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Amy O'Hanlon's excellent Sister Butterfly illustrations show Carla approaching a favorite corner of her garden where she feels safe and happy. Her vigilant brother knows that Carla can create beautiful fantasies as she twirls around and round to music only she can hear, engaged in quiet conversation with the small creatures such as butterflies and her favorite flowers. Mike Mirabella's children's book entitled Sister Butterfly, is a beautifully illustrated children's book based on a song from his 1998 CD entitled, Special People. Mike wrote Sister Butterfly song years ago for his daughter, Carla, when she was three years old. The theme of Sister Butterfly centers on Mike's abiding love for his daughter with Down syndrome and for self-discovery and the transformation of the hearts that surround her. Mike wrote in the song; "My sister is a butterfly who never learned to fly, ...”. Carla still wasn't walking or talking and Mike thought at the time, she would have little chance of accomplishing much of anything in her life. "How wrong I was; her life was a parade of accomplishments!” - Papa Mike. -
Sins, Tragedies, and Other Things That Make Us Human is a collection of five thought-provoking short stories that blend historical fiction, dark humor, and contemporary drama. Each tale holds a mirror to society, exposing the shadows we often choose to ignore. Unflinching and unsettling, this book is not for the faint of heart—but for those willing to confront the darker side of humankind. -
Selling Ethically: A Business Parable Connecting Integrity with Profits -
Have you been a seventh grader, taught or parented one? Then you’re guaranteed to laugh as the new female vice principal faces hormonally charged middle schoolers, demanding parents, an obnoxious boss, and clueless teachers. Ride the roller coaster of the new job and cheer for Cynthia Walker as she dives into the hilarity and angst of working with tweens. Watch her deal with bomb threats, fire, and pythons on the loose. Bullied kids and abusive parents. Dysfunctional homes, charges of racial bias, and a touchy-feely principal who demands her attention but provides no guidance. And she would like to date the handsome and talented history teacher, if only she weren’t his supervisor. Schooled will take you back to your own school days. This page-turner will open your eyes to the challenges of public education, the job satisfaction to be found by educators who care, and the type of leader you want to guide your children. -
Follow the paths of Sarah and Will (or Sam) as they tell their stories of trust, secrets, and betrayal on the frontier in the old West. Their pioneer spirit helped to fuel the expansion into the Western territories of the United States. The two are historically on their separate journeys, yet they remain intimately connected. Through the fictionalized Western frontier tale of Sam and Sarah, the author, Beverly Scott, was inspired to reveal rumored secrets from her family history. In 1878, Will is on the run after killing a man in a barroom gunfight. He escapes the Texas Rangers by joining a cattle drive as a cook headed to Dodge City. He struggles with the dilemma of saving his life or attempting to return to his pregnant wife and five children. Just when he thinks he might be able to return home, he is confronted by a bounty hunter who captures him and plans to return him to Fort Worth, Texas to be hanged. Although Will changes his name to Sam, he remains an irresponsible, lonely and untrustworthy man on the dodge from the law who abandons the women he loves. He ultimately seeks redemption and marries Sarah. In 1911, Sarah, a pioneer woman and a widow with five children, struggles to find the inner strength to overcome betrayal, loneliness, fears, and self-doubt. Her husband, Sam, thirty years her senior, died with a mysterious and defiant declaration, “I won’t answer!”. Despite poverty and a crippling illness, she draws on her pioneer spirit to hold her family together and return to Nebraska to be near her parents and siblings. When Sarah returns to Nebraska she receives staggering news which complicates her efforts to support her children. She is shocked, angry and emotionally devastated. Since she is attempting to establish herself in the community as a teacher, she believes she must keep her secret even from her own family. Will Sarah find forgiveness in her heart and the resolve to accept her new life alone?
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The fastest growing segment of the horse world is women mid-life and beyond. This thorough but light-hearted guide welcomes you to the equine life. Whether a newcomer to the world of hay and hoofs more someone who’s been in the saddle since childhood, you’ll find information about every aspect of the horse world. Riders of a Certain Age is full of wisdom and sound advice for people coming into horses as adults. It encourages us to keep riding forward at a point in life when others might expect us to whoa. From leasing to leakage, money to manure, this engagingly candid, comprehensive resource is an owner’s manual for reclaiming the right to indulge your horse-loving inner child. With carefully curated guidance collected over years of horsing around, Fran Severn presents you with tips, lessons, and advice as you begin enjoying a life with horses in it. You’ll find information about: -Getting into the saddle (or not, but still enjoying horses) -Finding an instructor and being a good student -Understanding and overcoming fear -Riding with ‘replacement parts’ -Dealing with the physical changes and challenges of our older bodies -Learning the world of buying, leasing, and boarding horses -Managing your ‘stable finances’ to pay for it all and still stay solvent -
- Restore Me! dives right into the matter from the first page: Who cares for the one who gives care? You may be caught in the complex place of taking care of a congregation, a group of people, or even one while dealing with your own personal issues. - You may be wondering why you feel empty, fatigued, not relevant to society, yet feeling the need to appear strong to others. Restore me! gives you the opportunity to honestly assess your life from the inside, not as others see you, but as you see yourself without the masks. It brings you face to face with the reality of the dichotomy between your internal struggles and your external successes, and then offers keys to breaking you free of the cage you may find yourself in. - Through these dynamic pages Dr. Agbenoto has one-on-one sessions with you in the privacy of your home. She gives you the opportunity to identify and confront problems, prays with you, and empowers you to take the necessary next steps. Restore me! leaves you challenged, renewed in restorative hope and refreshed. Pick up your copy and begin your journey of restoration! -
Industrial civilization has contributed significant pollution in the land, air, and water, all of which impact human survival. As a scientist in this field, Dr. Christina Rahm dedicated her career to researching and implementing strategies to protect our planet’s precious resources while promoting human health and wellbeing. She hopes to raise awareness about the disastrous impact of harmful pollution on the environment and minimizing its impact on our lives. Dr. Rahm discusses: pollution prevention and remediation, regulatory compliance requirements, novel approaches for reducing water contamination, and decreasing soil corruption. This book shines a light on challenges facing our environment caused by advancements in technology or industrialization. A passionate advocate of heavy metal detoxification, Dr. Rahm targets those seeking a better understanding of the impact of heavy metals in our environment, how to make a difference in the environment, and what the government can do to help. Whether an avid environmentalist or simply concerned about preserving a healthy body for yourself and future generations, this book is sure to inspire with new ideas and a better understanding for building a greener and healthier future. -
Benno Neuburger, a modest land investor from Munich and Anna Einstein daughter of a cattle dealer from Laupheim, marry in 1907. They begin their lives together with great hope. It is a relatively prosperous time and a very optimistic one for German Jews who are enjoying a social renaissance in the industrializing, urbanizing rising star that is Germany. It’s not clear that this good fortune might begin to unravel. Even as news of an assassination in an “obscure” Balkan corner of the continent passes like a cold wind through Munich on a warm beer-garden July day, people shudder but feel no great alarm. Yet what follows is a war provoked by inter-colonialist competition. It is prolonged and bloody, giving way to German defeat, revolution, a brief socialist interlude in Munich, a merciless counter revolution, and the pitiless demagoguery of defeated generals. So marks the commencement of an era of nearly relentless distress and turmoil for Germany. The lives of Benno and Anna and their extended families are amid this swirl—trying to make a life as they struggle to survive, as they cling to the hope of a peaceful resolution to crisis. But to no avail. Munich becomes the epicenter of German fascism fed by nationalist resentment and racial madness – an offspring of European rivalries and colonialism. In the 1920s the brown shirts of Germany’s former African colonial army become the uniform of a domestic legion of terror. In the 1920s Benno, Anna and their children live as close neighbors to the demagogue who will become the Nazi leader. A slow-moving horror show envelops them in the years that follow. In the 1930s and 1940s: Emigrating children, a pogrom, a new war, evictions, “resettlement” via a train ride east . . . desperate acts of resistance, arrest, trial – as the holocaust plays out— all up close and personal: A human story told through the voices of those who lived it. -
Imagine Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test meets Murder, She Wrote.
One part hippies grooving on the waterfront and fighting the man, one part murder mystery.It’s the 1970s, and the “houseboat wars” erupt in Sausalito on the site of Marinship, the abandoned World War II shipyard. Hippies and squatters are living free and easy on houseboats in a ramshackle shantytown, and greedy developers are determined to evict them and build new docks to attract affluent residents.
The counterculture is in full flower and the houseboaters, fearing their community will be destroyed, resist eviction with street theater, civil disobedience, monkeywrenching, and more. Like climbing into dinghies and pushing away police boats with oars. Like sinking a barge to block a pile driver. All in front of TV cameras!
Then, someone gets stabbed.
Pirates of Sausalito is fiction, but inspired by true events. As Larry Clinton, former president of the Sausalito Historical Society, said, “If it didn't happen exactly this way, it could have.”
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Ever heard yourself say, a part of me wants this, but another part of me wants that? Ever said, I'm in two minds... These statements make intuitive sense, because you intuitively know there are many parts to who you are, which seem to want different things. But have you ever stopped to wonder what these parts actually are? This book not only answers - in simple, accessible language, what parts are, how they work, and how they can help you understand your thinking, your emotions and your behaviors. And most importantly, how you can work with your parts to get out of your own way. Part of Me will take your self-awareness to the next level, by exploring your Inner Team, and the parts which populate it. Fifty of the most common parts are profiled in detail, so you can understand exactly what parts are driving you, and what parts you have neglected. Armed with this information, you'll be equipped to learn which parts are causing the problems you repeatedly experience, and what to do to get your Inner Team working for you, not against you. Part of Me is a comprehensive guide to the universe of parts within us, based on the Inner Team Dialogue coaching system. Written by the founder of Inner Team Dialogue, this book summarizes more than 25 years of practice, observation and exploration. The Inner Team Dialogue approach to personal development empowers you to experience: - A deeper, more nuanced understanding of who you are, and what drives you - An increase in self-compassion, and a reduction in self-criticism - Wiser decision-making, with less second guessing - Freedom to choose who you want to be - The feeling of being at peace with yourself. -
Happy St Patrick's Day! Enjoy price reduction until 3/31/26
A young Irish sailor cast adrift in the sea. A mermaid princess and Irish luck save him from drowning. This adventurous tale owes its inspiration to stories Mike Mirabella heard as a little boy. His sizeable Italian clan swapped such stories during family dinners at the kitchen table.
"My grandpa and uncles would tell tales of fishing the waters off the coast of California and up through the inland passages of Alaska. I recall Grandpa Angelo telling of the scary times, when he was a cabin boy of 12 and was captured by pirates while working on the tall ships”.
And then there was the never-ending argument between my grandpa and Uncle Cam: “What was that strange creature they caught off the coast of Alaska; a mermaid or a merman?" I was (and still am) that wee lad in our story, sitting wide-eyed, half-believing, yet never tiring of hearing those wonder-filled stories told by those salty, old jacks."
Using the rhyming style of a pirate in an Irish pub, our sailor spins his yarn about seeing the slap of a mermaid's tail during a mighty storm. "On the Luck of an Irish Sailor" is a beautiful tale of adventure on the high seas. In a story that's been passed down for generations, author Mike Mirabella takes us on a magical experience deep beneath the ocean.
Could it have happened? Did it happen? Folklore - that's the feeling sparked by the illustrations by illustrator Amy O'Hanlon. She uses hues of blues, grays, and browns to depict the fierce storm accurately. On other pages, O'Hanlon uses beige and brown tones to create the illusion of an older picture book-like classic story that's been around for years. Enjoy the bonus song sheets and sing along with this ‘mostly’ true story of adventure and redemption, in "On the Luck of an Irish Sailor."
