A Taste Of Silence

Like John Wesley or Jean Pierre de Caussade before him, Catholic priest Arico provides the devout with a model and method for the attainment of a deeper spirituality; unlike them, he feels free to draw wisdom not only from Christian and ancient models but also from Sufism and Thomas Merton to show us how 'God is calling us from our tombs' to the experience of 'divine union.' Arico's spirituality and warmth are profound, and his guide shall be well received by most Christian readers.—Library Journal

At nineteen Bieke Vandekerckhove fell ill. The diagnosis was devastating: the fatal motor neuron disease ALS. Life expectancy: two to five years. So what did she do with the paltry bit of life that was left? By force of circumstance she was led to Saint Lioba Convent in Egmond-Binnen. There she learned Benedictine spirituality and to pray the psalms, which influenced her life for good. Three years later she learned that her illness had gone into remission but that it could flare up again at any time. She has been living with ALS for twenty years now. She is married and has two assistants to help her as necessary. Ten years ago she found the silence of Zen. This encounter also proved decisive. The Taste of Silence reflects what she experienced, saw, and tasted in the stillness of life: “Benedictine spirituality and Zen Buddhism became the two lungs through which I breathe.”

Centering Prayer profoundly many people affected has from all walks of life. Carl Arico, who was introduced to Centering Prayer in 1975 by William Meninger at the Trappist Monastery in Spencer, Massachusetts, is no exception. "It had a profound influence on my life -- on my priesthood and my whole being, " he writes. "I attended an intensive retreat with Thomas Keating in 1983 and soon became involved with the beginnings of Contemplative Outreach -- a resource center for those dedicated to the practice of Centering Prayer." This book is the outcome of more than 20 years of experience with Centering Prayer. Father Arico explores the fundamental practice of Centering Prayer, and how it impacts on one's life, providing the practitioner with a historical foundation, balance, insight, a degree of humor, and peace of mind.

The balance of power in a marriage shifts, with shocking consequences. An elderly woman recounts a chilling childhood memory on the family farm. A taxi driver with a missing wife reveals unexpected skills. An inherited painting brings an eerily troubling legacy.Subtle, compelling and unsettling, Amanda O'Callaghan's stories work at the edges of the sayable, through secrets, erasures and glimpsed moments of disclosure. They shimmer with unspoken histories and characters who have a &‘taste for silence'

A deeply thoughtful, honest and illuminating memoir about a phenomenon too often neglected in the contemporary world.

All is Silence in the World: A Deserted Lands novel By Robert L. Slater The Stand (without paranormal) meets The Bell Jar 2018. No Aliens. No Nuclear War. No Zombies. No People. Almost no humans. In a world ravaged by disease, Lizzie, a 17 year old with an alphabet soup of diagnoses, is one of the few left alive. The freeway on the other side of her street, blocked by cement walls that did little to block the noise, sits eerily silent, the daily sirens faded. Lizzie had said, “I hope you all die!” And then they did. Almost everyone. Her alcoholic mother and her little brother are dying in the hospital; her mom’s abusive boyfriend is dead. Despite her words, being alone isn’t a good thing for an suicidal cutter. Fear of the disease has kept her inside, frozen with indecision. When she finally ventures out she finds survivors: dog-people--altered by the disease, left less than human, and people less scarred, some from her past. A shocking turn of events leaves blood on her hands and reveals a link to a stranger she thought was dead. Bellingham turns dangerous; Lizzie and her friends flee across deserted lands seeking safety and hope for new beginnings. Along the way people join their quest. They encounter fledgling governments, new and old religious fanatics and marauding renegades. In a world with plenty of food, plenty of gas, plenty of space… fear, anger and lust for power still control the patterns of human life. An edgy, realistic, Young Adult apocalypse written by a former alternative high school teacher for the angry, sad Children of the Children of the 80s, teenagers who grew up on their parents’ Hair Metal, John Hughes movies, and pizza. Oh, and their parents who aren’t too old to recognize themselves…

“Evocative prose and illustrations bring to life…[the] heart-wrenching decisions and considerations that Japanese Americans had to face…[and] their endurance, sacrifices, and resilience, even as their loyalty was questioned without cause.” —Susan H. Kamei, author of When Can We Go Back to America? Told in a brilliant blend of prose and graphic novel, this unforgettable middle grade story about a Japanese American family during World War II is written and illustrated by Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature winner Matt Faulkner. Manzanar is nothing like home. Yet the relocation center is where Mari and her family have to live, now that the government has decided that Japanese Americans aren’t American enough. Determined to prove them wrong, Mari’s brother Mak has joined the army and is heading off to war. In protest, Mari has stopped talking for the duration of the war. Or at least until Mak comes home safe. Still, Mari has no trouble expressing herself through her drawings. Mak, too, expresses himself in his letters home, first from training camp and later from the front lines of World War II, where he is fighting with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. But while his letters are reassuring, reality is not: Mak is facing danger at every turn, from racism within the army to violence on the battlefield. In turns humorous and heartbreaking, Mari and Mak’s story will stick with readers long after the last page.

"The galaxy remembers him as a hero: the man who burned every last alien Cielcin from the sky. They remember him as a monster: the devil who destroyed a sun, casually annihilating four billion human lives--even the Emperor himself--against Imperial orders. But Hadrian was not a hero. He was not a monster. He was not even a soldier. On the wrong planet, at the right time, for the best reasons, Hadrian Marlowe starts down a path that can only end in fire"--Publisher marketing.