From the groundbreaking, bestselling author of The End of Nature, a controversial and provocative book arguing that to help the planet we should begin to voluntarily limit our numbers. Bill McKibben's books and essays on our environment -- physical and spiritual -- have shaped and spurred debate since The End of Nature was published in 1989. Then, he sounded one of the earliest alarms about global warming; the decade of science since has proved his prescience. Now, in Maybe One, he takes on the most controversial of environmental problems -- population. We live in a unique and dangerous time, he asserts, when the planet's limits are being tested and voluntary reductions in American childbearing could make a crucial difference. The father of a single child himself, McKibben maintains that bringing one, and no more than one, child into this world will hurt neither your family nor our nation -- indeed, it can be an optimistic step toward the future. Maybe One is not just an environmental argument but a highly personal and philosophical one. McKibben cites new and extensive research about the developmental strengths of only children; he finds that single kids are not spoiled, weird, selfish, or asocial, but pretty much the same as everyone else. McKibben recognizes that the transition to a stable population size won't be easy or pain-free but ultimately is inevitable. Maybe One provides the basis for provocative, powerful thought and discussion that will influence our thinking for decades to come.

Sierra Jordan’s life had been a series of not so good choices. But it took just one of those choices to change her life. And it took her sister’s engagement party to bring her back to her small hometown. All grown up now, Sierra sees things differently, but it might just take a ghost from her past to untangle her heartstrings. A heartwarming short story by the best-selling author of the award-winning Cupid’s Kiss Series.

There were two things I knew for sure back then: First: Bryce Clark’s sole focus was getting an Olympic gold medal, not a girlfriend. Second: That didn’t stop me from falling hard. For six years, we would hook up whenever we were in the same city. My whole life revolved around swimming and him, until it was all gone. His dream came true, while I closed mine down and walked away. I was done with swimming and Bryce Clark. But the universe had other plans for me. Two years later, he’s back and I can’t escape him. He’s everywhere, and he’s asking for a second chance. A chance I’m not sure I’m ready to give. He’s working across the hall, forcing me to reconcile the man before me with the one I knew; making me realize no dream pans out exactly how we want it to. Giving him that chance would mean talking about the past. Which I’m definitely not ready for. I’m not interested in going back. I’m tired of maybe, of not knowing where I stand in his life… But I’m also tired of wondering what we could have been if we had the chance.

A poetry book for those who love love even when they want to hate it.

The lives of four unlikely friends intersect on the backstreets of New Orleans. Living amid poverty and violence, these fragile heroes of the American underclass redefine our notions of family, redemption, and love.