Showing results by narrator "Rebecca Gallagher" in All Categories

Ever since attending a wedding in Louisiana, Lizzie Miller has been fascinated by French baked goods. With permission of her parents and bishop, she did a two-year internship in a French bakery in New Orleans. When a local Amish bakery became available, she bought it and opened her own French inspired bakery. But now someone wants her out of business, sending threats and even breaking in. With the help of her friends, including John Bontrager, Lizzie will get to the bottom of why someone wishes her to fail.

Rose Leary writes murder mysteries, but she never wants to see another real corpse. She tends bar to buy time to write in 1980s New York City, until her gruesome discovery of a murdered colleague derails those plans. As threats escalate, Rose fears for her next novel, her safety, and even her trust in Detective Frank Butler.

Gritty glamour in 1980s New York City doesn't come cheap. To afford even her fifth-floor walkup, Rose Leary needs a gig. Bartending at a neighborhood joint subsidizes her writing career, even if she does fill a dead woman's platforms. Rose speculates about who killed her predecessor, but her novel's looming deadline demands she dedicate all creativity to her fiction. When another bartender dies, Rose pictures her name scrawled at the top of the murderer's hit list. Even sarcasm can't shield her from this coming danger.

Ada’s best friend, Rosa, disappeared a year ago and still has not been found. In their grief and confusion, Ada and Rosa’s boyfriend, Ephraim, have grown very close. But some in the community feel Ephraim is responsible for Rosa’s disappearance. Now Rosa’s younger sister is making accusations against Ephraim that can’t be true, and he pulls away from Ada, feeling betrayed. A fire set by an arsonist might finally be the thing to reveal secrets that have long been dividing this community of friends and family. But will it be too late for love between the peacemaker and the suspect?

The story of Chicago is often likened to that of a phoenix rising out of the ashes of the Great Fire. Yet that infamous event was only part of the destruction that has shaped Chicago's identity. This unique history explores the calamities that have befallen the Windy City, such as the 1954 killer water surge that swept in on a calm summer day; the 1967 tornado that ripped through rush hour traffic; the 1886 Haymarket Square riot that put Chicago on the anarchist map; and many other acts of nature and human folly.

In this expanded edition, Denker reflects on the lasting impact of the Trump presidency, the Christian white nationalism it emboldened, the 2020 election and transfer of power, and the subsequent insurrection at the United States Capitol. A must-listen for those hoping to truly understand what Trumpism means for the 2020s and beyond.

“The Crossroads of Yesterday” is based on the life of a young woman who from age five begins suffering unrelenting nightmares and disturbing daydreams. She can neither live in the present nor move into the future, so she journeys to a past life, never resolved, where those she loved most, her husband and two children, were torn from her, and whose fate she never knew before she died.

Mysteries have a way of following Fannie Miller, so when she makes it into the finals of the Tuscarawas County Baking Contest and contestants start disappearing, she calls on her old friend Foster Bates, a retired cop and part-time private investigator. Could it be that other finalists—like the couple on verge of divorce who need the prize money. . .or the three Beiler sisters, always in a huddle whispering—are somehow responsible for these disappearances, thinning out the competition?

Doretta Schwartz used to be so happy and passed her positive attitude along to friends in several letters she wrote each month. But that all changed the day she learned of her fiancé’s death and a heavy weight of depression fell upon her. Feeling empty, she puts away her letter writing and won’t even respond to calls from friends. William’s twin brother, Warren, is also grieving his loss, while at the same time, trying to be supportive to his parents and Doretta. Doretta responds to Warren’s friendship, but is he just becoming a replacement for the once-in-a-lifetime love she lost?

Jacob Lantz asked Trini Sutter to marry him when he was five. The mature nine-year-old thoughtfully responded that she’d consider his proposal when they were older. Now, nearly two decades later, the Amish farmer returns to the beautiful countryside of Arthur, Illinois, to take the independent Quilt Room owner up on her promise. Quiet, handsome Jacob is truly in love with the spirited “list maker,” and Trini finds herself falling in love with Jacob, but the youngest of eleven has big plans of her own. Will she forfeit her plan for the man of her dreams?

Accomplished educator Kass Minor delivers an inspiring and practical exploration of what it means to be a just teacher in a system that actively incentivizes injustice. The author explains how to build joyful experiences even in the face of inevitable injustice and demonstrates how to accept the seemingly conflicting experience of joy in the face of heartbreak. In the book, you'll learn to be a catalyst for change, unlearning the patterns of school that have marginalized children while becoming aware of tenets of justice as they manifest in educational spaces.

Ruth Helmuth has never been rude in her life; trust her to choose the bishop of her Amish community for her first time! Ruth has worked hard to keep body and soul together since her husband, Levi’s, death. She tends her herd of goats, making her living from the milk and fiber she gets from them, all while running a farm and household by herself—and very competently, thank you! How could she imagine the bishop suggesting she should give it all up to another family, who will “make better use of the space”?

Rachel Cohen's A Chance Meeting is a dazzling group portrait that offers a striking new vision of the making and remaking of the American mind and imagination from the Civil War to the Vietnam War. How does the happenstance of daily life become history? Cohen shows us, describing a series of, now boldly, now subtly, transformative encounters between a wide and surprising range of Americans.

Irma Miller thought having a family of her own would bring her joy and a sense of accomplishment, but she struggles with memories of the abuse she suffered as a child at the hand of her stepfather. When she becomes physically and emotionally abusive to her own children, she reaches out to her friend Doretta for prayer and wisdom. But Irma may find herself at an even darker emotional place before she will admit she needs professional help to heal the past traumas. Will Doretta’s letters of wisdom help Irma and her family, or will too much be broken to ever be repaired?

Serenity Miller has much to love about life as the owner of The Pink Petal in Arthur, Illinois, and enjoys trying natural remedies and exploring garage sales. Then comes the day her neighbor, Stephen Lantz, saves her from trespassers on her property and their friendship deepens into an attraction Serenity knows can never lead to marriage. She holds secrets she can never divulge, despite Stephen's way of wooing her. But how can Serenity return to her life of contentment after a taste of love? And when danger returns, will it steal her last hope for a bright future?

In book one of A Mifflin County Mystery series, Rosa Petersheim has disappeared from the Big Valley without a trace. Norman always considered himself his sister's protector and can't believe she would have left home of her own accord—so he must have failed her. He throws all he has into helping the authorities search for Rosa, while trying to support his parents and siblings who are struggling both mentally and physically. Salina Swarey loves Norman and hopes they are headed towards marriage, but his obsession with Rosa's whereabouts is driving them apart.

If God wills it, Mary Yoder will do it, even if that means using crutches for the rest of her life. She was badly injured in a buggy accident as a child. Still, she is content living in the Dawdi Haus connected to her parents’ farmhouse and with her work weaving baskets and raising specialty roosters whose feathers she uses to make excellent trout lures. She is truly happy at twenty-nine, but she wouldn’t mind finding a husband—if the Lord wills it.

If you or someone you love are among the 19.4 million people who suffer alcohol or drug addiction, this unvarnished, raw recount of the various ways and many years the author suffered, can serve as the understanding and validation you need. As her story reveals, the initial “escape” alcohol offers, quickly brings compounding issues setting the person on a path of denial that can lead to destruction.

In Addiction, leading expert in the science and treatment of addiction Suzette Glasner aims to clear the air of some of the most polarizing and misleading information that dominates public thinking about addiction.

Whether sitting down with a militia member seeking to protect his rural Utah town from Antifa or talking with grassroots organizers working across ideological divides, Gaines Quammen brings to life connections and contradictions that shape our politics and our lives far beyond the West.