Mortal Musings: Waiting for Dawn


Book Description

For many of us, cancer is an inescapable reality. It is estimated that one in two people will be affected by the disease during their life. ‘Mortal Musings: Waiting for Dawn’ is a moving, thought-provoking and intensely personal account of one man’s journey. In October 2016 my indigestion turned out to be cancer. A few days later, the news got worse when it was discovered my cancer was not only rare and incurable, but it was Stage IV and I likely had only a few months to live. A death sentence like that naturally makes you think about your own mortality and what lies beyond. But I was not about to give in to the inevitable. I refused to believe in a no-win scenario. People say it is always darkest before the dawn, so I set about waiting for the sunrise. Being impatient, I did everything I could to hurry it along. Mortal Musings is about my fight -- physically, mentally and spiritually. It is about hope, faith and denial, how the cancer impacted my life and the lives of those around me, my treatments and the emotional struggle I endured. But it also delves into speculation about what lies ahead, beyond this mortal coil. That I am still here, three years later, is a miracle. That I am now cancer free is even more amazing. As Jimmy Valvano said, “don’t give up, don’t ever give up.” And I didn’t. **** “A must-read for anyone affected by this life-changing disease.” – Bethan White, Fade “A powerful testimony of how all of us must accept our own mortality.” – Richard Denham, Arthur: Shadow of a God




Dusty Plains & Wartime Planes


Book Description

A fascinating review of one man’s experiences during the Dust Bowl era, and WWII; includes Heathrow, Normandy, Le Bourget, and Hitler’s Bunker. The men and women who fought in World War II are often referred to as “The Greatest Generation,” and for good reason. Before ever stepping onto the battlefield, most had survived The Great Depression, and if they happened to live in the Midwest, The Dust Bowl. Such was the case with my father. Dad grew up in poverty in rural Kansas with no electricity or plumbing, not even an outhouse. While in college he became a pilot, and then joined the Army Air Force shortly before WWII. For someone who never fired a gun or received enemy gunfire, he had one of the most amazing service records. He managed two of the most famous airfields in the world – Heathrow and Le Bourget -- then became one of the first Americans to visit Hitler’s bunker only a couple of days after his suicide. From Dusty Plains to Wartime Planes is educational, moving and highly entertaining. This first person account includes some of the most famous periods and places in our nation’s history, including the Dust Bowl, The Great Depression, World War II, Heathrow, Normandy, Le Bourget, and Hitler’s Bunker. The storyline is supplemented with historical notes and fascinating photos.




Musings Before Dawn


Book Description




Mortal Musings


Book Description

For many of us, cancer is an inescapable reality. It is estimated that one in two people will be affected by the disease during their life. 'Mortal Musings: Waiting for Dawn' is a moving, thought-provoking and intensely personal account of one man's journey. In October 2016 my indigestion turned out to be cancer. A few days later, the news got worse when it was discovered my cancer was not only rare and incurable, but it was Stage IV and I likely had only a few months to live. A death sentence like that naturally makes you think about your own mortality and what lies beyond. But I was not about to give in to the inevitable. I refused to believe in a no-win scenario. People say it is always darkest before the dawn, so I set about waiting for the sunrise. Being impatient, I did everything I could to hurry it along. Mortal Musings is about my fight -- physically, mentally and spiritually. It is about hope, faith and denial, how the cancer impacted my life and the lives of those around me, my treatments and the emotional struggle I endured. But it also delves into speculation about what lies ahead, beyond this mortal coil. That I am still here, three years later, is a miracle. That I am now cancer free is even more amazing. As Jimmy Valvano said, "don't give up, don't ever give up." And I didn't. ****"A must-read for anyone affected by this life-changing disease." - Bethan White, Fade "A powerful testimony of how all of us must accept our own mortality." - Richard Denham, Arthur: Shadow of a God




Summit Fever


Book Description

Dramatic, amusing, and engaging observations of a major climb by a first-time climber.




Leisure Musings


Book Description




MUSINGS OF A MYSTIC


Book Description

Prose poetry is poetry written in prose form instead of verse form, while preserving poetic qualities such as heightened imagery, parataxis and emotional effects. The present book “Musings of a Mystic” by Jyotirmaya Thakur is a fine example of this dictionary definition. Her present collection of poetic nuggets is drawn from the nature which has become a part and parcel of her temperament. It appears that she has captured the many moods of nature by sitting on the easy chair adjacent to a window of her favourite room. Here it is pertinent to note that the language of the prose poems is flowery but full of messages. Her style of describing even petty and not-so-important things is amazing. For example, in her prose poem A Gentle Leaf, she aptly says that “This discoloured leaf intricate by design is mine. It naturally drives aging by divine grace. Swirling away from its branch by the breeze currents like rolling waves.” Beautiful imagery has added lusture to the poem.




At the Edge of the Village


Book Description

Being a missionary in Ivory Coast, West Africa is not only about dangers, hard work, and culture shock, interspersed with moments of high joy and deep sorrow; it is life found in the small and daily things, the quotidian experience which renders familiar a vastly different way of life, a life at the edge of the village. This book collects Lisa Leidenfrost's sketches of missionary life, compiled from letters sent home from Ivory Coast to her church in the United States, and they tell of the ordinary and extraordinary, the solemn and the playful, the mundane and the exotic, together creating a down-to-earth portrait of the Gospel at work in a family and society. For over sixteen years, Lisa Leidenfrost has lived, served, and raised four children in Ivory Coast with her husband, Csaba Leidenfrost, a Wycliffe translator to the Bakwe people.




These Violent Delights


Book Description

An Instant New York Times Bestseller! A BuzzFeed Best Young Adult Book of 2020 Perfect for fans of The Last Magician and Serpent & Dove, this heart-stopping debut is an imaginative Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1920s Shanghai, with rival gangs and a monster in the depths of the Huangpu River. The year is 1926, and Shanghai hums to the tune of debauchery. A blood feud between two gangs runs the streets red, leaving the city helpless in the grip of chaos. At the heart of it all is eighteen-year-old Juliette Cai, a former flapper who has returned to assume her role as the proud heir of the Scarlet Gang—a network of criminals far above the law. Their only rivals in power are the White Flowers, who have fought the Scarlets for generations. And behind every move is their heir, Roma Montagov, Juliette’s first love…and first betrayal. But when gangsters on both sides show signs of instability culminating in clawing their own throats out, the people start to whisper. Of a contagion, a madness. Of a monster in the shadows. As the deaths stack up, Juliette and Roma must set their guns—and grudges—aside and work together, for if they can’t stop this mayhem, then there will be no city left for either to rule.