April had the perfect family, children that loved her and a husband that adored her. Happy and grateful for the life they built together, one bad decision turns her world upside down. Just when she thinks things can't get any worse, she receives a letter that threatens to change life as she knows it, once again. Follow this incredible mother through her raw experiences with trauma. Admire the way she copes with her pain. Laugh with her humor and cry with her sorrow. This powerful story will surely tug at your heartstrings.

Harvard-trained psychologist and Psychology Today parenting expert Carl Pickhardt gives parents an eye-opening look at what to expect on rocky road of middle school and high school, revealing the Four Freedoms that every child must master to become a healthy adult--and how parents can adapt, encourage, and grow themselves during these tumultuous times. Parenting a teenager is not for the faint of heart. It is during these roller-coaster years that frustrated parents find themselves at their wits' end, barely even recognizing their offspring as they move through the teen years. Carl Pickhardt, Harvard-trained psychologist and the voice of reason behind Psychology Today's advice column, "Surviving (Your Child's) Adolescence," shares critical insights and practical tools that parents need to know as their children move through the teen years toward independence and adulthood. There's a reason the road is rocky--it's supposed to be. Children must pass through "four unfolding freedoms" in order to become competent, independent, and confident adults. How easily parents can navigate these twists and turns with less hand-holding, angst, and hitting the brakes directly correlates to how successful their children will be. The four unfolding freedoms are these: 1) freedom from rejection of childhood, around the late elementary school years, when they want to stop acting and being treated as children anymore. 2) freedom of association with peers, around the middle school years, when they want to form a second family of friends. 3) freedom for older experimentation, around the high school years, when they want to try more grown-up activities. 4) freedom to claim emancipation, around the college age years, when they decide to become their own ruling authority. With each successive push for freedom, both parents and teens need to learn how to do less holding on to each other while doing more letting go. Dr. Carl Pickhardt will show them the way with compassion, experience, and time-tested guidance.

Set in rural South Carolina and urban North Carolina, in the novel Holding On: A Parable of Faith and Strength, we watch Sister Fullmore emerge through a very untypical childhood to become a very untypical woman. The book begins on her first day of school, where we see hints of the smart, sassy young woman she becomes. From a father who drinks his family into a life of poverty, to brothers who leave her to fend for herself, Sister's expectations for the male population are pretty low. Somehow, it seems the men in her life live "down" to those expectations. Her Grandma Hester tells her, "Pick your man, don't let a man pick you. That way you know what you're getting." Her mother's advises, "Don't fall in love with a man just because of his looks unless he has enough money to buy you a house." In all her sixteen years of living, Sister hasn't met one man who tempted her to forget that advice. Then she meets a fine piece of chocolate manhood named Joe Ervin Evans... A liquor house wasn't a place where a man figured on meeting the woman of his dreams, and finding a wife was the last thing on Joe's mind that night. Until he meets Sister, his smile has never failed to make a woman's heart melt. Undaunted by her seeming lack of interest in him, he sets out to convince this pretty little woman that she is going to be his.

Take a journey to Spring Canyon, Utah, a rural community full of friends and neighbors who love and help each other, even though they come from different cultural backgrounds and religions. Each day they face the prospect of losing a loved one to an unforeseen disaster, when a husband or son is mercilessly torn from a family. Yet they continue to struggle on, trying to improve their lives in spite of the hardships they face. Nels Henningson confronts this battle every day, trying to hold on to his family in spite of the severe stomach ulcers that wrench him with pain. When conflict arises in his brother’s family, the stress on his already-fragile stomach nearly takes his life. When two workers’ unions begin recruiting some of the people in the town, Nels is undecided as to which course he should pursue, especially since one of the unions appears to have ties to the communists. As a contentious spirit begins to divide friend against friend, the turmoil threatens to destroy their peaceful community. How will the Henningson children be affected by this turmoil as their friends are removed from their lives? Will Clara Belle be able to rise above the depression and darkness that has engulfed her for so many years? Is Grant’s and Joseph’s “harmless” prank going to be discovered and put them in jail? Is Rose Marie’s secret life going to tear her from the family? And what will happen to sweet Hanna who hovers near death from an epidemic illness? Through it all, the Henningsons and their friends will strive to find peace by Holding On to their faith and those things that matter the most. Readers have said: “From the opening page of Holding On I felt like I was traveling back in time and into the hearts and minds of the Henningson family. I especially enjoyed the depth and richness of the characters in the book. The dialogue is true-to-life, and I felt a true sense of what it was like to live in Spring Canyon. This is a part of Utah’s history that most people are probably not aware of. There has obviously been an incredible amount of research that went into a book like this, and the blending of history with an intriguing storyline made for a very satisfying read. Holding On is a beautifully written novel, and it stayed with me long after I put it down. I loved this book!” “This novel deeply touched me. I was moved to tears several times when I saw the joy that the characters experienced, in spite of the struggles they were enduring. The storyline was very captivating—it was hard to stop reading—with vivid characters that seemed as real as someone you would meet in real life in Spring Canyon. I also enjoyed the many important life lessons that were woven into the story, helping me in various trials and struggles that I face in my own life. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I’m glad I had the opportunity to read it.” “Lori Riddle captures well the flavor and spirit of the poignant struggles and joys of life in Spring Canyon. Her natural and effective dialogue brings her characters to life. This is a good read. I recommend it!” “Holding On is a compelling story of drama, tribulation, camaraderie and romance all rolled into one. I found myself literally absorbed into the Spring Canyon community as I connected with the characters and their difficult circumstances. This is truly a story you can curl up by the fire and enjoy!”

As a wife and mother of five, I know all too well how destructive building a faade that everything is fine can be. Tearing down this wall and letting people see the real methe pain, the struggles, the tears, and the triumphs has been difficult but rewarding. Get REAL: Stop Hiding Behind the Mask examines how to do just that. It delves into discovering a persons true identity, centered on Gods view of each of us, letting go of the insecurities that so easily entangle our lives and finally, living with eternal perspectivekeeping our focus heavenward instead of inward.

Includes reports from the Chancery, Probate, Queen's bench, Common pleas, and Exchequer divisions, and from the Irish land commission.