If you follow the headlines, you could be forgiven for thinking that things in Ireland are worse than ever. In fact, we live longer than ever before, we have never been healthier or better educated, we earn five times more than our grandparents did, our personal freedoms exceed those of any previous generation, and the lives of women and children have been transformed for the better. At a time when some good news is welcome, this uplifting book tells our national story through facts and stats, placing Ireland under the microscope to chart 100 undeniable achievements of the past 100 years. When the State was formed, Ireland was one of the most poverty-stricken nations in Europe. Now it has the second-highest quality of life in the world. While there is still more to be done, In Fact illustrates that Ireland, for all its imperfections, is in a much better state than you might think.

What others find in CAST YOUR NETS It is said that a good sermon is delivered with the Bible in one hand and the daily newspaper in the other. Mark Miller adds a fishing rod to the mix, salting his wise reflections on ministry, faith, and life with insights that can only come while patiently waiting for the elusive yet exciting tug of the Spirit or a sockeye. John Thomas, General Minister and President, United Church of Christ Mark Henry Miller notices little things that the rest of us often miss: the person in the corner who doesn't go along with what others see as a consensus, the surprising kind act by the contentious opponent, the fish swimming upstream. And he thinks about what he has noticed and shares what he has learned. He shows us how to reflect in the midst of practice, which is essential to effective ministry. William McKinney--President, Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, CA Mark writes with wit, humor, and grace. His insights will stay with you long after the reading is done. --Jim Thayer, novelist and professor Short, pithy, inspirational stories for everyday ministry--a good source for daily devotional material, provocative meeting openers or sermon illustrations. Each epistle has an easily grasped point that touches a deep spiritual issue or practice of both ministry and everyday life lived with intentional faithfulness. Paul Forman, United Church of Christ Minister Mark Henry Miller's always insightful, sometimes whimsical pastoral epistles are a delight and a challenge to read - challenging our everyday way of seeing things and letting us glimpse a bit of what might be if we only have eyes to see and ears to hear and hearts to love. Joanne Carlson Brown, MethodistMinister

Randall Foster prefers to preach sermons, teach classes, raise funds, recruit members and make sure he visits church members before their surgery. Wants to be known for that, if anything a caring minister you can trust. Dreamer. Alas, if anything can go wrong...it does. Not a short list of the wrong going...sexual misconduct charges...divorce...congregational meeting to throw him out...double-homicide indictment when a church member is found slumped dead in church's front sanctuary pew. Didn't help the woman, four months pregnant, is his misconduct accuser and a noosed rope around her neck is from his pulpit robe. He has to reach up to touch bottom. Then the surprises begin. Not everyone is against him. Some figure shadows are evidence of light somewhere. He is sinking...fast. But not all is lost. An irascible secretary...a don't let them get you church member...a new fishing guide...and a salmon-stalking sea lion make for the most unpredictable sliver of hope. He'll take it. Sinking? Yep. Drown? Not sure.

For the last year Tricia Gleason shifted back and forth from fishing guide on Tillamook Bay to homicide detective. In the latter role she "fished" for clues to solve two murders. To celebrate the new day Tricia makes the decision to leave her fishing and detective roles. And, to the voice of her heart, sets the goal to become a minister. Puts her detective hat and her fishing waders in the closet. Closes the door. Hope? To attend classes at Ocean Divinity School in Berkeley, California and learn about the Bible. Hope? To be a good seminary Field Work student at a Palo Alto Community Congregational Church. Hope? To be effective in leading a college church group of Stanford students. But then. Her first night a troubled Stanford student wants to share personal problems. Tricia glances at her watch, the student reads her dismissing body language and leaves. Tricia doesn't see her again...until she is in the morgue. When the casket closes on this coed Tricia's closet door opens. At first she doesn't know the murderer is in her midst, closer than bad breath. On goes the detective hat. Tricia learns she is dealing with more than two women, only distinguished by reddish-orange hair and neon-blue hair. Tricia surmises there is a third person, a primary identity. And then she knew: the murderer actually is someone whose public persona is rational and impressive. This person wears a mask of sanity, hiding the blue and red haired impersonations. As Tricia moves in there is only one problem...she has the wrong sane person in her sights. Would the mask of sanity ever be ripped off?

"Write Through Chicago" offers both teachers and students a unique opportunity to connect with Chicago and its remarkable history. Young writers will mourn at Lincoln's Chicago Funeral, marvel at the Columbian Exposition, gather with the crowd at the Haymarket Riot, drive to Riverview Amusement Park, chomp down on the first McDonald's Burger, and celebrate at Grant Park as Barack Obama delivers his presidential acceptance speech. They'll craft a wide range of written forms, from stories and poems to polemics, monologues, diaries, letters and more. All "Write Through Chicago" writing activities align to NCTE & Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and are supported by a website that provides students with ready access to specifically selected research materials. This unique design leaves teachers free to concentrate on helping students truly "learn about a city by writing about a city."
"KIRKUS REVIEWS"
www.kirkusreviews.com
...Larson ("The Creative Writing Handbook," 1992) and Boone ("Forest High," 2011) collaborate to produce a guide primarily for students, although it'd be useful for anyone "curious about Chicago and anxious to write." Their guide covers nearly a dozen of the nationwide Common Core State Standards for writing, including orienting students to the rhetorical forms of argument, exposition and narrative, and to disciplines like planning, revising and rewriting. The authors approach their task by presenting students with a series of archived headlines from different pivotal points in Chicago history, from the days of fur trader Jean-Baptiste Pointe DuSable in 1790 to the passage through town of President Lincoln's funeral train in 1865 to the Great Fire of Chicago in 1871, as well as the Chicago World's Fair of 1893, the World Series of 1906 and newly elected Barack Obama's victory speech from 2008. In all these cases and many more, the authors encourage writing students to extrapolate from the headline and quick bullet points of the event, with pointed motivations to consider as many angles as possible, such as the president's Secret Service detail or the engineers on Lincoln's train. It's also recommended for students to go online for further research and to imagine how they would have reacted at the time. Finally, students are encouraged to envision a new scenario spun off from the headline's setting but involving them personally. In all cases, students are carefully guided through the use of educator Benjamin Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning Objectives, first using so-called lower-level thinking (knowledge, comprehension and application) and then higher-level thinking (analysis, synthesis and evaluation). The headlines are well-chosen to represent a wide range of interests-everything from the social reforms of Jane Addams and Hull House to the poetry of Carl Sandburg and the prose of Studs Terkel-and the concept of making writing exercises come alive through local history is an inspired one.
A stimulating, well-presented approach to getting students interested in writing.
"Write Through Chicago" is the best present an English teacher could receive. This book brings to the forefront a logical yet creative way of addressing what is truly important: engaging students to think creatively and insightfully about the world around them. By allowing students to write themselves into Chicago history, Larson and Boone have seamlessly brought together the best parts of teaching and writing. This is the kind of book that makes teachers want to teach.
"-Deborah Will, former President, Illinois Association of Teachers of English"

Easy Street, USA. Tricia Gleason figures it originated in Frisco, Colorado. No fuss, no sweat, no worry: the combination for a smooth summer. All set to be a summer intern minister following her first seminary year, she would not be challenged as she was to read Sunday worship scripture, teach church youth to fly-cast and visit hospitals when asked. That changed with one sentence, "Tricia, forgot to tell you, but my wife and I are leaving Frisco for the summer; you're in charge." She could only stare. You can't be serious. The minister was. Before she could think or count to ten Tricia is THE SUMMER MINISTER IN FRISCO, COLORADO...to preach each Sunday, to coordinate all church activities and handle any "surprise events." She wonders if she and her fly rod will ever have a relationship. The surprises are like fire-crackers exploding. Happens fast...a church college student is arrested for armed robbery of a 7/11, is harassed at his university and then disappears. A couple in the church are found, deader than dead according to the county sheriff. Figures it is murder/suicide. Church members rant Tricia only works three hours a week on Sunday mornings-can never find her during the week. The minister comes back earlier than he said, but not to take over. Comes back to defend sexual misconduct charges. And, as Tricia learns, that isn't even a glimpse into other "ways of ministry." The county sheriff and detective ask her help. They know she has solved murders before. She'd rather put on a fishing hat but it doesn't happen enough. Soon discovers no suicide but a double-murder. Tricia has hunches but they are a cul-de-sac, leading in circles. When the who murdered this couple is learned, down deep Tricia isn't sure. And then, the one arrested states, "Do you think I did this by myself? Well, folks, guess again." Tricia thought it was musing about another. She was wrong. So wrong. And, in it all she never finds Easy Street in Frisco, Colorado.