Adult

The scarcely populated town of Sweetland rests on the shore of a remote Canadian island. Its slow decline finally reaches a head when the mainland government offers each islander a generous resettlement package --- the sole stipulation being that everyone must leave. Fierce and enigmatic Moses Sweetland, whose ancestors founded the village, is the only one to refuse. As he watches his neighbors abandon the island, he recalls the town’s rugged history and its eccentric cast of characters.

Following the Civil War, Union veterans --- tending rotting wounds, battling alcoholism, campaigning for paltry pensions --- tragically realized that they stood as unwelcome reminders to a new America eager to heal, forget and embrace the freewheeling bounty of the Gilded Age. Mining previously untapped archives, Civil War historian Brian Matthew Jordan uncovers anguished letters and diaries, essays by amputees, and gruesome medical reports, all deeply revealing of the American psyche.

AIDS originated with a virus in a chimpanzee, jumped to one human, and then infected 60 million people. This is the story of how an unnoticed chimpanzee infection became a human plague. David Quammen tracks the virus from chimp populations in the jungles of southeastern Cameroon to laboratories across the globe. 

Building on fresh evidence --- including a detailed record of slave escapes secretly kept by Sydney Howard Gay, one of the key organizers in New York --- Eric Foner elevates the underground railroad from folklore to sweeping history. It eventually took a civil war to destroy American slavery, but here at last is the story of the courageous effort to fight slavery by "practical abolition" --- person by person, family by family.

Audrey Whitman's dreams are coming true. Now that their five kids are grown, she and her husband are turning their beloved family home into a cozy bed and breakfast. Opening weekend makes Audrey anxious, with family and friends coming from all over to help celebrate the occasion. But when Audrey's daughter, Landyn, arrives, the U-Haul she's pulling makes it clear she's not just here for a few days. Can Audrey still realize her dream and at the same time provide the comfort of home her daughter so desperately needs?

THE STICKY FAITH GUIDE FOR YOUR FAMILY addresses one of the top current concerns about youth and the church: the reality that nearly half of all young people raised in Christian families walk away from their faith when they graduate from high school. This book arises from the innovative, research-based, and extensively field-tested project known as “Sticky Faith,” designed to equip parents with insights and ideas for nurturing long-term faith in children and young people.

Darryl Strawberry and his wife, Tracy, have suffered through --- and survived --- adultery, addiction, financial destruction, and many other all-too-familiar struggles. A no-holds-barred account of their personal journey, THE IMPERFECT MARRIAGE provides a step-by-step program that will help you and your partner understand the key issues that could be causing damage in your relationship and recognize turning points on the journey toward marriage restoration.

Many people have been manipulated and abused by religion or hurt and ignored in relationships. In LOVE WELL, you will discover how to get unstuck. You will be equipped to set boundaries and build long-lasting, meaningful relationships. Through deeply personal reflections and stories, Jamie George speaks candidly regarding his lack of faith in organized religion. Jamie weaves his own story through ancient tales and sprinkles in enough pop culture anecdotes to keep you coming back for more. And if you follow his 12 prompts, you will experience a life filled with a lot less pressure and a lot more fun.

Americans love God. We stamp God on our money, our bumper stickers, and our bodies. With a church on nearly every street, it's hard to deny our country's deep connection with the divine. Yet culture critic Matthew Paul Turner says that God didn't just change America --- America changed God. As a result, do we even recognize the "real" God? Here, Turner explores the United States' vast influence on God, told through an amazing true history of faith, politics and evangelical pyrotechnics.