When the World Breaks Your Heart


Book Description

When United Airlines Flight 232 crashed in Sioux City, Iowa, in 1989, 112 people died, and 184 people survived. In this book Gregory S. Clapper, both a college professor and a chaplain in the National Guard, reflects on his ministry in the aftermath of this tragic event. Processing his chaplain experiences through the lens of his theological training, he reflects on six different resources from the Christian tradition that he saw transform people's lives during and after this tragedy.




Regions of the Heart


Book Description

Discover the powerful story of one woman's lifelong dedication to adventure and determination to succeed, as featured in the brand new BBC2 documentary The Last Mountain 'I shed a tear as I read this . . . I'll admit that I did not do so when I originally heard of her death. The difference? This book' INDEPENDENT ______ Alison Hargeaves was one of the finest climbers of her generation. But in 1995, she died during a violent storm on K2. On her death she was vilified by media outrage that a wife and mother would take such extreme risks. This is the story of a woman with an astonishing determination to be the best that she could. A woman driven to succeed just to secure a future for herself and her family. ______ 'A riveting and incredibly moving story' Irish News 'Few realized the extent of her inner turmoil - and her courage. A very moving biography of an extraordinary woman with an extraordinary talent and determination' Daily Telegraph 'A sensitive and intelligent book . . . Rose and Douglas recuse Hargreaves from the crude distortions of those who wanted to vilify or venerate her' Sunday Telegraph




Survival of the Heart Tragedy of the Mind


Book Description

After a life that has spanned more than six decades, Dwight N. Wood, Sr., now provides an intensely painful but transparent account of his story starting from birth and leading to the present day. He always attempted to hide away the damaging scars of a major heart surgery and the sometimes cruel events prompted by poverty. It was his choice to cover up and contain his deepest emotions within his heart and mind. Survival of the Heart Tragedy of the Mind is a spiritual and surprising story of medical survival and human tragedy. Wood characterizes his most detailed memories of his childhood and the sacrifices of his family, which always supported his dreams of living a normal life. After he became an adult, he once again faced the demons of his past physical and mental battles. He recounts the hardships associated with despair, dying, and death. He expresses the mental struggles of living in the past while not looking toward the present and future. The emotional and monetary costs of failing to seek professional guidance nearly led to his demise. Wood admits to the consequences of being a man who has had to deal with denial and rejection. His book is about learning the lessons of life and making the confusing connections between commons sense and poor judgment. He rationalizes the reasons we should embrace love and forgive people. The crucial decisions he made as a child and an adult now allow him to complete his circle of life. Survival of the Heart Tragedy of the Mind is an intimate portrayal of a very emotional boy who develops into a mentally quick and capable man. His often hopeful approach to overcoming human miseries is highlighted by his failures as well as his victories. From his youthful days to his elderly years, he suffered from a congenital heart abnormality and eventually developed post-traumatic stress disorder. His lifelong search for the answers to human love, spiritual happiness, and the true meaning of human life eventually leads him to some remarkable solutions with noteworthy conclusions.




In the Heart of the Sea


Book Description

The Number One best-selling, epic true-life story of one of the most notorious maritime disasters of the 19th century, beautifully reissued.




Tragedy Plus Time


Book Description

“Inspiring, tragic, and at times heart-rendingly funny.” —People Unsentimental, unexpectedly funny, and incredibly honest, Tragedy Plus Time is a love letter to every family that has ever felt messy, complicated, or (even momentarily) magnificent. Meet the Magnificent Cayton-Hollands, a trio of brilliant, acerbic teenagers from Denver, Colorado, who were going to change the world. Anna, Adam, and Lydia were taught by their father, a civil rights lawyer, and mother, an investigative journalist, to recognize injustice and have their hearts open to the universe—the good, the bad, the heartbreaking (and, inadvertently, the anxiety-inducing and the obsessive-compulsive disorder-fueling). Adam chose to meet life’s tough breaks and cruel realities with stand-up comedy; his older sister, Anna, chose law; while their youngest sister, Lydia, struggled to find her place in the world. Beautiful and whip-smart, Lydia was witty, extremely sensitive, fiercely stubborn, and always somewhat haunted. She and Adam bonded over comedy from a young age, running skits in their basement and obsessing over episodes of The Simpsons. When Adam sunk into a deep depression in college, it was Lydia who was able to reach him and pull him out. But years later as Adam’s career takes off, Lydia’s own depression overtakes her, and, though he tries, Adam can’t return the favor. When she takes her own life, the family is devastated, and Adam throws himself into his stand-up, drinking, and rage. He struggles with disturbing memories of Lydia’s death and turns to EMDR therapy to treat his post-traumatic stress disorder when he realizes there’s a difference between losing and losing it. Adam Cayton-Holland is a tremendously talented writer and comedian, uniquely poised to take readers to the edges of comedy and tragedy, brilliance and madness. Tragedy Plus Time is a revelatory, darkly funny, and poignant tribute to a lost sibling that will have you reaching for the phone to call your brother or sister by the last page.




Why Read Moby-Dick?


Book Description

A “brilliant and provocative” (The New Yorker) celebration of Melville’s masterpiece—from the bestselling author of In the Heart of the Sea, Valiant Ambition, and In the Hurricane's Eye One of the greatest American novels finds its perfect contemporary champion in Why Read Moby-Dick?, Nathaniel Philbrick’s enlightening and entertaining tour through Melville’s classic. As he did in his National Book Award–winning bestseller In the Heart of the Sea, Philbrick brings a sailor’s eye and an adventurer’s passion to unfolding the story behind an epic American journey. He skillfully navigates Melville’s world and illuminates the book’s humor and unforgettable characters—finding the thread that binds Ishmael and Ahab to our own time and, indeed, to all times. An ideal match between author and subject, Why Read Moby-Dick? will start conversations, inspire arguments, and make a powerful case that this classic tale waits to be discovered anew. “Gracefully written [with an] infectious enthusiasm…”—New York Times Book Review




Song of a Wounded Heart


Book Description

In November 2004, Lora Jones was a happy wife and proud mother of two beautiful children. Lora and her family left for a family vacation, excited to celebrate the holidays, but sounds of music and laughter in their van were shattered by a head-on collision. Lora watched helplessly as, one-by-one, her beloved family slipped into eternity. Awake in a nightmare, all traces of laughter were replaced by the mournful cries of a wounded heart. How in the world could Lora go on alone? Song of a Wounded Heart tells the true story of Lora’s journey from death to hope. Unbelievably, God sang to her the night of the accident. “Do not be afraid,” He whispered, “This is for my glory.” How could that be possible? She was crushed under the enormous pain, unable to think. In the months to come, as she struggled to understand, God patiently continued to sing, drawing her gently to His side, daring her to trust Him. Lora shares her personal journal entries, including the Bible reading plan God used to speak to her and stories of people in the Bible who also struggled with faith. Join Lora in Song of a Wounded Heart as she asks God questions, deals with anger and loneliness, and chooses to believe in the goodness of God, in spite of the circumstances.




Shot in the Heart


Book Description

NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNER WINNER OF THE LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE Haunting, harrowing, and profoundly affecting, Shot in the Heart exposes and explores a dark vein of American life that most of us would rather ignore. It is a book that will leave no reader unchanged. Gary Gilmore, the infamous murderer immortalized by Norman Mailer in The Executioner's Song, campaigned for his own death and was executed by firing squad in 1977. Writer Mikal Gilmore is his younger brother. In Shot in the Heart, he tells the stunning story of their wildly dysfunctional family: their mother, a black sheep daughter of unforgiving Mormon farmers; their father, a drunk, thief, and con man. It was a family destroyed by a multigenerational history of child abuse, alcoholism, crime, adultery, and murder. Mikal, burdened with the guilt of being his father's favorite and the shame of being Gary's brother, gracefully and painfully relates a murder tale "from inside the house where murder is born... a house that, in some ways, [he has] never been able to leave." Shot in the Heart is the history of an American family inextricably tied up with violence, and the story of how the children of this family committed murder and murdered themselves in payment for a long lineage of ruin.




Tragedy Under Grace


Book Description

In Tragedy Under Grace, Hans Urs von Balthasar presents a magisterial portrait of one of the most fascinating figures of the European Catholic renaissance, the historian and man of letters, Reinhold Schneider, whose response to the spiritual collapse of the West led him to Christ and to an interpretation of history in the light of the cross. Balthasar's painstaking reconstruction of Schneider's spiritual and intellectual itinerary, which traces the author's discovery of the presence of grace in the tragic conflicts of history, will be valuable for those desiring to understand the historical experience of the West, the relationship between faith and culture, or the role of the Catholic layman in the world. Anyone looking for a profound - and costly - response to the cultural crisis of our own day will also find in this book a source of understanding and inspiration.




Tragedy to Triumph


Book Description

Tragedy to Triumph-The Story of Tom's Heart provides an up-close and personal look at the journeys of two individuals facing death as they present their individual perspectives as the donor family and the recipient. There are very few stories in life that grip you like the loss of a child. When that story hits home, it can feel like your very heart is being ripped out. This story is about life and death. When a family member or friend suffers end-stage organ failure, the pain is different but very real. Loved ones watch as you wither away before their eyes dying, waiting, and hoping for the ultimate gift, the gift of life, so they can go on living. Tragedy to Triumph-The Story of Tom's Heart is the harrowing and heart-wrenching tragedy that struck him and his family. At the worst moment any family should ever have to deal with, the parents said 'yes' to organ, eye, and tissue donation so the lives of others could be saved and enhanced. For Tom's mother, it offered hope in the midst of despair, a purpose in the midst of tragedy, and light in the midst of the darkest night of her life. By saying yes to donation, another mother and family did not have to wonder, wait, or face the death of their son, brother, or friend. Pete Radigan, who was in end-stage heart failure at Columbia Hospital, unsure if he would live or die, received Tom's heart-the gift of life. This is their story...