A Walk Beside Me

After relentless suffering, a woman decides to end her life—until a few real-life angels start showing up . . . A model-turned-wife-and-mother, Willow Adair lives with her husband and kids in Bexley, one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Columbus, Ohio. On the outside, she has everything. On the inside, she struggles with her self worth. Spurned by her neglectful husband and defied by her rebellious teen daughter, Willow never feels she’s good enough, and fears everyone she loves will leave. Piece by piece, the cornerstones of Willow’s life begin to crumble. A routine operation goes horribly wrong, requiring a long recovery. A yoga injury leads to pain, surgeries, and misdiagnoses, ending in a permanent loss of motion in her arm. Then, as if she hasn’t suffered enough, Willow is diagnosed with breast cancer. Convinced no one will stand by her for one more day of sickness and depression, she prepares to end her life. But Willow’s friends go with her to chemo. They sleep over at her house. They lift her spirits when she’s sad, and weep with her when she’s hurting. They walk beside her literally, on sidewalks from Cleveland to Miami. And they walk beside her spiritually and emotionally, soothing her heartache, healing her self-esteem, and reminding her that every single minute of her life is abundantly worth living. Walk Beside Me is a tale of sickness and triumph, of being comfortable in your own skin, of valuing the things that have true value, and of learning to fight for yourself and what you truly want. It’s the story of a woman who peels away the layers to find her inner warrior, a woman who faces insurmountable odds and—thanks to her earthly Angels—learns to treasure the gift of God’s infinite light and love.

Deann and her husband, George, were making a life for themselves in their native Colorado, working hard to make ends meet and relishing the joys of having two children. But one of them, three-year-old Luke, was getting around slowly and still not walking. When they learned that he had Duchene muscular dystrophy, their lives were changed forever. Doctors told the couple that their son would live until his late teens or early twenties, and while the news was devastating, their prayers to the Lord and relationship with God helped them enjoy every single moment they had together as a family. In this memoir, Deann celebrates her son, who touched so many lives in a short period of time. He always had a smile on his face, and he never let obstacles get in his way. Through his actions, he inspired everyone around him to live out loud. Luke always gave a helping hand, and his purpose in life was to share the love in his heart. His life will inspire you to overcome obstacles and recognize the importance of cherishing the ones you love.

900km to walk. A cycle of generational addiction to break. Embark on this inspirational journey of healing on the Camino De Santiago. From hedonistic festivals, psyche readings, spirit guides, and awakenings, to the rugged beauty and medieval streets of Northern Spain, homelessness becomes a pilgrimage, and an adventure in Spain unfolds. Sometimes you have to change everything to change yourself. Powerful. Entertaining. Moving. A timely intervention into the conversation on mental health, masculinity, and suicide. - Soul Craft Your Life Podcast Reviews Set in a dead-end town in the Midlands and Northern Spain, this is an exploration of generational trauma and healing. It's entertaining yet honest, and that's the beauty of it. - James Pointer We meet Peter standing on the edge of a cliff contemplating the question, 'How far would you fall before changing your mind?' Adrift in Spain, having left everything he owns and knows, he faces the hard truth - life catches up to you no matter how far you run. Three months before, whilst sitting in a former police cell and handling Christmas delivery requests, he receives a phone call from a stranger who asks him to write her suicide note. So begins a series of synchronicities that lead him to hike the Camino De Santiago, an ancient pilgrimage route through France and Spain. As he walks, his father's story unfolds beside his own, chronicling the addiction that runs through his paternal line and which led to his father's premature death the year before. Peter is haunted by what seems like an inevitable path laid before him. Homeless and without money, he must let go of control, place his trust in the kindness of strangers, and embrace the mysteries of the Camino. Before he can finish his pilgrimage and reach the ocean, a reckoning awaits him in the desert. If he can face his family's past, he may yet walk into a new world. Inspired by true events, this story is about grief and healing and how we can send the love back. An emotional rollercoaster that carries you the entire way - Laura Clements Some books change you for the better, this one does - M Harrigan A fascinating exploration of masculinity and the search for meaning in a post-Christian world - Stevie and Barbs Podcast I loved this book! Spirit guides, magical signs, listening to the heart, all grounded in a story that holds no punches - Fran, AU

In 1901, nineteen-year-old Ehmid Alley Awid Amerey moved to London, Ontario, leaving the dissolving Ottoman Empire behind. With conscription on the horizon, he fled in search of safety, adventure, and better economic prospects. So begins Richard Asmet Awid’s historical family biography on the Lebanese diaspora and the Lebanese pioneers in the Canadian prairies. While centered around Richard’s close and extended family, this book also serves as a comprehensive history on the Lebanese migration to North America over the course of 135 years. Told in accessible and engaging prose, this biography gives an intimate look into the under-represented Canadian Lebanese community and their remarkable stories.

This is a story being told from the mind of a 21 year old male named Safwaan Muhammad. Safwaan was born in an Islamic community in Philadelphia Pennsylvania, yet he graduated from a Christian Academy in North Carolina. Safwaan spoke fl uent Arabic as a child, yet by the time he reached the 3rd grade, he only spoke English. The Islamic and Christian religions played a key role in his life, and caused many confl icts in his young mind. His environment infl uences him to do some negative things, yet as he matures, he begins to make wiser choices. As you read this book, you will be walking with Safwaan step by step, as he describes some of the most painful, and joyous moments in his life. You will laugh, cry, and think, but most importantly you will relate, because this is a real life story that holds no punches.

Full of practical advice, personal reflections, and spiritual inspiration, Walk with Me is an indispensable resource for Spiritual Directors and their directees. Those in fields such as coaching, hospice work, or chaplaincy work will find this text helpful and inspiring as well. Cathy AJ Hardy shares from her own experiences with “spiritual companions” and from her time as a Spiritual Director to others. By covering issues such as trauma, projecting, and masculine and feminine energies, she engages a wide variety of readers at different points on the spiritual journey. Well organized and clearly written, this book will make a valuable addition to the libraries of professionals and lay people alike.

"The author asks as you read this 'prison reform' book interlaced with small parts of her own personal involvement, that you overlook the grammar, punctuation and, sentence structure errors because she did not and, does not consider herself a writer. But she felt this story had to be told to inform society there is another view of prison life on the inside, rather than only the stories reported by the media and the justice system itself. Therefore, what you are about to read will take you on a journey into the chilling hellhole of prison and, you will find it is not at all what you expected it to be. Quite the contrary, it is a house of dreams for souls who are victims themselves: Victims of abuse while living on the outside in society and, victims of abuse by the penal system during incarceration. In addition, they are victims of drug and alcohol related incidents, or bad judgment and, in more cases than we can imagine, of wrongful conviction." "Elaine was almost oblivious to the insane walk; two sets of remote controlled steel gates, a search room, a 70-foot fenced walkway topped with rolls of ice-steel razor wire, another set of barred gates, but this time, she was conducted straight to the hospital. Every time she made this trip she was appalled at the madness behind the disproportionate security. It appeared to her the perimeter towers, rifles, steel topped clubs, pepper spray and stun guns strapped to the hips of every guard were security enough against men who were shackled behind these cement walls." (p. 17) "Elaine was alone in Starke, Florida. She had driven from Michigan alone to meet Horace and to help him with his appeals and also, when the time was right to become his wife. During the five months since her arrival from Michigan, she had made a few acquaintances, but hadnt had sufficient time to make a good friend. Horace had been her only friend. She had neither friends nor family to stand by her side to give comfort and solace as Horace slowly died a suffering death. But why? Why would a woman, who was considered an average societal wife and mother, leave family and home, even divorcing, to marry a man on death row? Why enter into an environment where personal diminishment is the daily experience? And especially perplexing, why enter into a relationship with a man whose impending death was possibly the only future? Why did Elaine do this? Did She have a choice? It seemed, somehow, her whole life had prepared her in a special way to follow this course, as if a plot had been written. Did she feel a martyr? Did she feel a fool? Did she feel courageous? Elaine truly doesn't have answers to any of these questions, yet one thing she knows about herself," (p. 21) "Even though Horace worked hard in the orange groves all day and led a Honky Tonk band at night in several Lounges in Bartow and Eloise, it didn't matter what he could have been. His reality was, he was marked...His being part Japanese at that prejudicial time and Native American as well, he was prejudged and condemned by an absurd record of poverty and ethnicity. Whether he was laboring in the groves or strumming his guitar playing in lounges at night, Horace was a wandering man with a wandering heart in search of fulfillment. And for this honky-tonk heartbreaker, unfortunately, the worst was about to come for he was one more person who would not be touched by the American Dream but was about to become part of Americas nightmare. (page 29) "The Court: If I can assure you that I would makewell, I will assure you that in the event you are sentenced to life or death The Defendant: Yes, maam. The Court:that I would do everything within my power to have them protect you, but in protecting you, not isolate you from sight and hearing of other inmates. The Defendant: Yes, maam, I understand.

In 1983, the book In Search of April Raintree was published to great acclaim, heralding the voice of an important new writer, Beatrice Mosionier (then Culleton). With honesty and clarity, Mosionier explored the story of two Métis sisters as they struggle with loss, identity, and racism. Yet readers have long asked: how much of April's story comes from the author's own life? Come Walk With Me, Beatrice's answer to that question, is a moving memoir that follows a bewildered three-year-old through a dramatic journey to adulthood. Recounting a life that, at times, parallels that of her most memorable fictional character, and at others, diverges from it, Mosionier searches to make sense of her losses--her sundered family, her innocence, and her dignity--only to triumph as a woman and writer, fulfilled artistically, politically, and personally.