Everyone knew that young master Zhou had a bride that was as beautiful as a fairy since he was a boy. Wherever he went, she would follow! But who knew that one day, this daughter-in-law would suddenly go missing ...

Maybe the only thing new about sexual abuse is quality discussion from several professions (psychology, theology, and pastoral care). Here are the insights of over two dozen psychologists, theologians, and those in pastoral care, all targeting the issue of sexual abuse. Designed as a resource for Christian educators, therapists, pastors, social workers, group leaders, and survivors, The Long Journey Home combines current research in mental health with rich theological reflection, global concern with fervent pastoral wisdom for the local faith community. Whether you are a counselor, professor, pastor, or spouse of a survivor, you hold in your hand a fresh resource of information and advocacy for those suffering from the devastating effects of sexual abuse and rape. The breadth of material, biblical insight, discussion questions, and helpful resources gathered here just may be the tool of a generation.

Gods Grace briefly discusses the issues and pain associated with divorce. The main thrust of the book is to show how Gods mercy and grace was manifested during the long journey of the divorce. The author tries to show that even though divorce is not Gods will, he provides and cares for his children through that long journey, and he does not let them walk alone.

Written by a Catholic laywoman and a Catholic priest, this book looks at both the underlying theology and practical approaches to the Catholic wedding.

I am now in the nighttime of my life. It has been a good life – no perfect, of course – but complete with challenges, accomplishments, disappointments, laughter and sadness. No two lives are the same, and my reflections will be from my unique experiences. They are not profound. You won’t find my name in history books or on buildings. I consider myself an average persons. Unless I record my memories, they will soon be forgotten, so I am choosing to record them. Hopefully, you or someone will find them of interest. I will share my experiences, but, also, I will share what small amount of wisdom I have gathered during my lifetime. I have reached my 95th birthday as I share the following pages. I have always had a fascination with live theatre, and, since I discover3d a creative gene in my old age, I have chosen to include a group of short skits I have written. Hopefully, they will produce a smile or two, and, if you have desire to perform some of them, you have my permission to do so. Some have already been performed, and I include a list of those occasions. Before you start reading – you do plan to read, don’t you – let me share with you what I believe to be the three things necessary for a happy life.

At a time when many people around the world are living into their tenth decade, the longest longitudinal study of human development ever undertaken offers some welcome news for the new old age: our lives continue to evolve in our later years, and often become more fulfilling than before. Begun in 1938, the Grant Study of Adult Development charted the physical and emotional health of over 200 men, starting with their undergraduate days. The now-classic Adaptation to Life reported on the men’s lives up to age 55 and helped us understand adult maturation. Now George Vaillant follows the men into their nineties, documenting for the first time what it is like to flourish far beyond conventional retirement. Reporting on all aspects of male life, including relationships, politics and religion, coping strategies, and alcohol use (its abuse being by far the greatest disruptor of health and happiness for the study’s subjects), Triumphs of Experience shares a number of surprising findings. For example, the people who do well in old age did not necessarily do so well in midlife, and vice versa. While the study confirms that recovery from a lousy childhood is possible, memories of a happy childhood are a lifelong source of strength. Marriages bring much more contentment after age 70, and physical aging after 80 is determined less by heredity than by habits formed prior to age 50. The credit for growing old with grace and vitality, it seems, goes more to ourselves than to our stellar genetic makeup.

Crafting Customer Experience Strategy: Lessons from Asia looks at how Customer Experience Management can be vital in providing a competitive advantage for businesses. This is essential reading for marketing scholars and practitioners looking for insights into improving their customers' experiences.

The two authors of this book, Linda Grenz and Del Glover, say at the outset that they are ordinary Christians writing for ordinary Christians and ordinary congregations. So why has this book become a classic for couples about to marry, couples already married, and the congregations that support them? Because they approach the ordinary issues couples face in marriage from the life-experience perspectives of an Episcopal priest (Linda) and a former corporate executive (Del) who worked with people as they faced various family-related issues. They invite readers to use the book in ways that speak most directly to them and offer questions for the couple to discuss and others that engage a congregation. The book is interspersed with relevant quotes from scripture with probing questions for the individual to consider. Table of Contents The Sacrament of Marriage Extended Families Being with Others Living Together Fighting Fair Money Matters Sexual Intimacy The Gift of Children Yes, No, Maybe, Why Bother (Marriage Preparation, Marriage Enrichment) The Journey Ahead

Eugene O’Neill wrote his most enduring and important plays after he won international acclaim as the first and only American playwright to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1936. In the midst of the Great Depression, with his health failing and spirits sunk, he and his third wife, former actress Carlotta Monterey, moved to California to escape the materialism and commercialism of a declining “West,” and they built a new home called Tao House. A reasonably good translation of tao is “the way,” and in this house, which was largely the creation of Carlotta, he found the way to his most famous play, Long Day’s Journey Into Night. As an unusually explicit autobiographical drama, this play returns to 1912, the outset of O’Neill’s writing career, when he confronted tragedy in his family story and found a way to dramatize his mother, father, brother, and himself in a way that has resonated with audiences since its publication and production in 1956. But this book argues that the play originates as much in the moment of its creation, 1939–1941—in the family relationships, the historical circumstances, and the fact that this work would represent a moment of closure of his great career. Key to this heroic story of creation is the intervention of his wife, Carlotta, whose diaries enable a day-to-day observation of how the play was written. She was the driving force behind the design of Tao House, and she managed the rhythms and patterns of life within its architecture. It was her masterpiece, just as Long Day’s Journey was his. This book develops a close reading of their house and marriage and also uses many of O’Neill’s previous plays to illuminate the breakthrough of Long Day’s Journey. This book is the most granular and at the same time the most far-reaching inquiry into how this quintessential play was written (and almost not written) and how it came into the world.

A Long and Restless Journey in Pursuit of Happiness with Empty Hands of Faith: An Authoritative Resource for Bushfallers is a brilliant how to collection of provocative essays that addresses the predicaments surrounding the rollercoaster and sometimes paralyzing crusade of wretched and disillusioned Africans deserting their homelands to seek lifes greener pastures overseas. It is a book on contemplative life that examines with concrete Biblical determinations the spectacular challenges faced by prisoners of hope - bushfallers - in their epic effort to migrate, assimilate, and thrive in their adopted American home. Bat has ingeniously and persuasively interlaced humor, wit, and the Bible to engage readers on a subject that is at times delicate, private, and mystifying to discuss publicly. He advances forthright strategies for bushfallers to follow in order to optimize every moment of their expedition. The book proffers reliable self-help instructions on how to dodge or contend with the abstract, confrontational, and perturbing experiences of the work-a-day life overseas. He proposes knowledge and skills needed in the areas of tactical positioning; indispensable human, material, and social capital; as well as mental and physical astuteness essential for persistence. Most importantly, Bat invites the bushfaller as well as the onlooker to develop spiritual character and pledge total allegiance to the Lord for faith, strength, and direction. This collection of essays is current, thorough, and complete in its coverage of the multidimensional challenges faced by the bushfaller. As the prospects for living and survival gets even darker and heartless at home, and as the immigration climate gets menacing and precarious for bushfallers overseas, it becomes even more imperative to be proactive, innovative and resourceful in handling lifes vicissitudes.