The recent fiction of Spanish America has been widely acclaimed for its experimental and revolutionary qualities. In Reclaiming the Author, Lucille Kerr studies the sources of power of this newly emergent literature in her detailed examination of the critical concept of "the author." Kerr considers how Spanish American narratives raise questions about authorial identity and activity through the different figures of the author they propose. These author-figures, she maintains, both complement and contradict notions of authority that exist outside of the world of fiction. By focusing on works by well-known Spanish American authors--Cortazar, Donoso, Fuentes, Poniatowska, Puig, and Vargas Llosa--Kerr shows how the Spanish Americans have formed a radical poetics of the author. Her readings demonstrate how exemplary Spanish American texts, such as Rayuela, Terra nostra, and El hablador, call into question the author as a unitary or uniform, and therefore unproblematical, figure. Individually and together, Kerr's readings reclaim "the author" as a complex critical concept encompassing diverse, conflicting, even competitive roles.

With passion, clarity, and rich examples, Reclaiming Writing is dedicated to reawakening the journeys that writers take as they make sense of, think about, and speak back to their worlds in this era of high-stakes testing and mandated curricula. Classrooms and out-of-school settings are described and analyzed in exciting and groundbreaking narratives that provide insights into the many possibilities for writing that support writers’ searches for voice, identity, and agency. Offering pedagogical strategies and the knowledge base in which they are grounded, the book looks at writing within various areas of the curriculum and across modes of writing from traditional text-based forums to digital formats. Thematically based sections present the pillars of the volume’s critical transactive theory: learning, teaching, curriculum, language, and sociocultural contexts. Each chapter is complemented by an extension that offers application possibilities for teachers in various settings. Reclaiming Writing emphasizes literacy as a vehicle for exploring, interrogating, challenging, finding self, talking back to power, creating a space in the world, reflecting upon the past, and thinking forward to a more joyful and democratic future.

Tammy Lofink, a wife and mother of two children, experienced a parent's worst nightmare. At the tender age of 18, her son, Robert Mason Lofink, died of a drug overdose. The grief, suffering and turmoil which followed were almost too much to bear. Tammy decided that she had to change the direction of her life after her son was gone. She co-founded Rising Above Addiction, which raises funds for urgently-needed treatment for addiction. Her son's legacy lives on through her vision to help other people, so that they never have to go through the pain she and her family have experienced and continue to endure.Reclaiming My Life is a poignant and triumphant journey through the loss of a child. It is also an introduction to the world of addiction through the eyes of people who have overcome the battle. The book is a testament to the ability to survive, cope and rise above even the most difficult circumstances in life.Tammy openly tells the story of her other life experiences, which shaped her along the way. Her wisdom, her courage and her bravery are sure to provide the hope which can help others who seek inner peace after a tragedy.Young people who are using drugs, adults whose pain medication has led to addiction, parents of youth who are worried, as well as family, friends and loved ones, will be riveted by Tammy's personal storytelling style. With each turn of the page, Tammy surprises, engages and comforts the reader through his or her journey.

What does pressing pause look like? In Reclaiming Rest, Kate H. Rademacher explores the gifts of solitude, stillness and Sabbath rest in a world of motion and noise. Ultimately, Rademacher claims, pausing for sacred rest pierces our illusions of self-reliance and control - and that's good news. What if keeping the Sabbath is not only a command to obey but a gift to reclaim?

The best-selling author of Creating Love sets out to redefine what it means to live a moral life in today's world by helping readers reclaim and cultivate their inborn moral intelligence by developing one's instincts for goodness in childhood and nurturing them through one's adult life to promote good character and moral responsibility.

Reclaiming the "L" Word is a book about renewing congregations by recognizing and living out the core teachings of the Lutheran faith. Primarily written for those who call themselves Lutheran and, specifically, those who are members of ELCA congregations, this little book helps us answer these central questions: Who are we? What DOES it mean to be a Lutheran today, anyway? And, why does it matter. Inspirational, engaging, and challenging, this book is a must-read for pastors and congregational leaders!

An engaging look at how technology is undermining our creativity and relationships and how face-to-face conversation can help us get it back.