Epic in scope in the tradition of Sometimes a Great Notion, this novel explores the values of the American West as three generations carve out a working ranch in the Idaho Panhandle. On the weekend of their 60th wedding anniversary, Ray and Betsy hold a family gathering in a final celebration at the Omak Stampede Rodeo where their eldest son, Arnie, struggles to put his life back together after his wife's death. At this rodeo once again Arnie's life will change forever. And back on the ranch Ray and Betsy will make their last, most difficult stand as Ray shows how it's done the cowboy way.

An unemployed professor accepts a job in a customer service call center and embarks on a spiritual journey... Do you find it hard to get good service when you call an 800 number? Written with humor and honesty, this book explains what's happening on the other end of the line. But it also offers solutions. The author appeals not only to customer service representatives (CSRs) but also to anyone who works with people. He shows how even the most mundane job can become an adventure if you practice the "Three-Way CSR Conversation" and let God serve others through you. He offers advice in dealing with "The Customer from Hell," overcoming resistance from the back office, working under extreme time limits, and maintaining self-esteem when your every word is recorded and criticized. You may never look at customer service the same way again...

This is a non-fiction book about the journey that I have taken in the world of hair through the many different styles, times, and attitudes toward African American women and their hair. It is designed to be a learning tool showing the many challenges and pressures that African American women have put on themselves regarding hair. This book is a true testament of the African-American woman's journey into the pursuit of the perfect and ideal style and how that, at times, ties into a woman's self-esteem. After I locked my hair on December 26, 2001, my mission was to tell a story about my plight in finding myself through my hair, being comfortable in my skin, loving my distinct African features, and truly loving who God made me to be. It is my estimation that women of African descent continually connect hair with self-esteem and self-worth to the degree that we look at extremes; if our hair is "nappy or kinky" then it is bad and if our hair is "straight" or "loosely curled" then it is good. The chapters in this book touch on the hair care industry, your mind, body, and soul and how they play a part in your hair, the devastation of hair loss, and hair from the perspective of women and men.

People in developed countries spend the majority of their time indoors. Therefore, studying the effect of outdoor air quality on indoor air is of great importance to human health. This book presents several computer models that can be used to study this effect, analysis methods using these models, as well as measurement techniques and control strategies. Use of these tools is demonstrated using buildings in Fairbanks, Alaska, and pollutants of concern in this area - carbon monoxide, fine particulate matter, and radon. The results are presented together with the summary of findings by others in different geographic regions. The core of this book is four peer-reviewed articles that were accepted for publication in various journals, plus supplemental material. This compilation of the work of these authors into a cohesive package represents suitable reading for students, researchers, housing specialists, and other individuals who want to learn about the effect of outdoor air quality on indoor air, about methods to study this effect, and about possibilities to enhance indoor air quality via reducing the indoor levels of pollutants of outdoor origin.

Silver Thaw is a novella set in the late '60s in the Great Central Valley of California, where four friends are forced to confront the moral, sexual and political parameters which will define their adult lives, including the loss of innocence precipitated by the Vietnam War. Following that evocative tale are award-winning Selected Stories, previously released in some of America's favorite literary journals. These stories will leave the reader wanting for days gone by, a more innocent time in our history.

Written by two clinical psychologists with nearly a century of combined experience, this book explains how people who suffer from depression, anxiety, or undue anger can overcome these difficulties by allowing the normal process of grieving to occur. Sadness is generally characterized as a negative emotion, yet experiencing sadness plays a positive and key role in achieving and maintaining mental health and in avoiding anxiety, depression, and anger. Indeed, sadness can be understood as a normal and necessary feeling that always occurs when one loses something that is loved. The Positive Power of Sadness examines the experience of sadness, taking into account the personal, relational, and neurological factors of sadness; explains the cultural reasons that many resist feeling sad and consequently displace sadness into secondary processes; and provides a practical and systematic way to overcome anger, anxiety, and depression by allowing the normal process of being sad to occur. This simple paradigm of love and loss causing joy and sorrow in tandem is founded on solid research, carefully considered theory, and extensive experience and will serve to stimulate further thought and writing. Professional therapists, psychologists, counselors, teachers, and clergy who work with people in various settings will find this enlightening reading, as will general readers seeking self-help or possessing an interest in psychological functioning or relational difficulties. Provides a solid foundation for understanding anger, anxiety, and depression as well as a practical and solid approach for overcoming these difficulties Examines the neurological factors associated with feelings, particularly sadness, and identifies the relational complications that arise when one experiences sadness Describes the cultural and personal resistance to the experience of sadness that often compels people to keep their sadness "bottled up" Explains how anger, anxiety, and depression can be prevented by accepting and experiencing sadness