I am an unextraordinary individual with an ordinary skill set including strengths and weaknesses. Yet, my life experiences have caused me to reach deep inside and find my own greatness to face seemingly impossible obstacles in my path. My writing reflects this hopeful overcoming and undaunted spirit. I have learned that heroes only exist because they must face daunting villains. Such villains can arise from other individuals, outside forces, life circumstances, and even from within ourselves. Yet, I have learned that villains are not a threat to destroy us, they are in fact the vehicles by which we become heroes in our own story. There are no heroes without villains.
A group of seemingly inconsequential Hobbits are drawn into an impossible adventure far beyond any previous experience.
I love that each character must face their worst fears, overcome the insurmountable, reach deep inside, and discover their own greatness that lies waiting within. Only that can serve them in their quest. I am inspired by the courage, resourcefulness, goodness, and tenacity of these characters as they become more than they might otherwise have been.
I find inspiration for my own life in their darkest moments when all seems to be lost. The light of their spirits shines the brightest as they take one more step toward the light and hope that pulls them onward. This story is not about magic or superpowers, it is about the triumph of the human spirit.
This brand-new unabridged audio book of The Fellowship of the Ring, the first part of J. R. R. Tolkien's epic adventure, The Lord of the Rings, is read by the BAFTA award-winning actor, director and author, Andy Serkis.
In a sleepy village in the Shire, a young hobbit is entrusted with an immense task. He must make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ruling Ring of Power - the only thing that prevents the Dark Lord Sauron's evil dominion.
Thus begins J. R. R. Tolkien's classic tale of adventure, which continues in…
This is my ultimate favorite true story about a group of completely unrelated, unprepared, and completely unextraordinary individuals molded into a group that would fight and die for each other.
I am captivated by the selflessness of these individuals and have worked to achieve the same in groups that I have had the honor of associating with. This individual and unit level catharsis rivals any story I have read in its power amidst incredible sorrow and trial.
Currahee! A Screaming Eagle at Normandy. Donald R. Burgett is a real Screaming Eagle, who jumped with that famed division at Normandy and survived to tell the tale. His memoir vividly portrays the tragic chaos of war: the blood and sweat, the glory and tears of one of the greatest battles of all time. Currahee! (this was the battle cry and motto of his regiment) begins with jump training and explodes in drama as they are parachuted into Normandy with orders to take and hold the high ground behind the beaches. It contains unforgettable incidents. The author's almost dispassionate tone…
I love this departure from the other books mentioned. These two completely separate groups of people whose lives intersect in a horrible tragedy illustrate the randomness and brutality of war.
Each group is sympathetic in their attempt to carve out a meaningful existence amidst the chaos and loss of all-out war. I find the experiences of occupants of the doomed German town juxtaposed with the character and daily courage of the members of the bomber squadron fascinating and compelling.
I find the author’s ability to bring us into the lives of each character and walk with them almost magical. This book changed my life and view of all wars.
The classic novel of the Second World War that relates in devastating detail the 24-hour story of an allied bombing raid.
Bomber is a novel of war. There are no victors, no vanquished. There are simply those who remain alive, and those who die.
Bomber follows the progress of an Allied air raid through a period of twenty-four hours in the summer of 1943. It portrays all the participants in a terrifying drama, both in the air and on the ground, in Britain and in Germany.
In its documentary style, it is unique. In its emotional power it is overwhelming.…
I believe this book should be required reading in every high school and college. It is that profound.
I am overwhelmed as Viktor tells his own story of Jewish imprisonment and death in the Nazi camps during WWII. His intensely personal eye-witness account and survival was inspiring and emotional as well as life changing for me.
It is a book I read again and again, still trying to comprehend his journey to forgiveness for those directly and personally responsible for the terrible atrocities witnessed. And yet he arrived at a place where he completely overcame the horrors and hate that enveloped him. I have read no greater nor more powerful book.
One of the outstanding classics to emerge from the Holocaust, Man's Search for Meaning is Viktor Frankl's story of his struggle for survival in Auschwitz and other Nazi concentration camps. Today, this remarkable tribute to hope offers us an avenue to finding greater meaning and purpose in our own lives.
George Washington was given the opportunity to become King of America as it struggled mightily following the Revolution.
I am inspired by his selflessness after giving every ounce of his spiritual, emotional, and physical might to the cause. He turned it down in perhaps the single most powerful speech in America’s history. His power and influence over this young nation was set aside in an example that resonates still today.
I love how his story of courage against impossible odds and his steadfast confidence in the support of providence allowed the birth of something unique and wonderful. Thomas Jefferson attributed the “…moderation and virtue of a single individual…” to the survival of the cause of freedom in America.
Grounded in the latest research, this comprehensive volume explores the frequently overlooked fact that, despite charismatic leadership and eventual success, the revolutionary movement never garnered the support of more than half the American colonists. 30,000 first printing.
The Carsons had the perfect family. But it now its slipping through their fingers as they spiral downward fueled by struggles with trauma and depression. They discover an ancient relic that may have answers to help them. It holds the key to healing that can only be found in the past. They dive into a race against time to learn its secrets while avoiding powerful shadowy figures, doomed to haunt history, drawn to the relic, who want the relic for their own wicked purposes.
Travel through history with the Carsons as they struggle to understand the relic's purpose. Can they follow the clues and piece together the puzzle before being trapped forever by the evil forces that relentlessly pursue them? Time will literally tell...
Kelly Simmons has been published in 12 countries by Simon & Schuster and Sourcebooks, and her widely praised novels are frequently compared to Big Little Lies.
Her new book, The Off Season, is set on the tranquil shores of the Chesapeake Bay, where headstrong thirteen-year-old Savannah bursts into the local police department, insisting her mother’s drowning was anything but an accident. She’s forced to tangle with the languid Bay police department as well as the year-rounder adults and teens who might be complicit not just in her mother’s death but a decades-old cold case.
For fans of Lisa Jewell and Liane Moriarty. Published in 12 countries by Simon & Schuster and Sourcebooks, Kelly's widely praised novels are frequently compared to BIG LITTLE LIES.
THE OFF SEASON explodes on the tranquil shores of the Chesapeake Bay. A headstrong thirteen-year-old girl insists her mother’s drowning was anything but an accident. She’s forced to tangle with the languid bay police department as well as the year-rounder adults and teens who might be complicit not just in her mother’s death, but a decades-old cold case. With echoes of GONE GIRL and STAND BY ME, it’s part crime, part…
