Fighting To The Death

Fighting.

What it was like to fight Hitler's ideological troops in Normandy starting on D-Day, June 6, 1944.

After twelve years, sixteen cancer occurrences and counting, Lorie L. Vincent and her husband Mark chronicle their approach to living and thriving during lifelong suffering. In Fighting Disease, Not Death they go beyond the relentless progression of the disease to describe the anchoring faith that sustains them and gives them a reason to remain in service to others. They compare their decision to fight disease, but not worry about the moment of death, to approaches others take when faced with lifelong suffering. Their critique of these other approaches is gentle but offers each reader a stark reminder that they will collect suffering experiences during their lifetime. Lorie and Mark maintain that it is how each of us builds on our crucibles that makes us remarkable, and gives us opportunity to offer lasting value for those who come after us. "There is nothing more Earth shattering than to hear the words 'You have metastatic cancer', and with that statement most people bide their time as best they can with the nagging knowledge that time is running out. Even the bravest souls question their fate, but there is a rare ability to keep your mind, body and spirit all in play to help defeat the toughest enemy of your life. Lorie Vincent has this ability. In nearly 25 years of being a doctor I have never met another individual who has embraced her diagnosis, her faith, her treatments, her family and her fate in such a courageous and graceful fashion. She battles on and on with dignity and poise. Her never-ending wellspring of energy and goodwill recharges her caregivers' batteries as we try to evolve her treatments. Her story is miraculous, inspiring and not over by a long shot." -Curtis C. Quinn, MD. Cardiothoracic Surgeon

Gladiators were mostly slaves and ex-soldiers, but some actually volunteered to fight for ancient Rome’s entertainment. Gladiators went to special schools to acquire the skills needed to best opponents and survive to fight another day. This absorbing book gives detailed descriptions of weapons, armor, rules of the arena, and different--often gruesome--gladiatorial events. Roman history comes alive in photographs of the Colosseum and ancient artifacts, as well as in famous paintings and instructive illustrations. Thankfully, this brutal practice is a piece of the past, but much can be learned about Roman culture through its study.

Substance abusers, addicts with a physical dependency, and those who cannot stop some type of pleasurable activity can gain insights and practical help from the hopeful message from the Bible regarding addictive thoughts and behavior.

Death is inevitable. But bad deaths-- accompanied by unnecessarily prolonged pain and suffering, often aggravated by immensely costly and frequently futile medical treatments-- can be avoided. This book offers clear and valuable examples of how, through frank communication with caregivers and loved ones and the use of Advance Medical Directives such as living wills, those who are facing the possibility of death in the foreseeable future, and those who help them cope, can greatly minimize or eliminate end-of-life turmoil, family dissension, and pain.

Michigan is the only state in the country that has a death penalty prohibition in its constitution—Eugene G. Wanger’s compelling arguments against capital punishment is a large reason it is there. The forty pieces in this volume are writings created or used by the author, who penned the prohibition clause, during his fifty years as a death penalty abolitionist. His extraordinary background in forensics, law, and political activity as constitutional convention delegate and co-chairman of the Michigan Committee Against Capital Punishment has produced a remarkable collection. It is not only a fifty-year history of the anti–death penalty argument in America, it also is a detailed and challenging example of how the argument against capital punishment may be successfully made.