Goodbye My Tribe

Memoir of a writer's growing disenchantment with his evangelical upbringing Goodbye, My Tribe: An Evangelical Exodus is Vic Sizemore's collection of personal essays chronicling two simultaneous transformations. One is the gathering of unconnected--and nonpolitical--evangelical congregations across the nation into the political juggernaut called the Religious Right; the other is the author's own coming to terms with the emotional and spiritual trauma of his life deep inside fundamentalist Christianity, and his struggle to free himself from its grasp. Sizemore, whose father was a preacher and professor at a small West Virginia Bible college, attended Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, arguably the crucible of American evangelical Christianity. Sizemore began writing these essays with the aim of exploring and understanding what happened when the mythology of his "tribe" crumbled from beneath his feet. He draws heavily on his upbringing and his family history as a framework for how his "tribe" of white evangelicals have found ways to reconcile Christianity with what the author finds to be troubling stances on many social issues, among them race, gender, sexuality, materialism, anti-intellectualism, and white supremacy. In a clear-eyed and eloquent voice, Sizemore grapples movingly with his own bewilderment and chagrin as he struggles to reconcile the essential philosophical and moral decay that he believes many evangelicals have come to embrace. His insights, arranged topically and thematically and told through graceful and accessible prose, toggle between memoir and literary journalism, along a spectrum that touches on history, philosophy, theology, and personal reflections.

The Genesis Faction has colonized a new world of primitive humans, hoping to hide from intelligence-hunting aliens lurking between the stars. These newly primitive inhabitants of the Land of Eden are dubbed “neoprims”. One neoprim per tribe every three generations is selected to join the world of advanced humans in the Land of Nod. Enter Zeta of the Scorpion Tail Tribe — a neoprim who must replay her past experiences to piece together her fractured memory. Oraxis and Genevieve worry they have taken on more than they can handle when Zeta breaks out of beta bootstrapping early, forcing them to call on the headstrong Jamji and her monster-pooch, Pepper, for help. When Zeta faces the unthinkable truths of the past, she is forced to decide between living in a fantasy world of her own creation or accepting her fate and finding her purpose in this new reality. Neoprim is Rob Grafrath’s debut novel. It is the first novel in the Zeta Trilogy, and the first work of the Sapiens^6 Universe.

As a species, we are storytellers. Our best stories, those that endure for generations, are stories of trials and suffering and of surmounting the challenges set before us. The biblical Job is such a story, one that has become encrusted with centuries of interpretations. Redefining Job and the Conundrum of Suffering sets out to retell the story, to make “once upon a time” have meaning for us today. The best way to break old patterns is to start from scratch. Redefining Job dissects the story, the history of interpretations, and the history of how humanity has dealt with suffering. As the story is rebuilt with different insights gained from research in biblical studies, humanities, and science, the message can be viewed in a fresh light. The author of Job lived at a time when knowledge was expanding and our perception of our place in the universe was changing. From this perspective, Job becomes a hero. No longer patiently waiting for some ambiguous answer, he is demanding something more of his Maker. “Before I heard, but now I see” becomes an affirmation that he grasped a new path to discovering why we suffer and how we should respond.

Four strong heroines determined to do what’s right for their people, despite the odds against them. Shuree has always been the perfect khan’s daughter, obeying and supporting her father, even if she doesn’t agree with him. So when he is massacred in an ill-fated raid, she must step up to lead her people. But will others accept the peace she knows they so desperately need? As an imperial princess and an assassin, Lien lives by three rules: never disobey the emperor, never reveal her secret gift, and never trust a barbarian. When the emperor betroths her to the barbarian she’s sworn to kill, Lien is faced with an impossible decision. When a deadly disease sweeps through her village, Geriel despairs she’s not a good enough healer to rescue her people. With the outbreak spreading and her gift unstable, she’s sent on a desperate mission to locate the herbal cure deep in enemy territory. Lady’s maid Shan works for a privileged family, though she longs to see all servants treated fairly. But when she’s caught with equality propaganda, no favours can keep her from execution. With no other way to save herself, Shan reveals her ability to turn invisible and agrees to a risky mission spying on the emperor. This boxset contains three full length novels, plus an exclusive novella and short story not for sale anywhere else. Get swept away in the adventure today.

What is a lyric essay? An essay that has a lyrical style? An essay that plays with form in a way that resembles poetry more than prose? Both of these? Or something else entirely? The works in this anthology show lyric essays rely more on intuition than exposition, use image more than narration, and question more than answer. But despite all this looseness, the lyric essay still has responsibilities—to try to reveal something, to play with ideas, or to show a shift in thinking, however subtle. The whole of a lyric essay adds up to more than the sum of its parts. In A Harp in the Stars, Randon Billings Noble has collected lyric essays written in four different forms—flash, segmented, braided, and hermit crab—from a range of diverse writers. The collection also includes a section of craft essays—lyric essays about lyric essays. And because lyric essays can be so difficult to pin down, each contributor has supplemented their work with a short meditation on this boundary-breaking form.

Life is a never-ending story, weaving in and out of lifetimes on its way to Enlightenment. Arda Golden Eagle Woman is an old soul. This is her story of her journey on Planet Earth. She now recognizes that this lifetime was the catalyst, catapulting her back into past life scenarios. Upon revisiting those core issues of her past pain, suffering, and death, she was able to remove all judgment, replacing it with thankfulness and unconditional love for their lessons. This enabled her to heal her mental, emotional, and physical bodies, raising her vibration out of Illusion’s lower vibrations, and harm’s way. Within these pages are many words of wisdom, channeled to her by The Masters, Angels, and her Higher Soul Self, MeAmba. These beautiful messages have greatly assisted her in achieving her high sense of awareness, responsibility, and unconditional love. Look for them, and you may also find your own answers to The Cosmic Joke as you unravel the mysteries of life. When asked how long it took to write this book, she laughingly replies, “all of my 835 lifetimes, along with buckets of tears.” She wishes you an exciting and enlightening journey.