The Porch

"There is something spooky and resonant about liminal places like docks, shorelines, decks, and perhaps most commonly porches. Here, Charlie Hailey meditates on porches in a way that is appropriately thoughtful, affecting, rich, and resonant. Porches, in his hands, become portals onto an endless array of large metaphysical questions: what is it to be in a place? How does one place teach us about the world and about ourselves, both as individuals and as a species? What are we-and the things we have built-in this world? In a time when questions of what makes society society and what sustains the individual are so paramount, Hailey's meditations are both a tonic and a series of welcome provocations"--

Lessons from the Porchis Ed Poole's thoughtful memoir of life's lessons, which he shares with endearing charm and good-natured heart. The book is a thoughtful journey and an engaging reminiscence.Lessons from the Porchwill allow the reader to consider questions such as: Have you wondered how you arrived at your current stop along your journey? Have you ever asked the question, "What am I supposed to be learning from this experience?" How can I leave this world a bit better than it was when I found it? Although written about his own experience battling depression, the book is meant for anyone embarking on a journey to know themselves and cultivate new friendships. We all have places from which we learn life's lessons. For some it may be sitting beside a meandering stream. For this author, the place to which he returned to understand his journey was the porch that surrounded his house as he grew up. Metaphorically, Poole's porch represents how he either has or has not accepted changes in his life. The dilemma about how and when to leave his porch goes back to his early boyhood when his mom would always say, "Eddie, don't get too close to the edge of the porch, because you might fall off."

A new book of poetry written over many years, there is something here for everyone. There are poems inspired by life's many and varied experiences growing up in the mountains of West virginia, by grief and loss and happiness, by a mother's love of children and grandchildren, and happy poems for the child in all of us.

A young couple wakes up to find a strange boy asleep on their porch. At first they don't expect him to stay, but stay he does, and as the couple's connection to him grows, the three of them blossom into an unlikely family. But where has he come from and to whom does he belong? 'A page-turner for a reader of any age.' Publisher's Weekly

Regardless of their sometimes ambiguous concepts of God, the Roman Stoic philosophers did acknowledge Him, but on the basis of reason alone, because they had not met Christ. Nonetheless, they did deduce from God's existence our need to live lives of virtue, honor, tranquility, and self-control--and they developed effective techniques to help us achieve this. Musonius Rufus the teacher, Epictetus the slave, Seneca the adviser to emperors, and Marcus Aurelius, the emperor himself, produced a practical technology we can use to integrate Christian ethics into our own daily practice. As Kevin Vost so wonderfully illustrates in his new book, The Porch and the Cross, the Stoics can help us learn--and remember--what is up to us, and what is up to God alone.

The former American History editor explores the creation and restoration of an essential part of a twentieth-century home’s identity—the American porch. “In this delightful look at an American icon, journalist and documentary scriptwriter . . . Dolan traces the history of the porch, using this history to explore subjects such as architecture, history, slavery, colonialism, trade, anthropology, sociology, consumer behavior, and publishing.” —Library Journal In 1981, Michael Dolan and his wife, Eileen O’Toole, bought a 1926 suburban bungalow in the Palisades area of Washington, DC. It was a fixer-upper and DIY project that consumed their lives for twelve years. As rooms were transformed with updated electrical wiring and plumbing, the house’s porch became a storage area, rotating appliances, furniture, and construction materials as they were used and discarded. After the interior renovation was completed, Michael finally turned his attention to the porch, working with contractors to resurrect it—a reconstruction that inspired him to uncover the history of porches and their significance as a symbolic piece of Americana. “In praise of the porch: Come up and sit a spell.” —USA Today “A wry, well-researched look at the place and the people who rocked, talked and courted on [the American porch] for three centuries.” —Parade “The porch is making a comeback, gradually replacing its humbler rival the deck, which the traditionalist Dolan refers to as the platform shoe or leisure suit of American architecture.” —Time “Dolan amply demonstrates that the porch is primarily a means of escaping the heat and, almost as important, a locus for casual social interaction.” —Publishers Weekly