The Veneer Empire is collapsing. A hundred years ago the Veneer Empire seceded from the UPA and entered into a secret alliance with the Unity. Today, the seeds of the empire’s collapse have taken root and are blossoming into a chaotic darkness that threatens to destabilize the entire region. The Veneer home world has suddenly gone silent. An entire planet with billions of inhabitants and there is nothing but silence. Without the guidance and leadership from the home world, the structure of the empire is crumbling. Supply chains are failing. Criminal elements are running wild. The entire sector is up for grabs and anyone who can make a power play is making it. In an effort to stabilize the region, the UPA has dispatched an envoy headed up by the Defiance. Their mission is humanitarian. They’re to offer aid and begin the process of reestablishing communication between the Alliance and the Veneer Empire. But before long, that mission turns to survival for the crew of the Defiance. Survival against the darkness from without, and from within.

From the internationally bestselling author of The Marriage Lie comes an emotionally searing drama about a woman who risks her life to discover the devastating truth about her family. Humanitarian aid worker Gia Andrews chases disasters around the globe for a living. It's the perfect lifestyle to keep her far away from her own personal ground zero. Sixteen years ago, Gia's father was imprisoned for brutally killing her stepmother. Now he's come home to die of cancer, and she's responsible for his care--and coming to terms with his guilt. Gia reluctantly resumes the role of daughter to the town's most infamous murderer, a part complete with protesters on the lawn and death threats that are turning tragedy into front-page news. Returning to life in small-town Tennessee involves rebuilding relationships that distance and turmoil have strained, though finding an emotional anchor in the attractive hometown bartender is certainly helping Gia cope. As the past unravels before her, Gia will find herself torn between the stories that her family, their friends and neighbors, and even her long-departed stepmother have believed to be real all these years. But in the end, the truth--and all the lies that came before--may have deadlier consequences than she could have ever anticipated....

A compassionate, shame-free guide for your darkest days “A one-of-a-kind book . . . to read for yourself or give to a struggling friend or loved one without the fear that depression and suicidal thoughts will be minimized, medicalized or over-spiritualized.”—Kay Warren, cofounder of Saddleback Church What happens when loving Jesus doesn’t cure you of depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts? You might be crushed by shame over your mental illness, only to be told by well-meaning Christians to “choose joy” and “pray more.” So you beg God to take away the pain, but nothing eases the ache inside. As darkness lingers and color drains from your world, you’re left wondering if God has abandoned you. You just want a way out. But there’s hope. In I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die, Sarah J. Robinson offers a healthy, practical, and shame-free guide for Christians struggling with mental illness. With unflinching honesty, Sarah shares her story of battling depression and fighting to stay alive despite toxic theology that made her afraid to seek help outside the church. Pairing her own story with scriptural insights, mental health research, and simple practices, Sarah helps you reconnect with the God who is present in our deepest anguish and discover that you are worth everything it takes to get better. Beautifully written and full of hard-won wisdom, I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die offers a path toward a rich, hope-filled life in Christ, even when healing doesn’t look like what you expect.

**THE MILLION COPY BESTSELLER** 'Rattling. Heartbreaking. Beautiful,' Atul Gawande, bestselling author of Being Mortal What makes life worth living in the face of death? At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade's training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. One day he was a doctor treating the dying, the next he was a patient struggling to live. When Breath Becomes Air chronicles Kalanithi's transformation from a medical student asking what makes a virtuous and meaningful life into a neurosurgeon working in the core of human identity - the brain - and finally into a patient and a new father. Paul Kalanithi died while working on this profoundly moving book, yet his words live on as a guide to us all. When Breath Becomes Air is a life-affirming reflection on facing our mortality and on the relationship between doctor and patient, from a gifted writer who became both. 'A vital book about dying. Awe-inspiring and exquisite. Obligatory reading for the living' Nigella Lawson

A follow-up to A Christmas Carol, this is the story of a poor ticket porter whose outlook is changed from despair to hope by the spirits of the chimes on New Year's Eve As Trotty's working day as a lowly messenger draws to a close, his daughter, Meg, arrives with her fiancé Richard in tow, and they proudly announce their wedding for the following day. This is cause for celebration, although their happiness is tempered by the comments of an alderman and other well-off citizens on the rights of the poor to marry. During the night, Trotty hears the chimes of a church bell and ventures out to climb the belltower. At the top he is greeted by goblins who tell him that he died during the climb and must now spend his time watching his friends and family live out their lives. What he witnesses makes for grim viewing, and Totty finds himself attempting to rescue his daughter from the brink of destruction. He wakes as if from a dream to the bells chiming out the beginning of a new year, and finds that no time has passed and it is New Year's Day. But as he sees his daughter cheerfully preparing for her wedding day, he is baffled as to whether this is just a dream within a dream. Tackling familiar themes of redemption, social injustice, and family, this is a story of hope and contemplation and is a moving festive read well worth discovering.

e-artnow presents to you the Charles Dickens Christmas collection with the complete novels and stories author dedicated to this most beloved holiday:_x000D_ A Christmas Carol_x000D_ The Chimes_x000D_ The Cricket on the Hearth_x000D_ The Battle of Life_x000D_ The Haunted Man_x000D_ A Christmas Tree_x000D_ What Christmas Is As We Grow Older_x000D_ The Poor Relation's Story_x000D_ The Child's Story_x000D_ The Schoolboy's Story_x000D_ Nobody's Story_x000D_ The Seven Poor Travellers_x000D_ The Holly-Tree_x000D_ The Wreck of the Golden Mary_x000D_ The Perils of Certain English Prisoners_x000D_ A House to Let_x000D_ The Haunted House_x000D_ A Message From the Sea_x000D_ Tom Tiddler's Ground_x000D_ Somebody's Luggage_x000D_ Mrs. Lirriper's Lodgings_x000D_ Mrs. Lirriper's Legacy_x000D_ Doctor Marigold's Prescriptions_x000D_ Mugby Junction_x000D_ No Thoroughfare_x000D_ Christmas at Fezziwig's Warehouse

Musaicum Books presents the Musaicum Christmas Specials. We have selected the greatest Christmas novels, short stories and fairy tales for this joyful and charming holiday season, for all those who want to keep the spirit of Christmas alive with a heartwarming tale. Table of Contents: A Christmas Carol The Chimes The Cricket on the Hearth The Battle of Life The Haunted Man A Christmas Tree What Christmas Is As We Grow Older The Poor Relation's Story The Child's Story The Schoolboy's Story Nobody's Story The Seven Poor Travellers The Holly-Tree The Wreck of the Golden Mary The Perils of Certain English Prisoners A House to Let The Haunted House A Message From the Sea Tom Tiddler's Ground Somebody's Luggage Mrs. Lirriper's Lodgings Mrs. Lirriper's Legacy Doctor Marigold's Prescriptions Mugby Junction No Thoroughfare Christmas at Fezziwig's Warehouse

No holiday season is complete without Charles Dickens’s timeless tale of redemption starring the tightfisted Mr. Scrooge, the long-suffering Bob Cratchit, kindhearted Tiny Tim, and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. But A Christmas Carol was only the first and most famous of Dickens’s holiday tales. In this edition, everyone’s favorite misanthrope appears in company with four more Dickens stories—The Chimes, The Cricket on the Hearth, The Battle of Life, and The Haunted Man—that further develop the Christmas spirit Dickens did so much to invent.

On January 22, 1994, two-year-old Renee Goode played happily with her sisters and cousin, enjoying an impromptu "slumber party" at the home of her father, Shane Goode. The next day Renee was dead. "To the Last Breath" reveals what Renee's grandmother had suspected all along: cold, calculating Shane Goode had murdered his own daughter to cash in on her death. of photos. Martin's Press.

Reproduction of the original: Samuel Boyd of Catchpole Square by B.L Farjeon