false 102872 9 8 Quaker Summer, Lisa Samson has been hailed by Publishers Weekly as "a talented novelist who isn't afraid to take risks." She lives in Kentucky with her husband and three kids.]]> female 1964/05/08 176225 1595542078 9781595542076 53 <![CDATA[Quaker Summer]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172441888m/176225.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172441888s/176225.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/176225.Quaker_Summer 3.61 179 Every year I think there must be more to life, and every year, despite a new car or a trip to a new land, new milestones and triumphs in my son's life, or a redone deck, a pool, a spa, or entertainment system, I take stock and think once again, I was made for more than this. But I love my stuff.

Heather Curridge is coming unhinged. And people are starting to notice. What's wrong with a woman who has everything--a mansion on a lake, a loving son, a heart-surgeon husband, and soapstone countertops--yet still feels miserable inside?

Yet when Heather spends the summer with two ancient Quaker sisters and a crusty nun in a downtown homeless shelter, she suddenly finds herself at a crossroads.

Sometimes you have to go a little bit crazy to find the life you were meant to live.

]]> 102872 3.83 965 242 2007 2690801 1595542108 9781595542106 37 <![CDATA[Embrace Me]]> http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2690801.Embrace_Me 3.86 125
Valentine endlessly listens to her mother's old copy of "Embraceable You" on an old phonograph, but her own life hardly begs for romance. Her deepening friendship with a quadriplegic woman offers a welcome, if frustrating, sense of dependence, but romantic love is nowhere in sight. Then along comes a dread-locked and scarred local with a hidden history and a compelling present. Will Valentine find the embrace she longs for?]]> 102872 3.83 965 242 2007 4994596 1595542116 9781595542113 29 <![CDATA[The Passion of Mary-Margaret]]> http://www.goodreads.com/images/books/49/596/4994596-m-1255990154.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/books/49/596/4994596-s-1255990154.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4994596.The_Passion_of_Mary_Margaret 3.85 66 Mary-Margaret accepts a calling that surpasses her wildest dreams . . . and challenges her deep faith.

When Mary-Margaret Danaher met Jude Keller, the lightkeeper's son, she was studying at convent school on a small island in the Chesapeake Bay. Destined for a life as a religious sister, she nevertheless felt a pull toward Jude-rough and tumble, promiscuous Jude.

After sojourning as a medical missions sister in Swaziland, Mary-Margaret returns to the island to prepare for her final vows. Jude, too, returns to the island, dissolute and hardened. Mary-Margaret can hardly believe it when the Spirit tells her she must marry the troubled boy who befriended her all those years ago, forsaking the only life she ever wanted for a man she knows she'll never love.

]]> 102872 3.83 965 242 2009 176229 0446615188 9780446615181 8 <![CDATA[Songbird]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172441889m/176229.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172441889s/176229.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/176229.Songbird 4.10 50 102872 3.83 965 242 2005 176228 1578565987 9781578565986 11 <![CDATA[Tiger Lillie]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172441889m/176228.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172441889s/176228.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/176228.Tiger_Lillie 3.81 53
Fifteen years after the mysterious disappearance of Ted, her childhood sweetheart, gutsy and daring Lillie Bauer–bungee-jumper, book addict, and delightfully offbeat coordinator of “extreme” high-concept weddings–is ready to find love again. Yet as she boldly but reluctantly braves a disastrous dating scene in her search for a husband, quirky Lillie is caught between two contrasting images of married life: the rich, lifelong partnership shared by her parents and the troubled marriage of her younger sister, Tacy.

Faced with long-buried feelings, fears for Tacy, and concerns about her father’s failing health, Lillie finds strength in an unlikely and peculiar community of loved ones, including Cristoff, her epileptic, florist business partner; Pleasance, a sassy African American clothing designer; and Lillie’s strong Hungarian Grandma Erzsébet. But when Lillie stumbles across a danger that threatens those she loves most, she will need more than friends and family–she will need a miracle.]]> 102872 3.83 965 242 2004 176226 1578568854 9781578568857 10 <![CDATA[Club Sandwich]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172441889m/176226.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172441889s/176226.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/176226.Club_Sandwich 3.84 50
Do you know what it’s like give to 100 percent and still feel like it’s not–and you’re not–enough for anybody? To be caught between caring for an aging parent and raising young children? I lived in that place for four years.

Ivy Schneider lives in this place, too, and she isn’t at all happy about it. Her husband Rusty spends ten months a year on the road singing in a gospel quartet, and her mom gets sicker every day, requiring increasingly more care and time. Ivy’s dad took off years ago but still comes around–for free meals. Her brother and sister are more than happy to let responsibility rest on Ivy’s shoulders. Maybe she could handle it all if only her darling three-year old terror, Trixie, would just “go” on the potty. Who will take care of Ivy while she takes care of the world?

No one, it seems. Then Ivy runs an ad in the paper to find folks like herself: women of the “sandwich generation,” squeezed between the demands of raising young children and caring for an aging parent. Soon she and the other women of Club Sandwich are building uncommonly deep friendships, witnessing the reality that in fact no woman can be everything to everybody, and discovering firsthand that they can do more than they imagined possible with the help of each another and with a strong dose of faith.

If your life is about caring for others, I dedicate this book to you. Welcome to the club. You are most definitely not alone.

Grace,

Lisa]]> 102872 3.83 965 242 2005 176232 1578565979 9781578565979 8 <![CDATA[The Living End]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172441890m/176232.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172441890s/176232.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/176232.The_Living_End 3.70 50
Pearly Laurel is devastated by the death of her beloved husband of thirty-five years. The two had always said they couldn’t live without one another, and Pearly has no desire to even try.

Then, in the midst of her grief, Pearly finds a tattered list in Joey’s pocket, entitled, “While I Live, I Want to….” His ultimate to-do list sends her off on a mission to accomplish Joey’s last unfulfilled goals–along with a few of her own–before arranging her own death. But the people she meets along the way have something else in mind. Can their unexpected gifts, secrets long hidden in Joey’s journal, and memories from the rich life they shared convince Pearly that, despite her pain and grief, life is still worth living?]]> 102872 3.83 965 242 2003 488858 1576737489 9781576737484 4 <![CDATA[The Church Ladies]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175185015m/488858.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175185015s/488858.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/488858.The_Church_Ladies 3.91 45 102872 3.83 965 242 2001 1971720 1600060919 9781600060915 15 <![CDATA[Hollywood Nobody (Hollywood Nobody #1)]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1191110328m/1971720.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1191110328s/1971720.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1971720.Hollywood_Nobody 4.02 43 Now Scotty is determined to discover what she wants from life. She's even documenting the journey on her "Hollywood Nobody" blog. But as Scotty begins to find dark answers to tough questions, will her story have a happy ending?

The first in a series, Hollywood Nobody is a novel for teen girls that examines real issues with honesty and humor. Enhancing the book's themes, the story includes journal and blog entries as well as screenplay dialog, providing an engaging experience for readers.

]]> 102872 3.83 965 242 2007 176227 1578568862 9781578568864 11 <![CDATA[Straight Up]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172441889m/176227.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172441889s/176227.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/176227.Straight_Up 3.66 47
Georgia Bishop, a could-be jazz great, has thrown away her life, her marriage, and her talent for her drinking habit. Her cousin, Fairly Godfrey, is living the good life in New York but wonders if deeper meaning exists beyond the superficial world in which she finds herself.

It takes a Congo refugee, a soul food chef, a persistent husband, and one desperate night on the brink of freedom for Georgia and Fairly to realize how far they have come from their God-given purposes. When they face the most difficult choices of their lives, only the power of grace can bring them to true healing.]]> 102872 3.83 965 242 2006