Child Marriage

During 1927, Thea, only nineteen, married in a white framed country church which smelled of peonies and sprigs of lilac flowers. The wedding rites were recited on a Sunday afternoon in late May so none of the farmers, including her father and her groom, missed a day from field work. Thea raised her eyes to the heavens and prayed. Please help me be a good wife. She and her family would face the Depression, grasshoppers, the Dust Bowl, and near poverty. However, it was the kitchen that challenged Thea. It became a personal war that challenged her very sense of being. The young bride didn't ...

A woman in love with an ideal rather than a flesh and blood man. A man who struggles to move past the demons haunting him. A marriage that might never happen. Jack Dixon knew his mother was right. It was time he married. He allows his mother to write the letter for him and send it to the matchmaker. In fact, he does not even bother to read it. Little does he know, the contents do not at all resemble who he is as a person. Priscilla Pringle fell in love with the man who wrote such a tender letter. When she meets him, the grumpy man is completely opposite of the person she expects to find on ...

This collection of essays and poems, by Barbara Whittington, dates from the author’s first essay published in The Cleveland Plain Dealer in the late 70’s. Her more recent essays include “In My Mind I’m Always Going Home” and “The Good Life.” A few unpublished essays join this group, among them, “Dr. Oz is in My Purse.” In an essay about the presidential election between Barack Obama and John McCain, she talks about growing up during the civil rights era. Her essays are humorous, thought-provoking, and reflective. An award-winning author, her stories have appeared in The ...

"Previously published as THE CRANMOUTH MANOR HEIST: Hilarious misadventures in a comedy drama with plot twists, romance, friendship, and betrayal. by GUMBLETON, LYNNE AND CHRISTOPHER (AUTHOR)." A thrilling, comedy adventure story of crime, suspense, daring rescues, family drama, love, friendship, and heartbreak. When Rob Holmes meets the mysterious and beautiful Jane Smith, he finds that it’s more than his gardening services she’s interested in. Should he date Jane even though he’s secretly still in love with his ex-girlfriend Helen Collins? Rob, still single at the age of fifty-five,...

The following playwright script addresses a situation that is very real across many portions of the world, but predominately Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Young girls in the age range of six to fourteen are being forced to marry elderly men due to social, economic or political situations. Polls indicate that there are millions of these child brides around the globe. They are being robbed of their youth and their rights, including the fair and equal chance at an education. The author of this play sets the stage to illustrate the traumatic nature of this global concern. As a native of ...

A look at how commercialization has transformed youth sports from fun into a heavily commercialized and profitable venture. Examining the youth sports economy from many sides - the major corporations, the small entrepreneurs, the coaches, the parents, and, of course, the kids - Hyman probes the reasons for rapid changes in what gets bought and sold in this lucrative marketplace. He reveals the effects on kids and profiles the individuals and communities bucking this destructive trend of commercialization.

April has lots of nicknames: there's April Showers, because she's always crying, and April Fool, because of when her birthday falls. Her worst nickname of all, though, is Dustbin Baby. That reminds her of how she started out in life: abandoned in a rubbish bin. When she turns 14, April decides that she must find out who she really is, where she came from and, most importantly, who her real mother is. There have been lots of people she's called Mum, and now she lives with Marion.

Alice's world is falling apart. Her parents are getting a divorce, and they've cancelled their yearly cottage trip - the one thing that gets Alice through the school year. Instead, Alice and her mom are heading to some small town where Alice's mom will be a live-in nurse to a rich elderly lady. The house is huge, imposing, and spooky, and everything inside is meticulously kept and perfect - not a fun place to spend the summer. Things start to get weird when Alice finds a dollhouse in the attic that's an exact replica of the house she's living in.

Once upon a bridge in Alençon, France, an ordinary man met an ordinary woman, and they fell extraordinarily in love. Uncover the beauty of the sacrament of marriage through the quiet, virtuous lives of Saints Louis and Zélie Martin, the first married saints in history to be canonized together.

In this powerful memoir, Soul Custody: Sparing Children from Divorce exposes the hidden phenomenon of “escapist divorces,” cases where married parents pursue separation not from genuine irreconcilable differences, but from unresolved personal demons. Drawn from Pamela’s deep personal experience and spiritual insight, this book challenges the modern impulse to divorce as a solution to marital discord.

It was never meant to be serious. Just a quick fling on his desk. A bit of light spanking never hurt anyone. But things got more and more complicated as I started to fall for him. He said he craved my body, but I craved the things he made me feel, made me do. Then I find out he’s getting married. To someone else. My world turned upside down. I still want him, but I want him to want me. Not her. I need to be strong if I’m going to get out of this without any emotional scars. But I can’t be strong unless he’s with me. This isn’t going to end well for me. I know it. But what choice ...

What reviewers are saying... " I would give this book many more than 5 stars if I could. There were so many twists and turns and unexpected events. This was truly a book I could not put down." Amazon reviewer " I love the fact that Sharon Srock did not just have her characters pray and the problems just go away." Amazon reviewer When dreams and reality clash. Piper Goodson is looking forward to all the firsts of being a mother. The first cry, the first glance, the first time holding the tiny life created by her and Evan’s love. But after an emergency c-section, sick from fear, and haunted...

A Forbidden Love Ignites the Tundra... In the frozen heart of Alaska, two kindred souls find solace in each other's arms. Meet Logan, a rugged and enigmatic fisherman, and Willow, a young and ambitious college student on break from school who is staying with him for the summer. Their paths collide one fateful night under the Northern Lights, setting ablaze a desire neither could have anticipated. As their connection deepens, so does their attraction for one another. They embark on a passionate affair that defies the frigid temperatures and societal expectations. But their love is far from ...

Sarah Robinson is deeply troubled in the wake of her dad's second marriage. She now has to deal with a new stepmom and two stepbrothers - Marco, who is her age, and Nacho, who's younger. Even though they've all moved from Texas to California to start life as a new, blended family, none of the kids seems remotely happy about it.

Is your guide to finding the truth when your gut is telling you something’s not right. This isn’t about playing detective—it’s about getting real answers. Whether you’ve noticed strange behavior, changed routines, or just have a nagging feeling, this book walks you through what to look for, where to start, and what steps to take next.

For nine-year-old Flora Smallwood, Rosetown, Indiana, is full of surprises, many of the best of which happen at the Wing and a Chair Used Book Shop, where she loves to read vintage children’s books after school in the faded purple chair by the window. But lately, those surprises haven't been so good. Her dear old dog, Laurence, recently passed away. Not long after, her parents decided to take a breather from their marriage, and now, Flora has to move back and forth between their two houses. Plus, she's just begun fourth grade, and it is so much different than third.

Is Amber Brown ready for fourth grade? She has new sneakers, new notebooks and pencils, but she doesn't have what she really needs - a new best friend. How can Amber go fourth without one? Who will be Amber's best friend?

WITHIN THE MILLENNIA-OLD STORY of Leah and Rachel, the Bible provides a cautionary tale for modern women and girls about the perils of man-sharing, love competitions, birthing fatherless babies and trying to make a man love you. 'Love Hunger' causes many women to perform all kinds of humiliating acts, mistakenly thinking their actions will make a man love them when, in actuality, it will not. Yet their intense desire and desperation often causes them to make life-altering decisions that may leave them bruised, battered, in financial ruin and raising children alone. Dr Moss’s book supports...

Strato Nyman couldn’t be more of an odd-one-out. He’s the only black kid in Hedgecombe-upon-Dray, he knows more about particle physics than his teacher, and he’s constantly picked on by the school bully. One day, Strato picks up a dusty book in a mysterious bookshop and learns how to become invisible. He discovers that people aren’t always what they seem...and realises standing out isn’t so bad after all.

The only thing Rosalind Ling Geraghty loves more than watching NASA launches with her dad is building rockets with him. When he dies unexpectedly, all Ro has left of him is an unfinished model rocket they had been working on together. Benjamin Burns doesn’t like science, but he can’t get enough of Spacebound, a popular comic book series. When he finds a sketch that suggests that his dad created the comics, he’s thrilled. Too bad his dad walked out years ago, and Benji has no way to contact him.