“Feel-good, heartfelt read with just enough Christmas sprit and a touching grand finale.” —Booklist
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- Miracle Creek Christmas
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Read by Christine Williams
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Release Date: 9/08/20
Formats: Digital Audy
Riley Madigan escapes to the sleepy mountain town of Miracle Creek after her relationship with an A-list actor ends badly. At least for a time, she hopes her new job as a high school art teacher will bring her the peace and quiet she is looking for. The last thing on her mind is love.
Mark Rivers was a firefighter until he got trapped in a wildfire and suffered third-degree burns on his face and body. After a year of recovering, Mark is trying to piece his life back together but struggles both emotionally and psychologically. He’s been a recluse until he forces himself to attend his niece’s school play and sees Riley, the school’s art teacher. Immediately, Mark feels a connection to her. Maybe it’s the kind way she greets his niece or the way the art she created for the school play is reminiscent of his late mom’s artwork. Either way, Mark feels driven to get to know her, but first he’ll need to build up the courage to talk to her.
When Mark asks Riley to work on a special nativity, he finds himself falling for her, particularly because Riley doesn’t seem bothered by his scars. Is her affection for him real or is she simply overcompensating, pretending he’s not different. One thing’s for certain, in a small town that views Mark as a fragile hero, it’s hard to pursue a relationship without everyone in his business. And although Riley has sincere feelings for Mark, is she really ready to risk her heart?
Broken hearts and lives are mended as the town of Miracle Creek comes together to celebrate a Christmas to remember.
- Miracle Creek Christmas
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Read by Christine Williams
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Release Date: 9/08/20
Formats: Digital Audy
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- Sacred Cow
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By Diana Rodgers, RD and Robb Wolf
Read by Christine Williams
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Release Date: 8/18/20
Formats: Digital Audy
We’re told that if we care about our health—or our planet—eliminating red meat from our diets is crucial. That beef is bad for us and cattle farming is horrible for the environment. But science says otherwise.
Beef is framed as the most environmentally destructive and least healthy of meats. We’re often told that the only solution is to reduce or quit red meat entirely. But despite what anti-meat groups, vegan celebrities, and some health experts say, plant-based agriculture is far from a perfect solution. In Sacred Cow, registered dietitian Diana Rodgers and former research biochemist and New York Times bestselling author Robb Wolf explore the quandaries we face in raising and eating animals—focusing on the largest (and most maligned) of farmed animals, the cow.
Taking a critical look at the assumptions and misinformation about meat, Sacred Cow points out the flaws in our current food system and in the proposed “solutions.” Inside, Rodgers and Wolf reveal contrarian but science-based findings, such as
- Meat and animal fat are essential for our bodies.
- A sustainable food system cannot exist without animals.
- A vegan diet may destroy more life than sustainable cattle farming.
- Regenerative cattle ranching is one of our best tools at mitigating climate change.
You’ll also find practical guidance on how to support sustainable farms and a thirty-day challenge to help you transition to a healthful and conscientious diet. With scientific rigor, deep compassion, and wit, Rodgers and Wolf argue unequivocally that meat (done right) should have a place on the table.
It’s not the cow, it’s the how!
- Sacred Cow
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By Diana Rodgers, RD and Robb Wolf
Read by Christine Williams
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Release Date: 8/18/20
Formats: Digital Audy
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- Pain-Free with CBD
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By Alice O’Leary Randall and Eloise Theisen
Read by Christine Williams
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Release Date: 12/17/19
Formats: Digital Audy
CBD is the path to healing―without a high.
Many of us have become accustomed to quick-fix prescriptions for pain relief that mask symptoms, but there’s a safer, more natural solution: cannabidiol (CBD). Pain-Free with CBD gives you a look into the therapeutic benefits of CBD, including how it can decrease inflammation and provide relief for your painful condition―without the side effects.
Pain-Free with CBD offers guidance on choosing the best product, safely dosing, and finding the best method of consumption for you. Manage a variety of ailments including arthritis, fibromyalgia, lupus―and even the health of your furry friends. Discover the history of this natural medicine and success stories of others who have regained their quality of life with the help of CBD.
In Pain-Free with CBD, you will
- explore an overview of your body’s endocannabinoid system (ECS) and how CBD works to heal the body;
- learn how to select high-quality products using suggestions on top CBD brands, safety tips, and helpful how-tos for each delivery method; and
- determine the right dosage for your needs and learn about possible interactions between CBD and commonly prescribed medications.
Discover how CBD can be the healing solution to your pain―one drop at a time.
- Pain-Free with CBD
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By Alice O’Leary Randall and Eloise Theisen
Read by Christine Williams
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Release Date: 12/17/19
Formats: Digital Audy
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- Moving through Grief
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Read by Christine Williams
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Release Date: 12/10/19
Formats: Digital Audy
Overcoming your pain―proven strategies for grief recovery
Coping with loss is difficult, but that doesn’t mean you have to suffer alone. Based on the proven-effective acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) treatment, Moving Through Grief provides simple and effective techniques to help you get unstuck and start living a rich and fulfilling life again, loss and all.
ACT is all about embracing what hurts and committing to actions that will improve and enrich your life. Whether you’re dealing with the loss of a loved one, your health, home, or even career, Moving Through Grief provides you with creative exercises that will help you work through your pain and reconnect with the things you love.
In Moving Through Grief, you will
- learn how you can show up for your life and experience joy and satisfaction again, even as you work through the pain of your loss;
- discover how the six tools of ACT―values, committed action, acceptance, being present, cognitive defusion, and self-as-context―can ease your pain and aid with the healing process; and
- make real progress towards feeling like yourself again with straightforward exercises, like identifying your values and setting realistic goals.
Find out how ACT can change the way you relate to your pain with Moving Through Grief.
- Moving through Grief
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Read by Christine Williams
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Release Date: 12/10/19
Formats: Digital Audy
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- Ayurveda Beginner’s Guide
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Read by Christine Williams
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Release Date: 11/20/18
Formats: Digital Audy
Ayurveda is a profound science with wisdom spanning so wide that it can be difficult to know exactly where to begin. As an Ayurvedic consultant, Susan Weis-Bohlen helps those who are new to Ayurveda address this exact issue. In Ayurveda Beginner’s Guide, Susan explains the holistic principles behind Ayurveda, and offers gentle guidance for incorporating its restorative practices in your everyday life.
Designed with the newcomer in mind, Ayurveda Beginner’s Guide presents
- a concise overview of Ayurveda that covers its historical roots, concepts, and various healing methods;
- a three-week Ayurveda plan for beginners to introduce Ayurvedic concepts into one’s lifestyle gently and practically;
- a wide range of Ayurveda techniques such as recipes, yoga, aromatherapy, meditation, seasonal cleanses, and more; and
- a simple dosha quiz and in-depth descriptions of each dosha.
Ayurveda Beginner’s Guide will show you how to unlock the transformative powers of Ayurveda and move forward in your journey towards a healthier state of mind, body, and spirit.
- Ayurveda Beginner’s Guide
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Read by Christine Williams
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Release Date: 11/20/18
Formats: Digital Audy
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- The Quiet Rise of Introverts
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Read by Christine Williams
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Release Date: 4/17/18
Formats: Digital Audy
Many introverts in our world: More and more, people are identifying as introverts. Studies show that at least one-third of the people we encounter in our lives are introverts.
Introverts and relationships: The Quiet Rise of Introverts: 8 Practices for Living and Loving in a Noisy World is a guide to help tenderhearted and introverted individuals grow and nurture their peace, purpose, and relationships.
Many types of introverts: There are many facets to being an introvert and many variations to each type. But as you peel back the layers to all these you quickly learn that introverts may make up 50 percent of the world’s population.
Introverts and sensitivity: Author, speaker, and life coach Brenda Knowles presents eight unique practices to help readers learn that they are not alone or flawed in their sensitivity and introversion. Certified as a Myers-Briggs practitioner, she has been writing and guiding introverts for five years in space2live and has provided training as a family mediator.
Incorporating the eight practices into your life yields
- a calmer sense of self,
- a deeper understanding of mental and physical self-care,
- an embracing of positive conflict,
- growth in responsiveness, and
- the secret to healing every day.
- The Quiet Rise of Introverts
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Read by Christine Williams
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Release Date: 4/17/18
Formats: Digital Audy
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- Second Chance Kisses
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Read by various narrators
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Release Date: 4/17/18
Formats: Digital Audy
Do you remember your first love? Have you ever wondered what would happen if you had a second chance to follow your heart? In this collection of novellas written by award-winning and bestselling authors, come home to Echo Ridge as summer winds down and hearts once broken and lost are given one more chance, a second chance to love.
A Brand New Second Chance by Lucy McConnell
With a broken heart and an unsure future, Abigail Martin moves home to Echo Ridge to capture the parts of her teenage years she missed out on because she’d had a steady boyfriend. Kissing a random guy, flirting with strangers, hanging out at Fay’s after a football game—all of it. Carter Montgomery offers his help, because he’s a helpful kind of guy, and she quickly falls for his quiet humor, kindness, and heated kisses. Fearing that she hasn’t lived enough of life to settle down, Abigail must decide if she’s going to break Carter’s heart or give love a brand-new second chance.
A Perfect Fit by Janette Rallison
Jojo Halifax believes that winning Echo Ridge’s float competition is just what her fledgling art career needs. And if that means giving her ex-boyfriend, Anthony, a second chance so she can be a designer on his team, well, she’s willing to make the sacrifice. But when a lost bet leads to a blind date with her brother’s friend Wyatt, she begins to have second thoughts about second chances. Wyatt is handsome and charming and just might have been paid to make her forget about Anthony. Is falling for his charm worth the risk, or should she take Anthony back again?
Almost Home by Heather Tullis
Damon lived in ten towns while growing up, but Echo Ridge is one of the few that started to feel like home before his parents relocated their family again. Now a widower, moving back to the small ski resort town is irresistible for him—but somewhat less so for his daughter, Maggie. Learning that Haley, the girl who had gotten away, is back in town is an unexpected bonus. When Haley left a high-powered job in New York City to take care of her grandmother, she never expected to run into the boy she’d been crushing on sixteen years earlier. When they end up working together on the homecoming float, she finds the attraction between them just as compelling as before. But when given a choice, will she give him her heart or leave love behind to return to her job in the city?
Change of Plans by Cami Checketts
Kaitlyn Johanson comes home to Echo Ridge planning to bring the sparks back with her high school boyfriend, Mason, work at Kenworth’s, and enjoy family and the beautiful valley. She never expected her heartthrob—nationally-acclaimed lacrosse player, Axel Olsen—would visit her hometown. When Axel steals her attention, and possibly her heart, from the man she was supposed to marry, she has to choose between taking a risk on new love or giving old love a second chance.
Coming Home to Love by Rachelle J. Christensen
When Laney Richins left Echo Ridge, New York, eight years ago, she vowed she’d never return, but life had other plans. Those plans included her cute little boy and a divorce, so Laney moved back home and started over. Working in the flower shop seems like the perfect plan until Billy Redford, the man she should have married shows up. Billy Redford’s heart was broken when his high school sweetheart turned her back on him and fled Echo Ridge for the big-city lights. Running into Laney in Echo Ridge now brings up past feelings he thought were long gone. She’s prettier than ever, still seems to read his mind, and despite his protests, ends up on the homecoming dance’s building and decorating committee with him. Billy knows how to build just about anything, but he isn’t sure he knows how to mend a broken heart.
- Second Chance Kisses
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Read by various narrators
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Release Date: 4/17/18
Formats: Digital Audy
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- Silver Screen Kisses
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By Janette Rallison, Heather Tullis, Rachelle J. Christensen, Cami Checketts, and Lucy McConnell
Read by Ann Richardson, Tanya Eby, Christine Williams, Erica Sullivan, and Caroline Shaffer
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Release Date: 3/20/18
Formats: Digital Audy
Silver Screen Kisses is a collection of stories inspired by movies that are on every favorite-movie list. Written by award-winning and bestselling authors, these contemporary romances take the reader back to Echo Ridge in the spring, when the promise of new love is budding just like the tulips around the Emerald Inn Bed & Breakfast.
In “My Fair Lacey” by Janette Rallison, we hear the story of Lacey, who has dreamed of opening a restaurant for years—but first she needs a loan. When Garrett Halifax, her roommate’s Harvard-educated brother, offers to help her clean up her appearance and manner to impress the bank manager, she jumps at the chance—but will she be able to keep up appearances without falling for the sexy Garrett?
“The Princess Bride of Riodan” by Rachelle J. Christensen is the story of Elise, who accepts the help of a good-looking stranger in redecorating her old bed & breakfast. When she finds out who he is, she doesn’t know whether to curtsy or run and hide—but her heart is already tangled up with the handsome prince. Will she chase the fairy-tale ending or choose her high school sweetheart and stay grounded in reality?
The anthology also includes “You’ve Got Email” by Heather Tullis, a story of sexy mistaken identity and online romance; “My Best Man’s Wedding” by Cami Checketts, in which a fake fiancé becomes a real lover; and “While You Were Skiing” by Lucy McConnell, the tale of a handsome skier with a head injury who thinks the beautiful hostess of the ski lodge is his fiancée—so of course, she plays along.
- Silver Screen Kisses
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By Janette Rallison, Heather Tullis, Rachelle J. Christensen, Cami Checketts, and Lucy McConnell
Read by Ann Richardson, Tanya Eby, Christine Williams, Erica Sullivan, and Caroline Shaffer
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Release Date: 3/20/18
Formats: Digital Audy
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- Old News
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By Ed Ifkovic
Read by Christine Williams
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Release Date: 3/07/17
Formats: Digital Audy
A sweltering July in Chicago, 1923. Edna Ferber, now a famous short-story writer, is supposed to be researching the novel that will become So Big, her Pulitzer-Prize winner. With her mother, Julia, she spends the week visiting her mother’s old childhood friend, Esther Newmann, who lives with her family on the edge of the bustling Maxwell Street Jewish marketplace.
But the awful specter of a scandalous murder fifteen years before suddenly haunts Edna. Leah Brenner, the woman confined to a mental hospital after stabbing her husband Ivan to death, is back home, sitting next door on her front porch. Horrified, Julia Ferber laments the return of a brazen murderer to the quiet street. But Edna, meeting the old woman, believes she was condemned for a murder she did not commit. “Leave it alone,” the Newmann grandmother Molly insists―“it’s old news.”
Although life has moved on, even Leah’s children believe their mother stabbed their father. After all, she was found standing over her husband’s body, blood on her fingertips. But no knife was ever located. As Edna probes into the Brenner family―grown children at war with one another, a flashy uncle who once wanted to marry Leah―Edna shakes up the street. Undaunted, she has an idea who the murderer is, but she needs an elaborate scheme to trap the killer. Another shocking death and a funeral give her the opportunity.
- Old News
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By Ed Ifkovic
Read by Christine Williams
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Release Date: 3/07/17
Formats: Digital Audy
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- The General’s Women
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Read by Christine Williams
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Release Date: 3/07/17
Formats: Digital Audy
Set during the chaotic years of World War II, The General’s Women tells the story of the conflicted relationship between General Dwight Eisenhower and Kay Summersby, his Irish driver/aide, and the impact of that relationship on Mamie Eisenhower and her life in Washington during the war. Told from three alternating points of view (Kay’s, Ike’s, and Mamie’s), the novel charts the deepening of the relationship as Ike and Kay move from England to North Africa to England, France, and Germany before and after the Normandy landing. At the end of the war, Ike is faced with the heart-wrenching choice between marrying Kay and a political future.
The story continues into the post-war years, as Ike (returning to Mamie) becomes Army Chief of Staff, president of Columbia University, Supreme Commander of NATO, and president of the United States. Kay, meanwhile, struggles to create a life and work of her own, writing two memoirs: the first (Eisenhower Was My Boss, 1948) about her war work with Ike; the second (Past Forgetting, 1976) about their love affair. An author’s note deals with the complicated question of the truth of Kay’s story as it appeared in the posthumously published Past Forgetting.
- The General’s Women
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Read by Christine Williams
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Release Date: 3/07/17
Formats: Digital Audy
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- Champagne Baby
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By Laure Dugas
Read by Christine Williams
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Release Date: 5/03/16
Formats: Digital Audy
Fresh, charming, and wholly irresistible, Champagne Baby turns a familiar tale on its head: instead of yet another American seeking the French secret to good living, a Frenchwoman finds her purpose—much to her surprise—in America.
Laure Dugas is a champagne baby, born into a family of winemakers from two storied regions of France: Champagne and the Rhône Valley. When Laure was an infant, her mother would dip a finger in wine and dab it on Laure’s lips to acclimate her to the taste and aroma. But Laure wants little to do with the family business. It is only at age twenty-three, when her uncle offers to send her to New York City to learn English and represent his wines to the American market, that Laure bids adieu to her boyfriend and begins her journey of discovery.
The job, it turns out, is both harder and easier than expected. Laure must speak in a new language about a subject in which she has no expertise. But an experienced wine saleswoman shares the secret for faking it: “Always. Be. French.” After all, who could claim to know more about wine than a Frenchwoman? With the pedigree of an expert, even as she feels like a fraud, Laure dives into an industry still dominated by men, winning over restaurateurs and sommeliers, diligently developing her palate, and traveling across the vast country that is her new home.
For the first time, Laure is able to distinguish among the famous wines of her native land. She learns to greet a wine by the nose and judge a bottle not by its industry rating but by the balance of its flavors. Overcoming homesickness, culture shock, and the trials of a long-distance relationship, Laure manages to settle into her new milieu, her wine-glass-half-full attitude turning an eight-month stint into a three-year adventure.
Part coming-of-age memoir, part travelogue, sprinkled throughout with regional maps and wine recommendations, Champagne Baby imparts the critical lessons that pair with both wine and life: “you’re better than the cheapest bottle,” “there’s always occasion for champagne,” and “trust your palate.” It encourages listeners to view themselves and their surroundings with newfound appreciation, and to raise their glasses with open-mindedness and joy.- Champagne Baby
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By Laure Dugas
Read by Christine Williams
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Release Date: 5/03/16
Formats: Digital Audy
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- I Have Lived a Thousand Years
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Read by Christine Williams
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Release Date: 5/14/13
Formats: Digital Audy
Imagine being a thirteen-year-old girl in love with boys, school, family—life itself. Then suddenly, in a matter of hours, your life is shattered by the arrival of a foreign army. You can no longer attend school, have possessions, talk to your neighbors. One day your family has to leave your house behind and move into a crowded ghetto, where you lose all privacy and there isn’t enough food to eat. Still you manage, somehow, to adjust. But there is much, much worse to come …
This is the memoir of Elli Friedmann, who was thirteen years old in March 1944, when the Nazis invaded Hungary. It describes her descent into the hell of Auschwitz, a concentration camp where, because of her golden braids, she was selected for work instead of extermination. In intimate, excruciating details, she recounts what it was like to be one of the few teenage camp inmates, and the tiny but miraculous twists of fate that helped her survive against all odds. I Have Lived a Thousand Years is a searing story of cruelty and suffering, but at the same time it is a story of hope, faith, perseverance, and love. It will make you see the world in a new way—and it will make you want to change what you see.
- I Have Lived a Thousand Years
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Read by Christine Williams
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Release Date: 5/14/13
Formats: Digital Audy
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- The Song of the Lark
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By Willa Cather
Read by Christine Williams
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Release Date: 1/16/12
Formats: Digital Audy
In this semiautobiographical portrait of a young artist in the making, Willa Cather takes us into the heart of a woman coming to know her deepest self. Thea Kronborg, a minister’s daughter in a provincial Colorado town, has dreams and gifts that her humble hometown will not satisfy. With the support of a few allies who recognize her rare qualities, she follows her ambitions to the big city, determined to be an opera diva. As she moves through a series of music teachers in Chicago, Thea finds that the attitudes and standards of those around her rarely match her own. It is only when she reconnects with pure nature in a brilliant Arizona desert canyon that Thea rediscovers the sensuous, mystical openness that is the source of her art. Realizing she must protect this experience at all costs, she resolves to shed all relationships that don’t serve her higher purpose.
- The Song of the Lark
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By Willa Cather
Read by Christine Williams
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Release Date: 1/16/12
Formats: Digital Audy