New Releases by Beth Hoffman

“Eloquent and detailed...precise and well-thought-out...Read her book — and listen.” — Jane Smiley, The Washington Post. Beth Hoffman was living the good life: she had a successful career as a journalist and professor, a comfortable home in San Francisco, and plenty of close friends and family. Yet in her late 40s, she and her husband decided to leave the big city and move to his family ranch in Iowa—all for the dream of becoming a farmer, to put into practice everything she had learned over decades of reporting on food and agriculture. There was just one problem: money. Half of America''s two million farms made less than $300 in 2019. Between rising land costs, ever-more expensive equipment, the growing uncertainty of the climate, and few options for health care, farming today is a risky business. For many, simply staying afloat is a constant struggle. Bet the Farm chronicles this struggle through Beth’s eyes as a beginning farmer. She must contend with her father-in-law, who is reluctant to hand over control of the land. Growing oats is good for the environment but ends up being very bad for the wallet. And finding somewhere, in the midst of COVID-19, to slaughter grass-finished beef is a nightmare. The couple also must balance the books, hoping that farming isn’t a romantic fantasy that takes every cent of their savings. Even with a decent nest egg and access to land, making ends meet at times seems impossible. And Beth knows full well that she is among the privileged. If Beth can’t make it, how can farmers who confront racism, lack access to land, or don’t have other jobs to fall back on? Bet the Farm is a first-hand account of the perils of farming today and a personal exploration of more just and sustainable ways of producing food.

Nurturing our true selves, acknowledging when our ego is in control, and accepting Gods love enables us to be lovingly caring of others. This is a challenge for adults to master in a material worldbut even harder for children. In My Loving Self and Me, author C. Beth Hoffman offers a collection of stories and poems that helps children understand this concept, and it gives them a jump start on their own spiritual path. The stories feature a brother and sister, Ike and Gabby, and their cousins as they encounter a variety of life experiences, such as dealing with hurt feelings, bullying, and fear. They better understand the ideas of gratitude, integrity, respect for nature, and more by finding answers through their loving connection with God. The stories presented in My Loving Self and Me demonstrate through Ike and Gabbys open conversations with their parents, grandparents and each other, how important communication is. Reading this book with your children, listening to what they have to say, and discussing these and other topics that may arise, provides a forum for the open communication that is so valuable between parent and child.

Oxfam launched its award-winning international ''Behind the Brands'' campaign in February 2013. It ranks the biggest international food and beverage companies, the ''Big 10'', on the strength of their policies on transparency, women, agricultural workers, farmers, land, water and climate change. The aim of the campaign is to create a race to the top, encouraging the Big 10 (Associated British Foods (ABF), Coca-Cola, Danone, General Mills, Kellogg, Mars, Mondelez, Nestlé, PepsiCo and Unilever) to improve their policies and practices. This briefing presents the updated March 2015 scorecard showing changes in both the ranking of the ''Big 10'' and changes to the thematic trends. Eight of the 10 companies improved their overall score since February 2014 and Unilever have now overtaken Nestlé to claim the no. 1 spot. ABF and Dairy giant Danone have dropped in the rankings.

A Southern novel of family and antiques from the bestselling author of the beloved Saving CeeCee Honeycutt Beth Hoffman’s bestselling debut, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt, won admirers and acclaim with its heartwarming story and cast of unforgettable characters. Now her unique flair for evocative settings and richly drawn Southern personalities shines in her compelling new novel, Looking for Me. Teddi Overman found her life’s passion for furniture in a broken-down chair left on the side of the road in rural Kentucky. She learns to turn other people’s castoffs into beautifully restored antiques, and eventually finds a way to open her own shop in Charleston. There, Teddi builds a life for herself as unexpected and quirky as the customers who visit her shop. Though Teddi is surrounded by remarkable friends and finds love in the most surprising way, nothing can alleviate the haunting uncertainty she’s felt in the years since her brother Josh’s mysterious disappearance. When signs emerge that Josh might still be alive, Teddi is drawn home to Kentucky. It’s a journey that could help her come to terms with her shattered family—and to find herself at last. But first she must decide what to let go of and what to keep. Looking for Me brilliantly melds together themes of family, hope, loss, and a mature once-in-a-lifetime kind of love. The result is a tremendously moving story that is destined to make bestselling author Beth Hoffman a novelist to whom readers will return again and again as they have with Adriana Trigiani, Fannie Flagg, and Joshilyn Jackson.

Aux côtés d''une mère instable, ancienne reine de beauté, CeeCee a vécu douze ans dans une étrange solitude. Aussi lorsque celle-ci est tuée dans un accident, CeeCee se retrouve seule au monde. Ou presque. C''était compter sans la providentielle Tante Tootie, dont l''extraordinaire décapotable emmène bientôt l''adolescente vers un havre de paix, de rires et de soleil. Un été de rencontres et d''amitiés à Savannah, Géorgie...

Tra una madre squilibrata e un padre assente, l''infanzia è un inferno per la piccola Cecelia Honeycutt, detta CeeCee. Rimasta orfana, verrà "adottata" da una grintosa ed eccentrica comunità tutta al femminile che, in un''estate speciale, saprà ridarle fiducia in se stessa e farle scoprire la gioia di vivere.

CeCee Honey er tolv år gammel, og har brukt det meste av livet sitt på å ta seg av sin psykotiske mor, Camille. En dag blir Camille truffet av en lastebil, og CeeCee er plutselig helt alene i verden. Da er det at Tootie Caldwell, CeeCees ukjente grandtante kommer til unnsetning, og tar henne med seg til Savannah, Georgia. Her opplever CeeCee for første gang å være omgitt av kjærlighet. Dette er en roman om styrken i kvinners vennskap, det handler om å miste én mor – og om å finne så mange andre.

Steel Magnolias meets The Help in this New York Times Bestselling Southern debut novel sparkling with humor, heart, and feminine wisdom. Twelve-year-old CeeCee Honeycutt is in trouble. For years, she has been the caretaker of her mother, Camille, the town’s tiara-wearing, lipstick-smeared laughingstock, a woman who is trapped in her long-ago moment of glory as the 1951 Vidalia Onion Queen of Georgia. When tragedy strikes, Tootie Caldwell, CeeCee’s long-lost great-aunt, comes to the rescue and whisks her away to Savannah. There, CeeCee is catapulted into a perfumed world of prosperity and Southern eccentricity—one that appears to be run entirely by strong, wacky women. From the exotic Miz Thelma Rae Goodpepper, who bathes in her backyard bathtub and uses garden slugs as her secret weapons; to Tootie''s all-knowing housekeeper, Oletta Jones; to Violene Hobbs, who entertains a local police officer in her canary-yellow peignoir, the women of Gaston Street keep CeeCee entertained and enthralled for an entire summer. A timeless coming of age novel set in the 1960s, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt explores the indomitable strengths of female friendship, and charts the journey of an unforgettable girl who loses one mother, but finds many others in the storybook city of Savannah. As Kristin Hannah, author of Fly Away, says, Beth Hoffman''s sparkling debut is “packed full of Southern charm, strong women, wacky humor, and good old-fashioned heart."

The culture of an area extends and reflects itself in the concept it holds of its surroundings. By looking at the specific places individuals find most significant within the territory, one is able to see the things the culture holds most important overall. This is a study of the territory of Térraba, an indigenous community in Southern Costa Rica. The acculturation the village has suffered throughout the years is clearly exemplified in the concept the people have of their territory.