Jake’s grandfather, Billy, hears the talk of birds, is eighty-eight years old, and is going to live forever. Even when Billy gets sick, Jake knows that everything will go on as always. But there’s one thing Billy wants: to rebuild the sod house where he grew up. Can Jake give him this one special thing? From beloved author Patricia MacLachlan comes a poignant story about what we do for the ones we love, and how the bonds that hold us together also allow us to let each other go.

The poignant and unforgettable true account of the deep, loving friendship between a handsome physician and the former First Lady, as seen on PBS’s The Roosevelts: An Intimate History “I love you as I love and have never loved anyone else.” —Eleanor Roosevelt in a letter to Dr. David Gurewitsch, 1955 She was the most famous and admired woman in America. He was a strikingly handsome doctor, eighteen years her junior. Eleanor Roosevelt first met David Gurewitsch in 1944. He was making a house call to a patient when the door opened to reveal the wife of the president of the United States, who had come to help her sick friend. A year later, Gurewitsch was Mrs. Roosevelt’s personal physician, on his way to becoming the great lady’s dearest companion—a relationship that would endure until Mrs. Roosevelt’s death in 1962. Recounting the details of this remarkable union is an intimately involved chronicler: Gurewitsch’s wife, Edna. Kindred Souls is a rare love story—the tale of a friendship between two extraordinary people, based on trust, exchange of confidences, and profound interest in and respect for each other’s work. With perceptiveness, compassion, admiration, and deep affection, the author recalls the final decade and a half of the former First Lady’s exceptional life, from her first encounter with the man who would become Mrs. Gurewitsch’s husband through the blossoming of a unique bond and platonic love. Blended into her tender reminiscences are excerpts from the enduring correspondence between Dr. Gurewitsch and the First Lady, and a collection of personal photographs of the Gurewitsch and Roosevelt families. The result is a revealing portrait of one of the twentieth century’s most beloved icons in the last years of her life—a woman whom the author warmly praises as “one of the few people in this world in which greatness and modesty could coexist.”

Many of us go through our busy lives with many acquaintances but few true close friends. Most of our daily conversations focus on the mundane, or we barely scratch the surface of what's going on in our friends' lives as we try to catch up on the run. We weren't meant to travel alone. Yet many of us are afraid to reveal our innermost thoughts, of being too nosy or not "religious enough" to commit to spiritual kinships. Using the story of Ruth and Naomi as an example, Stephanie Ford describes how to overcome the risk and fear of sharing and explains how to be a faithful listener. She offers new insights that will empower you to build and nurture soul friendships. Through this book you will discover what spiritual friendship is and how it differs from other forms find practical ways to develop and nurture spiritual friendships meet spiritual companions from biblical and Christian history explore the most profound friendship of all — friendship with God — and learn how it can transform your life Kindred Souls is for individuals, prayer partners, or small groups who want to deepen the friendships they already have and open themselves to new possibilities God offers. Let this book guide you as you seek kindred companions to encourage and challenge you on the spiritual journey.

The World Book Day title from international bestseller Rainbow Rowell.

Kindred Spirits takes us inside a remarkable network of Catholic historians, theologians, poets, and activists who pushed against both the far-right surge in interwar Europe and the secularizing tendencies of the leftist movements active in the early to mid-twentieth century. With meticulous attention to the complexity of real lives, Brenna Moore explores how this group sought a middle way anchored in “spiritual friendship”—religiously meaningful friendship understood as uniquely capable of facing social and political challenges. For this group, spiritual friendship was inseparable from resistance to European xenophobia and nationalism, anti-racist activism in the United States, and solidarity with Muslims during the Algerian War. Friendship, they believed, was a key to both divine and human realms, a means of accessing the transcendent while also engaging with our social and political existence. Some of the figures are still well known—philosopher Jacques Maritain, Nobel Prize laureate Gabriela Mistral, influential Islamicist Louis Massignon, poet of the Harlem renaissance Claude McKay—while others have unjustly faded from memory. Much more than an idealized portrait of a remarkable group of Catholic intellectuals from the past, Kindred Spirits is a compelling exploration of both the beauty and flaws of a vibrant social network worth remembering.

"Brilliantly written and jam-packed with practical advice and easy-to-follow recipes, Blackthorn's Botanical Magic is the one book that no magical practitioner can do without." —Dorothy Morrison, author Utterly Wicked: Hexes, Curses, and Other Unsavory Notions Enter the magical world of scent and aromas. Blackthorn’s Botanical Magic is a fresh, groundbreaking guide to the transformative powers of essential oils for use in spellcraft, divination, and the cultivation of ritual power. Amy Blackthorn—the force behind Blackthorn’s Botanicals—guides readers on a journey into the hidden realms of plants and their magic powers, from rose-scented rosaries to the lingering aroma of frankincense and the cleansing energy of white sage. This book is suitable for beginners but also has lots of new information for the experienced practitioner. Within these pages, you will discover: The rich history and lore of scent-related magic and its use in prayer, meditation, and shamanic journeying Over 135 recipes and craft projects for a wide variety of purposes, goals, and desires Clear instructions for creating your own botanical magic starter kit How to create your own personal botanical oracles, as well as how magical aromatherapy can enhance divination from tarot and pendulums to tea leaves and runes. Practical information regarding the purchasing, blending, storing, and safe use of essential oils