-
Remembering ZEOLA
Price range: $3.99 through $9.99The stories Zeola told about herself show aspects of her character that was budding at age four and five, for example learning to clean and care for her home and to beautify it. After marriage, she expressed her love for husband and children as she labored daily to take care of them. Preparing three meals daily, washing and cleaning as well as teaching and training her children to work and care for the home are all expressions of her love without using words. She loved her home and cultivated many flowers and trees on the outside. She worked hard to clean and beautify the home on the inside too. For example, she made curtains for the windows and doilies for many tabletops, cushions for chairs and tablecloths for tables. She and Brenda partnered to make quilts and bedspreads for the beds. The church and community were very important to her, and she gave herself to teaching children in Sunday School classes. She loved to sing and worked with the children’s choir at church for many years. Her devotion to Jesus Christ was shown in the zeal with which she took on tasks such as tending to the sick about her and helping those who were in some kind of need. Many of the examples I recount bring to light her service to others. She persisted in the face of multiple trials and afflictions; always getting up and trying again without giving up under their weight. When I began to think about her legacy, I rejoice as I look back over her life and realize that she developed enduring faith and Christian character through all of these things. She chose not to grow bitter because of them, but to submit to God’s will and to press toward victory that would someday be hers.
-
DINGS
Price range: $3.99 through $19.99DINGS tells of a mother’s struggle to support her son in the midst of a mysterious condition. Conner’s school believes that he is not ready for promotion into the third grade. His teacher recommends that he repeat the second grade. Conner’s dad is on a combat tour in 2006-7 Iraq; the adults in the boy’s life assume that stress and anxiety about his father serving in a combat theater have interfered with his school achievement. Meanwhile, Sandra is embittered; she is forced to deal with her son’s problem alone.
A psychologist identifies Conner’s anxieties and works to alleviate the child’s stress. But, the boy’s actual condition eludes the adults. He has unrecognized blank outs-his friends think that he acts “weird” sometimes.
Sandra’s husband returns from war, but all is not well. He has changed. She recognizes PTSD symptoms-Sam drinks more, snaps at the family and he has bad dreams-yet, he denies that anything is wrong. Sandra’s emotional stresses mount. She sees that her husband is incapable of emotionally supporting her as they struggle to understand their son’s difficulties; she is uncertain that she can keep her family together.
One night, Conner gets a high fever and he has a convulsion. At the local E.R., he has a brain CT scan and he gets a spinal tap. The doctor suggests to the parents that epilepsy is a possible cause of the convulsion. He refers Conner to a neurologist. Sandra interprets the mere mention of epilepsy as a personal affront. How could her son have such a stigmatizing and debilitating disease? He has never had any seizures before.
All of their lives change when they meet the neurologist. When epilepsy is diagnosed, Conner’s mother is devastated. She questions if her child can be considered normal now-could he ever really lead a normal life?
The reader will accompany this family as they travel their fascinating joint clinical and emotional journey to help their son. Sixty million people worldwide, including three million Americans, are afflicted with epilepsy.
DINGS is fascinating and educational reading for anyone, and especially those touched directly or indirectly by this condition.
For the readers’ convenience, a practical glossary of epilepsy terms and medical information is appended at the end of the book.
-
Chance of Precipitation
Price range: $3.99 through $21.99After 22 years as a college coach, a new athletic director and a restless alumni group has Randy Albertson ready for a change. His best friend, Adam Chadwick, has a successful car dealership in another state and Randy makes the jump, but not with the backing of his family he soon realizes.
After a promising start a series of calamities befall Adam and Randy is swept up in the tide. After Adam is arrested and charged with fraud, Randy is all that is left to run the lot. The bad press from the charges and the recession cause car sales to lag severely and Randy soon loses everything, including his family.
With everything and everyone gone, Randy finally faces his problems and struggles forward to get back on his feet with the help of his best friend, an old acquittance, and the hope of getting his lost family back.