"Free Will, No Choice" is Wendy Buckingham's first published work, a memoir which chronicles her childhood, adolescence, and how she came to meet and join The Unification Church of Rev. Sun Myung Moon. She was to be a faithful follower for half of her adult life before becoming disillusioned by it all after making a pilgrimage to Korea intended to further deepen her faith. The story opens with the recollection of a picture-perfect day with her and her playmates enjoying a carefree life in a wooded bedroom community in the northwest suburbs of Chicago in the mid-1950s. The tragic death of her older sister from leukemia at age 8 creates a tangible disturbance in the family, and as happens all too frequently when such a tragedy strikes a young married couple, her parents divorce not long after. Her mother decides to move back to her hometown of Denver with Wendy and her younger sister Georgia, just as the girls are reaching adolescence. Mother realizes that she cannot survive for long as a single mom with two daughters without an income, and sets her sights on well-to-do bachelors in the Denver social circles. Drugs and alcohol come to be convenient avenues of escape for the author as she is moved in and out of a variety of schools before finally graduating from high school back in Illinois. She has the opportunity to do some traveling with Georgia before the independent-minded Hitchcock sisters seemingly go their separate ways. In 1975, a letter from Georgia from a new age community outside of San Francisco gets Wendy's attention. Sensing that Georgia may have been lured into a cult of some kind, the author decides to travel to the west coast to see for herself what sister has gotten herself into. Long story short, Georgia's stay with the Creative Community Project (aka The Unification Church) ends within 3 months. Wendy's is to last considerably longer. Positive changes in mind, body and spirit are immediately evidenced for our heroine, who begins to experience a most substantial presence of and relationship with God. The first seven years in the movement are spent on MFT (Mobile Fundraising Teams), raising money to support Rev. Moon in his vision of building the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth (even though Jesus very plainly said that The Kingdom of Heaven is within you.). Having laid the seven year foundation of fundraising to qualify to be matched (engaged) and blessed (married) by Sun Myung Moon, the scene shifts to New York City and the New Yorker Hotel (now the World Mission Center for The Unification Church), where Rev. Moon is preparing to match 1,500 men and women with unshakeable faith in him as the 2nd Coming of Christ. Wendy emerges from the ceremony with her fiance, Francis Buckingham, and her foot-soldier days are behind her. As family life begins, they find in one another alternative sounding boards for what they really believe and why they are doing what they're doing. With the arrival of their son in 1991, the demands on their time and the little money they have for themselves become more and more unreasonable and unbearable. Where is the messiah when you really need him? As the storm clouds loom in the distance, hope arrives in the form of a book they discover sitting on a shelf in the home of another church couple. It's entitled A Course in Miracles. It begins by stating: Nothing real can be threatened, nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the Peace of God. The story of the next leg of the journey is now in progress: the power of Faith guided by Wisdom.

"Peter Clark's ministerial journey provides an in-depth understanding of the sacrifices and hardships faced by black Methodist preachers as they spread the gospel and expanded Methodism in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. It provides deep insight into the racial attitudes and economic conditions that prevailed in post-Reconstruction Louisiana." - Angella Current-Felder, author, Breaking Barriers: An African American Family & the Methodist Story

"I could feel the story better than most because I had been down some of the same roads Peter Clark traveled, although a hundred years later and under more comfortable circumstances.'' - Rev. James L. Killen, Jr., author, Pastoral Care in the Small Membership Church

"We sensed Peter Clark's strength and leadership throughout this very turbulent and racially charged time in our history. He would have been honored to have his life written about with such loving care." - Rev. Cindy Foster Serio, spiritual director and retreat leader, Mosaic Spiritual Formation Ministry

"The information regarding tuberculosis is insightful. The biography walks the reader through some very important points and offers some food for thought on the thinking at the time and implications for the race, the individual and the family unit." - Dr. Lisa Armitige, medical consultant, Heartland National TB Center

Born without a dowry, nearly forced into a convent, and later married off to a man she didn't love, Olimpia Maidalchini vowed never to be poor, powerless, or beholden to any man again. Instead, using her wits, Olimpia became the unofficial ruler of the most powerful institution in the world: the Roman Catholic Church.

The Church firmly states that women must be excluded from church leadership positions--but for more than a decade in the seventeenth century, Olimpia ran the Vatican. As sister-in-law and reputed mistress of the indecisive Pope Innocent X, she appointed cardinals, negotiated with foreign ambassadors, and helped herself to a heaping portion of the Papal States' treasury.

In Mistress of the Vatican, New York Times bestselling author Eleanor Herman brings to life not only an extraordinary woman lost in history but an entire civilization in all its greatness . . . and ignominy. This is the unforgettable story of a woman ahead of her time.

This is the first biography of Lord Headley, who made international headlines in 1913 when he defied convention by publicly converting to Islam. Drawing on previously unpublished archival sources, this book focuses on Headley's religious beliefs, conversion to Islam, and work as a Muslim leader during and after the First World War. Lord Headley slipped into obscurity following his death in 1935, but there is growing recognition globally that he is a pivotal figure in the history of Western Islam and Muslim-Christian relations; this book evaluates the strengths and weaknesses, successes and failures of the man and his work, and considers his significance for contemporary understandings of Islam in the Global West.

Susan Mbaluka grew up in a small village in Kenya. Her Christian mother taught her to rely on God and shun the superstitious practices of the witchdoctor. Many times throughout her early childhood, Susan faced unthinkable danger and hardships, but she sought to develop a faith in God like her mother. As she drew closer to God and deepened her relationship with Him, little did she know how the devil would try to kill her, discourage her, tempt her, and torment her as she sought to serve God. What did Susan do when she learned about the Sabbath? How did she obtain an education when her family was so poor? What happened when she was faced with death threats? How did she cope with loneliness when she had to be separated from her husband and children for years? Journey with Susan as she shares her life story and testimony to God's faithfulness and protection for her and her family. God's promises are true Read "God Makes a Way" today