Difficult Relationships

Lucy Scarborough is 17 when she discovers that the women of her family have been cursed through the generations, forced to attempt three seemingly impossible tasks or to fall into madness upon their child's birth. How can Lucy succeed when all of her ancestors have tried and failed? But Lucy is the first girl who won't be alone as she tackles the list. She has her fiercely protective foster parents beside her. And she has Zach, whose strength amazes her more each day. Do they have enough love and resolve to overcome an age-old evil?

Liga lives modestly in her own personal heaven, given to her by natural magic in exchange for her earthly life. Her two daughters, gentle Branza and curious Urdda, grow up in this soft world, protected from the violence, predation, and village prejudice that once harmed their mother. But the real world cannot be denied forever - magicked men and wild bears break down the borders of Liga's refuge. Now, having known heaven, how will these three women survive in a world where beauty and brutality lie side by side?

Sometimes life is a mess, and we get overwhelmed by all sorts of conflicting, difficult emotions. We might be stressed or weary, anxious or fearful, paralyzed by insecurity or crushed by pain. And some well-meaning people invalidate our feelings and tell us to just cheer up and forget our worries. Rather than bypass the reality of our feelings, we need to enter into them and listen to what they're telling us. Psychology professor and personal development coach Dr. Peace Amadi helps us navigate the complexity of our emotions, from discouragement and hurt to trauma and depression.

When Alyssa must spend the summer with her aunt, uncle, and bratty cousin Emily in Willow Falls she thinks it’s a good time to start over. She’ll be turning 13 after all. What Alyssa doesn’t know is that this charmed town has something big in store for her on her 13th birthday.

Tim Mason was "the boy most likely to" find the liquor cabinet blindfolded, need a liver transplant, and drive his car into a house. Alice Garrett was "the girl most likely to"...well, not date her little brother’s baggage-burdened best friend, for starters. For Tim, it wouldn’t be smart to fall for Alice. For Alice, nothing could be scarier than falling for Tim. But Tim has never been known for making the smart choice, and Alice is starting to wonder if the “smart” choice is always the right one. When these two crash into each other, they crash hard.

Hermione Winters is captain of her cheerleading team, and in tiny Palermo Heights, this doesn't mean what you think it means. At PHHS, the cheerleaders don't cheer for the sports teams; they are the sports team - the pride and joy of a tiny town. The team's summer training camp is Hermione's last and marks the beginning of the end of...she's not sure what. She does know this season could make her a legend. But during a camp party, someone slips something in her drink. And it all goes black.

What is passive aggressiveness? Which people in your life display this behavior? How can you stem passive aggressive behavior? Personalities: Passive Aggressive explains this common and insidious personality trait and how you can cope with it. You'll find out about how passive aggressive behavior is related to bullying, and how to recognize when passive aggressive behavior is directed towards you.

Emiliano and his sister Sara have successfully fled organized crime in Mexico, illegally crossing into the United States. But now, Sara is in jail, and Emiliano's reunion with their father in Chicago is more awkward than celebratory. When Emiliano is falsely accused of a crime against a missing local girl, it sets off a tense and dangerous race to find her, before he can even "find himself" in this new place he must call home.

The small town of Cryers Cross is rocked by tragedy when an unassuming freshman disappears without a trace. Kendall Fletcher wasnt that friendly with the missing girl, but the angst wreaks havoc on her OCD-addled brain.

Playboy Cage owns the apartment, and he hosts a revolving door of people, in and out, at all times. Most of them are long-legged hot girls who are never there more than a night or two. When Cage’s new roommate, Marcus, enters the picture, he’s just looking to nurse a broken heart. But there’s one particular semi-frequent regular who catches his eye. Willow - 'Low' - is the one Cage wants to marry. But the two of them are night and day, and Marcus can’t see how Low puts up with all of Cage’s womanizing.

When 16-year-old Jill Whitaker's mom walks out - with a sticky note as a goodbye - only Jill knows the real reason she's gone. But how can she tell her father? Jill can hardly believe the truth herself. Suddenly, the girl who likes to fix things - cars, relationships, romances, people - is all broken up. It used to be, her best friend, tall, blond, and hot flirt Sean Addison, could make her smile in seconds. But not anymore. They don't even talk. With nothing making sense, Jill tries to pick up the pieces of her life.

Henry Smith's father told him that if you build your house far enough away from Trouble, then Trouble will never find you. But Trouble comes careening down the road one night in the form of a pickup truck that strikes Henry's older brother, Franklin. In the truck is Chay Chouan, a young Cambodian from Franklin's preparatory school. The tragedy sparks racial tensions in the school.

Emily and her mom were always lucky. But Emily’s mom’s luck ran out three years ago when she succumbed to cancer, and nothing has felt right for Emily since. Now, the summer before her senior year, things are getting worse. Not only has Emily wrecked things with her boyfriend Matt, who her mom adored, but her dad is selling the house she grew up in and giving her mom’s belongings away. Soon, she’ll have no connections left to Mom but her lucky quarter.

They only meant to right the wrongs. It was about getting even. Burn for burn. But the fire they lit kept raging. Reeve ended up hurt, then Rennie ended up dead. Everything will turn to ash if they don’t stop what they started. But now that Mary knows the truth about what happened to her, will she want to? Secrets drew Lillia, Kat, and Mary together. The truth might tear them apart.

A teacher is supposed to impart a love of learning and a thirst for knowledge. It’s a bit different with Ms. Lori Settles. All the kids are talking about how hot she is - and she is especially interested in Ryan Piccoli. When she starts giving Ryan extra attention, he’s feeling more than happy - at first. He’s used to being the class clown, but really he’s a loner.

It's not so easy being Rosemary Goode and tipping the scales at almost 200 pounds - especially when your mother runs the most successful (and gossipiest!) beauty shop in town. After a spectacularly disastrous Christmas break when the scale reaches an all-time high, Rosemary realizes that things need to change. (A certain basketball player, Kyle Cox, might have something to do with it.)

As usual, Andie Rose has a plan: Transfer from community college to the hypercompetitive Blue Ridge State, major in psychology, and maintain her lifelong goal of becoming an iconic self-help figure despite her nerves. All it will take is ruthless organization, hard work, and her trademark unrelenting enthusiasm. But the moment Andie arrives, the rest of her plans go off the rails. When Andie starts to find the power of her voice as the anonymous Squire on the school’s legendary pirate radio station, Andie learns that not all the best laid plans are necessarily the right ones.

In his recovery from drugs and alcohol, Chris Grosso has stumbled, staggered, and started all over again. In an effort to understand why he relapses, and why many of us return to the myriad of other self-defeating behaviors despite our better judgment, he went to best-selling authors, spiritual teachers, psychologists, doctors, and more, and asked them why we tend to repeat mistakes in our lives, even when we know these actions will harm us and the ones we love. In Dead Set on Living, Chris shares these intimate conversations and the practices that have taught him.

Alex Craft knows how to kill someone. And she doesn't feel bad about it. Three years ago, when her older sister, Anna, was murdered and the killer walked free, Alex uncaged the language she knows best - the language of violence. While her own crime goes unpunished, Alex knows she can't be trusted among other people. Not with Jack, who wants to really know her but still feels guilty over the role he played the night Anna's body was discovered. And not with Peekay, the kid with a defiant streak who befriends Alex while they volunteer at an animal shelter. Not anyone.

This practical, no-nonsense book gathers essential information and practical guidance from rabbis, attorneys, and mental health professionals for navigating relationship breakdowns, reconciliation considerations, divorce, and life thereafter. Whether you are currently in a marital crisis, are torn between thoughts of reconciliation and divorce, or are already divorced, this sensitive guide clears up many misconceptions, illuminates relevant halachic and civil processes, and arms you with the knowledge needed to make sound decisions at every crossroad.