Although acceptance of difference is on the rise in America, it's the rare gay or lesbian person who has not been demeaned because of his or her sexual orientation, and this experience usually starts at home, among family members. Whether they are excluded from family love and approval, expected to accept second-class status for life, ignored by mainstream arts and entertainment, or abandoned when intervention would make all the difference, gay people are routinely subjected to forms of psychological and physical abuse unknown to many straight Americans. “Familial homophobia,” as prizewinning writer and professor Sarah Schulman calls it, is a phenomenon that until now has not had a name but that is very much a part of life for the LGBT community. In the same way that Susan Brownmiller's Against Our Will transformed our understanding of rape by moving the stigma from the victim to the perpetrator, Schulman's Ties That Bind calls on us to recognize familial homophobia. She invites us to understand it not as a personal problem but a widespread cultural crisis. She challenges us to take up our responsibilities to intervene without violating families, community, and the state. With devastating examples, Schulman clarifies how abusive treatment of homosexuals at home enables abusive treatment of homosexuals in other relationships as well as in society at large. Ambitious, original, and deeply important, Schulman's book draws on her own experiences, her research, and her activism to probe this complex issue—still very much with us at the start of the twenty-first century—and to articulate a vision for a more accepting world.

For generations the Inquisition has stood between humanity and the forces of darkness. It has failed. Thanquil Darkheart is a witch hunter for the Inquisition, on a holy crusade to rid the world of heresy. He’s also something else... expendable. When the God Emperor gives Thanquil an impossible task, he knows he has no choice but to venture deep into the Wilds to hunt down a fallen Inquisitor. Even the best swordswoman is one bad day away from a corpse. It’s a lesson Blademaster Jezzet Vel’urn isn’t keen to learn. Chased into the Wilds by a vengeful warlord, Jezzet makes it to the free city of Chade. But instead of sanctuary all she finds are more enemies from her past. The Black Thorn is a cheat, a thief, a murderer and worse. He’s best known for the killing of several Inquisitors and every town in the Wilds has a WANTED poster with his name on it. Thorn knows it’s often best to lie low and let the dust settle, but some jobs pay too well to pass up. As their fates converge, Jezzet, Thanquil, and the Black Thorn will need to forge an uneasy alliance in order to face the truth the Inquisition has been hiding from them all. A dark epic fantasy full of zealous witch hunters, roving warlords, dark magic, and demons. Perfect for fans of Joe Abercrombie and Brent Weeks.

In this book, Phyllis Krystal describes techniques, rituals and symbols which are capable of impressing positive messages on the subconscious mind in order to offset some of the negative conditioning that may have been received earlier in life. In this way, changes in life become possible much better than just working on a con¬scious, cognitive level. This method enables a person to liberate from the various sources of false security to become an independent and whole human being, relying only on the inner source of security ans wisdom which is available to everyone who seeks its aids. First revised edition.

At a time of deep political divisions, leaders have called on ordinary Americans to talk to one another: to share their stories, listen empathetically, and focus on what they have in common, not what makes them different. In Inventing the Ties that Bind, Francesca Polletta questions this popular solution for healing our rifts. Talking the way that friends do is not the same as equality, she points out. And initiatives that bring strangers together for friendly dialogue may provide fleeting experiences of intimacy, but do not supply the enduring ties that solidarity requires. But Polletta also studies how Americans cooperate outside such initiatives, in social movements, churches, unions, government, and in their everyday lives. She shows that they often act on behalf of people they see as neighbors, not friends, as allies, not intimates, and people with whom they have an imagined relationship, not a real one. To repair our fractured civic landscape, she argues, we should draw on the rich language of solidarity that Americans already have.

When Esme's past as a secret operative comes calling, she must choose - her husband or her job? After a bomb destroys Esme’s London home, killing her son instantly, she moves to her old country house in Devon to begin the impossible task of recuperating. Soon she is drawn back into the world of espionage, and as her marriage starts to crumble, a local airman pulls her closer. Meanwhile her cousin Louise is awaiting confirmation that she can relocate to Canada to be with her husband, Douglas. Biding her time back home, she notices her father behaving strangely and disappearing at odd hours to wander the nearby cliffs. With rumours of spies afoot, she needs to learn the truth before anyone else does... Louise and Esme still have battles to overcome as the war continues. Will Esme betray her wedding vows or can she find her way back to Richard? A stunning and heartwrenching Second World War saga, for fans of Liz Trenow and Ellie Curzon. Praise for Ties That Bind: 'Wow what a book it is! I had every feeling possible while reading this book. This was such a beautiful yet emotional story, and I really and truly felt for each and every character, I welled up with tears at times, I smiled and cooed when it came to it. I really struggled to put the book down.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Reader review 'If you love family saga and wartime books you will definitely love this.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Reader review

Third Sister in the Tao family, Ailin has watched her two older sisters go through the painful process of having their feet bound. In China in 1911, all the women of good families follow this ancient tradition. But Ailin loves to run away from her governess and play games with her male cousins. Knowing she will never run again once her feet are bound, Ailin rebels and refuses to follow this torturous tradition. As a result, however, the family of her intended husband breaks their marriage agreement. And as she enters adolescence, Ailin finds that her family is no longer willing to support her. Chinese society leaves few options for a single woman of good family, but with a bold conviction and an indomitable spirit, Ailin is determined to forge her own destiny. Her story is a tribute to all those women whose courage created new options for the generations who came after them.

This beautifully written book tells the haunting saga of a quintessentially American family. It is the story of Shoe Boots, a famed Cherokee warrior and successful farmer, and Doll, an African slave he acquired in the late 1790s. Over the next thirty years, Shoe Boots and Doll lived together as master and slave and also as lifelong partners who, with their children and grandchildren, experienced key events in American history—including slavery, the Creek War, the founding of the Cherokee Nation and subsequent removal of Native Americans along the Trail of Tears, and the Civil War. This is the gripping story of their lives, in slavery and in freedom. Meticulously crafted from historical and literary sources, Ties That Bind vividly portrays the members of the Shoeboots family. Doll emerges as an especially poignant character, whose life is mostly known through the records of things done to her—her purchase, her marriage, the loss of her children—but also through her moving petition to the federal government for the pension owed to her as Shoe Boots's widow. A sensitive rendition of the hard realities of black slavery within Native American nations, the book provides the fullest picture we have of the myriad complexities, ironies, and tensions among African Americans, Native Americans, and whites in the first half of the nineteenth century.

“A truly wonderful tale of spirit, faith and true friendship” in the quilting series from the New York Times bestselling author of Threading the Needle (Fresh Fiction). Christmas is fast approaching, and New Bern, Connecticut, is about to receive the gift of a new pastor, hired sight unseen to fill in while Reverend Tucker is on sabbatical. Meanwhile, Margot Matthews’ friend, Abigail, is trying to match-make even though Margot has all but given up on romance. She loves her job at the Cobbled Court Quilt Shop and the life and friendships she’s made in New Bern; she just never thought she’d still be single on her fortieth birthday. It’s a shock to the entire town when Phillip A. Clarkson turns out to be Philippa. Truth be told, not everyone is happy about having a female pastor. Yet despite a rocky start, Philippa begins to settle in—finding ways to ease the townspeople’s burdens, joining the quilting circle, and forging a fast friendship with Margot. When tragedy threatens to tear Margot’s family apart, that bond—and the help of her quilting sisterhood—will prove a saving grace. And as she untangles her feelings for another new arrival in town, Margot begins to realize that it is the surprising detours woven into life’s fabric that provide its richest hues and deepest meaning . . . Praise for the Cobbled Court Quilts series “A big-hearted novel filled with wit and wisdom.” —Susan Wiggs, New York Times bestselling author “Bostwick’s warmly nourishing, emotionally compelling novel is quiet yet powerful.” —Chicago Tribune “Heartwarming . . . an unbreakable thread of friendship and faith.” —Publishers Weekly

Thorn wants vengeance on all those who have wronged him - It's a long list. Beaten, battered and damned near broken; with a bounty on his head so large he’s tempted to turn himself in, the Black Thorn finds himself on trial for the crime of being him. Despite the impending probability of death he has but one thought on his mind; taking revenge against the Arbiter who took his eye. In order to carry out his vengeance Thorn must first escape Sarth and recruit a new crew, each one with their own designs on revenge. A dark epic fantasy full of zealous witch hunters, roving warlords, dark magic, and demons. Perfect for fans of Joe Abercrombie and Brent Weeks.

An intimate insight into the lives of twelve families in the Ancient Egyptian village of Tebtunis. Tebtunis, an ancient village formerly located in lower Egypt, is one of the most enduring subjects of study from the civilization's Roman era. This fascinating volume details a dozen newly-discovered family papers that have survived from the second century AD. Belonging to families of various different classes, this unique documentation provides a rare opportunity to explore how local elites under Roman rule exploited their wealth in the countryside and interacted with its rural inhabitants. Ties That Bind is the first book to investigate these family papers holistically, focusing on the economic activities in which the families engaged: land leases, loans in cash and kind, and the employment of managers and laborers on landed estates. This study also addresses strategy and decision-making among both elite families and villagers, the complexity of interfamilial relationships, and the implications of this social networking. This micro-historical study elucidates the diversity of socio-economic life in a village where no single family dominated.