Adult

ER nurse Macy Wynn has finally located the fellow foster child she loves like a sister, but the girl is in deep trouble. Macy is determined to help, no matter what it takes. Her motto is to “make it happen” in any situation life throws at her --- even when she butts heads with an idealistic cop. Deputy Fletcher Holt believes in a higher plan, the fair outcome. Now he’s been yanked from Houston, his mother is battling cancer, and he’s attracted to a strong-willed nurse who could be the target of a brutal sniper. When everything goes wrong, where do they put their trust?

Alexa Zimmerman wonders if the Old Order Mennonite community in Arborville, Kansas will ever fully accept her. Her family roots here aren’t what anyone thought when she first arrived. The bed-and-breakfast she’s operating needs to succeed, so she agrees to allow hotshot reporter Briley Forrester to stay as a long-term boarder, not knowing his real motives for being amongst the Plain folk. But when Alexa agrees to host her cousin, the presence of extended family brings out Alexa’s insecurities and sets Briley on the trail to uncovering a web of hidden truths.

Moving from a fear-based life to faith-based freedom is a journey that takes time and courage. While remaining scared and small can feel comfortable, taking hold of strength and determination opens our eyes to a measure of the Lord's goodness we've never seen. In YOU ARE MORE THAN YOU KNOW, Patsy Clairmont's trademark humor spills out as she answers the question she is most often asked --- how she overcame her own deliberating fears --- and along the way helps readers face their own anxieties, dismay, worries and despair.

Loving someone with an addiction represents huge spiritual challenges: overcoming denial; transcending fear, anger, shame and guilt; forgiving oneself and the loved one; deciding whether to stay or leave. In this collection of 52 devotions, Alyssa Phillips conveys the power of scripture to help Christians who, like herself, love someone suffering from an addiction. As they immerse themselves in the Gospel stories and imaginatively accompany Jesus through his life and ministry, readers will find hope and strength to face their challenges.

Máirtín Ó Cadhain’s satire, originally published in Irish in 1949, is appearing in English translation for the first time. THE DIRTY DUST has about two dozen characters, all of whom are dead and lying in their respective graves. Written almost entirely in dialogue and set during World War II, this hilariously profane book depicts Irish villagers who can’t stop gossiping and complaining about one another. So much for resting in peace.

Alice Pearse is a mostly happily married mother of three, an attentive daughter, an ambivalent dog-owner, a part-time editor, a loyal neighbor and a Zen commuter. When her husband makes a radical career change, Alice is ready to lean in --- and she knows exactly how lucky she is to land a job at Scroll, a hip young start-up that promises to be the future of reading. She is proud of her new “balancing act” until her dad gets sick, her marriage flounders, her babysitter gets fed up, her kids start to grow up, and her work takes an unexpected turn.

Examining the borders between one nation and another, between one person and another, Luis Alberto Urrea reveals his mastery of the short form. Suffused with wanderlust, compassion, and no small amount of rock and roll, this collection includes the Edgar Award-winning "Amapola" and his now-classic "Bid Farewell to Her Many Horses," which had the honor of being chosen for NPR's "Selected Shorts" not once but twice.

American Rebecca Porter was never one for fairy tales. Her twin sister, Lacey, has always been the romantic who fantasized about glamour and royalty, fame and fortune. Yet it's Bex who seeks adventure at Oxford and finds herself living down the hall from Prince Nicholas, Great Britain's future king. And when Bex can't resist falling for Nick, the person behind the prince, it propels her into a world she did not expect to inhabit, under a spotlight she is not prepared to face.

Ten years ago, New Yorker Elizabeth Bard followed a handsome Frenchman up a spiral staircase to a love nest in the heart of Paris. Now, with a baby on the way, Elizabeth takes another leap of faith with her husband when they move to Provence and open an artisanal ice cream shop. Filled with enticing recipes such as stuffed zucchini flowers, fig tart and honey-and-thyme ice cream, PICNIC IN PROVENCE is the story of everything that happens after the happily ever after.

For nearly 30 years, Maya Angelou and Tavis Smiley shared an unlikely, special bond. Angelou was a teacher and a maternal figure to Smiley, and they talked often of art, politics, history, race, religion, music, love, purpose and --- more than anything --- courage. In MY JOURNEY WITH MAYA, Smiley recalls a joyful friendship filled to the brim with sparkling conversation. In Angelou's gardens surrounded by her caged birds, before lectures, sharing meals, and on breaks from it all, they sought each other out for comfort, advice and, above all else, friendship.