The last of a "trilogy on the art and discipline of spiritual reading"

She's desperate for a new life in the Canadian mountains...He's the last person she should trust to get her there.

A classic Canadian story of the bravery and ingenuity of three animals who find their way home. First published in 1961, The Incredible Journey tells the story of three pets: a young Labrador retriever, an old bull terrier, and a Siamese cat. While their owners are away in England, they are being cared for by a family friend at his home in the country. But a miscommunication occurs between the friend and his housekeeper when he goes on a hunting trip, and the animals are left alone for a several hours, with a gnawing instinct that something has gone wrong. They soon set off on a journey to find home, which instinct tells them is to the west. They travel 400 kilometres across the Northern Ontario wilderness, facing many obstacles along the way: swift-flowing rivers and the rugged landscape; wild animals and unsympathetic humans; starvation, injuries and sheer exhaustion. Separately they would not have survived, but together this disparate group prevails, and they find their way home to the family they love.

In contemporary America, myths find expression primarily in film. What's more, many of the highest-grossing American movies of the past several decades have been rooted in one of the most fundamental mythic narratives, the hero quest. Why is the hero quest so persistently renewed and retold? In what ways does this universal myth manifest itself in American cinema? And what is the significance of the popularity of these modern myths? The Hero and the Perennial Journey Home in American Film by Susan Mackey-Kallis is an exploration of the appeal of films that recreate and reinterpret this mythic structure. She closely analyzes such films as E.T., the Star Wars trilogy, It's a Wonderful Life, The Wizard of Oz, The Lion King, Field of Dreams, The Piano, Thelma and Louise, and 2001: A Space Odyssey. Elements of the quest mythology made popular by Joseph Campbell, Homer's Odyssey, the perennial philosophy of Aldous Huxley, and Jungian psychology all contribute to the compelling interpretive framework in which Mackey-Kallis crafts her study. She argues that the purpose of the hero quest is not limited to the discovery of some boon or Holy Grail, but also involves finding oneself and finding a home in the universe. The home that is sought is simultaneously the literal home from which the hero sets out and the terminus of the personal growth he or she undergoes during the journey back. Thus the quest, Mackey-Kallis asserts, is an outward journey into the world of action and events which eventually requires a journey inward if the hero is to grow, and ultimately necessitates a journey homeward if the hero is to understand the grail and share it with the culture at large. Finally, she examines the value of mythic criticism and addresses questions about myth currently being debated in the field of communication studies.

An investigation into the societal impact of intelligent, high-achieving women who are honing traditional homemaking skills traces emerging trends in sophisticated crafting, cooking and farming that are reshaping the roles of women.

Homeward Journey depicts a young writer's life through the art of his poetry. My brother, Leslie, was confronted with many obstacles as he traveled through a short lifetime. He never lost sight of his dream as a child to become a writer. This collection will take you on the journey of his life, in the early days, through happy and sad times, and later periods during his fight with Huntington's Disease. As his physical capabilities became more difficult he felt free spiritually and expressed himself through poetry. When his handwriting became illegible he still continued to scribble down his thoughts. Never did he give up hope. He had full knowledge of his destiny and independently met each day as a challenge. Throughout my life he encouraged me, and because of him I accomplished more than I thought possible. In preparation for this book, I have read these poems over and over and I am in awe of how I continue to be inspired. Without a doubt, as you read through these pages, you will find poems that fill you heart with joy, fond memories, and hope. - Joan Foor Huntington's Disease is a hereditary disorder that affects the brain cells causing uncontrolled body movements, lack of coordination, loss of ability to think and reason as well as psychological difficulties. There are approximately 30,000 people in the United States who are affected by HD and another 200,000 who are at risk of developing the disease. HD generally strikes in mid-life, between the ages of 30-50, but cases as young as 2 years and as old as 80 have been reported. In 1993, the gene that causes HD was identified and a simple predictive test was developed to determine whether a person carries the defective gene or not. Those who do carry the gene will develop the disease (if they live long enough) and they CAN pass it onto each of their children. Those who do not inherit the gene cannot pass HD onto any of their children - HD does no skip generations. There is currently no effective treatmen

Sixteen hundred miles separate Zuni's Corn Mountain, in western New Mexico, and Appalachia's Pine Mountain, in eastern Kentucky. But both these rural communities are so off the beaten track that they are places where people still tell stories directly to one another. This remarkable book tells the story of how Kentucky's Roadside Theater inspired and then collaborated with Zuni Pueblo's Idiwanan An Chawe (Children of the Middle Place), the first Zuni language theater. Together, the two theater companies created a bilingual play, "Corn Mountain/Pine Mountain: Following the Seasons," which toured nationally. Included in this book, the play uses traditional and original stories, oral histories, humor, music, and dance to celebrate and comment upon two agricultural ways of life that once provided physical and spiritual sustenance for people in Zuni and Appalachia. The Zuni language was exclusively oral until a written form of the language was developed in the 1970s. The Zuni writing inJourneys Homeis the most inclusive example of written Zuni extant, and the book, with the accompanying CD, will become a primary text for teaching written Zuni.

In the era of mass incarceration, over 600,000 people are released from federal or state prison each year, with many returning to chaotic living environments rife with violence. In these circumstances, how do former prisoners navigate reentering society? In Homeward, sociologist Bruce Western examines the tumultuous first year after release from prison. Drawing from in-depth interviews with over one hundred individuals, he describes the lives of the formerly incarcerated and demonstrates how poverty, racial inequality, and failures of social support trap many in a cycle of vulnerability despite their efforts to rejoin society. Western and his research team conducted comprehensive interviews with men and women released from the Massachusetts state prison system who returned to neighborhoods around Boston. Western finds that for most, leaving prison is associated with acute material hardship. In the first year after prison, most respondents could not afford their own housing and relied on family support and government programs, with half living in deep poverty. Many struggled with chronic pain, mental illnesses, or addiction—the most important predictor of recidivism. Most respondents were also unemployed. Some older white men found union jobs in the construction industry through their social networks, but many others, particularly those who were black or Latino, were unable to obtain full-time work due to few social connections to good jobs, discrimination, and lack of credentials. Violence was common in their lives, and often preceded their incarceration. In contrast to the stereotype of tough criminals preying upon helpless citizens, Western shows that many former prisoners were themselves subject to lifetimes of violence and abuse and encountered more violence after leaving prison, blurring the line between victims and perpetrators. Western concludes that boosting the social integration of former prisoners is key to both ameliorating deep disadvantage and strengthening public safety. He advocates policies that increase assistance to those in their first year after prison, including guaranteed housing and health care, drug treatment, and transitional employment. By foregrounding the stories of people struggling against the odds to exit the criminal justice system, Homeward shows how overhauling the process of prisoner reentry and rethinking the foundations of justice policy could address the harms of mass incarceration.

As autumn begins, Moss and friends travel to their former home in Ash Row, to find the rare mortal child who can both see and talk to them. The tiny beings know they should be brave and talk back–this is their chance to help reverse the fading of ancient Cumulus, who has now almost disappeared entirely. But they soon realize fading is connected to their role in the world … Can the Hidden Folk prove that guardians of the Wild World are needed after all?