All the commentaries included here, apart from the last one which is an appreciation of Nature, evaluate situations that raise concerns. The guiding purpose is to understand the sources and nature of the concerns and, if possible, to suggest remedies. The subjects were not selected according to an overall plan. Rather, each of them was what engaged my attention at different times over several years. Each analysis is based on my personal and professional experiences. They have been assigned...

Beyond the Mirage: The Tales of Lemrol-GanThe tales in this collection speak of birth, death, kings and commoners; love, loss, innocence and corruption; harmony and discord; exploration and discovery; fear, transformation, fulfillment and the seeking of wisdom. Animals talk, rocks live, magic and mystery abound. Some will see only the tale, others will detect an underlying intent, and still others will discover themselves mirrored in their own interpretation. Nothing is quite what ...

At age 49, 11 years after his first wife's death, James Garnham's son Mathew was born. Given James' age at the time and knowing that life journeys can end unexpectedly early, he thought about what he would want to say to Mathew if he was no longer around to say it. Written over an initial period of 10 years until Mathew was 15, and refined subsequently, the Lessons capture in 90 brief statements the key values James and his second wife Susan sought to convey to their son. There are 18 Sect...

This Tale will appeal to readers aged between eight and their mid-teens, and to adults with wide reading interests. It tells how Inspirando escapes the evil clutches of Mandor who has magically enslaved everyone in his village, viciously forcing them to mine for gold. Inspirando is injured during his escape. A holy man and healer cares for him and tells him about the Temple of Tosharlin. There he will find a powerful Potion that gives the drinker great courage and the power to overcome evi...

As our lives unfold, we recall notable events as anecdotes that capture what engaged our attention on each occasion. As such, we are all story tellers. Whether told in writing or verbally, we can trace the patterns of our lives through the many anecdotes that have accumulated as the years passed by. The 50 short stories in this collection are the vehicles I have used to look back over the 80 years of my life so far. They provide overlapping glimpses of many lived experiences that were foun...

The three-line poems in this book are strictly limited to 17 syllables in a 5-7-5 syllable pattern. They are pithy comments or word-pictures that are short, direct and full of meaning. Yet their brevity invites you to fill in the gaps from your own experience. Some stand alone, but mostly there are two or more three-line verses intended to draw out wider perspectives or paint a fuller picture. Each one opens a window into what lies beyond, limited by the initial angle of your gaze, yet off...

This is not intended to be a handbook for managing grief. Grief is deeply personal and the many paths towards its resolution uniquely engage each person. Yet, hearing about how different people experience grief and its resolution, if that occurs, is helpful. Three journeys are described here. In the first two, the circumstances of the loss are very unusual. The first journey is a direct record of James' lived experience during the year after his first wife died in 1982 and of his progress ...

Empowering parents to mentor and prepare their sons for life.Every parent of a teenage boy knows there are certain conversations they must have with their son. But too often they put them off - or don't have them at all - because they simply don't know where to start. Internationally recognised in the field of raising and educating boys, Dr Tim Hawkes provides practical, accessible and invaluable advice about how to get these discussions started.Helping par...

Generous, erudite, optimistic and candid...Hugh Mackay encourages us to find the best in ourselves and in our society in both good and troubled times.Revolutions never start at the top. If we dare to dream of a more loving country - kinder, more compassionate, more cooperative, more respectful, more inclusive, more egalitarian, more harmonious, less cynical - there's only one way to start turning that dream into a reality: each of us must live as if this is alr...

A NATIONAL BESTSELLER"My Grandmother's Hands will change the direction of the movement for racial justice."— Robin DiAngelo, New York Times bestselling author of White FragilityIn this groundbreaking book, therapist Resmaa Menakem examines the damage caused by racism in America from the perspective of trauma and body-centered psychology.The body is where our instincts reside and where we fight, flee, or fr...

Gratitude is the simple, scientifically proven way to increase happiness and encourage greater joy, love, peace, and optimism into our lives.Through easy practices, such as keeping a daily gratitude journal, writing letters of thanks, and meditating on the good we have received, we can improve our health and wellbeing, enhance our relationships, encourage healthy sleep, and heighten feelings of connectedness.Easily accessible and available to everyone, the ...

The eternal question 'Who am I?' must be weighed against an even deeper question: 'Who are we?' We are writing each other's stories as much as we are writing our own.In his bestselling book, The Good Life, Hugh Mackay argued that kindness and respect for others are the hallmarks of a life well lived. Now in The Art of Belonging Mackay shows how strong communities develop our moral sense and build our emotional security. H...