This is a true story narrated by the author, Gabriel Richards. Giving Love a Voice is an account of a whirlwind love affair, unbelievable financial accomplishments with monumental setbacks. The account covers catastrophic illness endured by his wife and youngest daughter. Richards spells out how an understanding of metaphysical laws helped them cope with adversities that would be considered epic in life. It is a story about how they came to learn about the true meaning of unconditional love. It shows the incredible healing power of love and why love without action is dead. This memoir tells of how the lead doctor of a medical team told Gabe to put his wife’s body in an institution and try and go on with his life. At the time she was totally paralyzed, blind, mute and assumed deaf. Richards identifies the lifestyles, attitudes, and/or the general lack of understanding that may contribute to the onset of illness and offers solutions that have worked for them. The Richards’ story is proof that with the right attitude, enough love and a faith in God, people can overcome almost any challenge. To love and to be loved are among the greatest gifts in life. In Giving Love a Voice, the stage is set for a love story that began in 1972 and continues today.

The lyrics of medieval "courtly love" songs are characteristically self-conscious. Giving Voice to Love investigates similar self-consciousness in the musical settings. Moments and examples where voice, melody, rhythm, form, and genre seem to comment on music itself tell us about musical responses to the courtly chanson tradition, and musical reflections on the complexity of self-expression.

In this new edition of a classic, David Rockwell describes the captivating and awe-inspiring presence of the bear in Native American rituals. The bear played a central role in shamanic rights, initiation, healing and hunting ceremonies, and new year celebrations. Considered together, these traditions are another way of looking at the world, one in which the mysteries of the universe are revealed through animals.

The lyrics of medieval "courtly love" songs are characteristically self-conscious. Giving Voice to Love investigates similar self-consciousness in the musical settings. Moments and examples where voice, melody, rhythm, form, and genre seem to comment on music itself tell us about musical responses to the courtly chanson tradition, and musical reflections on the complexity of self-expression.

The book is considered fiction, although it is based on the lives of the author's ancestors. Five year-old Emily (Bay-Chile), growing up in rural central Georgia in 1940, becomes curious about color differences within her family and questions her talkative great-aunt and grand-parents. Through numerous inquiries, she learns that her great-grandfather, Josh Ellis, fought with the Confederate Army in the Civil War while her great-grandmother, Charity was a slave. The two met after the Emancipation of the slaves and lived in a loving relationship until his death, raising seven children together. Further explorations connect the child to the lives of Charity's mother, Ansacka, a mulatto slave woman who conceived Charity through a forced relationship with the slave master; another great-grandmother, Martha, whose parents escaped into the mountains of Georgia to avoid the forced march of the Cherokee from Georgia to Mississippi, becomes enthralled by Troupe Allen, a white man who deserts her just before the birth of their son. Great-great-grandma Judy, among the last of the slaves imported from Africa tells her story .The progress of the descendants, spanning five generations, is traced following the Reconstruction Period through World War II, with some notable achievements. Broader issues include white/black kinship ties in the antebellum and post-bellum South, race relations, intra-racial color conflict, and blended families. Historical events occurring during the lifetimes of the author's various ancestors are superbly blended within the story. The story illustrates the devastating effects of racism on the human spirit as well as the ability to press onward despite adversity.

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2017 From the author of the viral New York Times op-ed column "To Siri with Love" comes a collection of touching, hilarious, and illuminating stories about life with a thirteen-year-old boy with autism that hold insights and revelations for us all. When Judith Newman shared the story of how Apple’s electronic personal assistant, Siri, helped Gus, her son who has autism, she received widespread media attention and an outpouring of affection from readers around the world. Basking in the afterglow of media attention, Gus told anyone who would listen, "I’m a movie star." Judith’s story of her son and his bond with Siri was an unusual tribute to technology. While many worry that our electronic gadgets are dumbing us down, she revealed how they can give voice to others, including children with autism like Gus—a boy who has trouble looking people in the eye, hops when he’s happy, and connects with inanimate objects on an empathetic level. To Siri with Love is a collection of funny, poignant, and uplifting stories about living with an extraordinary child who has helped a parent see and experience the world differently. From the charming (Gus weeping with sympathy over the buses that would lie unused while the bus drivers were on strike) to the painful (paying $22,000 for a behaviorist in Manhattan to teach Gus to use a urinal) to the humorous (Gus’s insistence on getting naked during all meals, whether at home or not, because he does not want to get his clothes dirty) to the profound (how an automated "assistant" helped a boy learn how to communicate with the rest of the world), the stories in To Siri with Love open our eyes to the magic and challenges of a life beyond the ordinary.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A special 25th anniversary edition of the beloved book that has changed millions of lives with the story of an unforgettable friendship, the timeless wisdom of older generations, and healing lessons on loss and grief—featuring a new afterword by the author “A wonderful book, a story of the heart told by a writer with soul.”—Los Angeles Times “The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in.” Maybe it was a grandparent, or a teacher, or a colleague. Someone older, patient and wise, who understood you when you were young and searching, helped you see the world as a more profound place, gave you sound advice to help you make your way through it. For Mitch Albom, that person was his college professor Morrie Schwartz. Maybe, like Mitch, you lost track of this mentor as you made your way, and the insights faded, and the world seemed colder. Wouldn’t you like to see that person again, ask the bigger questions that still haunt you, receive wisdom for your busy life today the way you once did when you were younger? Mitch Albom had that second chance. He rediscovered Morrie in the last months of the older man’s life. Knowing he was dying, Morrie visited with Mitch in his study every Tuesday, just as they used to back in college. Their rekindled relationship turned into one final “class”: lessons in how to live. “The truth is, Mitch,” he said, “once you learn how to die, you learn how to live.” Tuesdays with Morrie is a magical chronicle of their time together, through which Mitch shares Morrie’s lasting gift with the world.