Under The Red Velvet Cover

Today, I would learn the truth. An efficient sounding female voice answered the phone, Dallas County Police Department. Where do I begin? What do I say? Yes ma'am, I need to speak with someone about a case that's twenty two years old. A case? What type of case? A sexual abuse case. With that phone call, successful business executive Grant Garris began a journey through the memory of his shattered childhood; many of the details as painstakingly clear as when they had occurred, as he suffered violent and horrific sexual abuse at the hands of his own grandfather. In a stark and startling memoir, Garris recounts his early years, offering no protection from the shocking reality that is childhood sexual abuse. Difficult to read and yet impossible to put down, Garris details molestation, the physical torture, and the sadistic mental manipulation that are the all-too-common arsenal of those who harm children - and those who protect them as they harbor a family's dirty secret. Standing against a monster and refusing to be deterred by the intricate family ties and powerful political connections of a Southern bastion family that threatened to sacrifice their own children to the altar of public image, Garris chose to prevail. Garris movingly recounts the surprising support system that evolved in his journey, including a seemingly powerless domestic servant, strangers, a fellow survivor named Oprah Winfrey, and a few courageous loved ones, all of whom dropped into his life at precisely the right moment. Garris' life story is not a narrative of victimhood, nor is it a rosy tale of happy endings tied up in a neat package. Instead, it is the gritty, raw, and sometimes wonderful reality of conquering adversity. This book should be required reading for all who believe it is time to shred the veil of secrecy that protects child molesters.

Today, I would learn the truth. An efficient sounding female voice answered the phone, "Dallas County Police Department." Where do I begin? What do I say? "Yes ma'am, I need to speak with someone about a case that's twenty two years old." "A case? What type of case?" "A sexual abuse case." With that phone call, successful business executive Grant Garris began a journey through the memory of his shattered childhood; many of the details as painstakingly clear as when they had occurred, as he suffered violent and horrific sexual abuse at the hands of his own grandfather. In a stark and startling memoir, Garris recounts his early years, offering no protection from the shocking reality that is childhood sexual abuse. Difficult to read and yet impossible to put down, Garris details molestation, the physical torture, and the sadistic mental manipulation that are the all-too-common arsenal of those who harm children - and those who protect them as they harbor a family's dirty secret. Standing against a monster and refusing to be deterred by the intricate family ties and powerful political connections of a Southern bastion family that threatened to sacrifice their own children to the altar of public image, Garris chose to prevail. Garris movingly recounts the surprising support system that evolved in his journey, including a seemingly powerless domestic servant, strangers, a fellow survivor named Oprah Winfrey, and a few courageous loved ones, all of whom dropped into his life at precisely the right moment. Garris' life story is not a narrative of victimhood, nor is it a rosy tale of happy endings tied up in a neat package. Instead, it is the gritty, raw, and sometimes wonderful reality of conquering adversity. This book should be required reading for all who believe it is time to shred the veil of secrecy that protects child molesters.

This well referenced book provides an amply illustrated publication on upholstery conservation which discusses and reviews the issues related to the care, interpretation and treatment of upholstered furniture. Through many well illustrated case studies the inter-disciplinary collaboration fundamental to upholstery conservation, and the complex decision-making process involved in the treatment of upholstered furniture, are made evident. The case histories are contributed by leading international practitioners in the field and concern objects and collections in the care of English Heritage, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and other internationally renowned institutions. Likewise, the contributors, from both sides of the Atlantic, are world-renowned specialists and leaders in this area of conservation working for the public and private sectors. The case histories, illustrated in colour, black and white and specially prepared line drawings, concern object treatment and documentation, the conservation of information, the function and the artefact. They range from the documentation of eighteenth century removable chair covers and the treatment of a nineteenth century carriage to a twentieth century foam-filled chair belonging to a museum.

The Design Dialogue anthology is a remarkable exploration of the decisive role of Jewish patrons, professionals, architects, designers and authors in shaping modern Viennese architecture, design, and material culture. Leading cultural historians, museum curators, art historians, and architects present cutting edge research examining how famous and less known protagonists created new cultural languages, identifications and networks, engaged in social debates, and contributed to the cultural renewal of Vienna, a major capital in Central Europe, between 1800 and 1938.

As with the Unicorn, Heaven and Earth have no separation within me. I am the One. The once-mighty Roman Empire is crumbling, and the empire has been pulling its legions from the farthest outposts of its vast territory. The withdrawal of Rome’s legions has left the island of the Britons in a state of uncertainty, vulnerable to attack and invasion from all sides. Niniane, a novice priestess, is largely unaffected by the events troubling her land. But she confronts troubles of her own as facets of her emerging nature bring her into conflict with the rules governing temple existence. Only when she emerges from the temple does she come face to face with her destiny – a destiny entwined with those of a Roman commander and his men – a destiny that reveals the truth of who she really is. Although Niniane’s true identity was lost, long ago, in the mists of time, an echo of her story remains in the mystical legends of the Lady of the Lake, who appears, often unexpectedly and always indefinably, in the stories that comprise the Arthurian legends. Niniane’s real story, though, is a journey of inner transformation and self-realisation. As her story unfolds, and she rediscovers the truth, she becomes a message and an example, the potential of which has the power to transform all of humanity.