Showing results by narrator "Erin DeWard" in All Categories

Through stories of survival, resilience, and even rebellion, Mueller and Abrutyn show how social environments can cause suicide and how they can be changed to help kids discover a life worth living. By revealing what it is like to live and die in one community, Life under Pressure offers tangible solutions to one of the twenty-first century's most tragic public health problems.

Sixteen-year-old Maya is no stranger to grief when the pandemic hits America. Alone and adrift, she embarks on a healing journey, discovering unlikely bonds and her first taste of love amidst the chaos. Thirty-five-year-old Ashley grapples with the aftermath of a painful breakup and finds herself drawn to a man whose presence ignites a flicker of hope within her wounded soul. LaRue is a seventy-five-year-old widow who discovers solace in sewing masks for her community until tragedy strikes close to home. Forced to confront her vulnerability, she reluctantly embraces the support of others.

All Pineda Matlage wants is to get through the school year and maybe pull an epic prank or two with his friends Junior, Ernesto, and Patsy. But class is disrupted when a slew of American soldiers descends upon their rural Texan town of Soledad. They’ll be carrying out a training exercise and taking over everything, from Pineda’s school to the local government. But Pineda knows why they’re really here. For days, he’s hidden the strange creature who fell from the sky in his parents’ barn. He promised her he’d find her family and help them return home.

Before entering this life, Maryah did the unthinkable - she erased. Now, at 17 years old, she's clueless that her new adoptive family has known her for centuries, that they are perpetually reincarnated souls, and that they have supernatural abilities. Oh, and she's supposed to love (not despise) Nathan, the green-eyed daredevil who saved her life.

Twenty years ago, an unspeakable tragedy rocked Rose Yates's small, affluent hometown...and only Rose and her family know the truth about what happened. Haunted by guilt, Rose escaped into a new life. Now she seems to have it all: a marriage, a son, a career. And then her husband is found dead. As far as Detective Colin Pearson is concerned, Rose is guilty. Her marriage wasn't as happy as she'd led everyone to believe, and worse, she's connected to a 20-year-old cold case.

Burdened by her love of two men and her newfound supernatural life, Linden looks to Cyril to help ease her transition from human to other-earthly badass. He arranges Linden's reacquaintance with Overton, but his plan is foiled when the two are attacked by Vidius, the mastermind behind the legions of magical shapeshifters. Vidius's actions have lasting consequences that lead Linden to a startling discovery that will change her world yet again.

An elderly spinster murdered. Thirty dogs in the house. Shelter overwhelmed. Help! When Maggie Ryan, a retired schoolteacher, is murdered, and over thirty dogs are discovered living in her home, the Cedar Bay Animal Shelter is stretched beyond its meager resources. Join Kelly, the owner of Kelly's Koffee Shop, and her husband Sheriff Mike, along with a bulldog puppy named Max, and Sanyu, an Akita guard dog, as they literally have to sniff out the murderer before they become the next victims.

In this sequel to Black Rose, reunite with the captains of the Immortal Guard and witness Mara and Edward at the beginning of their epic love story, which spans more than a millennium of heartache, pain, and undying devotion. When Edward is sent on a mysterious quest by the ruthless queen, 19-year-old Mara - the youngest sub-captain to ever serve the Royal Guard - vowed to await his return, never anticipating decades would pass without word of his fate.

Trapped somewhere between life and death, demigod Cyril has lost the ability to communicate with his love. But not before giving her valuable lessons in magic, as well as his blessing to move on without him. Coming to terms with Cyril's absence isn't easy, but Linden is doing her best to honor his wishes. Until she receives an unusual request from Moreaux, an estranged member of Cyril's family.

The only survivor of Denver’s notorious “Reaper” serial murders, FBI Special Agent Kendall Beck grapples with the ghosts of her past by seeking justice for victims of abuse. She’s neck-deep in a particularly ugly case when her investigation is derailed - her best friend and roommate, Gwen Tavich, turns up dead, floating in a nearby lake. Devastated by the news of Gwen’s death, Kendall teams up with Denver Detective Adam Taylor to find the killer. The Reaper has returned to Denver - and he’s not stopping at just one victim.

Orah and Nathaniel return home with miracles from across the sea, hoping to bring a better life for their people. Instead, they find the world they left in chaos. A new grand vicar, known as the usurper, has taken over the keep, and is using its knowledge to reinforce his hold on power. Despite their good intentions, the seekers find themselves leading an army. And for the first time in a millennium, their world experiences the horror of war. But the keepmasters' science is no match for the dreamers, leaving Orah and Nathaniel their cruelest choice.

Against all odds, Orah and Nathaniel have found the keep and revealed the truth about the darkness, initiating what they hoped would be a new age of enlightenment. But the people were more set in their ways than anticipated, and a faction of vicars whispered in their ears, urging a return to traditional ways.

Alyssa Jackson is one of the lucky ones. She has a thriving business, great friends, a devoted husband, an adorable daughter, and a scorching hot sex life that would be the envy of any married couple. Then, one tragic loss flips her world upside down. Floundering and unsure of how to cope with their grief, Alyssa and her husband drift apart until they are living as roommates instead of a deeply connected couple. Alyssa will do anything to get the intense passion back into her life and marriage, no matter how far out of the box she has to step.

With evocative storytelling and incisive research, Katie Rose Guest Pryal brings a new eye to the mental health crisis that higher education has faced for decades. Written from the perspective of a bipolar-autistic professor, A Light in the Tower is both a bracing account of the mental health crisis in higher education and a passionate and informed proposal for how to teach with mental health in mind. Pryal contends that higher education's mental health crisis is the result of long-term systemic problems in education that demand nothing short of a revolution.

Claire’s upcoming 50th birthday is not a welcome milestone. Beyond feeling the weight of time, she’s become a victim of her own success. Erik, Claire’s husband, who sees her waning confidence, decides to make her birthday a celebration of their love. With three simple gifts, he gives her more than she ever knew to wish for.

The text of Using Mindfulness in Every Day Life was originally written in Vietnamese as a long letter to Brother Quang, a main staff member of the School of Youth for Social Service in South Vietnam in 1974. Its author, a Buddhist monk, had founded the school in the 1960s as an outgrowth of "engaged Buddhism". The school drew young people deeply committed to acting in a spirit of compassion.

The City of Angels holds a world of nightmares for irreverent wizard Josiah Quinn. Not even the end of the world could convince him to visit. But when his estranged daughter Maggie goes missing, he’s on the first flight there to track her down. As he tries to pull together the threads of Maggie’s life, Josiah uncovers a disturbing trend: sex, drugs, and dangerous magic. Maggie was walking an all too familiar path toward destruction. And now she’s gone. To find her, Josiah must navigate an unfamiliar underworld and face an old enemy he thought he left for dead 20 years ago.

Parting with God’s Hand might mean the foul-mouthed half-angel has to lie low, but he still has to pay the rent. Will Josiah Quinn be able to do that if he hunts bounties no one else will accept? Yes, as long as he can stay alive. When a vampire hunt goes terribly wrong, Stefan is left clinging to life by a thread. Will Josiah betray the only friend he has left in the world to save the man he loves? Or will he sacrifice Stefan for the army he needs to defeat his father once and for all?

The last survivors. The last chance. The last leap through time... In a crumbling biodome surrounded by endless seas and swarms of microdrones, humanity’s last survivors cling to hope. For Isabel, a dying scientist, and Diego, the man she loves, time is running out—literally. The Earth is ravaged, and the biodome that was meant to save them is failing. But when Isabel stumbles upon a long-lost time bridge, the possibility of changing the past emerges, offering one final chance to rewrite history. There’s just one problem: only one person can make the journey.

On Memorial Day afternoon, the skies above Carthage, Missouri, brighten suddenly as if the sun explodes. Seconds later it's gone, and no one knows what happened. Normal life resumes. BBQs continue, and kids play in backyards. No one notices the screams coming from one backyard. It doesn't just happen in Carthage; it happens all over. While delayed, the aftereffects of the event are brutal to all those who were exposed to the flash, and horrifying to behold. Those not exposed, like Alana Cross, are helpless to do anything. All they can do is witness humanity self-destructing.