Spiritual Memoir

For too long, the Southern woman has been synonymous with the Southern belle, a "moonlight and magnolias" myth that gets nowhere close to describing the strong, richly diverse women who have thrived because of - and in some cases, despite of - the South. No more. Garden & Gun’s Southern Women: More Than 100 Stories of Trail Blazers, Visionaries, and Icons obliterates that stereotype by sharing the stories of more than 100 of the region’s brilliant women, groundbreakers who have embraced the South’s proud traditions and overcome its equally pervasive barriers.

Natalie Boonstra was diagnosed with Madelung’s Deformity at just ten years old. The corrective surgery for this painful, one-in-two-million congenital wrist disorder was successful but left the very visible daughter of a well-known public figure with emotional scars, insecurity, and self-doubt. Both arms are noticeably short in proportion to the rest of my body, and this physical difference caused a great deal of insecurity and self-doubt. But then I realized who Jesus says I am.

From contemporary men to historical figures, learn how 16 individuals have inspired millions and created legacies that have helped bring so much light into a dark world. Inspiring stories of faith from a master storyteller.

Shares Rosemary’s early experimentation with psychedelics in the 1950s, her development through the psychedelic revolution of the 1960s, and her involvement, at first exciting but then heartbreaking, with Dr. Timothy Leary. Describes her LSD trips with Leary, their time at the famous Millbrook estate, their experiences as fugitives abroad, including their captivity by the Black Panthers in Algeria, and Rosemary’s years on the run after she and Timothy separated.

When Adrian McNally Smith was writing his family memoir Finding Forgiveness, he was struck by the number of times he had had spiritual encounters. The journey of writing the story of his life and his relationships brought home to him the fact that he had felt a sense of hubris before many important and life-changing moments in his life. Going through the process of forgiveness and the counseling he needed to forgive his father awakened in him the desire to dig deeper into these encounters and what it means to be embrace spirituality.

Moses never wanted to be a leader. Jonah ran away from his mission's call. And when Marcia Moston's husband came home with a call to foreign missions, she was sure God had the wrong number. His call conflicted with her own dreams, demanded credentials she didn't have, and required courage she couldn't seem to find. She promised to follow where God led, but she never thought the road would lead to a Mayan village on a Guatemalan mountainside.

Renee Altson's powerful, personal narrative details the evil done to her throughout her life---almost exclusively at the hands of the church---and how she struggles and stumbles toward faith despite her ordeal.

Like Beowulf said, "give him a gold piece and send him home. He has a story to tell.” So this is my story. It's not your normal, regular story and you can't read it anywhere. It's my personal experience. Even now, I think about it and my mind tries to convince me that it didn't happen to me the way it happened to me. It's funny that you have to argue with yourself to be yourself.

There is more to the senator's faith than the crises arising from his former pastor, Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. How could Obama attend for 20 years a church permeated by a defining spirit of anger toward white America? Stephen Mansfield explores Obama's religious faith without political or ideological bias. His basic premise is this: If a man's faith is sincere, then it is the most important thing about him.

The deeper I grow in my own faith as a Christian, the greater my desire to explore. My faith whets my appetite for discovering what God is doing in and through the world each and every day. This book is a chronicle of some of the most important lessons I have learned thus far. I write to encourage my fellow nomads who, like me, so often feel alone in their wanderings yet are a part of a much larger caravan of fellow wanderers seeking to discover for ourselves the meaning and mysteries of life.

In the first book of its kind, an acclaimed South African journalist and former parliamentary spokesperson for the ANC shares how Nelson Mandela balanced his Christian faith with his political views, exploring how the beloved leader reconciled his own beliefs with the hard truth that religion had often been used as a tool to oppress his people.

As a college professor, Dr. Arik Greenberg had studied religion all his life, earning advanced academic degrees in his field. But none of this would sufficiently prepare him for his true spiritual journey. In The Exile, the first book of a trilogy, his challenge would be to rescue the family home from his mother’s deadly compulsive hoarding, and to protect his parents from their mental illnesses, borne out of a family legacy of abuse.

Discover spiritual truths from the smash Broadway hit "Hamilton" that will transform your life. "Hamilton" - the hip-hop musical about a forgotten founding father - is the most compelling musical of our time. God and Hamilton impressively weaves together insights from the musical itself, the lives of Alexander and Eliza Hamilton, and the story of Scripture into a tapestry that challenges people of faith to reexamine their lives.

AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A CHRISTIAN HERETIC explores the spiritual journey of Jim Rosemergy. Jim shares events and circumstances, but the book is not about what happened to him, but what happened in him as his spiritual life developed. His sense of wonder and curiosity and allegiance to silence and mystery took him into the darkness of his soul where he discovered the sacredness of his humanity and the depth of his spirituality. With eyes opened by the darkness and a willingness to be still, he explored the mystics and discovered the role love plays in a contemplative life. As Jim was writing ...

"Glimpses in Time: A Collection of Memoirs and More" Step into a world where memories shimmer like ethereal gems and emotions dance off the pages. Glimpses in Time beckons readers to dive into 25 poignant moments of introspection and discovery, each a treasure trove of human experience. Through a blend of personal narratives, poetry, and fictional snippets, this collection weaves a tapestry of raw honesty and unfettered emotion. As you lose yourself in these tales of loss, resilience, and hope, you'll find yourself reflecting on your own journey and the universal threads that bind us all. ...

Women today feel pressure to be the best wife, mom, and professional possible - often at the expense of their own identity. But what if you could experience deep peace - knowing you are loved right now, just as you are? In Brave Love, the founder of the multi-million-dollar company Lisa Leonard Designs inspires women to find themselves again amidst the noise and competing demands of real life.

Turning 40, Sue Frederick thought she had lost everything. She was widowed, childless and heartbroken. When the married man she was seeing walked away, her escalating sense of failure launched her on a spiritual seeking journey while still working a 50 hour a week job as magazine editor. Her awakening to the perfection of our imperfections and the beauty of our chaos is what this book is about. Told with warmth and style, this memoir offers hope; hope that losing everything is often the way to finding what matters; to building something new and better from our losses. The book empowers us ...

Neighbors and Wise Men introduces captivating dialogues and unexpected moments with God that go beyond the confines of a conventional religious system and offer the chance for powerful life transformation. Get to know Tony Kriz (known by many as "Tony the Beat Poet" in Donald Miller's best-selling book Blue Like Jazz) through his real-life conversations and experiences that prove that God can and will use anyone and anything—from Muslim lands to antireligious academics to post-Christian cultures—to make Himself known.

If you want to appreciate life to the fullest, this unabridged audio download of A Positive Life reveals nine basic yet powerful lessons for living with passionate faith and joy. Through his story of living with HIV, Shane Stanford will help you find contentment in your own life, no matter the circumstances.

Much like The Stories Behind The Best-Loved Songs Of Christmas, The Stories Behind The Great Traditions of Christmas and More Stories Behind The Best Loved Songs of Christmas this new Collins Christmas book will fill a void in the book world.