Readers' Choice Awards Honorable Mention Distinguished Honorable Mention, from Byron Borger, Hearts and Minds Bookstore "No matter how old you are or how many degrees you have or don't have-when grace takes you to school, you start in kindergarten." This was the experience of Reverend Glandion Carney when he was given the life-altering news that he has Parkinson's disease. He was plunged into denial and despair. This was not supposed to be his journey. How could he face it? With poignant vulnerability, The Way of Grace describes one man's journey into a new land of God's amazing grace. Both his honesty and his resilience will inspire and inform your own times of difficulty. In each chapter we are introduced to a spiritual practice that can carry us through difficult days: acceptance, relinquishment, community, simplicity and more. And a guide at the end of each chapter carries us into a brief and refreshing experience with each of the practices. God's unmerited grace saves us, strengthens us and sanctifies us. We too can experience lives full of grace and truth, courageously searching out God's wonders every day.

"Finding Peace After Losing a Loved One"

When someone you love passes away, a part of your heart goes with them, and when a part is missing, your heart doesn't beat the same. How do you accept this great loss and find peace? How do you bring back the happiness you once had without feeling guilty?

As you move through this journey, you will:

-Understand that healing is about everyone, not just the sick

-Experience God's magic at work.

-Learn to recognize messages from loved ones on the other side.

-Become aware that miracles happen when you believe they can.

"Those who have passed on are still within your reach."

"You just have to learn to touch them in a different way."

As you look up and accept Divine guidance, you will:

-Learn to let go of doubt and fear.

-Feel anger and sadness disappear.

-Experience happiness making its way back into your life.

This true story begins with a mother's terrifying dream that foretold the accidental death of her adult son. She continued to have subtle premonitions that she didn't understand until it was too late. When her son died as the dream predicted, she was riddled with guilt at not having been able to save him. These premonitions raised tormenting questions about their source, purpose, and meaning. They propelled her on a journey through grief that followed every path from scientific theories to psychic communications with the spirit world. It was a lonely quest in a culture impatient with grief and dismissive of premonitions. In the end, it was through writing her story that she found healing.

A cross still remains at the T-intersection of two county roads, still reminding passers-by of the vibrant young life that was snuffed out one summer day long ago. We often notice these small white crosses along roadways as we speed by. Draped with wilted flowers and faded ribbons, they stand in mute testimony to tragedies we try to ignore. They remind us that life can end in an instant.

In October 2010 the authors became exclusive providers of grief- and grief-recovery-related content on a memorial website called Tributes.com, a site that receives approximately three million unique hits per month, and to which readers submit very personal and unique grief-related questions. Collected in this book are not only a bounty of personal and often moving questions but also the authors' equally compelling responses and tips for using the Grief Recovery Method to deal with broken hearts. The book not only deals with grief from loss of a loved one, but also the grieving that occurs following a divorce, a sudden downturn in health, the loss of a job, and even the loss of faith.

Speaking about the death of a child is taboo, especially a newborn. After all, babies are not supposed to die. But the reality is that they sometimes do. In "Balloons on the Mailbox," Chantal D. Horup recounts the death of her beloved newborn baby girl.

The Horup family struggled to find normalcy in their lives again, but rising above a misfortune of this magnitude is not easy-especially when friends and family members don't know what to say, or whether to say anything at all. Unable to cope, Chantal went into shock and remained secluded in her home until the day of the funeral, all the while yearning to connect with another mother who had experienced such a terrible loss.

While heartbreaking, "Balloons on the Mailbox" will help you better understand your role as a friend, family member, or co-worker of someone who has experienced such a massive loss. Discover how you can make a difference in people's lives and aid them in their journey toward recovery.

"We do not remember the days, we remember the moments " One moment can change your life, forever. One moment can leave you breathless; it is that moment when you know it has happened... a change."I expected to be overjoyed to become a mommy again. I expected flowers, but not flowers with baby angels attached to them and a black wreath that would hang upon our business door to let all know that the arrival of our second son turned into something we didn't expect, his death."Lori Weatherly and her family have been through much devastation which includes their son passing away the day before Lori's 31st birthday as well as insurmountable physical trauma and injuries. Learning to love again, live again and find a new normal would prove to be an obstacle that, with God's help, she and her family are able to overcome on a daily basis."I am careful to know that with expectations, a risk is always there that could lead to disappointment at any given moment. But that cannot keep me from expecting good things God is a giver of good things Without expectations, what do we have to hope for?"

We all experience the death of someone close to us at different times in our lives and have to find our way through the pain of grief. We question whether we will ever cope with the burden of our loss. Feelings of overwhelming sadness and tiredness along with feelings of anger, distress and bitterness arise as we travel through our passage of mourning. In today's society there is little time set aside for grieving. This book is not intended to be a definitive guide, as we are all unique, but it can be a helpful support through your journey of adjustment to your loss. It is designed to be a handy companion at times of turmoil helping you to understand the normal processes of grief. The book is based on my knowledge and experience as a psychologist, a Cruse Bereavement Counsellor and a widow. There are 365 short daily passages with a footnote at the bottom of each page providing a thought to focus on. it aims to provide a daily reflection on the thoughts and feelings which you may experience in the first year following a bereavement. Use it as a helping hand, a sympathetic voice, to be read each day or when you feel in need of some support. The aim is to help you to process and understand what you might be experiencing as you adjust to the changes that bereavement has made in your life. Through this journey of grieving there are references to feelings of fear about how to live your life in a changed emotional landscape. The bereaved person has to adapt and change on a core level in their life. It is natural that you experience many emotions, whether the death experienced is that of a father, mother, brother, sister, child, close friend, partner, husband, wife, or grandparent. There may be feelings of grief associated with the death of a marriage or partnership. We all experience bereavement at different times in our life and we have to find our way through a maze of grief. There are times when we wonder how we can carry on with this burden, but we do. Feelings can be further complicated if the person who has died has caused hurt to us in some way. Feelings of anger can be overwhelming, and memories which arise can give cause for distress. It is helpful to your healing if you can work through your feelings and your memories at a pace you can cope with. Grieving is a journey that at some point we all find ourselves on.

El Mega Miedo nos ata e a todos. Tememos a lo incierto, aunque m s a n a la nica e indubitable gran certeza: la Muerte, que necesariamente ha de ocurrir alg n d a. Cu ndo? C mo? C mo Enfrentarla? Por qu si es una cuesti n tan Natural? Parece no serlo en absoluto Afecta el Miedo Inconsciente a la Muerte- al Comportamiento Humano? De que Modos? Existen los or genes "Org nicos" causales del Caos Mundial Actual? Estas cuestiones constituyen el meollo de las reflexiones que se hace el autor y que nos invita a compartir. En un lenguaje llano y directo o aborda los problemas actuales que amenazan la permanencia de nuestra especie sobre esta nave errante en la vastedad inmensurable del universo y que llamamos Tierra. La concentraci n humana en absurdas y ca ticas megal polis, la ingente poluci n en variadas formas, el cambio clim tico, la creciente violencia en el mundo, la omnipresente amenaza nuclear, el aumento del desempleo y la pobreza, la falta de respeto a la madre Natura, la creciente desigualdad econ mica y social que recorre el planeta. En fin, la especie humana vive un momento hist rico in dito que requiere de medidas urgentes y en las cuales todos debemos participar. o, preocupado por la actual situaci n mundial da la voz de alerta, nos convoca a tomar conciencia, reflexionar juntos y actuar en consecuencia, unitariamente. Involucr monos y compromet monos a la acci n ya pues no podemos perder m s el tiempo. Todos y cada uno de nosotros viajamos en la misma embarcaci n en que la Humanidad esta a punto de sucumbir. Maestro: Jorge Toledo

Sweta Srivastava Vikram is a multi-genre writer living in New York City. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in literary journals, online publications, and anthologies across six countries and three continents. Sweta has attended several writing residencies and workshops in the United States and Europe. She is a VONA writer and a graduate of Columbia University.
About this Chapbook...
We have all lost a dear one at some point in our lives. Grief, depending on the relationship with the one deceased, affects us differently. I feel my Dada and Mausi's absence every single day for disparate reasons. But these two losses have taught me that their time had come. And that life is about celebrating those alive and not just mourning those who have moved on. Optimism and faith are the keys to overcoming the roadblocks life puts in our way.
This book tries to state that there is always hope for anyone coping with grief. No one can tell us exactly how; the voyage has to be undertaken by each of us individually.
Learn more about the author at www.swetavikram.com
From the World Voice Series at Modern History Press www.ModernHistoryPress.com
POE003000 Poetry: Inspirational & Religious
SOC028000 Social Science: Women's Studies - General
SEL010000 Self-Help: Death, Grief, Bereavement