offer at Portland's Oregonian Times seemed like an ideal place to start, until she learned exactly what she'd be doing. Writing an advice column for lonely hearts wasn't quite what she'd envisioned, but it was a beginning. Mark Holbrook did nothing to disguise his disdain for the new staff reporter-if you could call Carly's column "reporting." Still, he couldn't deny his attraction to her. But that didn't mean he'd take her advice-not even if she held the key to his own lonely heart.

According to the Foundation for Suicide Prevention, every sixteen minutes someone in America dies by suicide. There were more suicide deaths of young Americans in 1995 than deaths from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia, influenza and lung disease combined. In 2010 it is still the third leading cause of death of young people ages 15-24. Studies suggest that the great majority of them suffered from a diagnosable mental illness, and that most of them received either no treatment or inadequate treatment. Ryan suffered from a mental illness, that neither he nor his family understood, that did not respond to treatment, and resulted in his death. The scar across our hearts still opens, reminding us that learning to live without him is the work of a lifetime.We are forced to face what cannot be changed, and to trust the Creator for what we cannot now see. The act of writing became for me, a spiritual journey to probe the promise of beauty within the darkness, to seek understanding in mystery, and to believe once again in life after death.

Two restless hearts will meet their matches in a Linda Lael Miller fan favorite and an unforgettable bonus story from Lee Tobin McClain. Mixed Messages by Linda Lael Miller Award-winning journalist Mark Holbrook doesn’t know if beautiful and spirited Carly Barnett has what it takes to be a reporter, but he can’t deny how drawn he is to her. Only, Carly is far better at uncovering the truth than Mark gives her credit for. Soon she’ll uncover the most dangerous truth of all—that she is his only need. Low Country Hero by Lee Tobin McClain Anna George will do anything to take care of her five-year-old twins, even accept a job offer from a rugged contractor. His gentle way with her girls makes her want to trust him, but she’s been wrong before… A family is the last thing Sean O’Dwyer wants right now. But as he and Anna spend their days bringing the cottages back to life and their nights sharing kisses in the warm bayou breezes, Sean must choose between the life he always wanted and the family he soon can’t live without.

This novel set in the North Country of New York State explores gay adoption in an entertaining way for both gay and general audiences. Ean is a young gay man who works as a Forensic Case Manager at a social services agency, who has been married to Stacy, an Assistant District Attorney, for three years. Stacy feels compelled to adopt a child Ean names Tur (Rut spelled backwards), who is about to be placed in foster care. As their journey with Tur begins, Ean almost loses Stacy in a car accident with a male bull moose. Stacy dies suddenly after years of disability. Ean tries to start a new life with Tur without Stacy; however, he encounters many impediments ranging from suicidal thoughts to the Cinderella complex. Ean must overcome the final conflict of allowing Mark, a moose-obsessed Department of Conservation (DEC) worker, to fully enter his life or perish in loneliness. In the end, Ean triumphs as he allows Mark, a new male "bull," into his life.

Imagine you are a young mechanic living in a small community in France. You own your own home, and lead a simple life. Then, one evening, you open your front door to find a distraught Hollywood starlet standing in front of you. This is what happens to Arthur Dreyfuss in the village of Long, population 687 inhabitants. But although feigning an American accent, this woman is not all that she seems. For her name is Jeanine Foucamprez, and her story is very different from the glamorous life of a star. Arthur is not all he seems, either; a lover of poetry with a darker past than one might imagine, he has learnt to see beauty in the mundane. THE FIRST THING YOU SEE is a warm, witty novel about two fragile souls learning to look beyond the surface - for the first thing you see isn't always what you get!