New Releases by Patrick Regan

''A moving story of courage and faith in the fire''. BEAR GRYLLS What do you do when life falls apart and it feels as if God has left you? How do you keep going when your faith is rocked to the core? Sometimes things get so hard we''re not sure where God is - or what he''s up to. Patrick was facing pain, illness and loss in his family and community; then a series of excruciating operations took him to the brink - physically, emotionally and spiritually. Writing during his journey of recovery, Patrick reflects on the true nature of courage as he explores: - how we find God in times of suffering - how we can know God''s peace when life is anything but peaceful - how we allow ourselves the grace to rest when we''re running on empty - how we can stay fully present in the moment. In doing so, he heartens and encourages us to grasp the love of God at an ever-deeper level.

''The Bible is way more honest than most churches about the actual levels of pain and confusion in life. That''s why we need this book. It''s going to provoke ten thousand honest conversations, helping to bring healing, hope and understanding to many who currently suffer in silence.'' Pete Greig, Founder of 24-7 Prayer and leader of Emmaus Rd Church, Guildford IT''S OK NOT TO BE OK Honesty Over Silence seeks to open up conversations around topics that many find difficult, such as trusting God when life is painful, dealing with anxiety and depression, learning to look after ourselves, developing our character, and living with thankful hearts even in tough seasons. It examines our strength in letting go of our need to be in control, as well as looking at how we can stop comparing ourselves to others, and instead live authentically and honestly as we grow into the people God has created us to be. ''The power of this book is in its piercing honesty and vulnerability. It gives a voice to those issues that we as Christians sometimes want silenced: what happens when darkness falls? Where is God in mental illness? Can I ever be enough? Through Patrick''s stories of his own life and those of others, he powerfully reminds us that a life of faith is smattered with, but not shattered by, dark places. This is an amazing book which will bless, encourage and comfort many.'' Tim and Rachel Hughes, Lead Pastors at Gas Street Church, Birmingham

This book is for anyone who has ever felt like life is simply too much. It will provide you with the tools you need to not only cope but to thrive. For readers of Katie Piper OBE and Matt Haig.

"Sometimes even the greatest detective needs to look through the magnifying glass..." Julia is just your average middle schooler. She loves spending time with her family and friends, reading, and listening to music or podcasts. She especially loves listening to old-school Sherlock Holmes radio shows on YouTube. But Julia doesn''t feel like everyone else. Having a vision impairment sometimes makes her feel like she doesn''t fit in anywhere. She''s not totally blind, but she''s not sighted either. Her family and teachers for the blind encourage her to use adaptive devices, like a white cane, or assistive technology, like a screen reader, to help her, but Julia has no interest. She wants to be just like everyone else, specifically her older brother, John, the town hero, most popular guy in high school, mystery-solving, John. When Cooperstown, New York is hit with another major mystery, everyone turns to John and his three best friends to solve the case. As the mystery unfolds, they realize they are "looking" in all the wrong places. Will Julia rise to the challenge, accept the help she may need, and use it to bring her brother and his friends through the magnifying glass?

Patrick draws on his own experience of suffering to ask: where is God in the pain?

Prepare for Microsoft Exam 70-416—and help demonstrate your real-world mastery of designing, deploying, and maintaining desktop infrastructure services in a Windows Server 2012 environment. Designed for experienced IT professionals ready to advance their status, Exam Ref focuses on the critical-thinking and decision-making acumen needed for success at the MCSE level. Focus on the expertise measured by these objectives: Design and prepare the application environment Design and implement a presentation virtualization environment Design and implement an application virtualization environment Deploy, manage, and maintain the application environment Design business continuity for the desktop and application environment This Microsoft Exam Ref: Organizes its coverage by exam objectives. Features strategic, what-if scenarios to challenge you. Includes a 15% exam discount from Microsoft. (Limited time offer)

A photographic penguin-filled ode to mom arriving just in time for Mother’s Day from the successful team who created Flipping Brilliant and other top-selling gift books. Jonathan Chester and Patrick Regan''s My Unflappable Mom is a loving tribute to “the most rare of birds—the incredible, unflappable mom.” You know the type. Band-Aids. Car pools. Freshly baked cookies. The 5th grade scale model of Mt. Vesuvius she helped sculpt out of papier-mache—complete with pyrotechnics. Chester’s striking and intimate nature photographs of tuxedoed penguins and their young beautifully illustrate Regan’s charming verse that honors those incredible, unflappable moms who nurture and instill a spirit of adventure and independence in their young. While it’s a mom’s job to be ever watchful, fiercely protective, and deeply engaged in her children’s lives, it’s also a mom’s job to let go—to send her young into the big scary world—whether that means walking away without looking back on the first day of kindergarten or nudging them gently out of the nest as young adults. In My Unflappable Mom, Chester and Regan celebrate the relationship between mother and child while praising mom for being the rare bird that she is—and that’s definitely something to flap about.

According to a recent Gallup Poll, 88% of Americans are dissatisfied with some aspect of their current vocations. * The perfect "and you thought your job was lousy" antidote to Monday-morning blues as well as a humorous pick-me-up for recent graduates searching for that ideal first job. Jammed copier machines, new assignments with unrealistic deadlines, duplication of efforts-if such occurrences constitute another day on the job, Patrick Regan offers solace and amusement by presenting humorous quips alongside real-world on-the-job photos of occupations like human cannonball, vermin control agent, and bulletproof vest tester. Instead of reaching for the want ads, find perspective through more than 30 portraits of less-than-ideal occupations, including: * Casket Maker: Forty years on the job, and not one lousy time has a customer commented on the craftsmanship and attention to detail. * Lost Baggage Handler: Congratulations. You will forever be remembered as the lady who ruined Christmas. *Deodorant Scent Tester: No way around it-this job is the pits.

The Nutcracker is new again. With Accord’s innovative AniMotion® windows, this Christmas classic gets a fresh and exciting look. The Nutcracker is a magical tale beloved by generations of children. Now, Accord''s version brings a little magic of its own to this classic Christmas story. Packed with lift-the-flap AniMotion windows, The Nutcracker is a lavishly illustrated adventure with a simple story line that loosely follows Tchaikovsky''s beloved ballet. Watch all of the familiar characters, from enchanted toys to epic battles and twirling ballerinas, come to life on the page with the magic of AniMotion. There''s enough excitement here to make everyone''s Christmas wishes come true.

Stories of social and personal transformation in the most extreme circumstances, giving rise to real grounds for hope.

MCTS 70-680: Microsoft Windows 7, Configuring is the perfect study guide to help you pass Microsoft’s MCTS 70-680 exam. It provides coverage and practice questions for every exam topic. The book contains an extensive set of preparation tools, such as quizzes, Exam Alerts, and a practice exam, while the CD provides real-time practice and feedback with two complete sample exams. Covers the critical information you’ll need to know to score higher on your MCTS 70-680 exam! . Understand how Windows 7 differs from previous versions . Install, upgrade, and migrate to Windows 7 . Configure basic and advanced Windows networking . Enforce security with Windows Firewall and Windows Defender . Administer users, systems, disks, and printers . Manage and safely share files and folders . Work with Windows applications and Internet Explorer 8 . Support mobile computers . Remotely manage Windows systems . Optimize Windows 7 system performance . Efficiently back up systems and reliably recover them CD FEATURES 2 complete sample exams The test engine gives you an effective tool to assess your readiness for the exam . Detailed explanations of correct and incorrect answers . Multiple test modes . Random questions and order of answers . Coverage of each MCTS 70-680 exam objective

CompTIA A+ 220-701 and 220-702 Practice Questions Exam Cram, Fourth Edition complements any A+ study plan with more than 1,000 practice test questions in the book and on the CD–all supported by complete explanations of every correct and incorrect answer. This package’s highly realistic questions cover every area of knowledge for both new A+ exams: A+ Essentials (220-701) and A+ Practical Application (220-702). This is the eBook version of the print title. The eBook does not provide access to the practice test engine on the print book CD. Limited Time Offer: Buy CompTIA A+ 220-701 and 220-702 Practice Questions Exam Cram and receive a 10% off discount code for the CompTIA A+ 220-701 and 220-702 exams. To receive your 10% off discount code: 1. Register your product at pearsonITcertification.com/register 2. When prompted, enter ISBN number: 9780789747914 3. Go to your Account page and click on “Access Bonus Content” Master Your Knowledge of the A+ Exam! Features more than 1,000 questions, organized to reflect the newest objectives for the A+ exams, so you can easily assess your knowledge of every topic. Each question includes a detailed answer explanation. Provides complete coverage of all objectives for the current A+ exams, including Windows 7. Use the information packed fold out Cram Sheet in your final exam preparations. Patrick Regan has been a PC technician and network administrator/engineer for more than 16 years. He has taught many computer and networking technology classes at Sacramento local colleges (Heald Colleges and Institute of Technology) and conducted extensive formal and informal training as an IT administrator and an Intel Corporation product support engineer. He is currently a senior network engineer at Pacific Coast Companies, where he supports a large enterprise network. For his teaching accomplishments, he received Heald Colleges’ Teacher of the Year award. Regan’s certifications include CompTIA’s A+, Network+, Server+, Linux+, Security+, and CTT+; Microsoft’s MCSE, MCSA, MCITP, and MCT; Cisco’s CCNA; and Novell’s CNE.

We might not say ''thanks'' or ''I love you'' often enough, but take the lead from one very cute duckling. Beautifully photographed, MUM, I M A LUCKY DUCK celebrates motherhood with humour and poignancy. Reflecting on what''s important, a grateful little duck helps us remember life''s milestones whether toddling or waddling.

Nothing captures the magic of Christmas like the drooling face of a child and a cheap-ass little fake tree." --An Old-Fashioned Christmas In the tradition of Holidays on Ice and Bad Santa, Patrick Regan counters saccharine seasonal sentiment with a dose of holiday-noir. Remember Christmases of old? Simpler times, when four-year-old orphans were used for market research and Santa could call a pretty elf "Sweet Cheeks" and not get slapped with a sexual harassment suit? In An Old-Fashioned Christmas, author Patrick Regan collects images from the golden days of Christmas and pairs them with wryly sardonic captions to offer a reminder of what Christmas is really all about-namely, "hobos, orphans, boozed-up Santas, pill-popping housewives, and the shattered dreams of adorable children." Fans of Regan''s The Book of Bad Habits will take twisted delight in his skewering of the most cherished (and overstuffed) holiday of all. The 1940s, ''50s, and ''60s-vintage photos are odd enough on their own, but when Regan''s caustic captions start flying, no tradition is safe from mockery. Christmas just ain''t what it used to be, and judging from the subversive gems in this more naughty-than-nice book, we should all be extremely grateful for that.

What does it mean to be cool? The quality has always been hard to define, but easy to identify. James Dean. Miles Davis. They were cool. Joe Montana scrambling in the pocket. Steve McQueen riding a motorcycle. Very cool. To that list, you can now add another towering paragon of cool: the mighty polar bear. In Stay Cool, award-winning polar photographer Jonathan Chester and writer Patrick Regan reveal the uncanny life lessons to be learned from polar bears, those imposing but endlessly appealing kings of the Arctic. Pithy, clever, and surprisingly heartwarming, Stay Cool illustrates that these wild creatures with a strong sense of self and the ability to rely on their instincts have something useful to teach us all, making this keepsake book a great gift for people of all ages.

Forget that overpriced greeting card! These 50 illustrated vouchers are the perfect way to honor the mother of all milestones: the big 5-0. Better than a penalty-free withdrawal, they''re sure to bring a few good laughs at the joys (and the pains) of getting older. The convenient size and perforated pages enable a gift giver to bestow birthday coupons individually by tucking them into a card, purse, or briefcase. Perfect for birthdays, and a great gift for anytime anyone is dealing with a midlife milestone!

Anyone who''s ever been in love knows that this supreme emotion changes everything. When love is real, it sometimes feels like gravity itself doesn''t quite apply. In To Love Is to Fly, this magical and powerful journey is told through photographer Jonathan Chester''s stunning photography of penguins, along with refreshingly heartfelt prose. To Love Is to Fly is written from a me-to-you perspective, making it a great gift for spouse, partner, or main squeeze. Highlights include an image key denoting the type of penguin, environmental features, location details, online resource links, and facts about the different species in each photo. With their upright stance and bemused expressions, penguins are the most humanlike of birds. Like us, they sacrifice for their families, are mostly monogamous, and must adapt to survive in a rapidly changing world. Also like us, it''s impossible for them to fly. But doesn''t love make anything possible?

This gift book is perfect for a new generation of grandfathers who identify more with peace, love, and rock ''n'' roll than with shake, rattle, and roll.

The perfect gift for the new father, A Little Book for Dad offers a hip young look with original art by Peter Horjus.

My grandmother showed me that wisdom comes with age, but that a joyful heart is forever young. --My Grandmother Showed Me the Stars * No one captures the essence of cherished family bonds like renowned artist Becky Kelly. In My Grandmother Showed Me the Stars, award-winning watercolor artist Becky Kelly celebrates the special bond between grandmothers and grandchildren. Her ethereal illustrations combine with heartfelt words of appreciation for Grandmother''s humor, kindness, and wisdom. Our parents may give us the sun and the moon, but it''s our grandmothers who show us the stars--and no star shines brighter than a grandmother. My Grandmother Showed Me the Stars is a beautiful, all-occasion gift for grandmothers everywhere.

Who else but members of The Red Cat Society-a group of fun-loving tabbies inspired by The Red Hat Society-knows more about motherhood? And who else could be more qualified (and more likely!) to tell it like it is? Every Mother Is a Queen Mother is The Red Cat Society''s latest book, and it''s guaranteed to have you howling at the disputable delights of motherhood. With lively humor and irresistible illustrations, Every Mother Is a Queen Mother celebrates the true heroines of modern society-women who have not only experienced motherhood but survived long enough to become "experienced mothers" (or as the book calls them, "mothers-of-a-certain-age"). Filled with clever quips and quotes, tongue-in-cheek beauty tips, and comical musings on child rearing, aging, and empty nests, this book is sure to strike a chord with every woman who has experienced the slings and arrows, sacrifices, skinned knees, and simple joys of motherhood. Whether cat lover or Red Hatter or both, every "well-red" mother will find something to laugh about in Every Mother Is a Queen Mother.

The Red Cat motto: "To the youth-obsessed culture that tries to oppress us and undermine our esteem, let''s bristle our fur and offer a hearty and spirited collective hisssss. You''re either under 25 or close to 105 if you haven''t heard of the Red Hat Society, that sisterhood of women of a certain age who share a joie de vivre and the determination to truly live every moment. You may not yet, however, know about the Red Cat Society, a select group of tabbies dedicated to similar feline friendship and cat-titude, is set to explode on the social scene. Celebrating this new camaraderie between felines, The Red Cat Society will acquaint you with their whimsical ways, offer fashion tips for well-dressed cats, and-most importantly-reveal the many ways that Red Catters pack more fun into every day. Living by a code of friskiness and feline friendship, the Red Catters are always ready to go out and play. Author Patrick Regan and artist Kevin Whitlark do an outstanding job of presenting the Red Cat way in this gift book that''s ideal for Red Catters, Red Hatters, or any female determined to get the most out of the world-be it for nine lives or just a single grand one. Kevin and Patrick confess to being neither cats nor women, though they have each owned several cats and boast a combined 10 sisters.

This book is designed to introduce and teach anyone to become a successful PC technician or support person. It prepares them to pass the CompTIA A+ exam (2003 Objectives) and the Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician (MCDST).

Spokeswoman for a generation, Jackie is saucy, sassy, and sure of herself. Now she shares her wisdom for the ageless in Who''s Counting? So what does Jackie know that the young whippersnappers could stand to learn? She knows that life is too short to spend worrying over every calorie, every wrinkle, and every penny. She knows that too much of a good thing can be a very good thing. Most importantly, she knows that she can get away with anything! In addition to her piquant observations and clever one-liners, Who''s Counting? features hilarious full-color photos of Jackie at her rambunctious best. See her hanging tough astride a tricked-out motorcycle, flirting with tuxedo-clad men a fraction of her age, and laughing it up with a friend (at something off-color and hardly ladylike, no doubt). There''s a new and growing generation of women who are making "the good life" last and last, and Jackie is an outspoken champion for them all.

These adorable photographs nearly jump off the page as they offer birthday wishes, in their own special way.Both of these clever books will appeal to a gift-buying audience that''s hungry for a whimsical, unique way to say they care.

Nothing says "I love you" better than one of the 250 cuddly teddy bears in the award-winning Boyds collection.I Love You Beary Muchis your favorite pair of slippers and a cup of hot chocolate in book form! It offers a furry, friendly smile that will soften the staunchest curmudgeon and enchant the dearest friend.As the foremost authority on teddy bears, Boyds offers the perfect gift book to say "I love you."I Love You Beary Muchis perfect for Valentine''s Day, birthdays, anniversaries, and any day with the letter "Y" in it!In this sweet, cuddly book, each meaningful thought is paired with an adorable Boyds Collection bear. Here are just a few:* My secret love is sweeter than honey.* I love my sweetie more than ice cream-and you know that''s saying something!* Being with the amazing person makes me feel like anything is possible.I Love You Beary Muchoffers up precious sentiments with the timelessness and comfort of the famous Boyds teddy bears. It''s a unique, delightful way to show someone how much you care!

Kelly''s spirit-infused watercolor illustrations perfectly capture the warmth, generosity, and fun that exists between people who care about each other.