Threads Of Hope

Kristin Eikaas has her hopes set on a new life in America. The year is 1848, and Kristin Eikaas has traveled from Norway to Wisconsin with dreams of a new life. But when she arrives, she finds one disappointment after another. Worse, her superstitious uncle now believes that his neighbor’s Oneida Indian wife has put a curse on Kristin. Everyone knows the Sundbergs put spells on people... Everyone except Kristin. Her run-ins with Sam Sundberg only prove that he is a good man from a Christian family. But when her uncle discovers she’s been associating with Sam, his temper flares. To escape his wrath, Kristin gratefully accepts a job as the Sundbergs’ house girl, finding solace at the family’s spinning wheel. In the time Sam and Kristin spend together, their friendship develops into much more, and Sam prays about a match between them. But opposition threatens to derail their newfound love. Will they have the courage to stand up for what is right--even against their own families?

Tapestries of Hope, Threads of Love tells the story of ordinary women living in terror and extreme poverty under General Pinochet's oppressive rule in Chile (1973-1989). These women defied the military dictatorship by embroidering their sorrow on scraps of cloth, using needles and thread as one of the boldest means of popular protest and resistance in Latin America. The arpilleras they made--patchwork tapestries with scenes of everyday life and memorials to their disappeared relatives--were smuggled out of Chile and brought to the world the story of their fruitless searches in jails, morgues, government offices, and the tribunals of law for their husbands, brothers, and sons. Marjorie Agosín, herself a native of and exile from Chile, has spent more than thirty years interviewing the arpilleristas and following their work. She knows their stories intimately and knows, too, that none of them has ever found a disappeared relative alive. Even though the dictatorship ended in 1989 and democracy returned to Chile, no full account of the detained and disappeared has ever been offered. Still, many women maintain hope and continue to make arpilleras, both in memory and as art. This new edition of the book, updated for students, includes a reaction to the death of General Pinochet, a chronology of Chile, several new testimonies from arpilleristas in their own words, and an introduction by Peter Kornbluh. It retains a section of full-color plates of arpilleras, an afterword by Peter Winn, and a foreword by Isabel Allende. Students and interested readers will find the arpilleras beautiful, moving, and ultimately hopeful, and the testimonies a powerful way to learn about the history of contemporary Latin America and the arpillera movement in Chile.

Can they find a way to stitch their suffering into hope and embrace an uncertain future? Tally Smucker's quiet life of reading and quilting hides her sorrow over her mother's declining health and the lack of a fulfilling future for herself. When her daily life is shaken by her free-spirited neighbor Danielle--who grew up Plain but joined the Army at eighteen--Tally's instinct is to distance herself. Yet she finds she can't turn away when Danielle's brother, Kenan, specifically asks for her help. She invites Danielle to visit Plain Patterns quilt shop with her, where the story of the plight of a WWI soldier and the girl he left behind resonates with both Tally and Danielle, but for different reasons. When Tally's mother suffers a setback at the same time Danielle's PTSD becomes unmanageable, it seems Tally's efforts to aid them only make things worse. Can the soldier's story, along with the care of Kenan, help Tally accept the hope that waits just around the corner? From the talented pen of Leslie Gould comes a moving tale of restoration and renewed hope within the Amish community.

Passed over for promotion and dumped by her boyfriend, Nina O’Malley is further frustrated when her editor assigns her one of the “soft” stories she despises—covering a gala benefit supporting the AIDS Memorial Quilt. More determined than ever to prove she deserves a promotion to the NY office, Nina decides to write a series featuring a local quilting group raising money for AIDs research At the event, she runs into her high school nemesis: Greg is a widower and the adoptive father of Jazarah, an HIV positive girl from Ethiopia. Unlike Nina, Greg has faith in a loving God, and he trusts in God’s plan for his life Greg and Nina grow closer, and as Nina interviews the quilt families, she begins to question the choices she has made and her lack of faith. Nina suddenly finds herself facing two possible dreams, two paths for her life.

On 1st October 2012, April Jones, aged 5, was abducted from outside her home in the small Welsh market town of Machynlleth. This led to the largest police search operation of its kind ever conducted in the UK, and a subsequent murder investigation and trial which was scrutinised by the international media. This book uses a collaborative narrative research process to explore the lived experiences of one specific group of community members who responded to this event by setting up, and running, a therapeutic project to support the community between 2012 and 2014. The author weaves together threads of the story taken from her own ethnographic journal, and co-researcher accounts, together with community updates taken from press releases and academic theory, to create an evocative narrative account that will enable readers to understand what it may be like to be involved in a therapeutic project of this kind. The book highlights some of the challenges and offers suggestions for community leaders, therapeutic practitioners and critical incident planners who may be considering setting up support in response to community trauma.

I am so very humbled by the life in which I am living, because I know the devastation, & destruction it has taken to get to where I am today, but I also feel accomplished to a certain degree, knowing that life doesn't have to stay the way it has always been.What I hope to gain by sharing my thoughts, is that my words can give hope to those whom have also been at rock bottom, battled their inner demons, or drawn the short end of the stick in life - and for them to know that life doesn't always have to be that way, that we hold within ourselves, the power to turn it all around...Though, in order for there to be change, one must first face, all that is feared to be seen, but all that is ugly through accepting harsh truths of your own reality is the path to your healing journey - which in the end, can be, such a messy, yet beautiful thing.

What if your secrets are so dangerous they could destroy the one you love? Is honesty always the best policy? This is a story of faith, god and fantasy all mixed into a beautifully written tale of love and consequences of our actions….one that will stay with you… The Bookwormery Leonie may have run away but Prospero will find her. He loves her and he wants a future with her by his side whatever the consequences. Only when he does find her, he ought to tell her who he really is, outside the monastery. That’ll make her run again. Dare he risk it? But if he doesn’t tell her, someone else may... Marriage to Prospero is what Leonie wants most and the one thing she knows she can’t have. If he found out what she was really like, what she’d been, what she’d done, he’d despise her and she couldn’t bear that. Better to leave now than live a lie – but it’s harder than she expected. If only… Gabriel is starting to discover the secrets inherent in Leonie, secrets that not even she knows, secrets that will tear the world apart. And the secrets he is keeping are tearing him apart. How can sacrificing those he loves possibly achieve peace when everything he discovers risks the death of millions? The pacing complimented the plot, which was self-contained and a wonderful next step for the natural progression of the story. I hope the author continues developing and exploring the world, she has the fundamentals for a saga on her hands. Radzy Writes An intriguing second book in this surprising series. The end is so thrilling I want to read the next book. In De Boekenkast I was enveloped by the magic of this world The whole book was super unpredictable & the writing was, yet again, really easy to fall into. Writing with Wolves The character development is fantastic. The plot was intricate and absorbing. I wanted more. Jessica Belmont I love how the characters are developing and how the relationships, interactions and all the secrets are connecting and proving to be even more important to the all underlining of the story and plot. An exciting, interesting, thought-provoking, emotional journey. Jess Bookish Life An interesting post-apocalyptic universe…with plenty of intriguing characters. Becca’s Books Interesting ideas, clear creativity and a vivid imagination. I think Bonner likes to leave readers teetering on the top of the abyss. Cheryl M-M’s Book Blog Reviews for Strand of Faith – book 1 in the Choices and Consequences series Magical … full of adventure with enjoyable characters…a must read for the genre! Touch My Spine Book Reviews The quick pace, perfect balance between information and action along with the likeable characters made Strand of Faith a truly enjoyable read. It is a truly unique story and the elements are woven together so well. Odd Socks and Lollipops What can I say about this book? It was pretty darn good! I can truly recommend this book to anyone that likes to read about choices and it has certainly paved the way for a fantastic series. Nemesis Book Blog Such an exciting concept executed so cleverly and uniquely. This is the start of such an exciting series and I cannot wait to see where we head off to next time. ZooLoo’s Book Diary It is a rare book where you find so many incredibly well written, well rounded characters. The Midnight Review

This book tells the story of ordinary women living in terror and extreme poverty under General Pinochet's oppressive rule in Chile (1973-89) and how their lives did and did not change following his reign. These women defied the military dictatorship by embroidering their sorrow on scraps of cloth and using their needles and thread as one of the boldest means of popular protest and resistance in Latin America. The arpilleras they made - patch-work tapestries with scenes of everyday life and memorials to their disappeared relatives - were smuggled out of Chile and brought to the world the story of their fruitless searches in jails, morgues, government offices, and the tribunals of law for their husbands, brothers, and sons. Marjorie Agosin, herself a native of and exile from Chile, has spent over twenty years interviewing the arpilleristas and following their work. She knows their stories intimately and knows, too, that not one of them has ever found a disappeared relative alive. Still, many of them maintain hope and continue to make their arpilleras. Even though the dictatorship ended in 1989 and democracy returned to Chile, no full account of the detained and disappeared has ever been offered. This book includes a history of the women's movement, testimonies from the women in their own words, and, for the first time, full color plates of their beautiful, moving, and ultimately hopeful arpilleras. Anyone interested in the history of contemporary Latin America will want to read this powerful story.