Showing results by narrator "Rachel Botchan" in All Categories

Eloise Drake's prim demeanor hides the turbulent past she's finally put behind her - or so she thinks. A mathematical genius, she's now a successful accountant for the largest engineering project in 1908 New York. But to her dismay, her new position puts her back in the path of the man responsible for her deepest heartbreak. Alex Duval is the mayor of a town about to be wiped off the map. He is stunned to discover the woman he once loved on the team charged with the demolition.

A brainy - and perpetually single - volcanologist, Annie Tagama works alongside her father at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. But despite her pedigree, Annie has lost her passion for volcanology. She's quietly grieving the mysterious loss of her brother in the Middle East. When Annie discovers that her brother might still be alive - and in trouble - she shakes off her malaise and joins forces with Mano Oana, the unnervingly handsome family friend she had always blamed for her brother's death.

Hometown hero Ana Leigh Watkins ventures to Bitter End, Tennessee, to help her great-aunt get her house ready to sell. Bitter End seems an ironic place for Ana to refresh her weary spirit, but she's desperate for respite from her community's attention and unwarranted admiration. While on a hike in Roan Mountain, a ragtag group of amateur bird watchers take her under their wing—a little against her will. However, she quickly warms to these genuine souls seeking solace in the great outdoors.

Christy Award winner Beverly Lewis delivers critically acclaimed stories that move the heart and enrich the spirit. Set in 1967 Pennsylvania, this sequel to her New York Times best-selling novel The Parting tells the tale of Amish sweethearts struggling to overcome the schism that divides their families and threatens their future.

During the summer of 1944, a secretive network of German officers and civilians conspired to assassinate Adolf Hitler. But their plot to attack the dictator at his Wolf’s Lair compound failed, and an enraged Hitler demanded revenge. The result was a systematic rampage of punishment that ensnared not only those who had tried to topple the regime but their far-flung family members, too. Within weeks, Gestapo agents had taken as many as 200 relatives from their homes, separating adults and children.

In 1737, Anna Konig and her fellow church members stagger off a small wooden ship after 10 weeks at sea, eager to start a new life in the vibrant but raw Pennsylvania frontier. On the docks of Port Philadelphia waits bishop Jacob Bauer, founder of the settlement and father to ship carpenter Bairn. It's a time of new beginnings for the reunited Bauer family, and for Anna and Bairn's shipboard romance to blossom. But this perfect moment cannot last.

When a "lost" rose is discovered at Rose Hill Farm, Billy is sent to track down its origins. Get in, identify the rose, and get out. That's his plan. The only catch is that he's having a hard time narrowing down the identity of the lost rose, and he can't get those tropical blue eyes of Bess Riehl out of his mind. As the history of the lost rose is pieced together, it reminds Bess and Billy - and Amos, too - that Christmas truly is the season of miracles.

Mahjong: A Chinese Game and the Making of Modern American Culture illustrates how the spaces between tiles and the moments between games have fostered distinct social cultures in the United States. This mass-produced game crossed the Pacific, creating waves of popularity over the 20th century. Annelise Heinz narrates the history of this game to show how it has created a variety of meanings, among them American modernity, Chinese American heritage, and Jewish American women's culture.

In Beverly Lewis' eagerly anticipated finale to her Amish trilogy set in the 1860s, an accident cripples Caleb's dad. Despite being even more tightly bound to the farm and to the man who so opposed his courtship of Nellie, Caleb can't forget his first love. Although Nellie sometimes thinks of Caleb, her New Order ways keep them apart. Yet as she still yearns for a husband, new possibilities beckon and soon surprise her heart.

Trudy Yoder shares a passion for birding with Micah Weaver—and she has an even greater passion for Micah. Their friendship is finally turning romantic when Micah abruptly grows cold. Worse still, he wants to leave Stoney Ridge. Micah thought he was over Trudy’s older sister, Shelley, who shattered his heart by running away to Nashville to pursue a singing career. Then out of the blue, she started leaving alarming messages for him.

When her sister falls gravely ill, 20-year-old Marlena Wenger takes on the responsibility of caring for her infant niece, Angel Rose. Worried that this turn of events portends a more complicated future than he is prepared for, her beau ends their relationship. Marlena is devastated but is determined to give Angel Rose the best care possible.

When Melissa Gould’s husband, Joel, was unexpectedly hospitalized, she could not imagine how her life was about to change. Overwhelmed with uncertainty as Joel’s condition tragically worsened, she offered him the only thing she could: her love and devotion. Her dedication didn’t end with his death. Melissa soon realized that her and Joel’s love lived on. Melissa found she didn’t fit the typical mold of widowhood or meet the expectations of mourning. She didn’t look like a widow or act like a widow, but she felt like one. Melissa was widowish.

Beautiful and winsome, Betsy Zook never questioned her family's rigid expectations, nor those of devoted Hans, but then she never had to. Not until the night when she's taken captive in a surprise Indian raid. During her captivity, Betsy faces brutality and hardship but also unexpected kindness. She draws strength from native Caleb, who encourages her to find God in all circumstances. She finds herself torn between her pious upbringing and the intense new feelings this compelling man awakens within her.

Increasingly wary of her father's genetic research, Rachel Kramer has determined that this trip with him will be her last. A letter from her friend changes everything. Married to SS officer Gerhardt Schlick, Kristine fears her husband views their daughter, Amelie, deaf since birth, as a blight on his Aryan bloodline. Rachel fears her father's files may hold answers about Hitler's plans for others like Amelie. Rachel turns to journalist Jason Young, who connects her to the resistance....

Buying and moving into the run-down Jewel Motor Inn in upstate New York wasn't 11-year-old Miriam Brockman's dream, but at least its an adventure. Miriam befriends Kate, whose grandmother owns the diner next door, and finds comfort in the company of Maria, the motel's housekeeper, and her Uncle Mordy, who comes to help out for the summer. She spends her free time helping Kate's grandmother make her famous grape pies and begins to face her fears by taking swimming lessons in the motels pool.

Make it a merry Christmas with these four heartwarming stories. In Christmas Homecoming, sparks fly between former Air Force Pararescueman Kevin Matthews and the town's new surgeon, Kate Stafford. Widower Billy Morgan and his longtime friend, Bella, might discover an occasion to celebrate in An Unexpected Gift. In Christmas in Blue Hollow Falls, Attorney Moira Brogan is rescued by a Aussie chef Hudson Walker. And event planner Julia Louisa Fernandez meets former pro baseball player Ben Thomas who just might inspire a winning strategy in Holiday Homerun.

Faced with abominable working conditions, unsympathetic owners, and hard-hearted managers, the mill girls of Lowell have had enough. They're going on strike, and they have a secret weapon on their side: a little witchcraft to ensure that no one leaves the picket line.

In 1911, Mabel MacGinnis is Europe’s strongest woman and has performed beside her father in the Manzo Brothers Circus her entire life. When he dies unexpectedly, she loses everything she’s ever known and sets off in the company of acrobat Jake Cunningham in hope of finding the mother she thought was dead. Isabella Moreau, America’s most feted aerialist, has given everything to the circus. But age and injury now threaten her security, and Isabella, stalked by old fears, makes a choice that risks everything.

Julia Child was born hungry, but she was not born a chef. In fact, Julia didn’t discover her passion for cooking until she had a life-changing luncheon in France and became determined to share her newfound love of food with everyone. In Paris, Julia devoured recipe books, shopped in outdoor markets, consumed all kinds of foods, and whipped through culinary school. Through perseverance and grit, Julia became a chef who shared her passion with the world, making cooking fun, and turning every meal into an event. Alex Prud'homme showcases Julia's life and celebrates her enduring legacy.

Immigration is a fraught and misunderstood topic in America’s social discourse, with much of what we believe based largely on myth. Ran Abramitzky and Leah Boustan have spent the last decade searching for the facts. Their pioneering research digs deep into the data on immigration, linking the experiences of immigrants from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to those of immigrants today. Using powerful storytelling alongside big data, they provide new evidence about the past and present of the American Dream that will change our thinking and policies.