Throughout the long centuries of human history is the want, and the need, to share information, to exchange ideas and for that knowledge and experience, for curiosity and learning, to be the basis of a civil society.In literature the ambition is much narrower. In order to be known, to be popular, you had to be published. And for that people had to know you existed and your ideas worth reading. Obviously for most of humanity’s time people couldn’t read and texts couldn’t be publishe...

Are you tired of feeling trapped in a toxic relationship? In "Breaking Chains: Unveiling the Signs of a Toxic Relationship" by Robert Austin, you'll discover a transformative guide that empowers you to break free and reclaim your happiness. With years of experience as a relationship counselor, Austin uncovers the hidden signs of manipulation, control, and emotional abuse that holds you back.Through practical strategies and exercises, he provides the tools you need to establish heal...

The NonExtractive Vault is working, but power is a dangerous thing. When the Continuity Council establishes the Council of Stewards, a corruption scandal threatens the mesh. Elara confronts the limits of governance and learns that true stewardship is about service.

A rogue node secedes from the mesh, threatening to fracture the global network. Elara and the five Guardians must act with grace, not force, to heal the rift through listening and humility.

This textbook offers a survey of the history of Central Europe since 1848, from the ‘Springtime of Nations’, through the world wars and communist period, to NATO and EU membership. With an emphasis on nation-building, it gives the reader a better understanding of not just political history but also of the region’s economic development and of everyday life. The book brings the reader right up to the present, considering contemporary issues such as the impact of the 2015 refugee crisis, migr...

Tim and Mary are complete strangers until they meet by very unusual circumstances. On the second day of their unusual meeting, they experience a miracle birth that will bond them for life. Tim Adams is younger than his new friend, Mary Simpson, by six years. This will be only one of the many challenges they will face in the coming days. Tim has just graduated from high school and is driving across the country as a graduation present from his parents. It appears his trip will be cut short a...

For many years Andovia was a military school for boys from wealthy families, but somewhere along the way, it was abandoned and eventually turned into an orphanage. It was the place where ten-and-a-half-year-old Amelia, nicknamed Meely, had lived for the better part of her childhood and where, she believed, nothing would ever change. Then on a Monday morning, in the spring of 1950, at breakfast, in between bites of yucky mush, Sybil whispered that a new girl was coming soon, an odd-looking ...

When Sarah Madigan lost her three children to diphtheria, she also lost her hair and was shunned and thought to be crazy, a thought not far from her own assessment or her husband's. Broken in spirit and pregnant with her fourth child, she stole a Diary in which she found some release for her sorrow and pain. When the baby came, she was ready to begin again until her husband, bedridden after being trampled by his horse, secretly sent their fourth child away, pushing her to the edge of insan...

Throughout the nonprofit sector, successes are celebrated and mistakes tend to be deliberately forgotten. But, as Mistakes to Success: Learning and Adapting When Things Go Wrong makes clear, this is a lost opportunity. Discussing, analyzing and learning from mistakes should be a common practice, which can strengthen the work of nonprofits. Breaking new ground, Mistakes to Success provides a rich collection of revealing essays focused on failures in the field of community economic developme...

In 2012, Steve Austin, then a pastor, nearly died by suicide. His experience launched him on a journey that opened his eyes to the widespread problem of mental illness and how those who live with it are often treated in congregations. He began to wonder: if church folks had talked openly about mental health, therapy, suicide prevention, recovery from abuse, and other difficult issues, would that have changed his story?In Hiding in the Pews, people with mental illness--some of whom ...

If catastrophes are, by definition, exceptional events of such magnitude that worlds and lives are dramatically overturned, the question of timing would pose a seemingly straightforward, if not redundant question. The Time of Catastrophe demonstrates the analytic productiveness of this question, arguing that there is much to be gained by interrogating the temporal conceits of conventional understandings of catastrophe and the catastrophic. Bringing together a distinguished, interdisciplina...

In Political Theology on Edge, the discourse of political theology is seen as situated on an edge—that is, on the edge of a world that is grappling with global warming, a brutal form of neoliberal capitalism, protests against racism and police brutality, and the COVID-19 pandemic. This edge is also a form of eschatology that forces us to imagine new ways of being religious and political in our cohabitation of a fragile and shared planet. Each of the essays in this volume attends t...