Ruth Silver's young life was challenged in ways most of us will never know. A silent, frightened child with undiagnosed vision loss, her world was one of limited vision that ultimately became one of total darkness. Once the situation had a name-retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a progressive eye disease-she at least knew what she was dealing with. As she grew, her other contact with the world-sound-was also taken from her. Where others might have given up, Ruth refused to surrender to the darkness and silence.

As Ruth Silver's world shrank around her, her heart and ambition grew. She never stopped looking for ways to add meaning to her life. Inspired by her own experiences and challenges, she founded the Center for Deaf-Blind Persons in Milwaukee, a nonprofit agency dedicated to helping others living with the double disability of deaf-blindness.

Ruth's story demonstrates how a resilient spirit can propel a profoundly disabled person forward toward a happy, productive life. A charming young man by the name of Marv was destined to change her life even more; their enduring love story is one of hope, patience, and acceptance.

"Invisible" dispels myths, suggests useful teaching procedures, gives hope to people who are disabled and their families, and offers reassurance through her example that a person with profound disabilities can live a full, rich life.

Nothing could ever adequately prepare you to receive a diagnosis of cancer, but when you do, you know instantly that your life has been irrevocably changed. You take up arms and go into battle, not against the disease, but for your life. This "Little Book" is a collection of the lessons I learned while facing my own personal challenge with cancer and what I know to be true.

"As agronomy is the care of the soil and Dr. Arnold's life work, he shares with the reader his care for the soul as he travels through life in this insightful autobiography. The reader becomes a visitor in the lively dialog among family members and colleagues as Dr. Arnold reveals conflicts and resolutions in the world of faith and science. His subtle sense of humor adds a light touch to this amazing journey." - Anne S. Owens, President Samar Publishing Inc. "Wendell Arnold's beautifully written story of his life is so intriguing I couldn't put it down. When you read this book, you will discover the author is a man who dearly loves his family and friends. Furthermore, his completely committed faith in our Lord is a role model for all Christians." - Doris Hodges "Faith and Science. Can one person truly emote to these two different worlds? In this book, the autobiographer reveals his unwavering deep faith, while overcoming many challenges as he lived a professional life as a well respected and successful scientist. Read on and discover a true story that is deep in meaning, yet inter spaced with happy family memories and light diversions. The reader will have much to ponder long after the end of the book." - Jo Watkins "Science and religion walk hand in hand in Wendell Arnold's journey from a farm boy to the holder of a Doctorate in phytopathology and numerous patents in the environmental field. In From the Cotton Patch to Ph.D. we encounter a warm and readable story of a man's life defined by scientific inquiry and his relationship to Jesus Christ." - Bob Libby, Author and Episcopal Priest "Wendell Arnold's story of his Christian walk in life's journey is inspiring, heart-warming and a window into mid-century American life. Dr. Arnold's disarming and self-deprecating account of his experiences in family, youth, marriage, professional life and retirement paint a personal portrait of how to be aware of Christ's constant presence in our daily lives. Sit back and enjoy your travels with Wendell, knowing that you will find strength in his example." - Ruth D. Foss, Diocesan President, Daughters of the King. The title From the Cotton Patch to Ph.D. is by its very nature autobiographical. Wendell Arnold tells about being from a family of nine kids whose parents are share croppers. The experience in the cotton patch to dealing with corporate political challenges, environmental issues and legal avenues blended with raising a family paints the picture of a managed life. He shares his profound experience with God in his life as the adventures take more twists and turns than a rattlesnake chasing his prey. Dr. Arnold is a scientist with a BS and MS in Agronomy and a Ph.D. in Plant Sciences. He holds over ten patents on compound efficacy to control plant pathogens and is the author or co-author of over 35 scientific papers that have been published in refereed journals. Dr. Arnold skillfully tells his intriguing story of growing up picking cotton and becoming a world renowned scientist with faith in God. His story is a must read for those who think that religion, science and environmental improvement don't mix.

Los sucesos descritos en este libro son experiencias verdaderas, decir obligadamente la verdad logica de los hechos, y en defensa de los derechos humanos, sin embargo el autor ha modificado sus identidades y en algunos casos ha creado personajes compuestos. Cualquier semejanza entre un personaje de este libro y una persona de la vida real, es por tanto completamente accidental. Laura La Villa (Autor)

In 2010 Kirin Jacobsen walks across the auditorium stage to receive his Bachelor's Degree. For his parents, Suzanne and John Jacobsen, this moment is more than a milestone - it is a celebration of Kirin's courage to overcome enormous obstacles. Follow the Jacobsen family as Kirin grows from a boy who passionately loves Thomas the Tank Engine into a wise and wonderful young man who becomes a train conductor. The Jacobsen family faces many challenges with medical professionals and educators, demonstrating the extent of the advocacy required to support Kirin into adulthood. Individuals with developmental differences and their families are constantly faced with ignorance, complacency, disrespect and misunderstanding. The Jacobsens' story is shared to encourage parents to advocate for their loved ones, and inspire changes that will make a difference in the lives of these individuals.

'A wonderful connecting of two women writers' stories more than a century apart.' Julia Kuehn, The University of Hong Kong The first-ever biography of the pioneering female journalist who fought to bring Japanese cherry trees to Washington, DC Every age has strong, independent women who defy the gender conventions of their era to follow their hearts and minds. Eliza Scidmore was one such maverick. Born on the American frontier just before the Civil War, she rose from modest beginnings to become a journalist who roamed far and wide writing about distant places for readers back home. By her mid-20s she had visited more places than most people would see in a lifetime. By the end of the nineteenth century, her travels were so legendary she was introduced at a meeting in London as "Miss Scidmore, of everywhere." In what has become her best-known legacy, Scidmore carried home from Japan a big idea that helped shape the face of modern Washington: she urged the city's park officials to plant Japanese cherry trees on a reclaimed mud bank-today's Potomac Park. Though they rebuffed her suggestion several times, she finally got her way nearly three decades later thanks to the support of First Lady Helen Taft. Scidmore was a "Forrest Gump" of her day who bore witness to many important events and rubbed elbows with famous people, from John Muir and Alexander Graham Bell to U.S presidents and Japanese leaders. She helped popularize Alaska tourism during the birth of the cruise industry, and educated readers about Japan and other places in the Far East at a time of expanding U.S. interests across the Pacific. At the early National Geographic, she made a lasting mark as the first woman to serve on its board and to publish photographs in the magazine. Around the same time, she also played an activist role in the burgeoning U.S. conservation movement. Her published work includes books on Alaska, Japan, Java, China, and India; a novel based on the Russo-Japanese War; and about 800 articles in U.S. newspapers and magazines. Deeply researched and briskly written, this first-ever biography of Scidmore draws heavily on her own writings to follow major events of a half-century as seen through the eyes of a remarkable woman who was far ahead of her time.

When James Pedersen, DDS graduated from dental school, he knew how to make his own gold castings, build his own porcelain crowns, cast his own partial denture frameworks, weld the fixed bridges together, prepare teeth for crowns and bridges without a chair-side assistant, fabricate full dentures, and pour his own plaster models. Because of his excellent dental education, he knew precisely how all the mechanics of dentistry worked. Dentistry is a multifaceted profession, and in many cases an art form, which also requires extensive medical knowledge, mechanical expertise, manual dexterity, and a kind, gentle, chair-side approach to the patient. He worked standing up for more than thirty-six years.

Dental Dilemma is a humorous and pragmatic analysis of the dental profession and its metamorphosis into a highly competitive business. It tells the story of the author s adventures, experiences, and encounters with many California Dental HMO providers. This book includes typical stories that create the dental dilemma for the average patient. The story arrives at conclusions that will encourage the patient to be an intelligent and informed consumer before making a commitment to receive dental treatment that is oftentimes profit oriented. Also included in Dental Dilemma is some sage advice for the new practicing dentist.

This book describes seven generations of a single Roberts lineage in the Southern States. A selection of public and private papers is included which refl ects the times and the temperaments of the authors. The Roberts in this lineage crossed the Blue Ridge in 1770 and were British loyalists on the Virginia frontier at the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. In the next three generations, the family settled in newly-opened Indian Territory in South Carolina, Georgia, and Mississippi, respectively. At the outbreak of the Civil War, the Roberts patriarch was a Unionist judge in Georgia, while the eldest son was a Secessionist attorney in Mississippi. The post War generations commenced with a literary college president who was life-long friends with the Candler brothers of Emory and Coca Cola. The next three generations were physicians. The first was the fi rst cardiologist in Georgia and a national medical leader. The second is a researcher in heart disease whose publications and addresses have had worldwide influence in medicine. And the last is author of this book.

Cover Photograph James William ("Will")

Roberts was twelve when this photograph was taken in Atlanta during the Civil War, in which his father, in the 13th Mississippi regiment, had died. To support his mother and younger siblings, Will sold newspapers and apples (shown in the basket he is holding) in front of the Atlanta hardware store of Joseph Spencer Stewart, an Emory College graduate (1849), who later funded the education of Will at Emory College (1st honors,1877) in Oxford, Georgia. Will married Cliff ord Rebecca Stewart, a daughter of Mr. Stewart, and became minister of Trinity Church in Atlanta and president of Wesleyan College in Macon.

The 1950s was a time of great prosperity for many Americans. Gerard and Christina van Amstel came to America with many dreams and hopes. They worked hard, educated themselves, assimilated into American culture and raised a family. Gerard and Christina always worked as a team, so they always shared the financial and domestic responsibilities of the family. It was this equal sharing and mutual respect that made them happy as a family and successful as a couple. Gerard and Christina bought several homes during their working life, raised three children, vacationed every summer and looked forward to a comfortable and much anticipated retirement.

Then life delivered a cruel blow: Christina developed Alzheimer's disease. The disease progressed slowly at first with memory loss and confusion, symptoms most people could shrug off as stress related. When Christina lost the ability to complete simple tasks like following a recipe she had used for 20 years, refused to drive the family car because she feared she could not find her way home and began drifting often into the past with little recall of daily events, it was clear the disease had become debilitating.

This is not a story of shattered dreams. It is the story of one couple's struggle with Alzheimer's and a healthcare system that provides marginal care for the elderly and their afflictions. It is also an account of Gerard's attempt to bring care and compassion to people affected by dementia and the millions of elderly trapped in the nursing home industry.

Bill Dye is one of the lucky ones. Like so many of his childhood pals, he dreamed of flying jets or being "a console guy" launching satellites. Unlike so many young boys who wished for a life of adventure amid the romance of space travel, however, Bill's dream became his reality. His boyhood passion for airplanes and rockets, fueled by his parents' encouragement, launched him into an exciting, fulfilling career in aerospace. In Dye's often humorous, entertaining memoir, you'll get the inside scoop on the US space program from an aerospace engineer with more than three decades of experience. You'll discover how a kid who used to win science fairs and fire off homemade rockets ends up directing the design and development of several spacecraft-including IKONOS, an Earth-observation satellite that changed the world. He is proof that even the loftiest dreams are attainable with the right opportunities, the right education, and the right attitude. "As a fellow aerospace engineer, once I started reading "Climbing into My Dream, " I couldn't put it down. Many of us from different backgrounds went on this exhausting but exhilarating journey. Bill Dye was the go-to guy who was fun to be with. His story brought back memories of 'learning the trade.'" -Tom Dougherty, program director (retired), Lockheed Martin

December 9, 2003, is a day Mary Ann Sheveland will never forget. With the sun just coming up and a fresh pot of coffee perking in the kitchen, she walked into the bedroom she shared with her husband that early December morning and found him dead. Death had come quickly and silently; he was gone.

In Mary Ann's memoir, "Journey of My Heart," she shares a story written with love, humility, and a great amount of faith. It is an account of emotional courage, determination, and the desire to have the best quality of life in our allotted time. She chronicles the challenges faced when caring for a terminally ill spouse and the love that she and her husband shared during the good and the bad times of their crisis.

"Journey of My Heart" also tells how Mary Ann overcame grief using the tools of music, journaling, travel, and the various social activities she depended upon to put her in a positive frame of mind. She hopes to help illuminate the steps along the slippery road of a progressively worsening medical condition. Gradually, with every day, she became stronger, more independent, and at peace with her new life. She emerged from grief a completely different person; she is a survivor.