Showing results by narrator "Amy McFadden" in All Categories

Highly prized for their beauty, crystals can take the shape of jewelry, household objects, and an array of self-care products. But it's the ideas they stand for that draw people to their raw forms. Like astrology, tarot, and modern witchcraft, crystals help practitioners understand themselves and the wider world around them. In this collection of sharply observed essays, Jaya Saxena reflects on - and challenges - the ideas associated with 11 popular stones.

AJ is a buttoned-up, responsible student attending a high-achieving high school in Michigan. She lives with her mother, stepfather, and two younger half sisters. Della spends every summer with her father in Florida. A free-spirited wild child, she spends as much time as possible on the beach with her friends and older siblings. But there's a catch: AJ and Della are the same person. Adelaide Beloise Jepsen to be exact, and she does everything she can to keep her school and summer lives separate. When her middle sister crashes her carefree summer getaway, Adelaide's plans fall apart.

While renovating her childhood home into a B&B and navigating the waters of a second-chance romance, Beck Foster is suddenly forced to face the past and open her arms to strangers she never dreamed she’d meet. With the help of her daughters, Savannah and Peyton, Beck resolves to undo the past and expand her family forever...but that decision isn't always easy. As Savannah faces the challenges of having a baby on her own, and Peyton takes her budding romance to the next step, the Foster women all learn that life in the Keys might be warm and breezy, but it’s still complicated.

“You know what people really need? Somebody who will listen hard and then find a way to tell them, ‘It’s not all your fault. It’s going to work out fine. Don’t give up.’” So advice columnist ‘Dear Lily’ Brown deeply believes. But Lily could write a letter to herself, asking what to do about an ex-husband who still wants her dating advice, how to redecorate the family home she’s kept exactly the same since her parents died tragically young, how to move on with her strangely becalmed life...and what to do when your wild-child estranged sister storms back into town.

Reluctant necromancer Katy Lindstrom is worried about mixing business with pleasure. All she wants is a few hours alone with her more-than-a-business-partner, Malcolm Armand. Before they can sort through their feelings over a cup of Kona blend, another necromancer lands on Katy’s doorstep. Malcolm’s father. He brings with him tales of old betrayals and fresh lies. But a bigger danger lurks in Springside - a powerful ghost sent to destroy Malcolm’s brother. This is just the start.

We are all improvisers! The principle of "yes, and..." in improvisational theater has produced a lot of great comedy. But it also offers an invigo­rating approach to life in general, and the spiritual life in particular...Pastor, speaker, and improv aficionada MaryAnn McKibben Dana here blends scripture, psychology, theology, and pop culture in a wise, funny, down-to-earth guide to improv as a practice for life.

Something old. Something new. Something deadly. When Christmas brings both strangers and ghosts of the past to Springside, ghost-catcher, and expert coffee-brewer Katy Lindstrom fears her new business, new relationship, and quiet hometown will never be the same. She’s right. The ghost of a jealous dead husband. A sexy siren of a spirit who has a claim on Malcolm. It will take more than some excellent Kona blend to permanently rid Springside of both the unwanted ghosts and the necromancers who brought them to town.

Mina is single and young and has been diagnosed with breast cancer. This audio presentation follows Mina and her journey to explore society’s emphasis on breasts as she makes a difficult decision regarding her treatment.

Theo's always been impulsive. But telling Paige how he feels? He's obsessed over that decision. And it's time. Tonight. At the party on the riverbank, under the old walking bridge, site of so many tales of love and death. Paige has had a crush on Theo since they first met, but she knows her feelings are one-sided. She's trying to move on, to flirt. A party at the river is just what she needs. Except a fight breaks out, and when Paige tries to intervene - Theo's fist lands in her face.

For fans of Megan Abbott and Chris Bohjalian comes a novel of moral complexity about friends who must choose between self-preservation and doing the right thing in the wake of a fatal boating accident. Set in the moody off-season of Martha's Vineyard, Everything That Follows is a plunge into the dark waters of secrets and flexible morals. The truth becomes whatever we say it is. Around midnight, three friends take their partying from bar to boat on a misty fall evening. Just as the weather deteriorates, one of them suddenly and confusingly goes overboard. Is it an accident?

Madeline Vaughn-Alwin's picture-perfect life fades to gray when her childhood sweetheart perishes in the Great War. The aspiring painter leaves her wealthy New York family behind for Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she's certain she's found her new home amid the striking scenery and inspiring artistic community. To help out around her new adobe cottage, Maddie hires the Anayas, a local Native American family. But when the father is found murdered outside a speakeasy, the police brush off the death as just another inebriated man finding trouble.

In August 1777, Jenny Sutton leaves Williamsburg, Virginia, and the man she loves and sets sail for British-occupied Manhattan to tend to her dying father. Aboard the Destiny, Jonathon Brentwood makes a request of Jenny that will entangle her in the network of spies serving the Patriot cause. With her father already under suspicion, Jenny's activities must be hidden from the watchful eyes of British troops. Desperate to join - and protect - Jenny, Andrew Wentworth agrees to deliver messages to Patriot troops on his way to New York.

Nevertheless We Persisted is a special audio-first anthology of poems, essays, and stories that explores themes of loss, love, and finding your own power. It's an astonishing collection filled with heart, tears, laughter, and ultimately hope. This collection was created from writers across the United States and also in Australia, England, India, and New Zealand. Each piece is performed by a talented narrator.

This winter, let four tales of mistletoe magic and the spirit of the season cast a special glow as some of your favorite authors introduce stories of hope, happiness, and holiday hearts.

There he stood in the doorway: overweight, depressed, and nearly homeless - a pug named Teddy Roosevelt. Teddy was Brydie Benson's latest problem, arriving on top of her messy divorce and sudden move. Brydie needed a place to start over, so this rent-free home seemed a great idea. She just never counted on Teddy or his owner, the Germantown Retirement Village's toughest customer, Pauline Neumann.

It's a piece of news Daphne never expected to hear: Her globe-trotting friend Skylar, who vowed never to get married, is engaged! Time to celebrate in Manhattan - Skylar's treat, of course. After years scaling the corporate ladder, she can more than afford it. Daphne arrives in NYC with news of her own - the novel she's finally finished appears to be going nowhere but the trash bin of every publishing house around. She's devastated, but plans to keep her disappointment under wraps.

With their reality TV series Antiques Sleuths, Brandy Borne and her quaintly kooky mother, Vivian, have a real hit on their hands. But when another hit enters the picture, Brandy's implicated for the crime. With Brandy now wearing basic jailhouse orange, Vivian must largely investigate alone, sorting through a rogue's gallery of suspects that includes a too-friendly farmer's wife, a ratings-happy TV producer, a questionable husband-and-wife auctioneer team, and even the chief of police himself!

Living the food allergy life and having a kid who can't have dairy, tree nuts, peanuts, or soy is not easy. And neither is worrying about accommodating all the food requirements at a play date. From avoiding major food allergens and respecting food preferences like vegetarian or vegan to being aware of religious practices like keeping kosher, making a simple snack resembles navigating a minefield. Thankfully, Bake Sales Are My B*tch is here to help.

Priscilla Slater goes to her 10-year high school reunion with equal parts dread and eager anticipation. Even though she's a successful owner of a chain of hair salons and no longer has the mousy brown hair, crooked teeth, and a discount-store wardrobe, she still feels like the ugly duckling. But when she arrives at the reunion, Priscilla soon realizes that her old classmates aren't exactly as she remembers them.

Since 2001, the Gallup Management Journal has provided leaders with essential insights into managing the human side of their businesses - their employees and customers. This book features the highlights of the first seven years of the GMJ: more than 50 thought-provoking articles with actionable ideas, grounded in decades of Gallup management research.