It is 2002 when Kwamboka, a Kisii girl from western Kenya who refused female genital mutilation as part of her tribes puberty rites, returns home after laboring in the fields all day. Exhausted, Kwamboka falls asleep and awakens a few hours later to the smell of smoke. She manages to escape the fire that engulfs her house, only to see her uncle waiting outsidethe one who is supposed to protect her according to Kisii law. Kwamboka realizes that he has murdered her mother and now attempted t...

It is 2002 when Kwamboka, a Kisii girl from western Kenya who refused female genital mutilation as part of her tribe’s puberty rites, returns home after laboring in the fields all day. Exhausted, Kwamboka falls asleep and awakens a few hours later to the smell of smoke. She manages to escape the fire that engulfs her house, only to see her uncle waiting outside—the one who is supposed to protect her according to Kisii law. Kwamboka realizes that he has murdered her mother and now attempted...

Tenth grader Barak Shelton hates school. He feels his assignments are unfair, his homework is a waste of time, and even worse yet, he hates having his mother as his teacher. The only thing that is preventing him from dropping out is his fascination with the opposite sex. One day after Barak and his family are invited to Dr. Heidi Barton’s house, he meets her daughter, Lily, an Anishinabe who can create fire without matches, snare rabbits, and shoot deer with a single arrow. Barak falls ins...

Fran is a senior in high school who has always been odd. Her best friend is a full-blooded Potawatomie First Nation woman. Fran’s friends call her “Frog” because of her science interest. But her interest soon sends her into the French Guiana jungle to become a shaman’s apprentice. The two friends have separate interests, but what binds them together is a man who hates Indians and is trying to kill them.

Faith, Love, and Mercy is a selection from the weekly homilies of noted moral theologian and pastor Fr. Richard Roach SJ, who retired from university teaching to lead a small island parish in his last decade. His theologically rigorous yet accessible writing reflects decades-long contemplation on the significance of Catholic identity in our modern era. Combining deep-rooted wisdom with vigorous prose, the homilies prompt the reader's own reflection on what it is to live the faith daily in ...

As the cold wind whistles through a tiny reservation shack, an Ojibwa Indian girl watches as her drunken father staggers and throws a box containing her birthday cake on the table. A few minutes later, he drives away, leaving her alone to celebrate eighteen years of life. As she nibbles the cake and feels the sweetness quickly sour in her stomach, Heidi Barton has no idea that in less than twenty-four hours her father will be dead.After her fathers body is found, Heidi is wracked w...

The youthful artist-swordsman Benvenuti Sfondrati-Piccolomini arrived in the city of Goimr just in time for disaster to strike. The evil sorcerer Zulkeh had driven the King of the realm insane, then fled from the city!Things were not as they seemed. The wizard Zulkeh and his apprentice Shelyid were, in fact, guiltless. Zulkeh had been summoned to interpret the King of Goimr's mysterious dream, which the sorcerer came to realize foretold an impending catastrophe for civilization. Zu...

Lisa Zuccerelli just wants to be normal. At the end of her senior year in high school, she has the distinction for the most detentions in the history of the school, thanks to an English teachers betrayal. Seemingly left with no other choice after a distressing graduation ceremony, she packs two weeks worth of rations, a canoe, and her broken heart and flees to the Canadian wilderness, where she hopes to piece her life back together and realize happiness.After Lisa paddles her way t...

Rings of AnnulmentBy: Richard R. Roach, MD, FACPCotton, Minnesota, is a small town. So small, in fact, that no one actually lives there – at least not yet. Becky Jean Gottwald shows up at Lloyd’s Café in Cotton as a hitchhiker desperate for a job and a place to stay. She finds so much more. Given the chance to prove herself as a waitress and a bed to sleep on in the storage shed behind the restaurant, Becky Jean takes the fresh start and makes the most of it. Before long, sh...

What does it take for a boy from rural Minnesota to become a global physician? Faith, grit, and a heart open to joy.Out with Joy is a deeply personal and reflective memoir by Dr. Richard Roach that traces his remarkable transformation from a clumsy, curious child into an internationally respected medical missionary. Raised in a poor but loving home, Roach shares vivid tales of growing up in Northern Minnesota, including his humorous misadventures in sports, the profound in...

Epigenetic Aspects of Chronic Diseases assembles in comprehensive form what is known about the role of epigenetics in chronic disease development. This book provides new insights into treatment, including modulation of epigenetic regulation. Each chapter gives an outline of a respective disease, explains why epigenetics may be involved in the disease process and then presents the evidence of how changes in epigenetic status contribute to initiation and progress of the disease. The final ch...

Ignoring or avoiding Mikhail Benovich was not an option. When he wanted something, he went after it with everything. Seeing Kristen across the room, he decided he wanted her. A month after their first meeting, they were married. Two months later, Kristen found herself pregnant. And two months after that, her unborn baby girl was fighting for her life.Kristen left the stressful lifestyle, but never meant to leave Mikhail. Diligently, she sent him a letter each month detailing the pr...