The Solace Tree

Maria Isidora Schalalci's husband, Albert, is suffering from kidney failure but refuses to accept the standard form of treatment. Albert if a curmudgeon, however Maria stays with him and tolerates his shenanigans, and through her tenacity Albert escapes the inevitable. The willow tree by the pond, her hiding place from her husband, helps her maintain her sanity.

Maria Isidoro Schalalci, a petite mail-order bride from the Orient, is the second wife of Albert Schalaci, a lanky, stubborn fanatic, who has kidney failure, but refuses to accept the standard form of medicine. Explanations, constant urgings and threats, fail to dissuade him from his unorthodox ways and belief. He insists on his own herbal remedies with near-deadly consequences. Despite his curmudgeonly personality, however, she stays with him, perseveres, and tolerates his shenanigans. Only through her vicarious sacrifices, determination, and tenacity, her husband escapes the inevitable. The willow tree by the pond, her retreat for prayers, meditation, and a hiding place from her obnoxious husband, helps maintain her sanity. This story, although a dramatization, is based on the author's professional knowledge and personal experiences with renal failure and its treatment. It portrays patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD): the etiologies, symptomatology, physiology, processes, and benefits of the accepted treatment options. It is an aid to the understanding of the plight of patients and families with CKD: their miseries, frustrations, disappointments, and the successes and failures in the quest for compatible kidney donors. The author aims to give the readers and the public a better understanding of the disease's processes and its ultimate remedy, kidney transplantation, and hopes to erase the clouds of doubt, skepticism, and fear. Life is sweet, help the unfortunates.

These transcendent, lyrical essays on the West announced Gretel Ehrlich as a major American writer—“Wyoming has found its Whitman” (Annie Dillard). Poet and filmmaker Gretel Ehrlich went to Wyoming in 1975 to make the first in a series of documentaries when her partner died. Ehrlich stayed on and found she couldn’t leave. The Solace of Open Spaces is a chronicle of her first years on “the planet of Wyoming,” a personal journey into a place, a feeling, and a way of life. Ehrlich captures both the otherworldly beauty and cruelty of the natural forces—the harsh wind, bitter cold, and swiftly changing seasons—in the remote reaches of the American West. She brings depth, tenderness, and humor to her portraits of the peculiar souls who also call it home: hermits and ranchers, rodeo cowboys and schoolteachers, dreamers and realists. Together, these essays form an evocative and vibrant tribute to the life Ehrlich chose and the geography she loves. Originally written as journal entries addressed to a friend, The Solace of Open Spaces is raw, meditative, electrifying, and uncommonly wise. In prose “as expansive as a Wyoming vista, as charged as a bolt of prairie lightning,” Ehrlich explores the magical interplay between our interior lives and the world around us (Newsday).

Using small-town life as a springboard to explore the loftiest of ideas, Haven Kimmel’s irresistibly smart and generous first novel is at once a romance and a haunting meditation on grief and faith. Langston Braverman returns to Haddington, Indiana (pop. 3,062) after walking out on an academic career that has equipped her for little but lording it over other people. Amos Townsend is trying to minister to a congregation that would prefer simple affirmations to his esoteric brand of theology. What draws these difficult—if not impossible—people together are two wounded little girls who call themselves Immaculata and Epiphany. They are the daughters of Langston’s childhood friend and the witnesses to her murder. And their need for love is so urgent that neither Langston nor Amos can resist it, though they do their best to resist each other. Deftly walking the tightrope between tragedy and comedy, The Solace of Leaving Early is a joyous story about finding one’s better self through accepting the shortcomings of others.

The collection of poems follow the seasons in descriptions of trees as they relate to the accompanying photographs. The photos and the poems interact with one another.

Trees and humans essentially want the same thing – to live good, happy, purposeful lives and to flourish. We are inextricably bound. Trees provide us with the necessities of life – they clean the air we breathe, fill us with awe as we walk through forests and provide timber for the houses we live in, yet there are deeper reasons for our arboreal admiration that go beyond utility and beauty. Tree Glee looks at the psychology behind our fascination with trees, examining exactly how they comfort, restore and revitalise us and what we can learn from the wisdom of woodlands to improve our own wellbeing. It explores the importance of trees in our leafy suburbs and urban landscapes, sharing magical stories of remarkable ancient trees across the globe and inviting readers to reflect on their own personal 'treestory'. Featuring captivating photos and with chapters on forest bathing and nature therapy, woodland wellbeing and tree mythology Tree Glee explores how by deepening our appreciation and connection to trees and by celebrating and protecting them, we can flourish together.

Using small-town life as a springboard to explore the loftiest of ideas, Haven Kimmel’s irresistibly smart and generous first novel is at once a romance and a haunting meditation on grief and faith. Langston Braverman returns to Haddington, Indiana (pop. 3,062) after walking out on an academic career that has equipped her for little but lording it over other people. Amos Townsend is trying to minister to a congregation that would prefer simple affirmations to his esoteric brand of theology. What draws these difficult—if not impossible—people together are two wounded little girls who call themselves Immaculata and Epiphany. They are the daughters of Langston’s childhood friend and the witnesses to her murder. And their need for love is so urgent that neither Langston nor Amos can resist it, though they do their best to resist each other. Deftly walking the tightrope between tragedy and comedy, The Solace of Leaving Early is a joyous story about finding one’s better self through accepting the shortcomings of others.

The title of this engaging work emphasizes that the author lives, works, and creates art in this place--a particular site in the foothills of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The subtitle indicates that place is the arena for investigating engagement with the land and nature, art and creativity, and spiritual life. By exploring the significance of place in our fragmented world and by using her artistic practice as an example, the author hopes to offer readers new definitions of the interrelationship of religion and art. Haynes is the first to examine the intersection of these three themes, which may be variously defined. First, the land and nature provide the literal site for the book, and the language of ecology is woven throughout. In the face of contemporary global crises, Haynes believes that we have a moral imperative to address how we live and work in the physical environment. Second, visual art, creativity, and the creative process are discussed using historical and contemporary examples. Haynes is a philosopher of art and an artist, whose primary creative work involves carving marble and drawing. Using her stone sculptures to frame the book's chapters, she takes readers on a meandering journey into the history, philosophy, and practice of art. Third, the religious and spiritual life is highlighted with examples from both her practice of yoga and Buddhist meditation as well as from her work with hospice patients.