Most Popular Books by barbara davis

Soon after the first train barreled through town on December 25, 1848, New Rochelle was transformed from a quiet agricultural community into one of America''s premier suburban communities. At the beginning of the 20th century, New Rochelle became a sought-after residential community, just 45 minutes from Broadway. Sweeping waterfront views and recreation, a rapidly growing retail center, and a deep history led to tremendous growth and prosperity. Because of its two commuter rails, and later the advent of the automobile, the city''s population more than quadrupled in four decades, reaching 54,000 by 1930. New Rochelle attracted and inspired an extraordinary number of prominent individuals in the arts, theater, finances, sports, and social activism. Among these national trendsetters are such notables as artist Norman Rockwell, sports legend Lou Gehrig, and suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt.

From the acclaimed author of When Never Comes comes a novel about the pull of the past and the power of love. As offseason begins on the Outer Banks, a storm makes landfall, and three unlikely strangers are drawn together… Five years ago, Lane Kramer moved to Starry Point, North Carolina, certain the quaint island village was the place to start anew. Now the owner of a charming seaside inn, she’s set aside her dreams of being a novelist and of finding love again. When English professor Michael Forrester appears on Lane’s doorstep in the middle of a storm, he claims he’s only seeking a quiet place to write his book. Yet he seems eerily familiar with the island, leaving Lane wondering if he is quite what he appears. Meanwhile, Mary Quinn has become a common sight, appearing each morning on the dunes behind the inn, to stare wistfully out to sea. Lane is surprised to find a friendship developing with the older woman, who possesses a unique brand of wisdom, despite her tenuous grip on reality. As Lane slowly unravels Mary’s story and a fragile relationship between Lane and Michael blooms, Lane realizes the three share a common bond. But when a decades-old secret suddenly casts its shadow over them, Lane must choose between protecting her heart and fighting for the life—and the love—she wants. Conversation Guide Included

From the author of The Wishing Tide comes a stunning new novel about two summers, one journal, and the secrets that can break and open our hearts.... Pragmatic, independent Lily St. Claire has never been a beachgoer. But when her late father leaves her a small house on Hideaway Key—one neither her mother nor she knew he owned—she’s determined to visit the sleepy spit of land along Florida’s Gulf Coast. Expecting a quaint cottage, Lily instead finds a bungalow with peeling shutters and mountains of memorabilia. She also catches a glimpse of the architect who lives down the beach…. But it’s the carton of old journals in the front room that she finds most intriguing. The journals were written by her mother’s sister, an infamous beauty whose name has long been banned from the St. Claire home. The journals tell a family tale Lily has never heard, of her mother and her aunt as young girls in Tennessee and the secrets that followed them into adulthood. As she reads, Lily gains a new understanding: about her family and about herself. And she begins to open her heart—to this place, these people, and the man next door. But can she ever truly learn to trust, to believe that love is not a trap but a harbor? And is it true that hearts, even broken ones, can be forged anew?

A mother and daughter try desperately to reconcile just as a decades-old secret threatens to shatter their relationship forever in this powerful story from the bestselling author of The Echo of Old Books. For social worker Mallory Ward, working with at-risk youth is a calling. But when one of her clients is tragically killed, she finds herself at a crossroads. Despite long-held resentments toward her distant mother, Mallory retreats to her childhood home on the Rhode Island coast to contemplate her future. Instead, she''s confronted by her past, not only in the renewed tensions with her mother but in the unexpected appearance of a familiar face--and the wrenching losses that drove her away a decade ago. Helen Ward''s home is filled with precious keepsakes from her patients, a testament to decades spent caring for the terminally ill. Her work has always come first, though, leaving little time to connect with her daughter. Over the years, the rift between them has become a chasm, so when Mallory appears unannounced, Helen sees it as an opportunity to repair their broken relationship. But hidden among Helen''s mementos are the keys to her past...and a terrible secret that threatens to destroy the fragile new trust between them forever.

A sweeping southern women’s fiction novel about forgiving the past one letter at a time—from the author of When Never Comes. A year ago, Dovie Larkin’s life was shattered when her fiancé committed suicide just weeks before their wedding. Now, plagued by guilt, she has become a fixture at the cemetery where William is buried, visiting his grave daily, waiting for answers she knows will never come. Then one day, she sees an old woman whose grief mirrors her own. Fascinated, she watches the woman leave a letter on a nearby grave. Dovie ignores her conscience and reads the letter—a mother’s plea for forgiveness to her dead daughter—and immediately needs to know the rest of the story. As she delves deeper, a collection of letters from the cemetery’s lost and found begins to unravel a decades-old mystery involving one of Charleston’s wealthiest families. But even as Dovie seeks to answer questions about another woman’s past—questions filled with deception, betrayal, and heartbreaking loss—she starts to discover the keys to love, forgiveness, and finally embracing the future...

When a young woman returns to North Carolina after a thirty-year absence, she finds that the once grand tobacco plantation she called home holds more secrets than she ever imagined. Though Peak Plantation has been in her family for generations, Leslie Nichols can’t wait to rid herself of the farm left to her by her estranged grandmother Maggie—and with it the disturbing memories of her mother’s death, her father’s disgrace, and her unhappy childhood. But Leslie isn’t the only one with a claim to Peak. Jay Davenport, Peak’s reclusive caretaker, has his own reasons for holding onto the land bequeathed to him by Leslie’s grandmother. Before she died, Maggie hinted at a terrible secret surrounding Adele Laveau, a lady’s maid who came to Peak during the 1930s and died under mysterious circumstances. Jay is haunted by Maggie’s story, yet the truth eludes him—until Leslie uncovers a cryptically marked grave on the property. As they delve into the mystery of Adele’s death, Leslie and Jay discover shocking secrets that extend deep into the roots of Leslie’s family tree—secrets that have the power to alter her life forever.

A novel about the magical lure of books and summoning the courage to rewrite our stories by the Amazon Charts bestselling author of The Keeper of Happy Endings and The Last of the Moon Girls. Rare-book dealer Ashlyn Greer''s affinity for books extends beyond the intoxicating scent of old paper, ink, and leather. She can feel the echoes of the books'' previous owners--an emotional fingerprint only she can read. When Ashlyn discovers a pair of beautifully bound volumes that appear to have never been published, her gift quickly becomes an obsession. Not only is each inscribed with a startling incrimination, but the authors, Hemi and Belle, tell conflicting sides of a tragic romance. With no trace of how these mysterious books came into the world, Ashlyn is caught up in a decades-old literary mystery, beckoned by two hearts in ruins, whoever they were, wherever they are. Determined to learn the truth behind the doomed lovers'' tale, she reads on, following a trail of broken promises and seemingly unforgivable betrayals. The more Ashlyn learns about Hemi and Belle, the nearer she comes to bringing closure to their love story--and to the unfinished chapters of her own life.

Presents a collection of quick movement activities for the K-3 classroom.

An enchanting novel about fate, second chances, and hope, lost and found, by the Amazon Charts bestselling author of The Last of the Moon Girls. Soline Roussel is well schooled in the business of happy endings. For generations her family has kept an exclusive bridal salon in Paris, where magic is worked with needles and thread. It''s said that the bride who wears a Roussel gown is guaranteed a lifetime of joy. But devastating losses during World War II leave Soline''s world and heart in ruins and her faith in love shaken. She boxes up her memories, stowing them away, along with her broken dreams, determined to forget. Decades later, while coping with her own tragic loss, aspiring gallery owner Rory Grant leases Soline''s old property and discovers a box containing letters and a vintage wedding dress, never worn. When Rory returns the mementos, an unlikely friendship develops, and eerie parallels in Rory''s and Soline''s lives begin to surface. It''s clear that they were destined to meet―and that Rory may hold the key to righting a forty-year wrong and opening the door to shared healing and, perhaps, a little magic.

Master organizational change with proven strategies and techniques. This practical guide provides a model for organizational change professionals, senior business analysts, project and program management leaders, and executives to develop and execute successful change initiatives and major enterprise transformation efforts. Learn how to measure and analyze the effectiveness of change initiatives and activities for successful results. Mastering Organizational Change Management provides a practical model to follow in developing and executing any important change initiative. Discover how to: Improve success rates of change initiatives Measure and analyze the effectiveness of change initiatives Engage employees during organizational change Overcome resistance to change Create a culture of change For organizational change professionals, senior business analysts, project and program management leaders, and executives.

This book is a concise step-by-step guide to building and establishing the frameworks and models for the effective management and development of software requirements. It describes what great requirements must look like and who the real audience is for documentation. It then explains how to generate consistent, complete, and accurate requirements in exacting detail following a simple formula across the full life cycle from vague concept to detailed design-ready specifications. Mastering Software Project Requirements will enable business analysts and project managers to decompose high-level solutions into granular requirements and to elevate their performance through due diligence and the use of better techniques to meet the particular needs of a given project without sacrificing quality, scope, or project schedules.

"Read this humorous, skillfully informative book all about frogs next!"—Imagination Soup Why would you pick up a book about frogs? Nobody likes them! At least according to Persnickety Q. Turtle. In this humorous narrative nonfiction picture book the text cleverly puts the reader in the role of the “expert” to educate a persnickety turtle about the amazing amphibian known as the frog. With the reader''s help, Persnickety Q. Turtle learns intriguing frog facts, such as they can breathe through their skin while underwater and their eyes help them swallow. Pick up this book and help Persnickety find out all the reasons frogs are such incredible creatures.

Candidly, but with affection, the daughter of Bette Davis portrays the private side of the tempestuous actress and her marriage to Gary Merrill and recounts her own experiences as the daughter of a world-famous star.

An Amazon Charts most-read and most-sold book. Author Barbara Davis deftly explores an emotionally charged landscape of pain, loss, and despair--and the risk one woman will take in the hope of loving again. As a teenage runaway and child of an addict, Christy-Lynn learned the hard way that no address was permanent, and no promise sacred. For a while, she found a safe haven in her marriage to bestselling crime novelist Stephen Ludlow--until his car skidded into Echo Bay. But Stephen''s wasn''t the only body pulled from the icy waters that night. When details about a mysterious violet-eyed blonde become public, a media circus ensues, and Christy-Lynn runs again. Desperate for answers, she''s shattered to learn that Stephen and his mistress had a child--a little girl named Iris, who now lives in poverty with her ailing great-grandmother. The thought of Iris abandoned to the foster care system--as Christy-Lynn once was--is unbearable. But she''s spent her whole life running--determined never to be hurt again. Will she finally stand still long enough to open herself up to forgiveness and love?

This unique desk reference offers the information, models and guidance needed to plan and deliver complete, end-to-end business analysis services. Its step-by-step approach enables maximum utility of the business analysis (BA) role, development of more complete solutions for meeting the strategic goals of a business, and dramatic and sustainable improvements in project success rates. Managing Business Analysis Services: A Framework for Sustainable Projects and Corporate Strategy Success provides chief information officers, business analysis managers and consultants the information required to maximize the efficiency and productivity of technology projects, obtain higher returns on investment from BA services, reduce operating costs, and increase alignment of products to better serve the company or the client organization.

Damascus Township was formed in 1798, though the first recorded settlers arrived in 1755 at Cushetunk, as the area was called by the Lenni Lenape Indians. Skirmishes and battles between white settlers and other Indian tribes were fierce, with homes burned and lives lost. When peace was restored, other settlements were created and dotted the countryside. Some of the notable surnames in the area were Skinner, Thomas, Conklin, Tyler, Shields, and Bush, with each family lending a valuable contribution to the community. Images of America: Around Damascus Township is a glimpse into the past, revealing the founding families and their descendants, why they stayed, how they survived, and what they enjoyed.

Along with Chinese art, medicine, and philosophy, taijiquan has left the confines of its original culture, and offers health, relaxation, and a method of self-defense to people around the globe. Using the early texts now known as The Taijiquan Classics which have served as a touchstone for t’ai chi practitioners for 150 years, this book explores the fundamental ideas and what they mean to practitioners, students, and scholars. It also incorporates newly discovered sources that address the history of taijiquan and newly translated commentaries by Chen Weiming.

This manual provides guidance on gymnastics instruction for physical education teachers. The authors explore different teaching strategies, body awareness, and the foundational movements and postures, then describe the basic skills of floor exercise, balance beam, springboard and vault, and bars. Black and white drawings illustrate correct body positions. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR