Chasing Eden A Memoir

"A coming of age story about the triumph of resilience over fear. About finding your voice and speaking your truth, despite the potentially eternal consequences of doing so." -Sharon Esteves Cherilyn is her mother's right-hand helper who cleans house and takes care of her younger siblings, while she dreams of going to school and making friends. All she wants is the love of her parents, and the privilege to be herself-but it seems these goals are at odds with each other. When she wakes up in an abandoned sawmill, her family drifts from town to town, following her father's elusive dream of seeking the perfect place to prepare for the end of the world. As they move deeper into the woods and a life of isolation, her mother declares they must put their lives on hold until they can live like "normal" people. As Cherilyn negotiates her way through a childhood of religious contradictions, a shameful secret holds her hostage with the fear that she might never be normal enough to live in society. Chasing Eden is the TRUE story of a girl whose superpowers will ultimately set her free-if only she can find the courage to use them.

When mysterious new boy Ryan Westland shows up at her school Eden Anfield is intrigued. On the face of it, he's a typical American teenager. So how come he doesn't recognise pizza and hasn't heard of Hitler? What puzzles Eden most, however, is the interest he's taking in her. As Eden falls in love with Ryan, she stumbles across a book in Ryan's bedroom - a biography of her best friend - written fifty years in the future. Unravelling Ryan's secret, she discovers he has one unbelievably important purpose ... and she might just have destroyed his only chance of success.

WINNER OF THE 2022 PULITZER PRIZE "A compelling and important history that this nation desperately needs to hear." -Bryan Stevenson, New York Times bestselling author of Just Mercy and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative Chasing Me to My Grave presents the late artist Winfred Rembert's breathtaking body of work alongside his story, as told to Tufts Philosopher Erin I. Kelly. Rembert grew up in a family of Georgia field laborers, joined the Civil Rights Movement as a teenager, survived a near-lynching at the hands of law enforcement, and spent seven years on chain gangs. There he learned the leather tooling skills that became the bedrock of his autobiographical paintings. Years later, encouraged by his wife, Patsy, Rembert brought his past to vibrant life in scenes of joy and terror, from the promise of southern Black commerce to the brutality of chain gang labor. Vivid, confrontational, revelatory, and complex, Chasing Me to My Grave is a searing memoir in prose and painted leather that celebrates Black life and summons readers to confront painful and urgent realities at the heart of American society. Booklist #1 Nonfiction Book of the Year * African American Literary Book Club (AALBC) #1 Nonfiction Bestseller * Named a Best Book of the Year by: NPR, Publishers Weekly, BookPage, Barnes & Noble, Hudson Booksellers, ARTnews, and more * Amazon Editors' Pick * Carnegie Medal of Excellence Longlist

A fascinating, non-partisan exploration of an incendiary region Say the word “Israel” today and it sparks images of walls and rockets and a bloody conflict without end. Yet for decades, the symbol of the Jewish State was the noble pioneer draining the swamps and making the deserts bloom: the legendary kibbutznik. So what ever happened to the pioneers’ dream of founding a socialist utopia in the land called Palestine? Chasing Utopia: The Future of the Kibbutz in a Divided Israel draws readers into the quest for answers to the defining political conflict of our era. Acclaimed author David Leach revisits his raucous memories of life as a kibbutz volunteer and returns to meet a new generation of Jewish and Arab citizens struggling to forge a better future together. Crisscrossing the nation, Leach chronicles the controversial decline of Israel’s kibbutz movement and witnesses a renaissance of the original vision for a peaceable utopia in unexpected corners of the Promised Land. Chasing Utopia is an entertaining and enlightening portrait of a divided nation where hope persists against the odds.

The electrifying conclusion to the #1 New York Times bestselling Children of Eden series that follows Rowan as she leaves behind the paradise she’s always dreamed of to save Eden—and the world—from a terrible fate. Rowan is finally in Harmonia, an Earth-friendly, sustainable commune in the wilderness she always believed was dead. Even in this idyllic world, she finds no peace. Harmonia has strict rules—and dire consequences. Thinking about Eden is forbidden, but she’s determined to rescue the loved ones she left behind. Though they are in terrible danger, her pleas for help are ignored. After months of living as one with nature, a shocking reminder of her past pushes Rowan to act. With the help of new friends, she infiltrates Eden. What she discovers is even worse than the situation she left behind. In the chaos of civil war, Rowan and her friends join forces with the second children and other rebels trapped inside. They fight for their lives, and for the future of humanity in this broken Earth.

“Breathtaking....Crazy for the Storm will keep you up late into the night.” —Washington Post Book World Norman Olstead’s New York Times bestselling memoir Crazy for the Storm is the story of the harrowing plane crash the author miraculously survived at age eleven, framed by the moving tale of his complicated relationship with his charismatic, adrenaline-addicted father. Destined to stand with other classic true stories of man against nature—Into Thin Air and Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer;Sebastian Junger’s The Perfect Storm—it is a literary triumph that novelist Russell Banks (Affliction) calls, “A heart-stopping story beautifully told….Norman Olstead has written a book that may well be read for generations.”

Chasing the Darkness is a story about vengeance and redemption and takes place in a land called Pandaren where there are two types of people - those with magic, Spectrals, and those without. Azrael, obsessed with revenge and power, undergoes a procedure giving him magic, but an unexpected side effect causes him to feel emotions he’s blocked for years. As an assassin and second in command of the Watch Guard, he has become a liability. Azrael is betrayed by his team and rescued by the people he’s hunted. He learns his beliefs and purpose are based on lies and has to choose the path of vengeance or the road to redemption. Chasing the Darkness entertains readers who enjoy character-driven stories with twists and turns. Chasing the Darkness is a fast-paced novel with magic, sword fights, and romance that keeps readers turning the page. The underlying themes, besides redemption, include forgiveness, sacrifice, and learning that one’s worth is not defined by one’s past.

In the vein of Eat, Pray, Love, but for teens, this inspirational novel is set against the backdrop of Tennessee horse country as well as the historic cities of Italy and the Italian countryside. The story unfolds as three teenage girls, recently graduated from high school, plan the next phase of their lives while dealing with immediate life issues. McDaniel subtly explores the many types of love the girls experience--including love for one's family, one's friends, and intimate love--and the sacrifices they choose to make (or not) for each of them.

Sarah Cunningham, a moderate middle-class white girl who grew up in the Michigan countryside, speaks about God with humor and honesty more characteristic of liberal west-coast writers. In this warm and witty memoir, she describes finding and keeping a personal faith in the quirky settings of her ultra-Christian childhood. Whether recounting living next to a cemetery, teaching at-risk high schoolers, or listening to her grandmother's stories about being a British 'war bride, ' the author weaves faith into down-to-earth metaphors of growth and renewal, planting and reaping, greenery and weeds. In the end, Cunningham succeeds in sifting through the dysfunctions and flaws of human life and discovering pockets of God's original Eden goodness for both herself and for you. Picking Dandelions is a candid and personal account of outgrowing laissez-faire Christianity, moving into mature faith, and realizing that a God-following person is a changing person ... and you just might follow suit.