A Place To Call Home

“Rarely will a book touch your heart like A Place to Call Home. So sit back, put up your feet, and enjoy.”—The Atlanta Journal and Constitution Twenty years ago, Claire Maloney was the willful, pampered, tomboyish daughter of the town's most respected family, but that didn’t stop her from befriending Roan Sullivan, a fierce, motherless boy who lived in a rusted-out trailer amid junked cars. No one in Dunderry, Georgia—least of all Claire’s family--could understand the bond between these two mavericks. But Roan and Claire belonged together . . . until the dark afternoon when violence and terror overtook them, and Roan disappeared from Claire's life. Now, two decades later, Claire is adrift, and the Maloneys are still hoping the past can be buried under the rich Southern soil. But Roan Sullivan is about to walk back into their lives. . . . By turns tender and sexy and heartbreaking and exuberant, A Place to Call Home is an enthralling journey between two hearts—and a deliciously original novel from one of the most imaginative and appealing new voices in Southern fiction. Praise for A Place to Call Home “A beautiful, believable love story.”—Chicago Tribune “For sheer storytelling virtuosity, Ms. Smith has few equals.”—Richmond Times-Dispatch “Enchanting new novel . . . a beautiful love story of reunion.”—The News & Observer, Raleigh, NC “Stylishly written, filled with Southern ease and humor.”—Tampa Tribune

This examination of long-term care in Canada seeks to bring the subject out of the shadows and into the forefront of people's thoughts. The contributors look, from a female gender point of view, at developing alternative forms of long-term residential care, which treat both residents and workers with dignity and respect.

For award-winning architect Gil Schafer, the most successful houses are the ones that celebrate the small moments of life—houses with timeless charm that are imbued with memory and anchored in a distinct sense of place. Essentially, Schafer believes a house is truly successful when the people who live there consider it home. It’s this belief—and Schafer’s rare ability to translate his clients’ deeply personal visions of how they want to live into a physical home that reflects those dreams—that has established him as one of the most sought-after, highly-regarded architects of our time. In his new book, A Place to Call Home Schafer follows up his bestselling The Great American House, by pulling the curtain back on his distinctive approach, sharing his process (complete with unexpected, accessible ideas readers can work into their own projects) and taking readers on a detailed tour of seven beautifully realized houses in a range of styles located around the country—each in a unique place, and each with a character all its own. 250 lush, full color photographs of these seven houses and other never-before-seen projects, including exterior, interior, and landscape details, invite readers into Schafer’s world of comfortable classicism. Opening with memories of the childhood homes and experiences that have shaped Schafer’s own history, A Place to Call Home gives the reader the sense that for Schafer, architecture is not just a career but a way of life, a calling. He describes how the many varied houses of his youth were informed as much by their style as by their sense of place, and how these experiences of home informed his idea of classicism as a set of values that he applies to many different kinds of architecture in places as varied as the ones he grew up in. Because while Schafer is absolutely a classical architect, he is in fact a modern traditionalist, and A Place to Call Home showcases how he effortlessly interprets traditional principles for a multiplicity of architectural styles within contemporary ways of living. Sections in Part I include the delicate balance of modern and traditional aesthetics, the juxtaposition of fancy and simple, and the details that make each project special and livable. Schafer also delves into what he refers to as “the spaces in between,” those often overlooked spaces like closets, mudrooms, and laundry rooms, explaining their underappreciated value in the broader context of a home. Part of Schafer’s skill lies in the way he gives the minutiae of a project as much attention as the grand aesthetic gestures, and ultimately, it’s this combination that brings his homes to life. Part II of the book is the story of seven houses and the places they inhabit—each with a completely different character and soul: a charming cottage completely rebuilt into a casual but gracious house for a young family in bucolic Mill Valley, California; a reconstructed historic 1930s Colonial house and gardens set in lush woodlands in Connecticut; a new, Adirondack camp-inspired house for an active family perched on the edge of Lake Placid with stunning views of nearby Whiteface Mountain; an elegant but family-friendly Fifth Avenue apartment with a panoramic view of Central Park; a new timber frame and stone barn situated to take advantage of the summer sun on a lovely, rambling property in New England; a new residence and outbuildings on a 6,000 acre hunting preserve in Georgia, inspired by the historic 1920s and 1930s hunting plantation houses in the region; and Schafer’s own, deeply personal, newly-renovated and surprisingly modern house located just a few feet from the Atlantic Ocean in coastal Maine. In Schafer’s hands, the stories of these houses are irresistibly readable. He guides the reader through each of the design decisions, sharing anecdotes about the process and fascinating historical background and contextual influences of the settings. Ultimately, the houses featured in A Place to Call Home are more than just beautiful buildings in beautiful places. In each of them, Schafer has created a dialogue between past and present, a personalized world that people can inhabit gracefully, in sync with their own notions of home. Because, as Schafer writes in the book, he designs houses “not for an architect’s ego, but [for] the beauty of life, the joys of family, and, not least, a heartfelt celebration of place.”

Any city is a product of politics and economics, organizations and people. Yet, the life experiences of women uprooted from its poorest quarters seldom inform urban resettlement plans. In this ethnographic field study, Ramya Ramanath, Associate Professor at DePaul University, examines the lives of women displaced by slum clearance and relocated to the largest slum resettlement site in Asia. Through conversations with diverse women of different ages, levels of education, types of employment, marital status, ethnicity, caste, religion, and household make-up, Ramanath recounts how women negotiate a drastic change in environment, from makeshift housing in a park slum to ownership of a high-rise apartment in a posh Mumbai suburb. Each phase of their city lives reflects how women initiate change and disseminate a vision valuable to planners intent on urban and residential transformations. Ramanath urges the concerted engagement of residents in design, development, and evaluation of place-making processes in cities and within their own neighborhoods especially. This book will interest scholars of public policy, women and gender studies, South Asian studies, and urban planning.

The acclaimed interior designer combines rich tradition with modern sensibilities in this beautifully photographed book of homes across the deep South. James Farmer’s design firm works with clients across the South who want to turn their houses into homes. Now Farmer takes readers on a guided tour of eleven home projects—from makeovers to remodels and new construction—as he brings together a cultivated mix of high and low, storied and new, collected and found; presenting them all as a thoughtfully exhibited array of taste, style, good architecture, and interior comfort. Woven alongside beautiful photography of interiors and exteriors are personal stories James shares about living in the South, the people in his life, and how he fell in love with home design. A Place to Call Home is a beautiful book to inspire Southern style at home―infusing the new with antique, vintage, and heirloom pieces.

Shilling Grange Orphanage, England, 1949. She would do anything to protect the innocent children in her care. But soon they could be sent into danger... When Clara Newton's fiancé died during World War Two, she thought her life was over. But now she looks after orphans who, like her, lost everything during the war. Children like sweet little Peg who won't speak, and Joyce whose body was scarred by polio. Clara loves them all dearly, even though life as a housemother can be lonely - especially now that Ivor, a D-Day war hero with dark brown eyes who once helped with the children, has disappeared... But then Clara receives some terrible news. The orphanage is going to be sold and the children sent far away. Joyce and Peg will be taken to a notorious home for disabled children. The others will be sent to Australia, where Clara fears they will be mistreated by unknown families. Any day now, the children could lose everything she worked so hard to provide... With wealthy buyers lined up to purchase Shilling Grange and a ship already docked waiting to carry the children away, Clara is desperate. She must find loving new homes for them quickly, but time is running out... Can she save the orphans before they lose everything all over again? And even if Ivor returns when she needs him the most, will it be too late? A completely heart-wrenching and unforgettable historical novel, set after the devastation of World War Two. Perfect for fans of Before We Were Yours, Diney Costeloe and The Orphan Sisters. What readers are saying about Lizzie Page: 'What an emotional read!... At parts I found myself shouting "no". At others I just cried... Absolutely loved it.' Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'My heart is full! Oh, I adored this book so much!... There were moments of pure joy and the book left me feeling uplifted and with a full heart.' Motherhood for Slackers ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Exceptional... hits you for six... I am over the moon... brilliantly written and you fall in love... a feel good book that will make you cry... oh my word I loved this.' Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Wow... this book is outstanding... I couldn't put it down.' Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'I took to all the children with all my heart, such an emotional tale... full of love, compassion and humour... a truly remarkable touching story.' Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Absolutely loved this... I could hardly bear to finish it... Highly recommend!' Jill Mansell ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'It took me about two pages to fall in love with Clara... this book just kept me wanting to know more.' Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'This book warmed my heart... Each character is so very special. You will laugh at their childish pranks, their little escapades and cheer at their successes... A delightful, heart-warming story.' Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Caring for her two younger siblings after their unreliable mother abandons them, fifteen-year-old Anna discovers the difficulties of trying to be a parent.

In 1933, what's left of the Turner family--twelve-year-old Hallie and her two brothers--finds itself driving the back roads of rural America. The children have been swept up into a new migratory way of life. America is facing two devastating crises: the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. Hundreds of thousands of people in cities across the country have lost jobs. In rural America it isn't any better as crops suffer from the never-ending drought. Driven by severe economic hardship, thousands of people take to the road to seek whatever work they can find, often splintering fragile families in the process. As the Turner children move from town to town, searching for work and trying to cobble together the basic necessities of life, they are met with suspicion and hostility. They are viewed as outsiders in their own country. Will they ever find a place to call home? New York Times-bestselling author Sandra Dallas gives middle-grade readers a timely story of young people searching for a home and a better way of life.