All the Kings Horses and All the Kings Men: Love, Alienation and Reconciliation in a Big, BIG Mormon Family recounts the horrors of life in a family of fourteen and a childhood worthy of the title Irish Catholic but in this case "American Mormon." For the author, the oldest born to Clyde Sr. and Virginia, had it not been for the extreme emotional and physical abuse he suffered, he might not quibble--the housework and childcare truly necessary evils. Two questions drive him out of the house and into the arms of academe. Why so many children? And whos to blame? His parents? Their patriarchal church? Ironically, he makes his escape about the same time his poor mother makes hers, chosing life on the streets over living with Clyde Sr. Spending the next fifteen or so years in and out of mental hospitals (in search of answers?), she will eventually come home to roost--to the shock and dismay of her older children at least, Clyde Jr. in particular. Gone is the fire in her belly. Thankfully, gone are most but not all of her children. Plans to re-marry secretly--with the assistance of church officials--will be averted only when the older children (who remember what "it" was like and fear for the two or three still at home) lodge a formal complaint. Clyde Sr. and Virginia will be indicted in a church court for "un-Christian-like conduct"--though no ruling is handed down. The end of the beginning or the beginning of the end? in fact it will be a little of both for the family in any event. And although the Mormon faith should not be blamed for the abuse--that honour going to mental illness--a demonstration of true moral courage and vision was not forthcoming and is perhaps telling.

All the Kings Horses, All the Kings Men is a deeply moving account of the life of the author's son, previous to and following the discovery of the presence of a tumour in his bones, a result of Osteogenic Sarcoma. The story begins at the beginning - with Jonathan's birth. A first-time mother, the author has her life and her home carefully planned and prepared in anticipation of the arrival of 'Boots'. She is soon to realize that having a child is not something one can plan; they arive when they like and they occupy one's thoughts and affections to such an extent that all the best-laid plans for going back to her career make less and less sense. After a year, the author makes the decision to become a 'full-time, on-location mom'. The closeness that this allows to develop is to stand her and her son in good stead for the difficult time to come when Jonathan's illness is discovered. The author's prose is fluid and articulate, conveying with ease the deep love which she feels for her son. The description of these carefree early years draws the reader into their extraordinary story, so that he too feels affection for this boy at whom life is about to throw its worst, whilst the day-to-day struggle which is to follow is a lesson in courage for us all. This is a well-written book, with an important message for parents, parents-to-be, and anyone who has felt and given the precious love unique to parent and child.

If you feel your kids are using the remote control more than their imagination, here are 501 fun, creative and educational ways to keep them entertained no matter what the season, or time of day.

No one can write about storytelling like Father Bill Bausch. Both his words and his stories are compelling, convincing, and completely absorbing. Here in this landmark work, which he insists is his last, his goal is to help readers see the centrality of stories, to read and hear Scripture as story and not as history, and to learn to enrich and expand their lives by looking at the ?story behind the story.? He wants to break readers out of the literalism that constricts their spiritual and social lives, so they might gain an appreciation of metaphor and symbol and the ?sacramentality? of the world.

The stories in this book were written to encourage, inspire, and motivate the readers to be strong in their faith when life's challenging times arise in their lives. It is without question that your faith will be tested, but you must understand that God can speak through situations and circumstances that occur in daily living.

The devastating evils of recent history have brought about renewed interest in the Christian doctrine of sin. This volume explores with fresh insight and great seriousness the contemporary plausibility, meaning, and relevance of the biblical understanding of the Fall and its effects. Marguerite Shuster argues that certain aspects of the traditional doctrine of the Fall, including the belief that it took place in time and space, cannot simply be set aside without serious consequences for our doctrine of God and our understanding of human identity, dignity, and responsibility. She explores the nature and extent of sin and examines such problematic issues as "degrees" of sin and culpability. Despite the seriousness with which Shuster treats these topics, her discussion is not despairing but instead points to the redemption that God has accomplished in Christ. Filled with contemporary allusions and completed with model sermons on the Fall and sin, this volume is one of the best available studies of this key Christian doctrine.

From the outside, Craig Jutila appeared to have the ultimate success in ministry—but at home, it was another story. The principles in From Hectic to Healthy, which will become every leader’s guide to work-life balance, are the hard-won result of Craig’s brush with total burnout. Many pastors and other leaders buy the lie that they are just “in a busy season,” rather than living a hectic, unsustainable way of life that will lead eventually to burnout. But it’s never too late to move from hectic to healthy! Using Craig and Mary’s easy-to-remember acrostics, readers will identify the roots of their busyness, or SPIN, learn to STOP, then set a healthy PACE and continue to WALK.

Allusions are a marvelous literary shorthand. A miser is a Scrooge, a strong man a Samson, a beautiful woman a modern-day Helen of Troy. From classical mythology to modern movies and TV shows, this revised and updated third edition explains the meanings of more than 2,000 allusions in use in modern English, from Abaddon to Zorro, Tartarus to Tarzan, and Rambo to Rubens. Based on an extensive reading program that has identified the most commonly used allusions, this fascinating volume includes numerous quotations to illustrate usage, drawn from sources ranging from Thomas Hardy and Charles Dickens to Bridget Jones's Diary. In addition, the dictionary includes a useful thematic index, so that readers not only can look up Medea to find out how her name is used as an allusion, but also can look up the theme of "Revenge" and find, alongside Medea, entries for other figures used to allude to revenge, such as The Furies or The Count of Monte Cristo. Hailed by Library Journal as "wonderfully conceived and extraordinarily useful," this superb reference--now available in paperback--will appeal to anyone who enjoys language in all its variety. It is especially useful for students and writers.

Associated with key 1960s avant garde figures such as Ginsberg, Burroughs, Rauschenberg, and Johns, John Giorno was an early pioneer of multimedia poetry through Giorno Poetry Systems, which also distributed a who’s who of the American underground from Patti Smith to Sonic Youth. Giorno’s use of transgressive material and in-your-face, amplified delivery was also a key influence on punk/new wave pioneers such as Suicide, Throbbing Gristle, and Black Flag. Not just a poet but a sexual, spiritual, and political radical, Giorno helped pioneer the open celebration of queer sexuality in poetry in the 1960s. Subduing Demons in America offers the best of Giorno’s revolutionary poetry, from his striking Pop Art–influenced poems of the 1960s to the psychedelic, echo-laden, multitracked cut-ups of the 1970s with their explosive configurations of queer sex, spiritual practice, and the bohemian Good Life. Also here are the pared-down punk/hip-hop performance poems that Giorno performed in the 1980s.