NOT EVERY FAIRY TALE HAS A HAPPY ENDING. . . . Reality hit Taylor Armstrong hard one tragic evening last August when she found the body of her estranged husband, Russell, hanging in his California home. Fans across the country were shocked at the horrific news of his death and even more shocked to discover that behind the glittering “reality” of Taylor’s life on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills lurked a painful story of emotional and physical abuse that she had been terrified to tell. An estimated 80 percent of domestic abuse victims remain silent, suffocated by fear and relentless self-doubt. For Taylor, it was the threat of financial ruin and finding herself alone with her young daughter that kept her tethered to her volatile husband. But after a ferocious roundhouse punch from Russell fractured her face, resulting in reconstructive surgery, she finally made the brave decision to walk away from a man she loved and a legacy of physical abuse that she first encountered as a child and that haunted her throughout her adulthood. To the outside world, the Armstrongs lived like royalty, throwing lavish parties—including a memorable tea party for their daughter’s fourth birthday—and mingling with their privileged Housewives co-stars. It was impossible to hide the cracks in their marriage from the cameras forever, though, and their darkest secrets slowly began to seep through the gilded façade. With searing honesty, Taylor candidly examines her difficult journey from the abusive home in which she was born to the low self-esteem that kept her constantly on the run from herself, to the tumultuous marriage that ended in suicide, and ultimately to her realization that only by sharing her moving story could she help other women. *** “The terrible truth is that I felt lost without the control that Russell had imposed on me for the nearly six years that we were married. Disturbingly, I missed that control. I didn’t know what to do once I had no one there to tell me how to dress, act, and behave; what to want; and who, even, to be. In some ways, I missed the abuse. I missed the pain. I missed being scared. Not because I liked feeling any of that. But because it was the life I had become accustomed to, and without anyone to be afraid of, to apologize to, and to cover for, I felt completely lost.” —TAYLOR ARMSTRONG

An estimated 80 percent of domestic abuse victims remain silent, suffocated by fear and relentless self-doubt. For Taylor, it was the threat of financial ruin and finding herself alone with her young daughter that kept her tethered to her volatile husband. But after a ferocious roundhouse punch from Russell fractured her face, resulting in reconstructive surgery, she finally made the brave decision to walk away from a man she loved and a legacy of physical abuse that she first encountered as a child and that haunted her throughout her adulthood.

The author relives her memories of growing up in Maine in the '80s believing she had psychic powers, whose father claimed to be a prophet from another planet. She shares a story of reconciling belief (in ourselves, in others, in religion, in those who lead our countries) with reality.

Hiding in Plain Sight by Sarah Gallardo depicts a real and chilling portrayal of how domestic violence does not discriminate and manifests itself in the most unexpected ways and places. This true story provides an authentic depiction of one woman's journey through DV and its devastating emotional, physical, mental and spiritual effects on an individual. Beyond the negative experience that this woman endures through this disgusting act of human cruelty, through the tears, anger, cuts and bruises, this woman demonstrates the power of hope through her heroic courage and strength to come out on the other side. Instead of succumbing to a life of anger, defeat and lack of self-confidence, Ms. Gallardo demonstrates her leadership, her dedication to combatting the DV epidemic and the ability to empower other victims of this horrible crime to speak up- loud and proud. Beyond the wonderful non-profit organization Sarah has created called "Sarah Speaks Up", she has created a following- a tribe- of others who gravitate to her bravery through telling this story of hiding in plain sight. This story will serve as a guiding light to many - whether they are able and willing to share their story or suffering in silence. It is a story of hope, survival and true human bravery with extraordinary leadership and resilience at its core.~ Morgan Ferrarotti

We learn in childhood to hide from pain, and often continue hiding our hurt from God and others in adulthood. Here Townsend presents a scriptural approach to help us identify these unhealthy withdrawal patterns and find healing, freedom and security in connected, grace-filled relationships. Includes discussion guide.

For Mark C. Taylor, the disappearance of depth we sense all around us is a change full of creative possibility. Taylor introduces us to a popular culture in which detectives - the postmodern heroes of Paul Auster and Dennis Potter - lift surfaces only to find more surfaces, and in which fashion advertising plays transparency against hiding. He looks at the current preoccupation with body piercing and tattooing and asks whether these practices actually reveal or conceal. The limitless spread of computer networks, the history of phrenology, the "religious" architecture of Las Vegas - all are brought within the scope of Taylor's brilliant analysis. Postmodernism, he shows, has given us a new sense of the superficial, one in which the issue is not the absence of meaning but its uncontrollable, ecstatic proliferation.

Can we trust our senses to tell us the truth? Challenging leading scientific theories that claim that our senses report back objective reality, cognitive scientist Donald Hoffman argues that while we should take our perceptions seriously, we should not take them literally. From examining why fashion designers create clothes that give the illusion of a more “attractive” body shape to studying how companies use color to elicit specific emotions in consumers, and even dismantling the very notion that spacetime is objective reality, The Case Against Reality dares us to question everything we thought we knew about the world we see.