IN THIS MOVING AND LIFE AFFIRMING BOOK, VIRGINIA STEM OWENS GIVES A CLEAR AND REALISTIC ACCOUNT OF THE MANY CHALLENGES OF CARING FOR AN ELDERLY LOVED ONE. ALONG THE WAY, OWENS NOTES THE SPIRITUAL CRISES SH ENCOUNTERED, NOT THE LEAST OF WHICH INCLUDED FEAR OF HER OWN SUFFERING AND DEATH. THIS BOOK WILL BE A HELPFUL COMPANION TO THOSE WHO HAVE RECENTLY ASSUMED THE ROLE OF CAREGIVER, HELPING THEM ANTICIPATE SOME OF THE EMOTIONAL TURBULENCE THEY WILL ENCOUNTER ALONG THE WAY.

Prayer is essential to the Christian life, bonding us to God. Yet we find it difficult in our frenetic world to keep our minds focused for long. All kinds of external noise and inner voices clamor for our attention. How can we slow down and quiet down so as to truly wait on the Lord? Nan Lewis Doerr and Virginia Stem Owens offer a solution that calls on the physical senses to break through to the spiritual ??? praying with beads. The use of prayer beads, which has a long history in practical spirituality, is now becoming more widespread among Protestants. Doerr and Owens here show readers how to use what have become known as Anglican or Christian prayer beads. Readers can then use the basic prayer structure provided by the beads to pray their way through each day ??? morning, noon, and night ??? and through the church year. These prayers can be enhanced and enriched by the mindful and meditative practice of using beads.

When a prisoner on death row is executed, it's not just the families of the murderer and the victim who feel the effects. The attorneys, the jury, the law enforcement officers, the prison guards, the wardens overseeing the execution, the chaplains and advisors, the technicians "who prepare the syringe and prick the vein" - all of these people are affected, and they all have powerful stories to tell, stories that are woven together in the riveting narrative of "Living Next Door to the Death House." Authors Virginia Stem Owens and David Clinton Owens live in Huntsville, Texas, which has earned a reputation as the death penalty capital of the United States. They call Huntsville "a company town," where the company in question, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, employs almost a quarter of the residents. With so much of the population directly connected to the prison system, the ultimate punishment - meted out as often as once a week - is always "next door."Through candid, compelling interviews with those in Huntsville connected both personally and professionally to the Texas prison system and death row, the authors explore how the steady stream of executions in the town has affected these people and the community at large. As the Owenses show, the ever-present death chamber "reaches out like tentacles to touch the lives of everyone who lives here." Some of the people they talk to are in favor of the death penalty, some are against it, many are conflicted. "Living Next Door to the Death House" shows unforgettably the human face of one of the most controversial and hotly debated issues in the United States today. "A marval of clear-eyed journalism, human sympathy, and judicious reflection." - Annie Dillard

To read the books of Virginia Stem Owens is to understand what Dylan Thomas once called ?the mystery of having been moved by words.? Her style is contemplative, ecstatic, tender ? always yearning for a purer vision of reality and grace. Wind River Winter is her account of watching the world die and be reborn in the desolate Wind River mountains of Wyoming. By attuning her mind to the enormous cadence of autumn and winter, she contemplates the balance of life and death?the world's and her own. Her writing, as beautiful as the best of Annie Dillard or John McPhee, will appeal to anyone who finds the power of language as awesome a power as nature itself. Virginia Stem Owens is the author of several books, including the critically acclaimed Feast of Families. She is a frequent contributor to the Reformed Journal and other publications. She lives near Huntsville, Texas.