Spiritual Biography

Men of the Bible takes a close-up look at 52 men in Scripture - complex flesh-and-blood characters whose strengths and weaknesses often seem strangely similar to our own. Heroes and villains, sinners and prophets, commoners and kings....their dramatic life stories provide us with fresh perspective on the unfolding story of redemption. Though our culture differs vastly from theirs, the fundamental issues we face in relation to God and the world remain the same. We still reach for great dreams and selfish ambitions. We wrestle with fear and indecision....

He grew up, he says, at "belt-buckle level" and stayed there until Kevan's beloved posse decided to leave his wheelchair at the Atlanta airport, board a plane for France, and have his friends carry him around Europe to accomplish their dream to see the world together! Kevan's beloved posse traveled to Paris, England, and Ireland, where, in the climax of their adventure, they scale 600 feet up to the 1,400-year-old monastic fortress of Skellig Michael.

Early in Paula's life, she didn't know God, but there was always a pull to something greater. Once she prayed for salvation at the age of 18, Paula finally understood the meaning of grace and purpose, and realized God had been taking care of her the whole time. Paula shares her journey of faith in Something Greater, what she calls "a love letter to God from a messed up Mississippi girl". She details feeling led to a higher calling as a child, how she came to serve others as a female pastor, and what led to being asked to become spiritual advisor to President Donald Trump.

Kim Fields has lived most of her life with people thinking they know her, which is understandable. From her first job on a Mrs. Butterworth syrup commercial at age seven, she has spent 40 years in the public eye. There were nine years as Dorothy "Tootie" Ramsey on the classic sitcom The Facts of Life, five more in her 20s starring as Regine Hunter on the seminal coming-of-age show Living Single, and most recently appearing as herself on Real Housewives of Atlanta and Dancing with the Stars.

Shares Rosemary’s early experimentation with psychedelics in the 1950s, her development through the psychedelic revolution of the 1960s, and her involvement, at first exciting but then heartbreaking, with Dr. Timothy Leary. Describes her LSD trips with Leary, their time at the famous Millbrook estate, their experiences as fugitives abroad, including their captivity by the Black Panthers in Algeria, and Rosemary’s years on the run after she and Timothy separated.

It’s been over sixty years since the late Loretta Lynn first rose to stardom, transforming from a coal miner’s daughter to the Queen of Country Music. Loretta knew she was blessed—to record music, to sing her songs to such great crowds, and to write books. A Song and A Prayer is a collection of devotionals combined with song lyrics that delivers a unique form of worship. Inspired by her songwriting sessions with Kim McLean (a fellow songwriter, music producer, as well as ordained minister and reverend doctor), Loretta's love of God is felt in this book.

Here, for the first time, is the spiritual odyssey of this remarkable artist. Mining Lennon’s lyrics, poetry, prose, and interviews, Gary Tillery tracks his thinking as it evolved from his troubled, working-class childhood throughout his many roles as Beatle, peacenik, and social activist.

John Dee was one of the greatest scientific minds of his time, but also one of the most controversial. He was a learned man in fields as varied as mathematics and astronomy, centuries before they became formalized fields of study, but he is better remembered for performing magic and alchemy. Instead of astronomy, he became renowned across England for astrology, and he was one of the country’s most notorious occult writers during his life.

“You were like this once. What did you do to get better?” A day out from a mental institution, a woman devastated by flashbacks from childhood trauma poses this question to her big brother. Within a few weeks, she took her own life. This book is the answer that her brother wished he could have offered. Spiritual director and professor Frank Rogers had been there. As a young adult, he too was tormented by trauma suffered in the same family.

In My Life with Deth, cofounder and bassist of Megadeth David Ellefson reveals the behind-the-scenes details of life in one of the world's most popular heavy metal bands. If you're looking for revelations, they're here, including the drug habits that brought the band members to their knees. You'll learn of David's unsuccessful attempts at rehab and the period when he was strung out on methadone, cocaine, and heroin - all at the same time.

Following Jesus is a journey none of the people in this book ever expected to take. Why did they? What difference did it make? The book you’re looking at is dangerous. If you listen to it, you’ll see that God is still active in saving even the most unexpected people: An atheist woman who viewed Christians as “idiots.” A married couple high in the leadership ranks of the Mormon church. An African-American man who became a Black Muslim out of hatred for white Christians. And much more!

Many people try to describe their experience when “in the zone” or “in the flow” during the creative process. Some claim that a Greater Power or Divine Guidance assisted them. But, what is this state of consciousness, and how do we replicate it? In search of answers, writer and painter Christopher J. Miller took the suggestion of one of his art mentors to watch and chronicle his creative process.

From his difficult childhood on the poor side of town to his rise as a multiple Grammy-winning artist, Kirk Franklin’s Church Boy is a personal story of unwavering faith, remarkable talent, and unyielding perseverance. His narrative is a testament to how God can transform pain and adversity into sources of strength and joy. In this gripping account, Franklin shares the pivotal moments that shaped his faith, including a dramatic ten-foot fall from a darkened stage in November 1996.

Originally published in 1978, A Step Further is Joni Eareckson Tada's response to thousands of letters she received from people puzzled about the "whys" of suffering. Joni answers these questions by taking a personal look at how God has used circumstances, people, and events in her own life and the lives of others.

George Harrison met Muhammad Ali in 1964, when both men were on the cusp of worldwide fame. We Shook Up the World is the story of these two larger-than-life figures at a momentous time. A unique blend of biography and cultural history, this book goes to the very heart of the zeitgeist that each man inhabited and reinvented in profound and enduring ways.

Dr. Richard Alpert, a former Harvard professor and Timothy Leary cohort, was an icon of the hippie, LSD-fueled revolution of the 1960s. Thereafter, on a trip to India - like Clark Kent changing into Superman - he became the much-beloved spiritual teacher Baba Ram Das. His 1970s' iconic book Be Here Now turned on a generation to the deep, non-sectarian spirituality within us all.

In 2005, Anne Rice startled her readers with her novel Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt, and by revealing that, after years as an atheist, she had returned to her Catholic faith. And now, in her powerful and haunting memoir, Rice tells the story of the spiritual transformation that produced a complete change in her literary goals.

Love Fraud tells two parallel stories. The first is the outrageous true story of Donna’s marriage to James Alwyn Montgomery, originally of Sydney, Australia. Montgomery took a quarter million dollars from her, cheated with at least six women during a two-and-a-half-year relationship, had a child with one of them, and 10 days after Andersen left him, married the mother of the child. It was the second time he committed bigamy.

In desperate need to rid herself of a life lived in bondage to a negative ego, Ameille Zay Marcotte found yoga, or, rather, yoga discovered Marcotte. Through her practice, in conjunction with sobriety, she found the ability to let go and opened her mind to a world of infinity. Marcotte’s deeply personal account demonstrates how the application of spiritual principles unfolded in her life and illustrates the unimaginable healing that occurred through faith and forgiveness.

Vaneetha Risner contracted polio as an infant, was misdiagnosed, and lived with widespread paralysis. She lived in and out of the hospital for 10 years and, after each stay, would return to a life filled with bullying. When she became a Christian, though, she thought things would get easier, and they did: carefree college days, a dream job in Boston, and an MBA from Stanford where she met and married a classmate. But life unraveled. Again.