Ashes Of Life

A disturbing yet inspirational account of the author's experiences in Nazi Germany and Poland during the time of the Holocaust.

*#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER *Winner, Kobo Emerging Writer Prize Nonfiction *Winner, Indigenous Voices Awards *Winner, High Plains Book Awards *Finalist, CBC Canada Reads *A Globe and Mail Book of the Year *An Indigo Book of the Year *A CBC Best Canadian Nonfiction Book of the Year In this extraordinary and inspiring debut memoir, Jesse Thistle, once a high school dropout and now a rising Indigenous scholar, chronicles his life on the streets and how he overcame trauma and addiction to discover the truth about who he is. If I can just make it to the next minute...then I might have a chance to live; I might have a chance to be something more than just a struggling crackhead. From the Ashes is a remarkable memoir about hope and resilience, and a revelatory look into the life of a Métis-Cree man who refused to give up. Abandoned by his parents as a toddler, Jesse Thistle briefly found himself in the foster-care system with his two brothers, cut off from all they had known. Eventually the children landed in the home of their paternal grandparents, whose tough-love attitudes quickly resulted in conflicts. Throughout it all, the ghost of Jesse’s drug-addicted father haunted the halls of the house and the memories of every family member. Struggling with all that had happened, Jesse succumbed to a self-destructive cycle of drug and alcohol addiction and petty crime, spending more than a decade on and off the streets, often homeless. Finally, he realized he would die unless he turned his life around. In this heartwarming and heart-wrenching memoir, Jesse Thistle writes honestly and fearlessly about his painful past, the abuse he endured, and how he uncovered the truth about his parents. Through sheer perseverance and education—and newfound love—he found his way back into the circle of his Indigenous culture and family. An eloquent exploration of the impact of prejudice and racism, From the Ashes is, in the end, about how love and support can help us find happiness despite the odds.

How does life go on after losing a child? Life from the Ashes shares the dark and raw story of Shari O’Loughlin’s loss of her 14-year-old son, Connor, who was shockingly killed in an airplane crash on his way home from a four-day vacation. Like all parents, Shari was struck with the most unimaginable nightmare when her family received the soul-numbing news. Parents trying to navigate the perilous journey of traumatic loss know the path is agonizing. Happiness, faith, and wholeness seem reserved for everyone else but them. Shari shares her story to help bring the same unexpected hope and healing she experienced to parents alike. She helps answer questions on how parents can trust again, feel happiness, and have faith after God let their child die. She addresses how to live with this new life, take steps toward healing, and live a more purposeful life after loss. In honor of Connor and her family, Shari shares her path from darkness to light so other parents may better find their way. Although Shari’s story shares the journey after the loss of a child, it contains tools that can help anyone who has suffered a loss of any type move forward in life.

The compelling life story of Armenian ceramicist David Ohannessian, whose work changed the face of Jerusalem—and a granddaughter's search for his legacy. Along the cobbled streets and golden walls of Jerusalem, brilliantly glazed tiles catch the light and beckon the eye. These colorful wares—known as Armenian ceramics—are iconic features of the Holy City. Silently, these works of ceramic art—art that also graces homes and museums around the world—represent a riveting story of resilience and survival: In the final years of the Ottoman Empire, as hundreds of thousands of Armenians were forcibly marched to their deaths, one man carried the secrets of this age-old art with him into exile toward the Syrian desert. Feast of Ashes tells the story of David Ohannessian, the renowned ceramicist who in 1919 founded the art of Armenian pottery in Jerusalem, where his work and that of his followers is now celebrated as a local treasure. Ohannessian's life encompassed some of the most tumultuous upheavals of the modern Middle East. Born in an isolated Anatolian mountain village, he witnessed the rise of violent nationalism in the waning years of the Ottoman Empire, endured arrest and deportation in the Armenian Genocide, founded a new ceramics tradition in Jerusalem under the British Mandate, and spent his final years, uprooted, in Cairo and Beirut. Ohannessian's life story is revealed by his granddaughter Sato Moughalian, weaving together family narratives with newly unearthed archival findings. Witnessing her personal quest for the man she never met, we come to understand a universal story of migration, survival, and hope.

Spiritual blogger and pastor Arianne Braithwaite Lehn provides encouragement for the spiritual journey in these honest and poetic prayers drawn from everyday emotions, joys, and frustrations of our days. Ash & Starlight features prayers for centering, confession and release, guidance and transition, waiting and struggle, comfort and strength, trust, and seasonal times of year. This book will help you find connection and wholeness in your own daily pilgrimage and empower you to live authentically and soulfully, embracing the brokenness and beauty of your life right now, just as it is. Now available in paperback with additional content, featuring original cover art by Penelope Dullaghan, Ash & Starlight is the perfect gift for a friend, family member, a neighbor, a new mom, and anyone seeking spiritual nourishment in their daily journey!

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Married for just three months, Alex Barrett is stunned when her husband, David, dies in a tragic accident. And the absolute last thing the pregnant young widow wants is to take on responsibility for his teenage daughter, Maddie. Reeling from loss, Alex struggles to deal with her grief and her troubled stepdaughter, but one question haunts her: why was David with his ex-wife when he died? All Maddie Barrett wanted was for her parents to get back together, but an icy road took that dream away. Afterward, Maddie is riddled with guilt that she can't share with anyone. Feeling angry and alone, she lays all the blame on Alex. Alex and Maddie must find a way to move past their pain-shared, yet separate. Thrown together in an untenable arrangement, they fight through a frozen landscape of sorrow and redemption while redefining love, forgiveness, and family.