Bringing In Finn

Summary: In February 2011, 61-year-old Kristine Casey delivered the greatest gift of all to her daughter, Sara Connell: Sara's son, Finnean. At that moment, Kristine--the gestational carrier of Sara and her husband Bill's child--became the oldest woman ever to give birth in Chicago. While Finnean's birth made local headlines, this book tells one modern family's remarkable surrogacy story. Connell recounts the tragedy and heartbreak of losing pregnancies; the process of opening her heart and mind to the idea of her mother carrying her child for her; and the profound bond that blossomed between mother and daughter as a result of their unique experience together. Bringing in Finn is a tale of despair, hope, forgiveness, and redemption--and the discovery that when it comes to unconditional love, there are no limits to what can be achieved.--From publisher description.

THE NEW TWISTY, GRIPPING READ FROM B.A. PARIS, THE AUTHOR OF THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLING NOVELS BEHIND CLOSED DOORS AND THE BREAKDOWN “We’re in a new Golden Age of suspense writing now, because of amazing books like Bring Me Back, and I for one am loving it.” —Lee Child "[An] outstanding Hitchcockian thriller.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) She went missing. He moved on. A whole world of secrets remained—until now. Finn and Layla are young, in love, and on vacation. They’re driving along the highway when Finn decides to stop at a service station to use the restroom. He hops out of the car, locks the doors behind him, and goes inside. When he returns Layla is gone—never to be seen again. That is the story Finn told to the police. But it is not the whole story. Ten years later Finn is engaged to Layla’s sister, Ellen. Their shared grief over what happened to Layla drew them close and now they intend to remain together. Still, there’s something about Ellen that Finn has never fully understood. His heart wants to believe that she is the one for him...even though a sixth sense tells him not to trust her. Then, not long before he and Ellen are to be married, Finn gets a phone call. Someone from his past has seen Layla—hiding in plain sight. There are other odd occurrences: Long-lost items from Layla’s past that keep turning up around Finn and Ellen’s house. Emails from strangers who seem to know too much. Secret messages, clues, warnings. If Layla is alive—and on Finn’s trail—what does she want? And how much does she know? A tour de force of psychological suspense, Bring Me Back will have you questioning everything and everyone until its stunning climax.

Winter is coming. Every Sunday night, millions of fans gather around their televisions to take in the spectacle that is a new episode of Game of Thrones. Much is made of who will be gruesomely murdered each week on the hit show, though sometimes the question really is who won’t die a fiery death. The show, based on the Song of Ice and Fire series written by George R. R. Martin, is a truly global phenomenon. With the seventh season of the HBO series in production, Game of Thrones has been nominated for multiple awards, its cast has been catapulted to celebrity and references to it proliferate throughout popular culture. Often positioned as the grittier antithesis to J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, Martin’s narrative focuses on the darker side of chivalry and heroism, stripping away these higher ideals to reveal the greed, amorality and lust for power underpinning them. Fan Phenomena: Game of Thrones is an exciting new addition to the Intellect series, bringing together academics and fans of Martin’s universe to consider not just the content of the books and HBO series, but fan responses to both. From trivia nights dedicated to minutiae to forums speculating on plot twists to academics trying to make sense of the bizarre climate of Westeros, everyone is talking about Game of Thrones. Edited by Kavita Mudan Finn, the book focuses on the communities created by the books and television series and how these communities envision themselves as consumers, critics, and even creators of fanworks in a wide variety of media, including fiction, art, fancasting and cosplay.

A delightfully warm, encouraging story of a young girl and the special library dog who helps her develop patience, acceptance, and confidence as she learns to read, from award-winning author-illustrator Lisa Papp. Madeline Finn does NOT like to read. But she DOES want a gold star from her teacher. Except stars are for good readers, for understanding words, and for saying them out loud—things that Madeline Finn doesn't believe she can do. Fortunately, Madeline Finn finds a little help when she meets Bonnie, a library dog. Reading out loud to Bonnie isn't so bad, and when Madeline Finn gets stuck, Bonnie doesn't mind. As it turns out, it's fun to read when you're not afraid of making mistakes. Bonnie teaches Madeline Finn that it's okay to go slow—and, most importantly, to keep trying. Lisa Papp offers an inspiring and comforting story, perfect for new readers who just need a little confidence to overcome their fears.

There are great rewards that come along with being a foster parent, yet there are also great challenges that can leave you feeling depleted, alone, and discouraged. The many burdens of a foster parent's day--hurting children, struggling biological parents, and a broken system--are only compounded by the many burdens of a foster parent's heart--confusion, anxiety, heartache, anger, and fear. With the compassion and insight of a fellow foster parent, Jamie C. Finn helps you see your struggles through the lens of the gospel, bringing biblical truths to bear on your unique everyday realities. In these short, easy-to-read chapters, you'll find honest, personal stories and practical lessons that provide encouragement and direction from God's Word as you walk the journey of foster parenting.

The stories of Finn MacCoull and his warriors were once told at every fireside in Scotland and Ireland. After centuries in obscurity, this collection brings the tales soaring to life again. Here you will find Diarmuid, whom no woman can help but fall in love with, and Ossian, a warrior-poet raised in the woods by a wild deer. There is Grainne, ancient ancestor of Iseult and Guinevere, and Finn himself, whose name was once a byword for wisdom, generosity and beauty. Enter a world of feasting and fighting, battles and poetry, riddles and omens; join Finn and the Fianna on their never-ending quest to drink deeper and deeper of the cup of life.

With the assurance and grace of her acclaimed novels The Hare and The Gloaming--which have earned her comparisons to Patricia Highsmith and Lauren Groff--Melanie Finn returns with a precisely layered and tense new literary thriller. The Underneath follows Kay Ward, a former journalist struggling with the constraints of motherhood. Along with her husband and two children, she rents a quaint Vermont farmhouse for the summer. The idea is to disconnect from their work-based lifestyle--that had her doggedly pursuing a genocidal leader of child soldiers known as General Christmas, even through Kay's pregnancy and the birth of their second child--in an effort to repair their shaky marriage. It isn't long before Kay's husband is called away and she discovers a mysterious crawlspace in the rental with unsettling writing etched into the wall. Alongside some of the house's other curiosities and local sleuthing, Kay is led to believe that something terrible may have happened to the home's owners. Kay's investigation leads her to a local logger, Ben Comeau, a man beset with his own complicated and violent past. A product of the foster system and life-long resident of the Northeast Kingdom, Ben struggles to overcome his situation, and to help an abused child whose addict mother is too incapacitated to care about the boy's plight. The Underneath is an intelligent and considerate exploration of violence--both personal and social--and whether violence may ever be justified.

Gorgeously written and rich with atmosphere, Finn's debut novel tells the story of a determined young artist who must make her way in the dangerous world of late 18th-century India.

A Tatler Sizzling Summer Read Spectator Best Books of 2015 Shortlisted for the Guardian's Not the Booker Prize 'Intense, impressive... Told with force and bracing directness... It's a book that smashes into you' Guardian 'Both disturbing and ultimately uplifting . . . the images she conjures up are so subversively creepy they haunt you for days' Spectator 'Deserves major attention' New York Times Pilgrim Jones doesn't belong here. She belongs in the cities of Europe, by her handsome husband's side. But here she is, in a village on the edge of Africa. No one knows why she is here and what she is hiding from. And she is not going to tell them - about her husband's betrayal, or the children she killed in a crash. But two men from Pilgrim's past are coming to find her - two men with very different motives.

“There’s nothing semi about Finn Murphy’s trucking tales of The Long Haul.”—Sloane Crosley, Vanity Fair More than thirty years ago, Finn Murphy dropped out of college to become a long-haul trucker. Since then he’s covered more than a million miles as a mover, packing, loading, hauling people’s belongings all over America. In The Long Haul, Murphy recounts with wit, candor, and charm the America he has seen change over the decades and the poignant, funny, and often haunting stories of the people he encounters on the job.