Being a good mom isn't about doing everything right to create a set of perfect trophy children--though every mom has felt the pressure to do just that and to do it all on her own. To ask for help feels like defeat. Yet when we try to do it all by our own strength, we end up depleted, lonely, and ineffective. Heather MacFadyen wants you to know that you are not meant to go it alone. Sharing her most vulnerable, hard mom moments, she shows how moms can be empowered by God, supported by others, and connected with their children. With encouragement and insight, she helps you foster the key relationships you need to be the mom you want to be. Whether you work or stay home, whether you have teenagers or babes in arms, you'll find here a compassionate friend who wants the best--not just for your kids but for you.

Sheila Zarrow writes: Dr. Joseph Henderson was mentor to me for many years until his death in 2007 at age 104. He felt a deep connection to American history, was most interested in John Adams, and had spent some time on Benjamin Rush's farm. When I told Henderson about how I had spent three years meditating at the foot of Adams's statue in Worcester, Massachusetts, he enthusiastically encouraged me to study Adams, a study that led me also to Rush. My journey into their world ran parallel to my journey inward and the many synchronicities that came together with the writing of Friendship and Healing are testimony to the eternal nature of the living psyche. The letters of John Adams and Benjamin Rush depict the friendship that grew between the two as the course of history brought change into their lives and forced them to change themselves. Of particular interest are the dreams both men described in their letters and the evidence Zarrow has uncovered about how they considered the effects of their dreams. Rush, in his seminal text on medicine, wrote that dreaming is "as much a native faculty as memory or imagination." Dreams have meaning well beyond the personal and the present. They have roots and tendrils that stretch throughout the unknown inner world of our psyches. While we sleep, they make connections between our lives and the lives of others throughout history, back through mythology, and out to the eternal. Friendship and Healing explores one bright thread in the history of our country through the letters and dreams of two men who were there at the beginning.

"I believe He Calls Me Friend is one of the most important books of our day, from one of the last living prophets of the Civil Rights Era." –Nick Hall, Founder of Pulse movement, author of Reset: Jesus Changes Everything What if friendship is the key to changing the world? As a follow-up to his landmark work One Blood, Dr. John Perkins helps readers take the next step to make justice and love a reality. Sometimes people ask Dr. Perkins how to make a difference in the world, his simple answer is this, "Be friends. First with God. Then with others—every kind of other you can think of. Because the simple, powerful, messy, explosive truth is: the world is changed one friendship at a time." In He Calls Me Friend, Dr. Perkins argues that God is not distant and disconnected. He is the Friend who woos us, died for us, and lives within us. This Friend fills our empty places and shows us how to be friends with others. Along the way, Dr. Perkins shares his life experiences, explores biblical stories, and features profiles from several of his own personal friendships. In a world that’s growing increasingly fragmented, isolated, and lonely, discover the power of friendship from a true expert in the art.

Michele Faehnle and Emily Jaminet are busy wives, mothers, and volunteers. They are also friends, Catholic speakers, and the dedicated coauthors of Divine Mercy for Moms, which continues to inspire women to come together to pray, study, and live in friendship around the Divine Mercy devotion. In the midst of their active lives, Faehnle and Jaminet found themselves missing their old friends and searching for new ones. They also realized that they needed to continually work to develop deep, meaningful relationships that would allow them to be themselves, to care for others and be cared for, and to deepen their Catholic faith. In The Friendship Project, Faehnle and Jaminet explore the cardinal and theological virtues with an eye toward friendship. Focusing on faith, hope, love, prudence, gratitude, loyalty, generosity, and prayerfulness, they help us answer questions such as, “What does it mean to be women of hope, and how does that change our lives and make us more compassionate friends during difficult times?” and “How does prayerfulness teach us how to listen to and talk with both God and our friends, which helps us reach out to those we love?” Faehnle and Jaminet answer these questions and more by employing Church teaching and telling us stories of their own friendships and those from the lives of saints and biblical women—including the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Elizabeth, St. Thérèse of Lisieux and her sister Servant of God Léonie, and Sts. Perpetua and Felicity. Not only will you be drawn closer to friends both new and old but you’ll also be reminded how these friendships—and the virtues you practice to nurture them—draw you closer to God. Prayers, discussion questions, and a study guide make this a perfect resource for women’s groups

For fans of A Sick Day for Amos McGee and In a Jar comes a tender and gently adventurous gem about the power of friends to soothe aches big and small. Alice, a little piglet, loves life with her grandmother, making lists and crème brûlée, organizing buttons, and taking walks. Still, Alice wishes she had a sister--or even a brother. So, she does the sensible thing: She writes a note ("Hello! I am Alice."), tucks it into a bottle, and tosses it into the river, where it drifts out to sea, is captured by an octopus, picked up by a seagull, and arrives at a faraway lighthouse. There, François, a little dog, lives with his dad. François is everything Alice could wish for in a friend, and soon the seas are busy with their bottled correspondence. But when a big change comes, and Alice can't bring herself to write François more letters, will the simple comforts of time, love, and friendship restore the light to Alice's life? In this marvelous, gently funny and reassuring tale, the lucky and lovely friendship between Alice and François spans the length of the River Seine and the loss of a loved one. Award-winning author and artist Gus Gordon captures the highs and lows of being little, and tenderly shepherds kids on a journey full of fantastic possibilities, friendship, and healing. "[A book] to help kids navigate life during a pandemic." --HuffPost * "Reminiscent of William Steig...Will warm hearts and minds with each reading." --Kirkus (starred review) * "Endearing...Expressive...Intriguing...Heartening...Memorable" --Booklist (starred review) "Joyful [and] contemplative...[A] timely message that friendships can be maintained over distance and time." --BCCB "Triumphant...Gentle tongue-in-cheek humor [amid a] central theme of enduring love." --PW "Charming...[A] soothing, kid-friendly approach to life after loss." --SLJ "Earnest and playful...tender and inviting." --The Horn Book

Friendship means many different things to different people, yet it is related to our basic human need to be connected to others. We want to belong to a family, a church, a community, a club, a country, and the world. Friendship gives much and demands much as it blesses our lives with helps us grow. Most of all, it is a human manifestation of our relationship with God.

In his fourth book of well-loved quotes, Jeff Brown delivers his most compelling message yet: the power of love, friendship, and healing. In his notoriously candid style, Jeff dazzles us with poignant, intimate, and insightful heartspeak. His wisdom and word wizardry encompass all forms of relationship: romantic partnerships, soul-friendships, family bonds, and our connection to the greater world. He also addresses the often gritty yet essential work of healing our wounds. We struggle in relationship, and we also heal in relationship. At a time when our world is fractured by polarized views, Hearticulations reminds us of the golden threads that bind us togetherƒƒ‚‚ƒ‚‚"ƒƒ‚‚ƒ‚‚€ƒƒ‚‚ƒ‚‚"our shared vulnerable humanityƒƒ‚‚ƒ‚‚"ƒƒ‚‚ƒ‚‚€ƒƒ‚‚ƒ‚‚"and that there is more that connects us than divides us. This will be a book to carry around with you, or pass on to a dear friend. Like a pocket-sized oracle, turn to a random page and be uplifted by this lexicon of love.