The Willows Of Corona

This is my third book written during COVID-19 pandemic where I continued to serve unceasing as a practicing Neurosurgeon, Anesthesiologist, Intensivist and Pain Specialist in the Chicago land area. Despite the extreme negative impact of COVID-19 worldwide, I kept daily dairy of my thoughts, reflections and patients stories over a year since June 2021! As I kept writing, while the world is being flooded with the deadly virus and dreadful news, I saw the rainbows in the shadows of COVID-19. As in the days of Noah thousands of years ago after the deadly flood of the world and God covenant with man through the rainbow so is the current days of COVID-19, a renewal of the covenant between the Almighty God the Lord and the people. The current book shares my rainbows in the shadows of COVID-19 as follow up series of the author two books of COVID-19.The book divides into 20 sections and contains total off 194 chapters. The book designates major sections on my continuing education and wellbeing of my residents and students as well as Neurosurgical patients and inspired stories during late phases of COVID. It covers most of the ongoing thoughts and essential events from October 2020 through July 2021 during the COVID recovery phase such as Thanksgiving, Presidential Election and Inauguration, Christmas, New Year, riots and Vaccination. Another section is written to pay tribute to those sacrificed their lives and stood strong against the most horrific virus in the front line.

Former chief inspector Chen faces a tricky serial murderer case at the height of the Covid pandemic - and risks everything he has to expose the deadly effects of the Chinese Communist Party's so-called zero Covid policy to the world. Over two million copies of the Inspector Chen series sold worldwide The Covid crisis is at its height in China. Ex-chief inspector Chen Cao is horrified by the way the Chinese Communist Party are using the pandemic as an excuse to put the Chinese people under blanket surveillance and by the soaring number of deaths caused not by Covid, but by the CCP's inhuman 'zero Covid' policy. Chen is debating whether to translate the 'Wuhan File' - a diary of life during the Wuhan disaster smuggled to him by a close friend - and expose the CCP's secrets to the world when to his surprise he is summoned by a high-level party cadre to help investigate a series of murders near a local Shanghai hospital. Under pressure from the Party to reach a quick conclusion and help maintain political stability, Chen investigates, aware that he too has been placed under omnipresent, omnipotent surveillance. And as he works, determined to uncover the truth, no matter what, he risks everything by deciding to translate the Wuhan Files. For one thing is true in China: you must be absolutely loyal to the Party. Otherwise, you are considered absolutely disloyal, and the consequences are dark indeed . . .

The power of love and the strength of women working together are proved once again. When Willow Sanchez is asked to help Alec Thurston, the man for whom her parents work and who’s always treated her as the daughter he once lost, she doesn’t hesitate to leave Boston and come back home to Palm Desert, California. Alec is dying of cancer and needs her help in overseeing the sale of his hotel, The Desert Sage Inn, to another hotel group. With her hotel accounting background and financial ability, she’s his perfect choice to help make the sale a smooth transition while maintaining the reputation of the upscale property. She arrives to find two other women summoned to help Alec. Lily Weaver was once Alec’s assistant, and Rose Macklin was heavily involved in the hotel in earlier years. They join forces to help him, lovingly accepting his nickname for them—the Desert Flowers, similar to the well-known Charlie’s Angels. Willow is assigned to work with two young men, sons of the majority owners of the hotel company purchasing the Desert Sage Inn. One of the men, Brent Armstrong, attended the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University with her and used to bully her with unkind names. His cousin, Trace Armstrong, seems to be very different. Struggling to compete against them for the eventual job of executive assistant manager at the Desert Sage Inn, Willow wonders if she’ll ever find the right man to settle down with as she decides to stay in Palm Desert. A talented golfer, she is forced to take Alec’s place in a foursome with Craig Kincaid, the man both Rose and Lily think is perfect for her. But neither Willow nor Craig is interested in anything serious until Willow wonders if Craig might be the good guy Alec had always thought he was. A series for those who love stories about strong women facing challenges and finding love and happiness along the way. Be sure to read the other books in the series: Rose, Lily, and Mistletoe and Holly Other series written by Judith Keim are receiving a lot of love: The Hartwell Women Series, The Beach House Hotel Series, The Fat Fridays Series, the Salty Key Inn Series, the Chandler Hill Inn series, and the books in the Seashell Cottage Collection.

With specially commissioned introductions from international experts, the Psychological Insights for Understanding COVID-19 series draws together previously published chapters on key themes in psychological science that engage with people’s unprecedented experience of the pandemic. In this volume on health, Dominika Kwasnicka and Robbert Sanderman introduce chapters that explore the crucial topics of health behaviour change, wellbeing, stress, and coping. They highlight the key role digital health technologies can play in how we manage health conditions, and how we facilitate change to help individuals manage stressful situations such as physical isolation, job loss, and financial strain during the COVID-19 pandemic. The volume also offers an important overview of environmental and policy-based approaches to health behaviour change and addresses the highly relevant issues of identity and trust and how they shape the health of individuals, communities, and society. Highlighting theory and research on these key topics germane to the global pandemic, the Psychological Insights for Understanding COVID-19 series offers thought-provoking reading for professionals, students, academics, and policymakers concerned with psychological consequences of COVID-19 for individuals, families, and society.

Where is God in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic? This volume offers a variety of reflections from the perspectives of theology, scripture, philosophy, ethics, liturgy, pastoral, and canon law. The chapters are addressed to anyone seeking understanding, whatever the level of faith. The book will be helpful for those in parish ministry and interested laypersons, especially in the Irish context. Besides being valuable for personal reading, the volume is also a welcome resource for parish councils or small parish groups, because each chapter concludes with questions for reflection and discussion. This book seeks to offer the beginnings of a theological reflection that will doubtless take years to complete. Contributors to the volume include Tom Casey SJ, Anne Codd PBVM, Pádraig Corkery, Jeremy Corley, Philip Gonzales, Michael Hurley, Gaven Kerr, Nóirín Lynch, Michael Mullaney, Neil Xavier O’Donoghue, Kevin O’Gorman SMA, Noel O’Sullivan, Jessie Rogers, Salvador Ryan, and Michael Shortall. The volume also includes an interview on the pandemic originally given to the Tablet by Pope Francis.

The accidental death of her father, a prominent citizen of Corona, leaves Victoria Moreno full of doubt, questions and anger. Suicide rumors heighten her grief. Why would her father, a devout Catholic kill himself? Was the death accidental? Struggling to cope with his actions, the 17-year old, finds solace in the inspiring and calming presence of Father John Collins rather than Ricardo, her betrothed childhood match. The bond between Victoria and Father John strengthens and evolves into a deep friendship riddled with confusion, complications, challenged beliefs and the discovery of a compelling, tender and sensual love that holds them captive and others in consternation. With mounting passion, they strive to reconcile the desires of the heart, mind and soul as they struggle with a culture defined by duty, tradition and religion, and a family saga steeped in secrets, guilt and greed. This is a strong, human story of a panorama of relationships of real people with hopes and fears that brings out the magic and beauty within us all besides the dark secrets that haunt us. Will their love prevail or will duty and reputation dictate its course? The intrigue entwines the relationship of an imperfect mankind to something higher, as it poses difficult questions, defies convention, and yet affirms age-old truths. Moving, original and provocative the tale turns and twists deepening our understanding of the vicissitudes of our humanity. Set in South Texas, in cinematic, vibrant and imaginative settings, the Texas/Hispanic culture gives the narrative its direction. Heartbreaking and soaringly uplifting, The Willows of Corona is told with candor, sensitivity and a perceptive observation as it treads delicately in one of the more complex paths of life.

As wave after wave of the Corona pandemic crisscrosses the planet, the economic and psychological impact of mandated lockdowns is pushing society toward the brink. When a new mutation, COVID-20, begins its deadly march, a population suffering from virus fatigue doesn’t heed the warnings, and the survival rate plummets. Hyper-inflation rears its ugly head, fueled by desperate government stimulus programs created to support a crumbling economy. Already profoundly divided politically, civilization succumbs to turmoil and anarchy. Best-selling author Joe Nobody’s new novel, COVID-21 follows the adventures of Clay Mantis, a typical teenager who struggles to survive the pandemic and its apocalyptic aftermath. After the government falls, only a handful of “company towns” bear any resemblance to what life was like before the downfall. Competition for resources is intense, as these walled bastions of civilization develop draconian policies and employ ruthless security forces to protect their way of life. With his family barely holding on, Clay discovers a new threat. For his family to survive, he will have to embark on a dangerous path that will test all his courage and skills.