Passionate Journey

This evocative, text-free narrative is crafted from 167 woodcuts. A novel in pictures, we follow our hero through a world of good and evil, love and heartbreak. Introduction by Thomas Mann.

Society tells us we have the power and where-with-all to make it on our own. The Passionate Journey runs counter to these voices of self-sufficiency with a thoughtful collection of 47 Lenten devotions leading up to the most sacred time of the year--Easter. Through guided reflection, Scripture reading, journaling, silence, and prayer, we are drawn into the peace that is generated by solitude, and prompted to reorganize our priorities, slow down, and appreciate the ultimate sacrifice made by Christ on our behalf. These well-crafted devotional readings are divided into four 10-day sections with a special portion for Holy Week, especially designed to help readers attend to Jesus's sacrifice, and apply the message of the Passion to their life. Additional helps are included in the appendix to help adapt the readings for small-group or family devotions. Even Christians whose faith traditions don't ordinarily include Lenten devotions will find these reflections a welcome retreat and will help connect their lives to Jesus's sacrificial story.

Published in conjunction with an exhibition held at the Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, N.C., July 18-Oct. 18, 2009.

Why does forgiveness, so central in Jesus' life and teaching, seem much more difficult today? Why are we so often told we should forgive but so seldom shown the steps toward forgiveness? "Forgiveness is a perilous and volatile subject because it is so deeply intertwined with our communal and individual wounds," Flora Wuellner writes in the introduction. She explores how Jesus' Beatitudes promise us release from these wounds. You are invited to begin your journey to forgiveness with these hope-filled meditations on each of the Beatitudes. Whether you have deep wounds or are worn down by a multitude of seemingly small grievances, let Wuellener's unique insights into the Beatitudes introduce you to the renewed and healed life Jesus offers. Each of the 11 chapters includes a guided meditation to help you bring the truth of Jesus' words into your own life. Discover an open door to new, healed ways of relating to God, others, yourself, the communities around you, and future generations.

A biographical novel of John Noble, Kansas born artist (1874-1934) whose career took him to France, England and New York, in his relentless search for beauty.

Passionate Journeys explores the fascinating stories behind the Bhagwan Rajneesh phenomenon of the 1970s and 1980s, focusing on women who left families, careers, and identities to join the community of Rajneeshpuram. Rajneesh was a spiritual leader for thousands of young Americans, and in rural Oregon his devotees established a thriving community. Marion S. Goldman's extensive interviews with women who participated at Rajneeshpuram provide a fascinating picture of the cultural and social climate that motivated successful, established women to join such a movement. Passionate Journeys will appeal to specialists in feminist theory and women's studies, sociology, religious studies, American studies, and the history of the Northwest. Marion S. Goldman is Professor of Sociology, University of Oregon. She is also the author of Gold Diggers and Silver Miners: Prostitution and Social Life on the Comstock Lode.

Growing up as an outdoorsy, nature-loving child in Portland, Oregon, Robert Mann wanted to be a forest ranger, but it was violin lessonsâand his parents' encouragementâthat ultimately launched him on a remarkable journey that would span a lifetime and five continents as he pursued his passion for classical music as a violinist, composer, conductor, and teacher. In this fascinating and far-ranging memoir, he looks back at the struggles and triumphs of that journey, as well as the unique insights and experiences he's gained along the way. From their beginnings in 1947, the Juilliard String Quartet set out to play new music as if it had been composed long ago, and to play a classical piece as if it had just been written. At first, the fledging combo struggled to compete with the more established European string quartets, while also coping with the inevitable difficulties of trying to blend four singular personalities and talents into a harmonious whole, but by the time Mann retired from the group some fifty-one years later, the Julliard String Quartet had played close to six thousand concerts on every continent except Africa and Antarctica and become an enduring, beloved institution in American music. They won three Grammys for their recordings, while sharing their distinctive sound with such notable figures as Glenn Gould, Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, and even Albert Einstein. A Passionate Journey is a collection of both spoken and written words in the form of essays, letters, lectures, and transcribed interviews from various times in his life. Together they offer an engrossing glimpse into a life filled with musical milestones and into the fascinating mind of a musical giant.