Catalog

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The Front Edge Publishing catalog includes:

Inclusivity
Biography and Autobiography
Grief and Healing
Cass Community Publishing House
Thirty Days With (series)
Michigan State University’s Bias Busters
Business and Leadership
Organizations and Nonprofits
Read the Spirit Books
Front Edge Mystery
Independent Authors

Inclusivity

Changing Our Mind by David P. Gushee

Changing Our Mind has helped thousands of families and congregations carefully and compassionately rethink traditional religious teachings about full LGBTQ inclusion.

Christian denominations and churches everywhere struggle with the issue of LGBTQ inclusion. With growing scientific evidence, our wider society has taken big steps, but too many religious families and communities have not kept up. As much as ever, many people still experience deep condemnation by evangelical and other churches, getting kicked out or altogether leaving. Dr. David Gushee offers a powerful, inspiring message of hope and healing by helping Christians to return to Bible study, prayer, and reflection in a way that creates a vision for a more inclusive church.

Introducing Christian Ethics by David P. Gushee

“A comprehensive one-stop manual on what it means to live Christianly.”

Peter Enns, author of The Bible Tells Me So

What does it mean to be a Christian in today’s turbulent world? After every disillusionment and debate, what convictions survive? Dr. David P. Gushee is an influential voice in American religious life as an ethicist, pastor, and activist. He’s advocated on issues ranging from torture and climate change to truth in politics and LGBTQ inclusion. He co-authored the pivotal Kingdom Ethics, a Jesus-based ethics textbook, and has written numerous books and hundreds of opinion pieces on what Christianity has to say about how we should live. Now, in this ambitious new book, Gushee sums up his many years of teaching and experience to provide a definitive, comprehensive vision of the Christian moral life.

Letter to My Congregation by Ken Wilson

“This is a breakthrough work coming from the heart of evangelical Christianity and offered into the heart of evangelical Christianity,” writes David P. Gushee, the prolific Christian author and Director of the Center for Theology and Public Life at Mercer University.

In describing this book, Gushee continues: “It is unlike other books that demand revision of traditional Christian sexual ethics but do so primarily by rejecting the authority of the Bible. That is not how evangelicals think, and it is not what Ken Wilson does here. Instead Wilson shows how God has led him on a journey toward a rethinking of what the fully authoritative and inspired Bible ought to be taken to mean in the life of the church today.”

Solus Jesus by Emily Swan and Ken Wilson

If you read one book this year about the future of Christianity, then choose this book.

Five hundred years ago the Protestant Reformation claimed the Bible as the authoritative guide for Christian living (“Sola Scriptura!” Only Scripture!). In this groundbreaking work, Emily Swan and Ken Wilson claim the authority of the church is shifting back to where it should be: in Jesus (Solus Jesus!). As co-founders of Blue Ocean Faith, Swan and Wilson are pioneering what it means to be post-evangelical—post-Protestant, even—in a time when such re-imagining is desperately needed.

The Word Made Fresh by George A. Mason

How can Christianity continue to bring good news into the world? That’s the inspiring message readers will find in The Word Made Fresh.

For three decades, Mason’s weekly messages have inspired those who attend Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, as well as George’s followers nationwide. Now, this unique multimedia book collects 80 of George’s most memorable and thought-provoking sermons along with links to videos of many of them. This collection covers timely themes ranging from the welcoming love of God and the basics of the Christian faith to such vital issues as the stewardship of our planet, the importance of interfaith relationships, the need to include the most vulnerable in our community life, and the importance of peacemaking.

Blue Ocean Faith by Dave Schemlzer

People and churches across America are discovering that their secular friends and neighbors have been unknowingly waiting for the chance to experience the good God.

Blue Ocean Faith is a network of churches that have seen thousands of secular people—from Harvard deans to public housing residents—connect with God. Blue Ocean founder Dave Schmelzer details six profound paradigm shifts that unlock a depth of connection to God that’s new for many churchgoers and that’s unprecedented for their secular neighbors. Embracing centered-set faith, becoming solus Jesus, and taking a third-way approach to LGBTQ congregants are among the game-changers that empower this rich life of faith. Rather than retreating from or drawing lines against our increasingly secular world, people of faith can join Jesus—as followers like Saint Francis of Assisi have done for millennia—in joyfully entering the world around them with profound wonder and an equally-profound offer of a life that really is life.

Embracing Love by Nathan Albert

In 2010, Nathan Albert stood with his friends along the Chicago Pride Parade route, bearing signs of apology on behalf of Christians who had failed to represent Christ’s love to the LGBTQ community.

Little did he know that millions around the world would soon see him captured in an iconic photograph and read his blog about hugging a man in his underwear. Embracing Love is the story behind that photograph, the story of a music theatre actor turned pastor whose deep desire is that the Gospel be seen, heard, and felt by the LGBTQ community in every tangible way, especially through the body of Christ, the Church.

Biography and Autobiography

Healing the World by Daniel Buttry and Dámaris Albuquerque

In a world ravaged by crises, this inspiring biography of Nicaraguan public health pioneer and peacemaker Gustavo Parajón encourages readers to courageously reach out to the world’s neediest people.

From his family, Parajón inherited a deep Christian faith that made him a fearless example of how to navigate dangerous conflicts and public health crises. Gustavo described his mission as simply following the example of Jesus, but he did so in such a unique, tireless and effective way that his admirers included former President Jimmy Carter and U2’s Bono.

This doctor, pastor, health care visionary, prophetic voice and peacemaker was a leader in developing disaster-relief and development programs. His work lives on through organizations he founded. Those who follow his example now circle the world.

Shining Brightly by Howard Brown

In Shining Brightly, Silicon Valley pioneer, cancer survivor and interfaith peacemaker Howard Brown shares keys to resilience for successful entrepreneurs, patient advocates and community leaders.

He shows us how to reach out through our families, our communities and around the world to form truly supportive connections and friendships. From Howard’s career as a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, to his conquering metastatic stage IV cancer twice, to his compassionate outreach as a peacemaker, to his love of sports — this ultimately is not one man’s story. Shining Brightly is a story shared by countless men and women — and may wind up changing your life as well. With each true story he tells in the pages, Howard invites readers to picture how they might join him in shining more light in our world.

The Black Knight by Colonel Clifford Worthy

Retired Colonel Clifford Worthy is the oldest living Black graduate of The United States Military Academy—West Point.

Clifford Worthy is a great grandson of slaves, he was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and raised in Hamtramck, Michigan. Worthy was one of the few African American men of his generation who was accepted and excelled as a Black Knight of the Hudson, the traditional nickname for West Point cadets. Clifford Worthy graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point on June 2, 1953. He married Lillian Elizabeth Davis on the day after his graduation and went on to serve as an officer in the U.S. Army from 1953 through 1975. He served as an artillery officer in American posts, in Germany during the Cold War and in Vietnam just after the Tet Offensive. He participated in Operation Gyroscope after World War II and served as Battalion Commander and Military Assistant to the Under Secretary of the Army.

Finding My Pole Star by Major General James Dozier

December 17, 2021, marks the 40th anniversary of the kidnapping of then Brigadier General James Lee Dozier in Verona, Italy by Red Brigade terrorists.

Dozier was held captive for 42 days before being rescued by a special operations team — a news story that made front-page headlines around the world. At the moment news of his rescue broke, everyone was asking: How did he manage to survive this? The source of that resilience is the compelling story that unfolds in Finding My Pole Star, an inspiring message as timely today as it was four decades ago.

What Belongs to God by David Livingston Edwards

During the Vietnam War, David Edwards’ calling as a conscientious objector (CO) led him to alternative service in a children’s hospital.

As militarism and nationalism are circling our planet once again, pastor, teacher and singer-songwriter David Edwards reminds us of the timeless Christian calling to be peacemakers. In this memoir, he invites us to share his spiritual journey and rediscover the hope of peace in our world. At its best, he writes, religion calls us to build peaceful communities with all who share our planet. Many of the folk songs David wrote and shared with congregations sprang directly from the spiritual gifts he discovered in the real lives of the diverse men, women and children he encountered.

Our Muslim Neighbors by Victor Begg

The American Dream is alive and well in this memoir of a Muslim immigrant from India.

Victor Begg successfully built a thriving, regional chain of furniture stores. Along the way, he discovered that America’s greatest promise lies in building healthy communities with our neighbors. As Victor reached out to others, he used his entrepreneurial skills to co-found a new kind of ethnically diverse mosque as well as influential nonprofits designed to help others. Agreeing to serve as a regional spokesperson for Muslims, he got more than he bargained for—responding to tragedies that included 9/11 and a massacre in a Florida nightclub.

Light Shines in the Darkness by Lucille F. Sider

Clinical psychologist and clergywoman Lucille F. Sider adds her voice to the chorus of women in the #WhyIDidntReport and #MeToo movements.

This is Lucille’s story of resilience and hope as a survivor of sexual abuse. She explains the challenges of finding her way out of a fear-based spirituality into one that is full of grace, hope and forgiveness. The unique richness of her book is that she wrote it to spark healing discussion. As she describes her experiences in these pages, she also steps back and offers helpful analysis as both a psychologist and a clergywoman. A complete study guide with questions for reflection for individuals, small groups and classes is included.

Not Just Black and White by Anni Reinking

What is race? How do we define identity? How does education affect our life and relationships?

“Welcome to Anni K. Reinking’s world, where even the smallest occurrence of everyday life raises new questions and reflections, involving sociology, anthropology, religion and psychology,” writes Elisa Di Benedetto in the Foreword to Not Just Black and White. “This is Anni’s emotionally and intellectually moving memoir of her life as a white mother raising a Black son in multiracial America—but it is so much more than that. While her story is based in the U.S., this is a global story. This book is an extraordinary journey towards awareness and learning. That’s how the world changes for the better—one story at a time that touches us and makes us realize we share far more with our neighbors than might seem to separate us.”

Detroit’s Cass Corridor & Beyond by Suzy Farbman

Detroit’s Cass Corridor & Beyond is part memoir and part art book by veteran journalist Suzy Farbman.

For many years, she covered design for national and Detroit publications and ultimately created her own home as an homage to the best of familial antiques and contemporary art. In color photos and vivid anecdotes, Suzy tells the story of her support of Detroit’s first avant-garde art movement, the first generation of Cass Corridor artists. The book includes photographs of Suzy’s homes in Franklin, Michigan, and Sarasota, Florida, and informal snapshots of friends in and out of the art world. Featuring stylish images by renowned photographer Beth Singer, this book is written with wit, wisdom, and personal perspective.

Dancing My Dream by Warren Petoskey

This memoir of Native American teacher, writer and artist Warren Petoskey spans centuries and lights up shadowy corners of American history with important memories of Indian culture and survival.

Warren’s family connects with many key episodes in Indian history, including the tragedy of boarding schools that imprisoned thousands of Indian children as well as the traumatic effects of alcohol abuse and bigotry. He writes honestly about the impact of these tragedies, and continually returns to Indian traditions as the deepest healing resources for native peoples. He writes about the wisdom that comes from practices such as fishing, hunting and sharing poetry. This memoir is an essential voice in the chorus of Indian leaders testifying to major chapters of American history largely missing from most narratives of our nation’s past.

Grief and Healing

Healing a Shattered Soul by Mindy Corporon

Mindy Corporon invites readers to join her search for inspiration and hope after domestic terrorism took the lives of her father and son.

Headlines about the attack circled the world. Now, Mindy takes readers inside her family’s struggle, the support of their faith community and her commitment to courageous kindness. Best-selling author and pastor the Rev. Adam Hamilton writes, “Mindy Corporon’s story helps us understand how one survives tragedy, and says to the reader, ‘If Mindy can survive this, and can do what she has done, then surely I can survive the adversity I face and can bring something good from it.'”

Love, Loss and Endurance by Bill Tammeus

Two decades after the terrorist attacks on 9/11, America still is reeling from lingering trauma. Award-winning journalist Bill Tammeus was among those who suffered the personal loss of a relative that day.

In this inspiring and hopeful book, Tammeus takes us to the heart of that gripping drama. He helps us to understand the many sources of religious extremism — and what can be done to stop it. Finally, he invites us to reclaim core values that can help all of us become peacemakers in today’s tumultuous world.

Never Long Enough by Joseph Krakoff and Michelle Sider

Whenever this book is opened, it becomes an active invitation for conversation, lifting up memories and preserving the legacy of someone’s life.

Rabbi Joseph H. Krakoff and artist Dr. Michelle Y. Sider brought together their many years of professional expertise with families to create Never Long Enough. Krakoff drew on lessons learned in many years of counseling adults and children wrestling with death, grief and remembrance. Sider’s years working as an artist, arts educator and psychologist influenced her approach in creating evocative images that demonstrate how art can help to unlock emotions and heal the heart. Together, they crafted an interactive keepsake book for families and friends, complete with pages to add personal reflections thereby transforming the book into an individualized tribute to a loved one.

Guide for Grief by Rodger Murchison

Everyone dies. Every family grieves.

People are terrified of admitting that we are aging, let alone dying. Many families get stuck in patterns of grief and suffer as friends move on with life. In his Guide for Grief, the Rev. Rodger Murchison brings years of pastoral experience and study, sharing recommendations from both scripture and the latest research into loss and bereavement. This guide’s perspective is Christian, but all families will benefit from these well-tested principles. Each chapter ends with an inspiring prayer that readers can use in the journey through grief to wholeness.

Cass Community Publishing House

Founded in 2014, the mission of the Cass Community Publishing House is to give a voice to writers from groups who are under-represented by the five major publishing companies and to offer a spotlight for religious and urban issues. Book sales by CCPH support the Cass food, housing, health care and jobs programs in Detroit. Purchase directly from CCPH at their website: ccpublishinghouse.org.

Tiny Homes in a Big City by Faith Fowler

This is the story of Cass Community Social Services, a Detroit based nonprofit that is in the process of building a neighborhood of 25 different Tiny Homes in the northwest part of the city.

The homes are being built to allow extremely low-income individuals a way to eventually own their own homes. This is the only rent-then-own tiny home development in the United States. In Detroit, the qualifying residents will have a combination of experiences; formerly homeless people, senior citizens, young adults who have aged out of foster care and a few Cass Community Social Service staff members, all with annual incomes of between $8,000 and $14,000. Like its residents, each tiny home is architecturally unique, no two being built exactly the same.

This Far By Faith by Faith Fowler

Through reports nationwide, including the Wall Street Journal and TV news, Americans are discovering Faith Fowler’s ideas for transforming lives in Detroit.

Known for her deep faith and creative ideas, Faith serves as one of the city’s leading pastors and as a nonprofit entrepreneur. As a co-founder of a wide array of Cass startups, Faith and her Cass community are turning one of the nation’s most impoverished urban centers into a gold mine of talent and resources. Now, Faith Fowler shares dozens of inspiring true stories of men and women who found new hope and were able to join in building a healthier community through Cass.

Hope for the City by Jack Kresnak

A Catholic priest, a suburban housewife, and their desperate effort to save Detroit.

This is the story of Father Bill Cunningham, Eleanor Josaitis and others who were drawn to the mission of Focus Hope. It is a captivating retelling of an English teacher who wore a Roman collar, rode a Harley-Davidson and marched with Dr. King across the Edmund Pettus bridge, a suburban mother of five who organized marriage enrichment events before she persuaded her husband to move into Detroit, the 1967 riot that exposed systemic racial inequality and the civil rights organization that evolved.

Dying Well by Bill Wylie-Kellermann

A loving memoir about the life, illness, death and resurrection freedom of Christian mother, writer and community activist Jeanie Wylie-Kellermann.

The book’s first half focuses on her inspiring life, including her activism, journalism and documentary filmmaking. The second half follows her glioblastoma brain cancer, when Jeanie chose a process of “dying well” involving family and community.

Reviewers describe the book’s mix of letters, poetry and stories as “flashes of raw beauty and abject brilliance.”

Recess by Laurie Haller

Midway through a career as a devoted local pastor of the United Methodist Church, Laurie Haller was burned out. Professional ministry is not always kind to its clergy.

In Laurie’s words, she was “discouraged, bored, hopeless, depressed, beyond exhaustion, cynical, despairing, and numb.” She had lost all sense of balance between her career, her family, and herself. Fueled by a Lilly Endowment National Clergy Renewal grant in 2000, Laurie took a recess from her ministry and her daily life. What followed was a rejuvenating journey of reflection, recovery, and finally re-entry, as Laurie rediscovered her calling through a combination of travel, play, and as she puts it, wasting time with Jesus. Laurie Haller “is a marathon runner, physically and spiritually, and will help clergy reclaim their first love of Christ that fuels their own faithful passion for ministry,” writes Dr. Kim Cape, General Secretary of the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry of The United Methodist Church.

Can You Just Get Them Through Until Christmas? by Margie Briggs

When Margie Briggs was asked to provide pastoral leadership for two tiny rural congregations, the men and women who continued to love those churches had hit rock bottom.

Tragedy and controversy had claimed two previous pastors. Regional church leaders were so desperate that they begged Margie, a lay person, to work with the broken-hearted people in order to get them through the holidays. Instead, Margie’s creativity and compassion inspired these men and women to reach out in new ways and sustainably grow their two churches into vibrant communities. As Maggie explains in her introduction: “This is not a story of a suburban theologian converging on the scene and doing some sort of cutting-edge ministry that develops into a megachurch attracting thousands of people in a short period of time. No, this book describes a decade-long journey together. It involves a second-career lay minister—whose only degree was life—and her Midwestern parishioners, who decided to do ministry, mission and outreach together with the unchurched and de-churched people of their towns.”

Do Not Be Afraid edited by John E. Harnish

Membership in the United Methodist Church in the United States has been shrinking since the merger of 1968. Yet the bishops and young clergy who contributed essays to Do Not Be Afraid are unconvinced by the constant claims that the church is dying.

The authors provide powerful stories pregnant with hope. Editor Dr. John Harnish masterfully weaves the chapters together so that the readers understand why each writer was included, as well as how each comes from a unique context.

Thirty Days With (series)

Thirty Days With Abraham Lincoln by Duncan Newcomer

Abraham Lincoln is the soul of America, calling us to our best as Americans.

Lincoln scholar Duncan Newcomer has hosted more than 200 episodes of the radio series Quiet Fire: The Spiritual Life of Abraham Lincoln. Now, 30 of his best stories provide a month of inspirational reading in a unique volume that invites us to read the stories—or to follow a simple code to hear the original broadcast each day.

Thirty Days With King David by Larry Buxton

In turbulent times, King David united a nation—and his hard-earned wisdom can bring us together today.

This Thirty Days With book offers a month of readings plus ideas for small-group discussion. David ranks among the world’s greatest heroes for defeating Goliath and best-selling authors for writing Psalms. He is honored by Jews, Christians and Muslims. In this book, pastor, educator and leadership coach Larry Buxton shows us how David embodies 14 crucial values shared by effective leaders to this day.

Thirty Days With America’s High School Coaches by Martin Davis

High school coaches shape millions of lives. These 30 short and inspiring stories show the diversity of approaches by coaches nationwide in building athletes’ hearts, minds and bodies to form successful teams, strong individuals and future leaders.

The coaches profiled in this book come from every corner of the nation and every socio-economic setting, highlighting how they combine imagination, a selfless commitment to their athletes and a strong internal compass. In this book, you will find true stories of coaches who lead male and female athletes in a wide variety of sports.

Thirty Days With E. Stanley Jones by John E. Harnish

Does a preacher from the previous century have anything to say to this generation? Yes!

E. Stanley Jones’ clarion call to justice and loving community was shaped by his friendship with Mahatma Gandhi and influenced the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Now, a widespread movement is reviving Jones’ spiritual wisdom in the midst of global tensions over faith, ethnicity and race. The Rev. Dr. John E. Harnish, himself a noted Christian educator, writer and pastor, has written 30 short, inspiring true stories from Jones’ life and the people that he touched, that illustrate the timeless, loving wisdom that he believed lay at the core of Christianity.

Michigan State University’s Bias Busters

The Michigan State School of Journalism has been publishing the Bias Busters series since 2013. More than 20 guides answer basic questions people have about each other. Each guide is created in partnership with the community group the guide is about. Each guide includes resources and are designed to spark conversation. Get to know your friends, neighbors and coworkers!

Guides include:

Business and Leadership

Critical Conversations as Leadership by William Donohue

Effective leaders are good communicators.

Dr. William A. Donohue describes conversation as a card game called Card Talk. The key to successful business communication and interpersonal communication is to select the right Talk Cards in the right situations to accomplish your communication goals. Critical Conversations as Leadership will walk you through the process of selecting the right card or cards, so that you can think strategically about how to get your points across. Card Talk teaches communicators to think strategically and to think ahead of critical conversations and to not ‘think behind’ or reactively.

Unstuck by Craig Lemasters

Many industries worldwide are stuck as they struggle to survive and grow. Stuck businesses do not react, pivot and redirect, which can be catastrophic.

In Unstuck, Craig Lemasters shares techniques he has used in a lifetime of helping Fortune 500 companies fill their knowledge gaps—using reciprocity, strategic planning, rapid cycle learning and make-it-happen coaching through direct connections with enlightened resources.

Organizations and Nonprofits

Front Edge Publishing partners with organizations and nonprofits around the world to empower their voice and share their message.

Now What? A Guide to the Gifts and Challenges of Aging

“Now what?” Millions of us ask this question as we, or our parents or grandparents, suddenly face an age-related challenge.

We need fast answers. In this book, experts provide practical advice, including how to form a caregiving team, ensure home and online safety, maintain mobility and support independence. The writers also emphasize the gifts of aging, including deepened relationships and new opportunities to give back to our communities. The book is written so that aging individuals, their families and caregivers can read it and find solutions together.

This book was created through efforts of the Agencies United for Healthy Aging collaborative.

Struck by Hope by Jeanine Patten-Coble

The day after a diagnosis of breast cancer, Jeanine Patten-Coble was struck with a calling that turned her world upside down.

In this book, she weaves her tale of running away from that calling—to finding her purpose. Her vision led her to found Little Pink Houses of Hope and a way for cancer patients to find hope in weeklong family retreats. In this book, she invites us along on this journey toward becoming “ridiculously present.” She includes questions for personal reflection and group discussion.

Living Arts’ Detroit Wolf Trap by Roberta Lucas

This book is full of true stories about performing artists at Living Arts, a small nonprofit in Detroit, Michigan, who formed a national affiliate of the Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning through the Arts.

That’s the early childhood outreach of the Wolf Trap Foundation, which is part of the world-renowned Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts. In Detroit, this team of artists—dancers, actors, musicians, storytellers, puppeteers and more—developed training experiences with Wolf Trap’s guidance. Now, these teaching artists are bringing lessons to children aged 3 months to 5 years, many of them in low-income neighborhoods with few other opportunities to experience the arts. The Wolf Trap teaching artists are also training classroom teachers and opening doors for family involvement workshops. The stories in this book capture the excitement of those interactions.

Leaps & Bounds Family Services by Denise Dorsz

“Small and mighty”—that’s the reputation of Michigan-based Leaps & Bounds Family Services, an early-learning nonprofit that is highly respected as a successful example of sustainability, collaboration and effectiveness in responding to community needs.

Founded in 1988, Leaps & Bounds has been shaped by Executive Director Denise Dorsz and her team to respond to the early-learning needs of children and families especially in communities at risk. In this book, you will learn how Denise and her team were chosen to be part of a nationally funded program to promote innovation. The book tells how they used that opportunity to expand into multi-lingual, culturally diverse neighborhoods—a huge challenge for such educational programs. For the first time, Denise and her team share their successful strategies and nuts-and-bolts tips for building an effective nonprofit focused on this kind of community-based work.

Regie’s Rainbow Adventure by National Kidney Foundation of Michigan

Regie’s Rainbow Adventure® tells the truly amazing story of how a creative team at the National Kidney Foundation of Michigan invented a broccoli-shaped superhero and sent him into classrooms to help young children learn the importance of eating fruits and vegetables while also being more physically active.

While fun and fanciful, this is serious stuff. For more than half a century, the National Kidney Foundation has fought against the leading causes of kidney disease, including obesity, hypertension and diabetes. In recent years, however, nationwide research has revealed an increase in these diseases in early childhood. So, the Foundation turned to a colorful, creative campaign featuring this green-haired, broccoli-shaped superhero named Regie.

Building Healthy Relationships in Early Learning by Christine Zimmerman and LaDon Williams

As parents and teachers prepare young children for school, the challenges is greater than intellectual development.

Social and emotional development is a key part of school readiness. In this book, you’ll discover the multi-faceted work of a professional team in southeast Michigan, Macomb Family Services, specializing in providing workshops, Play and Learn groups and consultations in homes and classrooms. You’ll meet these various professionals who specialize in social emotional development. You’ll also meet parents, teachers and children who have been helped by their classes and consultations. The team also shares real-life challenges they face.

Solutions for Success by Southwest Solutions

We are a nation of immigrants.

In this book, you’ll discover an innovative program in Detroit that teaches Hispanic-immigrant parents English while these parents also are ensuring their children’s success at school. From cleaning up schoolyards to hosting a neighborhood celebration of literacy, these newcomers are transforming their city. Through books in The Bib to Backpack Learning Series, you’ll learn how these remarkable programs started, evolved and are growing today.

ACCESS to School by ACCESS

Education begins before school.

In this book, you will read about immigrant parents seeking a better life for their children with help from American educators. This is the first book in The Bib to Backpack Learning Series, focusing on a program called ACCESS to School in Detroit, Michigan. ACCESS and the other learning communities hope readers will learn from their accomplishments, then will use some of these ideas to shape their own programs. This book describes challenges faced in initial development of the program, curriculum, tips for community leaders and responses from parents and children.

To My Professor by the Michigan State School of Journalism

Teaching college is difficult and this book has some potential solutions.

To My Professor: Student Voices for Great College Teaching begins with remarks by students about their professors. They tend not to be the kind of remarks that professors usually hear, and some are harsh. Others are full of gratitude for teachers who inspire and motivate. The “To My Professor” statements are really just starting points that lead to advice from master teachers. More than 50 chapters cover situations including expectations, communication, technology, race, gender and religion, mental and physical health.

Pre-School U by Detroit Public Television

Pre-School U is a guide for parents and caregivers providing early childhood education for children under the age of five. This Detroit Public Television community outreach project is a multi-media book, meant to educate parents on the five domains of early childhood education through video tips and advice from experts. The five domains of early childhood education are cognition, language and literacy, physical well-being and motor development, social and emotional development, and approaches to learning. By taking advantage of daily activities, chores and playtime, parents will learn how to make daily life a wonderful learning opportunity for their child.

Read the Spirit Books

Founded in 2007, Read the Spirit publishes inclusive, cross-cultural, and interfaith books to build healthy communities. Check out the Read The Spirit online magazine. Read the Spirit is an imprint of Front Edge Publishing.

Torah Tutor by Rabbi Lenore Bohm

“Reading this may become one of the most meaningful parts of your week, renewing, enriching and energizing you,” says Rabbi Sally J. Priesand, America’s first woman ordained as a rabbi.

In Torah Tutor, Rabbi Lenore Bohm draws on a lifetime of teaching about the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, starting with Genesis. Early reviewers of the book praise the timeliness of the themes lifted up in this contemporary self-guided study, which is ideal for individual seekers and group discussions.

God Is Just Love by Ken Whitt

How can people of faith foster love and resilience in our children while building sustainable, diverse communities?

That’s the big question Ken Whitt answers in light of the many threats looming in our world. Through wisdom he has gleaned from scientists, scholars and lots of real families, Ken shows how God’s love is a hopeful compass in our lives. He encourages enjoying stories, songs and explorations of the natural world with children, and closes with “100 Things Families Can Do To Find Hope and Be Love.”

Reuniting the Children of Abraham by Brenda Rosenberg

Reuniting the Children of Abraham is a powerful, multimedia peace initiative created with Jewish, Christian and Muslim families to combat the fear, bigotry and bullying that fuels violence.

The multicultural project described in this book includes inspiring true stories and educational materials that flow from the ancient story of Abraham, a patriarch in all three faiths. Just as Abraham’s own children were reunited, this project is a model for calling these vast families of faith toward building peaceful new relationships.

Harnessing the Power of Tension by Brenda Rosenberg and Samia Bahsoun

Brenda Rosenberg and Samia Bahsoun introduce the paradoxical and evolutionary leadership approach to conflict transformation—Tectonic Leadership.

By harnessing tension, the authors bridge their commitment as Jew an Arab to directly address the tension that separates them and use it to build alliances at home, in the boardroom, on campus and in communities.

Reforming American Politics by Harold Heie

Christianity and political conflict are paired so often in daily headlines that Harold Heie’s message is astonishing.

A lifelong practitioner of respectful engagement with others, Heie lifts up core Christian values that can transform toxic confrontations into constructive conversations. He proposes a “Way Forward” beyond the us-versus-them tribalistic fighting mentality that currently plagues politics.

As a Christian, Heie believes that “Jesus has called all his followers to love their neighbors. Providing someone who disagrees with you a safe and welcoming space to express that disagreement and then talking respectfully about your disagreement is a deep expression of love.” In Reforming American Politics, Heie aims to model respectful conversations among Christians who have strong disagreements about:

The Tree of World Religions by John Bellaimey

This full color book explores twenty of the world’s religions from Hinduism to Rastafarianism, following Karen Armstrong’s developmental model of religion as a human cultural dimension.

Beginning with a section on the roots of the “tree of world religions,” Bellaimey considers the sources, preoccupations, dimensions, and meanings of human religion in our history. He then surveys polytheistic religions like Maya, Norse, and Canaanite and the great shift Jaspers called the Axial Age. Axial sages like Socrates, Laozi, the Buddha, and the Hebrew Prophets moved religion from mostly-supernatural to mostly-humanistic, shifting the focus on God’s inscrutable Otherness to God’s increasing insistence on ethical behavior as the highest form of worship. A section on the three monotheistic faiths of Abraham follows, and the book ends with a selection of newer faiths, such as Sikh, Baha’i, Ahmadiyya, and Latter-Day Saints.

Finding God in Unexpected Places by Rabbi Jack Riemer

“Rabbi Riemer offers us the kind of wisdom that we need in order to survive and thrive,” writes Dr. Bernie Siegel, best-selling author of a dozen books about spirituality and healing.

The late Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel adds, “Jack Riemer’s words are songs of hope and faith. Listen to them as I do.” Widely sought after as a master storyteller and teacher, Riemer is one of the most frequently quoted rabbis in the U.S. That’s because of the winding paths he takes in describing the relevance of timeless Jewish wisdom in our modern world.

What do a professional baseball player, Elizabeth Taylor’s jewelry box, a hurricane, a garbage dump and a blue blazer hanging in your closet have to do with each other? They’re all turning points in Riemer’s stories that lead us toward universal questions we all confront at some point in life.

Friendship and Faith by The Women of WISDOM

This is a book about making friends, which may be the most important thing you can do to make the world a better place — and transform your own life in the process.

Making a new friend often is tricky, as you’ll discover in these dozens of real-life stories by women from a wide variety of religious and ethnic backgrounds. But, crossing lines of religion, race and culture is worth the effort, often forming some of life’s deepest friendships, these women have found. In “Friendship and Faith”, you’ll discover how we really can change the world one friend at a time.

God Incidents by Glenn Wagner

Rev. Dr. Glenn M. Wagner invites people who are struggling with belief to reconsider God.

Wagner offers honesty, empathy, and inspiration from four decades of global pastoral experience. He shares many different ways that God is made known so that persons who doubt God and those who seek to help them may find new perspectives for living.

GodSigns by Suzy Farbman

Suzy Farbman was a successful author who Oprah introduced to the world as an expert on the tough challenge of saving a marriage. But, behind the scenes, Suzy’s world was falling apart after an ominous diagnosis from her doctors.

For years, Suzy had traveled widely as a writer for magazines, including Better Homes and Gardens. Back from Betrayal, the popular memoir by Suzy that Oprah recommended, told how Suzy and her husband repaired deep problems in their own marriage. Suddenly, readers nationwide were seeking Suzy’s advice about relationships. Yet, at the height of this success, Suzy privately knew that her body was failing from stage four cancer. Facing the same tough journey that looms for millions of Americans each year, this tough journalist suddenly found herself scared. Searching for solutions, Suzy also found that America’s wealth of medical expertise is equaled by our wealth of spiritual resources.

Jesus Christ, Movie Star by Edward McNulty

What did Jesus look like? Sacred images of Jesus grace churches worldwide, but millions of moviegoers picture Jesus from classic films.

Now, one of America’s most beloved faith-and-film writers invites readers on an inspiring journey, meeting Jesus again through a dozen big-screen stories of Christianity’s founder. Nearly everyone enjoys talking about movies, so this kind of program is a terrific way to welcome newcomers and energize inactive members in growing congregations. If you find yourself trying to convince clergy and lay leaders that this is a good idea, tell them that a faith-and-film series is likely to bring new faces into the congregation and, depending on how you choose to organize your series, could lead to church growth.

Life Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This by Rabbi Bob Alper

Rabbi Bob Alper earned a doctorate at Princeton Theological Seminary, has performed stand-up comedy hundreds of times with Arab and Muslim comedians, and is heard daily on the Sirius/XM clean comedy channel.

Life Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This is a collection of true and moving stories, from tales of fatherhood (‘The Glance’) to a touching recount of the way small gestures lodge themselves in your heart and memory (‘Old Lovers’).

This volume of spiritual gems was awarded four stars by the Detroit Free Press.

Thanks. I Needed That. by Rabbi Bob Alper

The Tonight Show, the forests of Vermont, and a tiny Polish village are among the settings for these 32 true stories by Rabbi Bob Alper.

Bob guides the reader to places as diverse as synagogues in Kentucky and London, a small plane flying over Oklahoma, a refusenik’s Moscow apartment, comedy clubs, Vermont towns and forests, and even a convention of rabbis. Readers meet a stained-glass artist whose granddaughter is Drew Barrymore, an elderly lady who attends services with her dog, a 5-year-old grief counselor, and an elderly Holocaust survivor who discovers that he can talk about his lost sisters for the first time. Bob’s unique experiences, from leading large congregations to performing stand-up at Toronto’s “Muslimfest,” make for a wealth of engaging stories that touch people of all backgrounds with warmth, humor, and wisdom.

We Are The Socks by Daniel Buttry

Every day, we hear news from around the world about war and violence. But who could hope to make a difference in these tragic conflicts?

The idea of peacemaking seems impossible — unless you’re Daniel Buttry. An ordained minister and seasoned peacemaker, Dan has traveled to some of the most dangerous places in the world to conduct conflict resolution, train clergy and elders, and transform conflict into peace.

Blessed Are the Peacemakers by Daniel Buttry

In the pages of this book, you will meet more than 100 heroes, but most of them are not the kind of heroes our culture celebrates for muscle, beauty and wealth. These are peacemakers.

They circle the planet. A few are famous like Gandhi and Bono of U2. But most of them you will discover for the first time in these stories. Watch out! Reading about their lives may inspire you to step up into their courageous circle.

Interfaith Heroes and Interfaith Heroes 2 by Daniel Buttry

“Interfaith Heroes” is an inspiring 31-day reader, showcasing short biographies of men and women throughout history who have crossed traditional boundaries of religious groups to build stronger communities.

The dramatic story of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is included as well as biographical sketches of Mahatma Gandhi and St. Francis, among the more famous names in the book. But most readers will discover new uplifting stories, including the recently documented efforts by Albanian Muslims during World War II to hide Jews in their attics. Sketches of other famous leaders include Baptist pioneer Roger Williams, the Sufi poet best known simply as Rumi, Hindu writer Rabindranath Tagore, Jewish theologian Martin Buber, the American evangelist Howard Thurman and the French Catholic Cardinal Aaron Jean-Marie Lustiger.

Short Stuff from a Tall Guy by Benjamin Pratt

For the first time in book form, author and counselor Benjamin Pratt collects dozens of his true-life stories that men and women have requested as he travels, teaches and speaks to groups.

Pratt invites readers on a spiritual journey marked by compassion, humor and honesty about dilemmas, doubts and challenges that men and women face everyday. Stories include: “Serving Hospitality on Paper Plates,” “Shaken, Not Stirred,” “Prayer for Light in Dark Times of Accidie,” “Pop-Tart Moment” and “Risking Love.”

Guide for Caregivers by Benjamin Pratt

In one out of three households, someone is a caregiver: women and men who give of body, mind and soul to care for the well being of others.

These millions need help, more than financial and medical assistance. They need daily, practical help in reviving their spirits and avoiding burnout. Who are these caregivers? They are folks who have lived this tough life and felt the agonies and the boredom, yet they have extended compassion with a gentle word or a tender touch. As caregivers, they know anger, frustration, joy, laughter, purpose, mortality and immortality. This book is drawn from the wisdom of many caregivers and we have taken their advice: these are short, easy-to-read sections packed with wisdom and practical help!

Bullying Is No Laughing Matter by Kurt Kolka

This full-color paperback represents a historic “team up” of America’s cartoon favorites, who are springing from the funny pages into this big new book to unite in encouraging kids to support each other when someone begins picking on them.

National research shows that new forms of bullying follow kids wherever they go — inescapably plaguing them through social media on computers and smartphones. Some of the comic artists contributing to this book have even added personal notes sharing their own experiences with bullies — or offering brief words of encouragement to kids. This book is a unique resource encouraging kids to build supportive relationships by starting with familiar characters they may have grown up with or will enjoy meeting in these pages.

Every Day We Are Killing Cancer by Heather Jose

“It’s cancer.” The words devastated Heather Jose.

As doctors warned about tough odds, Heather faced the challenge head on. She pulled together friends as caregivers, her own inner resources and the best in medical care. She also wrote letters to her daughter Sydney so the little girl would remember Mom, just in case. A hand-lettered sign, “We are killing cancer every day,” traveled with the family on a long journey that ended in success. This is the story that is inspiring cancer thrivers nationwide.

A “Cute” Leukemia by Rodney Curtis

The shocking L-words struck like hammers: “Laid off,” then, “Leukemia.”

Like millions of Americans, Rodney Curtis feared for his life and his family. But what that deadly acute leukemia didn’t know was: It was dealing with the Spiritual Wanderer, the popular columnist who is famous for finding humor and wisdom in daily life. Rodney started by renaming his foe: “A Cute Leukemia.” He explains, “Nothing makes cancer madder than belittling it and pinching its darling baby cheeks.” If you’d like to try chuckling in the face of your fears, join Rodney on his quest to recover both humor and health. Rodney doesn’t take this life-and-death challenge lightly.

Getting Laid (Off) by Rodney Curtis

Nothing stops The Spiritual Wanderer, as Rodney Curtis is known to readers far and wide from the title of his first humorous book about the many quirky challenges of life in America.

Then, suddenly his life went from quirky to terrifying as he was hit with a double whammy: a layoff notice and a diagnosis of cancer. Many would have folded under the pressure, but Rodney’s approach to life remains undimmed. “I knew things weren’t good at my company when they closed down half the bathrooms in our building. The economy was going down the toilet, but we sure weren’t,” he writes.

Spiritual Wanderer by Rodney Curtis

Who is the Spiritual Wanderer? He’s an ordinary person like you and me. When he crawls out of bed each morning, he needs to find a cup of frozen coffee before he can contemplate searching for spiritual answers in the cosmos.

As his day unfolds, Rodney Curtis looks everywhere for meaning and hope-and always for humor. He wanders through the lives of people around him, through the streets with his beloved dogs and even searches for spiritual guidance in the lights high above us, although that winking glow up there sometimes turns out to be a streetlight.

Bird on Fire by Jane Wells

The Hunger Games is on fire. This series of novels and movies is attracting millions.

Jane Wells offers an exciting new perspective on novelist Suzanne Collins’ complex world. Readers and moviegoers, young and old, continue to cheer for her hero Katniss Everdeen, a teenager fighting forces of injustice in a bleak future version of our world. Now, Jane Wells delves into this dystopian realm from a Christian perspective, exploring themes of social justice, transformation and unlikely heroism.

Glitter in the Sun by Jane Wells

Christian author Jane Wells, a talented small-group leader, presents a Bible study based on the hugely successful Twilight novels and movies.

Many Christian churches may never have considered discussing a series of novels about vampires and werewolves, but church leaders need not fear Twilight, Wells shows us. She argues that God speaks in many ways. In the Bible, God wrote on walls, sent angel-grams and even empowered a donkey to advise his human master. God still whispers to us, Wells writes, sometimes through our popular culture.

Ian Fleming’s Seven Deadlier Sins by Benjamin Pratt

All of Fleming’s 007 tales follow a common theme that he identified in his first Bond novel, Casino Royale, as parables about evil people.

Fleming’s stories have considerable mythological, allegorical and theological depth that are compelling to this day. He found most of the traditional Seven Deadly Sins to be closer to virtues in contemporary culture.

The Beauty of Ramadan by Najah Bazzy

More than 1 billion Muslims fast in the holy month of Ramadan, revitalizing their faith, celebrating the holy Quran and renewing their commitment to helping needy people around the world.

This book is a simple guide to these sacred traditions, written for Muslims and non-Muslims as well.

The Flavors of Faith: Holy Breads by Lynne Golodner

Enjoy eating? Fascinated with faith? Like to share with friends? You’ll love this book about timeless spiritual connections between food and faith.

Lynne Meredith Golodner invites you to enjoy stories that circle the globe, then step into your kitchen to make breads from sacred traditions in Native American, Jewish, Christian and Muslim communities. This is a perfect choice for group discussions with friends taking turns baking a new treat each week. Lynne’s stories will inspire you to share your own!

This Jewish Life by Debra Darvick

In This Jewish Life: Stories of Discover, Connection, and Joy, fifty-five voices enable readers to experience a calendar’s worth of Judaism’s strengths—community, healing, transformation of the human spirit and the influence of the Divine.

Within these pages are stories of joyous engagement and poignant loss. Readers will meet a teen who followed the path of Judaism after a chance encounter and men and women who turned to Judaism in their struggles with drug addiction and spousal abuse.

Our Lent by David Crumm

The annual observance of Lent, the season of spiritual reflection leading to Easter, is growing across the U.S.

Around the world, 2 billion men and women mark Lent as a part of the Christian calendar, but most do not pause on a daily basis to enjoy Lent’s rich opportunity to reflect on the life of Jesus. In growing numbers, though, Americans are finding this season attractive, because Lent taps into the deep spiritual yearnings in our culture and, at the same time, encourages individual expression. Our Lent is a 40-day, 40-chapter invitation to enjoy that combination of faith and self-guided reflection.

Conversations With My Old Dog by Robert Pasick

“Do you ever talk to your dogs? I do.”

Psychologist Dr. Robert Pasick and his loving but aging dog Lucy invite us into conversations about living and dying. You know the common questions we humans ask: What breed of dog should I get for my family? What dog breeds are good with children? How do I cope after my beloved pet dies? We want real relationships with pets. You’ll love Rob’s Yellow Lab after reading this book, and you’ll also think about far bigger questions dogs raise like: “What breed is God?”

Balanced Leadership in Unbalanced Times by Robert Pasick

Balanced Leadership in Unbalanced Times is Dr. Robert Pasick’s useful new toolbox of leadership strategies for men and women who want to improve their performance at work and in the community.

Dr. Pasick’s life-saving advice is that people don’t have to merely juggle the competing demands of work, family, community, health and values. We can learn to balance these vital spheres of life and, working with Dr. Pasick’s dozens of strategic ideas in this new book, we can become more effective leaders as a result. The core of the book is a series of Coach’s Clipboard strategies, inviting readers to start with the most important challenges in your daily life.

Front Edge Mystery

All Is Now Lost by Laura Elizabeth

Welcome to Mongin Island, the South Carolina Lowcountry home of Carr Jepson and the cozy Books & Brew bookstore, where hot and cold tea are not the only things brewing.

Book #1 of The Island Mysteries series finds Carr Jepson arriving alone on Mongin Island, ready to start the next chapter of her life. Accessible by boat, Mongin Island has very few cars, no busy roads, no crowds, no traffic lights, no bridge, but boasts gloriously oak-lined roads, beaches of powdery white sand, marshes with tall beach grasses and an empty storefront that speaks to an unanswered dream in Carr’s heart: creating a gathering spot that happens to sell books.

Independent Authors

American History Made Easy by Kathleen Gripman

As an educator with many years of experience in directing English as a Second Language (ESL) and cross-cultural programs, Kathleen Gripman spotted a troubling gap in the educational preparation of many students.

Learning the essentials of American history is a critical educational milestone, but most overviews of America’s story are designed for reading levels beyond the ability of most English language learners. Gripman decided to fill that gap with a richly illustrated and fun-to-read book. To make students’ studying easier, the book also includes lots of supplemental materials, including study questions, the text of the U.S. Constitution, a list of American authors and recommended reading, a glossary and an index. The layout and text formatting of the book is designed specifically for English language learners.

Cold War Casual by Anna Krushelnitskaya

This book is an act of citizen diplomacy.

Cold War Casual is a collection of transcribed oral testimony and interviews translated from Russian into English and from English into Russian that delve into the effect of the events and the government propaganda of the Cold War era on regular citizens of countries on both sides of the Iron Curtain.

A False Nanny by Anna Krushelnitskaya

This is a book of poetry. The author thinks it is suitable for sad audiences. The book would not make sad readers feel less sad, but it should make them feel understood. In particular, women over the age of 40 who are just not having a good time may well find the collection, in modern parlance, relatable.

Not Yet Not by Anna Krushelnitskaya

This is a book of poetry. It is suitable for audiences which, perhaps for deeply personal reasons, are interested in reading about relationship difficulties, love, romance, longing, disappointment, and in general what is known as the life of the heart.