The essays in this collection challenge the predominant image of working class people in higher education by providing a series of analyses and personal commentaries from a wide range of working class academics. Reflections From the Wrong Side of the Tracks imparts a critical and substantial narrative about what it means to be from the working class and work in academe.

A collection of essays on music and life by the famed classical pianist and composer Stephen Hough is one of the world’s leading pianists, winning global acclaim and numerous awards, both for his concerts and his recordings. He is also a writer, composer, and painter, and has been described by The Economist as one of “Twenty Living Polymaths.” Hough writes informally and engagingly about music and the life of a musician, from the broader aspects of what it is to walk out onto a stage or to make a recording, to specialist tips from deep inside the practice room: how to trill, how to pedal, how to practice. He also writes vividly about people he’s known, places he’s traveled to, books he’s read, paintings he’s seen; and he touches on more controversial subjects, such as assisted suicide and abortion. Even religion is there—the possibility of the existence of God, problems with some biblical texts, and the challenges involved in being a gay Catholic. Rough Ideas is an illuminating, constantly surprising introduction to the life and mind of one of our great cultural figures.

The Butterfly King and Other Poems for Self Reflection rings clear with purpose - and is filled with poetry steeped in the act of self-reflection. Centered around the titular heroic epic poem, which is written entirely in rhyming couplets - the book is furthered broken down into several different sections, including nature and society, individual self-reflection, as well as love and sexuality. The poems within are designed to be poignant pauses in a chaotic world, a world often filled with fear, doubt, or injustice. This book should resonate with any who have taken the time to reflect on the world, either through lenses of light/dark, bad/good, or even self/other.

In this companion volume that functions beautifully on its own or as part of the churchwide experience, Adam Hamilton offers forty days of daily devotions on the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, enabling us to pause, meditate, and emerge changed forever. The reflections - ideal for use during Lent - include Scripture, reflection, stories from Hamilton's own ministry, and prayers. Lent, Lenten, Lenten Resource, Lenten Resources, Lent Study, Lent Studies, Easter, Easter Study, Easter Studies

Drawing on several years of research with grief support organizations and the families and friends of murdered children, this book examines the emotional experience of families in the aftermath of a homicide. It examines the politics of sorrow, offering a comparative analysis of White and African-American families as they navigate the experience of homicide, shedding light on the ways in which the class location or ethnicity of mourners affects their experience. Analyzing the manner in which police and other authorities differentially extend emotional support to bereaved families, notify them of a homicide, or assign blame, The Politics of Sorrow reveals how 'disenfranchised grief' comes to be an institutionalized outcome of their practice. The book further examines the effects of 'announcement shock' and the importance to the family of the moral career of the deceased, as they seek to manage his or her identity, often dealing with their grief through an active pursuit of justice in court, or through political involvement with a grief support organization, which mobilizes families in pursuit of its political ends. A rigorous study of stigma, identity, and stratified experiences of grief, The Politics of Sorrow will appeal to sociologists interested in interactionist methods, race, class, and emotion.

Undeniably, growing old is challenging; the physical pain and emotional angst are unrelenting. The tendency is to think there is nothing left to live for; no point in defying the unforgiving mortality chart. Embracing Elderhood offers a palliative to the pessimism that leads to ‘dying before we die!’ It loudly proclaims, being old is about chronology; being an Elder is about attitude. The book is a genuine contribution to the narrative about aging that redefines the concept of Elderhood by answering three important questions. With our lives well past the halfway point, we ask ourselves: why am I here? We recognize how childhood and chance predetermined the role we played in life. Now the question becomes, ‘Is this how I want to live the rest of my life?’ The task is to exorcise the shame and regret of the past, finding forgiveness in your heart and redefining your relationship to family, money, society and your inner truth. Aging is a relentless process. Often burdened by illness or ill luck, we ask: why am I still here? Elders, however, find energy and motivation by making the behavioral change from self-service to being of-service, using their life’s experiences to find purpose, making a positive difference in the lives of others. After we have passed, our loved ones will provide the answer to our final question: why was I here? Will we be remembered kindly; did we make a difference in people’s lives? It’s now or never to do what remains to be done and to finally confront any unresolved issues. We are the sages, the teachers, the philosophers with the perspective that only comes with age. But we must speak out. As elders we have an elemental responsibility to teach others and share our gifts. In this book, we learn how to address each question and find purpose and meaning in our elder years.

The book chronicles James Jeffers' life from about age two but it purposefully falls short of being either memoirs or autobiography. With this work he has attempted to simply record for his children, grandchildren, and others the wonderful events of his life as he experienced them. The book covers thousands of miles of travel along with living and working with peoples of differing cultures on three continents and in the Caribbean, five foreign countries, and fifteen different states spanning the nation from coast to coast to coast.

Sixteen-year-old Nathan Shepherd has a great life traveling where the careers of his father, an investigator, and mother, a renowned violinist, take him ... until his parents are found murdered. Left with only a mirror and notes from his father's last case, Nathan goes into hiding at the remote country home of Tony, his father's college buddy, and Tony's teenage daughter, Kelly. The mysterious mirror must be a clue to what happened to his parents, and when images appear in it---people and things that don't exist---Nathan and Kelly painstakingly gather evidence. But the killers want the mirror too, and danger threatens the teens at every turn. As it becomes evident that Nathan's father had stumbled upon dark forces at work in the world, several questions arise. Could it be that the mirror is a portal to a parallel world? Could this technology be used for evil purposes? And could his parents still be alive, trapped in another dimension? Nathan and Kelly struggle to solve the mystery before they too become victims. This chilling, hair-raising adventure is jam-packed with action in a fantastical world where nothing is as it seems, and even mirrors tell lies.