Building on the biblical story of Jacob wrestling with God and on the story of her own battle with life-changing disappointment, Sister Joan Chittister deftly explores the landscape of suffering and hope. (Practical Life)

A moving portrait of school reform in New Orleans through the eyes of the students and educators living it.

Ruth survived the Holocaust and the long journey to Palestine. Now she finds herself once again in a war zone as Israel battles for its existence. Her brother is on the front lines. Ruth and her boyfriend are injured and cannot fight, so they care for children in a hospital. Ruth tells the children stories to distract them and help them make sense of their situation. As she recovers, she too must return to the fight. A trauma forces her back to another time when she told stories: to her fellow prisoners in Auschwitz. We discover what Ruth went through in the camps, the horrors she saw, the friends she made and lost. Through it all Ruth comes to understand that she must find a new way to live, a way that does not give up on hope.

The inspiring story of Monia Mazigh’s courageous fight to free her husband, Maher Arar, from a Syrian jail. On September 26, 2002, Maher Arar boarded an American Airlines plane bound for New York, returning early from vacation with his family because a work project needed his attention. He was a Canadian citizen, a telecommunications engineer and entrepreneur who had never been in trouble with the law. His nightmare began when he was pulled aside by Immigration officials at JFK airport, questioned, held without access to a lawyer, and ultimately deported to Syria on the suspicion that he had terrorist links. He would remain there, tortured and imprisoned for over one year. Meanwhile his wife, Monia, and their two children stayed on visiting family in Tunisia, unaware that their lives were about to be torn apart. Upon her return to Canada, Monia was horrified at the media’s and public’s willingness to assume that the Canadian police and intelligence agencies, and their American counterparts, take on her husband as a terrorist was correct. She began a tireless campaign to bring public attention and government action to her husband’s plight, eventually turning the tide of public opinion in Arar’s favour, and gaining his release and return to Canada. Of her willingness to speak out, she has said that she was never afraid: “I had lost my life. I didn’t have more to lose.” This is a remarkable story of personal courage, and of an extraordinary woman who lets us into her life so that other Canadians can understand the denial of rights and the discarding of human rights her family suffered. Candid, poignant, and inspiring, this is the most important book of the season.

In July 1979, Nicaragua began a process of profound structural transformation to redistribute power and wealth in order to redress past societal inequities. This book critically examines the planning and implementation of one of the first programs of national transformation-the Nicaraguan National Literacy Crusade, an educational effort directly involving almost one-fourth of the country's population. International experts praised the program as an exemplary model for national development and unanimously chose the campaign to receive grand prize in literacy. A vivid combination of anecdote and analysis, Between Struggle and Hope is a study of policymaking and institution building within a revolutionary society. Written by an international adviser to the program, the book provides an insider's look at educational planning and political formation. A critique, it combines the human story of the struggle to create the literacy campaign with a detailed evaluation of program results, both positive and negative. Unique in the literature, it allows the reader to follow firsthand the behind-the-scenes development of an educational campaign designed as part of a national plan of structural transformation and to share the personal concerns, criticisms, and analysis of the program planners. Between Struggle and Hope offers a rare opportunity to examine the process of political change through education and to probe the internal dynamics of revolution.

I've told my kids for years that God doesn't make mistakes," writes Mary Beth Chapman, wife of Grammy award winning recording artist Steven Curtis Chapman. "Would I believe it now, when my whole world as I knew it came to an end?" Covering her courtship and marriage to Steven Curtis Chapman, struggles for emotional balance, and living with grief, Mary Beth's story is our story--wondering where God is when the worst happens. In Choosing to SEE, she shows how she wrestles with God even as she has allowed him to write her story--both during times of happiness and those of tragedy. Readers will hear firsthand about the loss of her daughter, the struggle to heal, and the unexpected path God has placed her on. Even as difficult as life can be, Mary Beth Chapman Chooses to SEE. Includes a 16-page full color photo insert.

Life is a journey filled with ups and downs. When we face situations in life that seem impossible, we might want to give up. We often struggle with isolation and despair during these tough times. This is when we need help to understand the hope awaiting us when we place our trust in God. Hope in the Struggle: Finding Hope in the Darkest Times, will walk you through those difficult times in life to bring encouragement during the 90-day devotionals within. You can find hope in the struggle. A portion of this book's proceeds will go directly to the Non-Profit outreach ministry, "Light of Hope, Inc." (www.lightofhopeinc.org)