Autobiography: general Books

Book SynopsisRio Hogarty's story of her life in fostering, A Heart So Big, combines the heart-warming nostalgia of Mollie Moran's Aprons and Silver Spoons with heart-breaking stories of children whose lives were blighted by being unloved and uncared for in the style of Cathy Glass.Nearly seventy years ago, Rio started to do her bit for vulnerable children, one child at a time. While she was still in school, she thought nothing of bringing home a schoolmate who needed refuge. It was the start of opening her home and her heart to children in need. And she has never stopped.A Heart So Big is the astonishing and moving story of Rio's life and how she has tried to make a difference. She has fostered over 140 children and in 2010, in an award created especially for her, she was named Mother of the Year at the annual People of the Year Awards.It includes stories of trauma - Rio has rescued children from the direst of circumstances and seen the price they pay for the failures of adults. And Rio has had her share of heartache along the way. But it is also a story full of humour, searing honesty and good old-fashioned fighting spirit.Rio Hogarty's A Heart So Big is an uplifting account of an amazing and inspiring life.'She is instinctively protective of children in need, and doesn't take "no" for an answer. She's also fearless.' The Herald

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Book SynopsisFrom all backgrounds, nationalities and cultures people are remarkably different but also intriguingly the same. God's Word has something to say to all mankind and in this book 44 people summarise what the Bible means to them. The bus driver and the theologian; the missionary and the midwife; the army chaplain and the artist. We know how different they are but we also see their similarities ... their search for truth; their need for love; their quest for faith. Through the Word of God we can see how God loves us, faithfully and truly and how his Word is a Word for all times and ages. It's a Word for you. Contributors include J.I. Packer, Alec Motyer, Colin Buchanan, Douglas Kelly, Dale Ralph Davis, Fiona Castle, Helen Roseveare, Iain D. Campbell, Richard Bewes, Rico Tice and Harry Reader For a full list of contributors and their bio's please see the download below under associated media.

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Book SynopsisLife can hurt deeply! But who do we turn to in such times of darkness and adversity? It might be through times of sorrow, bereavement, fear, anxiety or depression that you grow closest to God. These twelve highly personal accounts written by best-selling author Irene Howat tell of finding comfort through disabling illness, marital betrayal, a child murdered, a spouse imprisoned, difficult working situations and loneliness. All of these people in their difficult days have felt the hand of God, who is faithful and true to His Word and His people, rest upon them.Trade ReviewIrene Howat has gathered together in her usual sensitive way, twelve honest, moving experiences of ordinary men and women who have walked in the shadows of life who has walked in the shadows of life and have felt the reassuring hand of the Man from Galilee. -- Kenny MacDonaldOne after another, they share how God spoke to them through their regular reading of his Word, as particular verses of Scripture took on a new reality for them. A lesson to us all perhaps, that it is the habits of listening to God established in our everyday routines that enable us to hear his voice clearly when we are in greatest need. -- Evangelicals NowI think there is a kind of 'undertow' one feels when reading through this book; one feels caught by a quiet assurance that all we've heard about God's strong grace is true. -- Dale Ralph Davis (Respected Author and Old Testament Scholar)To include in any book a selection of fifteen individuals who have experienced that Christ is often known more intimately in weakness is to highlight a truth commended by the Apostle Paul.Irene Howat has given us through these contributions a book that readers will wish to retain and also make a point of putting into the hands of folks who will benefit from the contents. Each of the stories stirred me and I read them with appreciation. Make sure you get a copy. -- The Gospel Magazine... these twelve highly personal accounts tell of disabling illness, marital betrayal, a child murdered, a spouse imprisioned, difficult working situations and loneliness. All of these people in their difficult days have felt the hand of God, who is faithful and true to His Word and His People, rest upon them. -- Rejoice Always Magazine... an important book. Some of the issues touched upon are rarely discussed in Christian circles. Why are we more ready to understand and sympathise with a fellow believer who has, say, a broken leg rather than another who has depression? Do we as churches provide appropriate and sensitive support to widows, single parents, single parent families and lonely people? -- Evangelical Magazine of Wales

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Book Synopsis"I was supposed to have been aborted... but that is not my identity. I was abandoned, abused, and kidnapped - all before I was five years old... but that is not my identity. I hear folks talk about their identity in terms of their heredity - I am English or I am a Choctaw Indian. I am both of those things... but that is not my identity. Some say, "I was adopted" or "I was orphaned" or "My father was a drunk and my mother insane," and that is their identity. I could, myself, use those phrases to describe my life... but that is not my identity. "I was divorced" and "I lost my kids" and "I made some terrible choices" are all monikers that some use to describe their essential personhood... but not me, even though I could utter those hard confessions to you now. "I was a successful businessman, a 'golden-haired fast tracker,' grooming for the vice-presidency of a major corporation. That is who I am." I was that, too... but that is not who I am..."My identity is, quite simply, completely related to Jesus Christ. Some reading this will not like my saying that. They will want more. They will want "depth." They will want "irony." But He is all there is to me. I am as deep as this: I have only Him. There is no mystery, irony, or feature about me that is amazing or even interesting but that He chose me and I am His. That is the story of stories as far as I can tell. You need to know that I am not a religious man, as one might think of that term, even though I am an ordained Presbyterian minister. I am simply a disciple, a follower of Jesus of Nazareth. Sometimes I follow him closely and sometimes I don't, to my own hurt and my own shame. But I am His. And He is mine-in the sense that He has given His life to me." Mike MiltonTrade Review"A true pastor reaches to the heart. Mike Milton is such a pastor. Because God has radically changed his heart, he longs to speak to the hearts of others about God's amazing grace. His open heart will touch yours, too." -- Robert C. Cannada (Chancellor Emeritus, Reformed Theological Seminary)"Mike Milton is a godly, zealous pastor and also a trophy of God's sovereign, amazing love in Christ. I welcome this new book by him for at least two reasons. First and foremost, it glorifies the Triune God. Second, its warm, humble and personalized approach makes it extremely attractive and readable. Read it and give copies to your friends. This book will help them." -- D. Eryl DaviesGod's amazing grace in the lives of his saints is inspiring and this biography is another chapter in God's grand narrative, a chapter well worth reading. -- Luder G. Whitlock"In this book you will read the account of a man who has been saved by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, set aside to serve Christ and thus an instrument of God to extend the glory of God and expand the Kingdom of God all by the power of God. Mike Milton's life unfolded in such an intriguing and interesting manner in this volume reminds us that to be Gospel-saved is to be Gospel-driven and even more importantly to be captured by the love of Christ. Enjoy this page-turner and remember that this same Christ can be yours and you can be His." -- Harry L. Reeder III"The key word I would use to describe this book is 'encouragement'. Mike Milton's story is challenging, stimulating but above all an encouragement which enables us to see the grace of God in the life of one individual. It is open, warm and realistic. Read and be encouraged." -- David Robertson"From my youth I have sung, "I love to tell the story to those who know it best [and] seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest." Those who know the gospel of Jesus Christ's saving love never tire of its themes and delight to hear them sung again in the lives of his children. Pastor Mike Milton knows the tune well because it has been sung so beautifully in his life. May this story of salvation bring praise again to our Savior and bring delight to those yet hungering and thirsting to be filled with the goodness of his grace." -- Bryan ChapellIn this self-disclosing autobiography, Dr. Mike Milton embraces the paradox of strength in weakness. The one who reads this volume runs the risk of finding freedom in captivity to Christ and power in the declaration of dependence on Christ. -- Robert Smith Jr."Mike Milton has taken the risk to tell us his story, all of it. The parable of his life, like yours and mine, was composed by the creator and is only understandable in His light. It is a story of grace, gracefully told." -- Michael Card

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Book SynopsisThis text gathers together all of John Clare's autobiographical writing. The book extends, corrects and replaces the "Autobiographical Writings of John Clare", edited by Eric Robinson (Oxford, 1983). Clare's "Journal" is set beside "Sketches" and "Autobiographical Fragments", as well as his "Journey Out of Essex". Extracts from his asylum letters are included, his will, and two maps of Clare's countryside and his "Journey".

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Book SynopsisGrowing up in Mogadishu, Somalia, Shirin Ramzanali Fazel was immersed in the language and culture of Italy, Somalia’s former colonizer. Yet when she moved to Italy as a young mother in the 1970s, she discovered a country where immigrants and Muslims were viewed with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion–where, even today, she and her children must seemingly prove they are Italian. In Islam and Me, Fazel tells her story and shares the experiences of other Muslim women living in Italy, revealing the wide variety of Muslim identities and the common prejudices they encounter. Looking at Italian school textbooks, newspapers, and TV programs, she invites us to change the way Muslim immigrants, and especially women, are depicted in both news reports and scholarly research. Islam and Me is a meditation on our multireligious, multiethnic, and multilingual reality, as well as an exploration of how we might reimagine national culture and identity so that they become more diverse, inclusive, and anti-racist. Trade Review“In this thought-provoking reflection on belonging, Fazel and Brioni make a powerful argument against damaging Eurocentric representations while demonstrating the generative anti-racist capacity of collaborative knowledge.”— Heather Merrill, author of Black Spaces: African Diaspora in Italy “Poetic and autobiographical, Islam and Me examines the intersection of media, memory, and language while questioning traditional models of knowledge. As a Muslim woman in one of the world’s most distinctively Catholic countries, Fazel advocates for transnational belonging, and her witness is for everyone working towards more equitable societies today.”— Marie Orton, coeditor of Contemporary Italian Diversity in Critical and Fictional Narratives "Shirin Ramzanali Fazel narrates the daily life of diasporic Islam in Europe with deep lucidity and courage. This book shows that Islam has become the religion of European citizens, not just immigrants, and that diasporic Islam is a major test for European constitutional democracy." — Amara Lakhous, author of Divorce Islamic Style “Deftly blending self-reflection with critical analysis, Fazel and Brioni convincingly challenge the distorted representation of Islam in Europe by offering complex, unapologetic insights into Fazel’s lived experiences as a Somali-Italian Muslim woman.”— Maya Angela Smith, author of Senegal Abroad: Linguistic Borders, Racial Formations, and Diasporic ImaginariesTable of ContentsForeword Charles Burdett An Introduction to a Meticcio Text Simone Brioni Note on Translation and Alphabetization Shirin Ramzanali Fazel and Simone Brioni Dear Italy My Daily Islam Birmingham Islamophobia Contradictions A Dialogue on Memory, Perspectives, Belonging, Language, and the Cultural Market Simone Brioni and Shirin Ramzanali Fazel Coda: A Note about This Collaborative Project Acknowledgments Notes References Notes on Contributors

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Book SynopsisRetired judge Rosemary Riddell shares her reminiscences of life on the bench, complete with its humour, frustrations and poignant moments. A unique glimpse into a world most of us can only imagine, her story is a fascinating commentary on New Zealand life from the point of view of a woman involved in the top levels of our justice system.

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Book SynopsisGerman knights of the early 16th century had to face and cope with a number of challenges regarding their privileged role in society. How they prevailed is examined in this book by rereading autobiographical accounts. By the examples of Ulrich von Hutten (14801523), Götz von Berlichingen (c. 14801562), and Sigmund von Herberstein (14861566) it is demonstrated how the various crises of being a knight were innovatively solved in and by texts. This reveals a crucial interdependence between knighthood as a community of shared memory and dispositions and its narrative constitution.

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