Best Selling Books by Maria

At times we feel that our lives must have a higher purpose. We long to connect to our own individual Truth. Should one of our life''s challenges become extremely difficult to bear, we might refer to it as the dark night of the soul. Sophia is a young woman who has become very dissatisfied and disillusioned with life. She feels trapped. She is then forced to take a journey through the dark night of the soul in her quest for greater meaning. "To be truly free you have to face yourself," the wise old man of the forest tells Sophia early on in her journey. The Veils of Illusion is an allegory; a mystical journey of discovery during which Sophia undergoes many trials and tests, each providing her with the arduous task of learning greater wisdom and new insights. She encounters a variety of unique and intriguing characters along the way, like the majestic Sibyl who reigns over the Land of the Shadows and the gentle Emil who talks with delight of the moon and of the Divine Feminine. Yet Sophia''s ultimate goal is to meet her own Shadow self - her unconscious - that which has been hidden away for so long. Shadows are cast only in the presence of light. Will Sophia find a way to see that there is also beauty and wisdom in her own Shadow? Walk with Sophia along the West Road. Weave through the light and dark, and find out if she can free herself from the ties that bind. This story offers hope and inspiration to anybody who walks their own sacred journey of self- discovery. Profoundly moving, this is an enchanting and dream-like portrayal of one person''s emotional and spiritual journey of transformation to wholeness.

When the Abbasids overthrew the Umayyads in 750 CE and ushered in Islam’s Golden Age, ideas about gender and sexuality were central to the process by which the caliphate achieved self-definition and articulated its systems of power and thought. Nadia Maria El Cheikh’s study reveals the importance of women to the writing of early Islamic history.

Taking into consideration many of the questions asked by children--such as, Why do people die? and What is heaven like?--this book is based upon Maria Shriver''s real-life experience of dealing with her own daughter''s questions about death and loss.

Traces Brazilian art in "three main groupings [:] Indian art, the popular art of the countryside, and the works of internationally minded artists. The third category includes not only painting and sculpture but also graphic and industrial design, photography, cinema, furniture, architecture, and visual communications in all fields. Among the painters discussed, perhaps the best known are Portinari, Di Cavalcanti, and Lasar Segall; among the sculptors, Maria Martins and Brecheret. In addition, the buildings of world-renowned architect Oscar Niemeyer are analyzed fully, particularly his masterpiece, the new city of Brasilia."--Page 2 of cover.

Metaphor is of vital concern to the discipline of literary studies as well as the field of animal studies. Drawing on Jacques Derrida’s philosophy and Paul Ricœur’s tropology, this book studies the spectrality of metaphor in relation to animal figures in D.H. Lawrence’s The Rainbow, H.D.’s Asphodel, and Virginia Woolf’s The Waves. The analyses show that metaphor and animals alike can invite literarity—a textual hospitality toward otherness—into a work. In this, Trejling confronts the notion of metaphor as substitutional—a metaphysical idea prevalent in animal studies and the posthumanities. In challenging this perception, Metaphor, Animals, Modernism demonstrates that the spectrality of metaphor can make literature a site where readers can encounter a creature—not to name, tame, or train it, but to speak to it, and to await its response.

This book investigates the impact of the mediation of menstruation and menstrual activism on young people’s knowledge, attitudes, behaviours, and interpersonal relationships. u200bSince 2015, the menstrual movement has become increasingly visible on social media and in news media from across the globe. In Great Britain, the menstrual movement brings together a diverse group of activists who aim to reduce menstrual stigma and tackle menstrual inequities. By combining original interviews with 32 menstrual activists and focus groups with 77 young people (including women, men, and non-binary teenagers), this book offers an in-depth exploration of this movement and its impact. This book argues that menstrual stigma has decreased, awareness around related health and social issues has increased, and girls as well as other menstruating young people are feeling an increased sense of connection and solidarity with each other. Menstruation is shifting from a very private experience to one of collective concern. It is evident that social media, and, to some extent, news media, have played a key role in disseminating the discourses and aims of menstrual activists that have engendered some of these changes. Nevertheless, this book also examines how the media have negatively impacted young people and identifies further changes that are necessary for the achievement of gender equality. This book makes a significant contribution not only to the fields of health communication, feminism, social movement studies, and critical menstruation studies, but also provides evidence and recommendations that will be of interest to NGOs, advocacy groups, policymakers, schools, workplaces, and medical professionals. This is an open access book.

This book is about documenting and analyzing the living archive around the figure of Vasil Levski (1837–1873), arguably the major and only uncontested hero of the Bulgarian national pantheon. The processes described, although with a chronological depth of almost two centuries, are still very much in the making, and the living archive expands not only in size but constantly adding surprising new forms. The monograph is a historical study, taking as its narrative focus the life, death and posthumous fate of Levski. By exploring the vicissitudes of his heroicization, glorification, appropriations, reinterpretation, commemoration and, finally, canonization, it seeks to engage in several broad theoretical debates, and provide the basis for subsequent regional comparative research. The analysis of Levski''s consecutive and simultaneous appropriations by different social platforms, political parties, secular and religious institutions, ideologies, professional groups, and individuals, demonstrates how boundaries within the framework of the nation are negotiated around accepted national symbols.

A work-book that truly works! Maria Harris has combined careful reflection with many practical insights and activities for all those who want to carry out the ministry of the whole church for and with and by young people. Letty M. Russell Associate Professor of Theology Yale Divinity School I know very few persons who have thought through so many questions affecting youth as has Maria Harris in ''Portrait of Youth Ministry''. Especially important is her consistent vision of empowering youth to direct their own lives. This book brings ministry to a new state in its development. Michael Warren St. John''s University Jamaica, New York Out of her rich history in religious education at many levels Maria Harris offers a New Testament frame of reference for her scholarly and existential approach to youth ministry: didache (teaching), leiturgia (prayer), koinonia (community), kerygma (advocacy), diakonia (troublemaking) . . . The bibliography and ingenious activities at the end of each chapter are extremely helpful tools. Maria Harris believes that youth ministers need more than generosity and enthusiasm for the long haul. They need to be led into the depth of their own lives and have a grasp of the larger issues of our own culture. Dennis J. Geaney, O.S.A. Associate Pastor, St. Victor Parish Calumet City, Illinois When I finished reading the book I felt that I had attended a continuing education workshop.... Bread, nuts, and bolts all in one package! Lois I. Peeler Division of Education United Church Board for Homeland Ministries Youth ministers, pastoral associates, parish councils, parents will find here an excellent resource for clarifying their goals and commitments to youth ministry. Sr. Claire E. Lowery Assistant Professor of Theology and Pastoral Ministry Boston College

John Halifax, Gentleman is a novel by Dinah Craik, first published in 1856. Plot summaryThe action is centred in the town of Tewkesbury, scarcely disguised by the fictional name Norton Bury, in Gloucestershire. The story is narrated by Phineas, a friend of the central character. John Halifax is an orphan, determined to make his way in the world through honest hard work. He is taken in by a tanner, Abel Fletcher, who is a Quaker, and thus meets Phineas, who is Abel''s son. John eventually achieves success in business and love, and becomes a wealthy man...Dinah Maria Craik ( born Dinah Maria Mulock, also often credited as Miss Mulock or Mrs. Craik) (20 April 1826 - 12 October 1887) was an English novelist and poet. She is best remembered for her novel John Halifax, Gentleman, which presents the ideals of English middle-class life.LifeMulock was born at Stoke-on-Trent to Dinah and Thomas Mulock and raised in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, where her father was then minister of a small independent nonconformist congregation.[1] Her childhood and early youth were much affected by his unsettled fortunes, but she obtained a good education from various quarters and felt called to be a writer.[clarification needed][2]She came to London about 1846, much at the same time as two friends, Alexander Macmillan and Charles Edward Mudie. Introduced by Camilla Toulmin to Westland Marston, she rapidly made friends in London, and found great encouragement for her stories for the young. In 1865 she married George Lillie Craik, a partner with Alexander Macmillan in the publishing firm Macmillan & Company, and nephew of George Lillie Craik. They adopted a foundling baby girl, Dorothy, in 1869.At Shortlands, near Bromley, Kent, while in a period of preparation for Dorothy''s wedding, she died of heart failure on 12 October 1887, aged 61. Her last words were reported to have been: "Oh, if I could live four weeks longer! but no matter, no matter!" Her final book, An Unknown Country, was published by Macmillan in 1887, the year of her death. Dorothy married Alexander Pilkington in 1887, but they divorced in 1911 and she went on to marry Captain Richards of Macmine Castle. She and Alexander had one son, John Mulock Pilkington. He married Freda Roskelly and they had a son and daughter.

A fun, comprehensive guide to the key to cat happiness—play! Millions of households in the United States have at least one cat as part of their family. Yet despite their popularity, cats continue to be misunderstood by their owners. This lack of understanding can lead to bored, frustrated, and under-stimulated cats, resulting in health and behavior problems. In Play with Your Cat!, animal behavior expert Dr. Mikel Maria Delgado shows cat parents what they may be missing: interactive play. Using an evidence-based approach and the latest scientific research, Delgado: shows why cats need play and how it is essential to their well-being provides readers with techniques on how to engage their cat in play reveals how to use play to improve problematic cat behaviors Playfully written and with fun illustrations, Play with Your Cat! is an essential read for cat parents looking to understand their feline friend—and have some fun in the process.