What is the purpose of my life? What is friendship? What is faith? These universal questions, which are especially relevant to young adults, form the heart of this compelling story, told through real letters and diary entries. Anni, who grows from her teenage years to adulthood over the course of the book, is passionate about life and unsparing in her search for authenticity. Articulate and probing, her words have a contemporary ring as she plumbs the reality of her doubt and sense of spiritual loneliness. Then she experiences a call from God - and finds a life of purpose, faith, and joy. In Anni's own words: "It is infinitely reassuring to know that there is an absolute truth, an infinitely great love. It is wonderful to know that one does not have to squander one's life, one does not need to ask anymore what life is really for, what its purpose is." Heightening the drama of this coming-of-age memoir is the historical setting in 1920s Germany, as the specter of Nazism looms ever larger over the world of Anni and her friends, giving their questions about life's meaning a special poignancy.

Social workers, counselors, and health care professionals will be challenged by this thorough presentation of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs). The contributing authors contend that in the immediate future, education, not medicine will be the single most important weapon in stemming the spread of STDs. Thus, the responsibility of educating society and providing service for people who are directly or indirectly affected by STDs lies with helping professions. The devastating social, medical, and psychological aspects of AIDS, herpes, and other STDs are discussed. Contributors focus on the issues involved with counseling individuals with STDs--and their partners, families, and friends--and make suggestions for the education and teaching of professionals and the general public about STDs.

Social workers, counselors, and health care professionals will be challenged by this thorough presentation of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs). The contributing authors contend that in the immediate future, education, not medicine will be the single most important weapon in stemming the spread of STDs. Thus, the responsibility of educating society and providing service for people who are directly or indirectly affected by STDs lies with helping professions. The devastating social, medical, and psychological aspects of AIDS, herpes, and other STDs are discussed. Contributors focus on the issues involved with counseling individuals with STDs--and their partners, families, and friends--and make suggestions for the education and teaching of professionals and the general public about STDs.

If you don't have the time to read all the novels of George MacDonald, the great Scottish storyteller who inspired C. S. Lewis, G. K. Chesterton, Mark Twain, W. H. Auden, and J. R. R. Tolkien, this anthology is a great place to start. These selections from MacDonald's novels, fairy tales, and sermons reveal the profound and hopeful Christian vision that infuses his fantasy worlds and other fiction. Newcomers will find in these pages a rich, accessible sampling. George MacDonald enthusiasts will be pleased to find some of the writer's most compelling stories and wisdom in one volume. Drawn from books including Sir Gibbie, The Princess and the Goblin, Lilith, and At the Back of the North Wind, the selections are followed by reflections from G. K. Chesterton and C. S. Lewis and accompanied by classic illustrations of Maurice Sendak (print edition only).