Reclaiming Identity

This collection of ten essays argues that identity is not just socially constructed but has real epistemic and political consequences. They examine the way theory, politics and activism clash with or complement each other, providing an alternative to the widely influential understandings of identity.

With humor, wisdom, and compelling stories, Breaux helps readers reclaim their identity in Christ--and the freedom, purpose, and joy that go with it.

Who am I, and what am I here for? Our lives depend on how we answer that question. It will affect everything from our career choices to the way we relate to God and others. But where can we turn to find the answer? Our friends? Our job title? Our relationship status? Many of us base our identity off what we do or the number of likes we get on a post. We constantly perform for other peoples approval, and then we wonder why we feel so exhausted and insecure. But whats the alternative? What if we allowed the One who created us to answer the question for us? Eric Wayman, a pastor, professor, and disciple, invites us to pull away the masks we have been hiding behind and allow God to show us who we are and what he made us to do. Its time to get real.

Who am I? It's a question we all ask ourselves at some point. Depending on the season we focus our identity on our job performance, marital status, personality type, or social network, among other options. However, there's a larger question to consider. Who does the Bible tell me I am in Christ?

Reclaiming Afrikan: queer perspectives on sexual and gender identities is a collaboration and collection of art, photography and critical essays interrogating the meanings and everyday practices of queer life in Africa today. In Reclaiming Afrikan authors, activists and artists from Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia, Kenya and South Africa offer fresh perspectives on queer life; how gender and sexuality can be understood in Africa as ways of reclaiming identities in the continent. Africa is known to be harsh towards people with non-conforming genders and sexual identities. It is within this framework that Reclaiming Afrikan exists to respond to such violations and to offer alternative ways of thinking and being in the continent. The book appropriates 'Afrika' and 'queer' to affirm sexual identities that are ordinarily shamed and violated by prejudice and hatred. The use of 'k' in Afrika signals an appropriation of an identity and belonging that is always detached from a 'queer' person. 'queer' in this book is understood as an inquiry into the present, as a critical space that pushes the boundaries of what is embraced as normative. The artists and authors included in this text are 'queer' themselves and occupy spaces that speak back to hegemony. For many, this position challenges various norms on gender, sexuality, and existence and offers a subversive way of being.

An adept exploration of the Christian's identity. Culturally current but timelessly relevant. Plenty of scripture references for this to be used as a Bible study. Highly recommended for groups. This is not a speed read; it is a tour.

A fun and passionate work of non-fiction exploring the modern mother’s path to reinvention, both in the home and in the workplace.

In Reclaiming Church, J.J. Warren continues his call to reaffirm the Church be welcoming to all, including young people like those he led at Sarah Lawrence College who “didn’t know God could love them because their churches said God didn’t.” The book addresses three points of importance to young people looking to be part of a church community, and a call: 1. The identity and nature of God 2. The role of Scripture in discerning God’s call 3. The author’s own experience of God, church, and identity In the final chapter, “We Are the Church,” Warren focuses on practical and positive steps for joining voices, being heard, building bridges, and working together for young people to reclaim Church in their lives. Key Features • Affirms to the LGBTQ community and those who love them that the Church is for all. • Inspires younger progressive people to stay within the Church and work to renew the call of ministry. • Explores the Church’s beginnings and emphasis on community. • Calls readers to focus on practical and positive steps to reclaim Church in their lives.

In 1993, Donna Palomba was raped by a masked assailant in her own home. Yet, her story is more than a victim’s tale of physical and emotional recovery. It is a story of one woman’s hunt for justice while fending off attacks by institutions designed to defend and protect her—the police department, the local government, and a community clinging to an outrageous claim that Donna had invented the crime to cover up a sexual affair. From the night of the attack, the botched crime scene investigation, and the abuse as authorities attempted to close the case by discrediting her, Donna was left as a victim with no name and no identity. Meanwhile, there was one courageous detective, later to become chief of police, who broke a cops’ code of silence in the name of justice. As they fought on, a legal battle ensued after the Waterbury Police Department—now with media support—refused to let go of its allegations against her and admit wrongdoing. Finally, after eleven years of struggle, Donna learned the identity of her attacker from the chief of police, who explained that the DNA from the rape kit taken a decade ago had turned up a shocking match. In 2007, Donna Palomba was the subject of a special two-hour Dateline episode about her case. Suddenly, she was Jane Doe no more, launching the Jane Doe No More organization and becoming a promoter of the rights of women and victims of sexual assault. With the help of crime investigator and author M. William Phelps, this is her story.

The global landscape is dotted with border crossings that can be particularly perilous for displaced women with children in tow. These mothers are often described by their various legal statuses like refugee, migrant, immigrant, forced, or voluntary, but their lived experiences are more complex than a single label. Reclaiming Migrant Motherhood looks at literature, film, and original ethnographic research about the lived experiences of displaced mothers. This volume considers the context of the global refugee crisis, forced migration, and resettlement as backdrops for the representations and identity development of displaced women who mother. Situated within motherhood studies, this book is at the interdisciplinary intersection of literature, life writing, gender, (im)migration, refugee, and cultural studies. Contributors examine literary fiction, memoirs, and children’s literature by Ocean Vuong, Nadifa Mohamed, Laila Halaby, Susan Muaddi Darraj, Terry Farish, Thannha Lai, Bich Minh Nguyen, Julie Otsuka, V. V. Ganeshananthan, Shankari Chandran, and Mary Anne Mohanraj. The book also explores ethnographic research, creative writing, and film related to refugee studies. The border-crossings discussed in the volume are often physical, with stories from Afghanistan, Syria, Vietnam, Japan, Iraq, Canada, Greece, Somalia, Palestine, Sri Lanka, and America. The borders that displaced mothers face are examined through frameworks of postcolonialism, nationalism, feminism, and diaspora studies.