What kind of a makeover has the power to change a person, inside and out? These stories, specially written for this collection, delve into our culture’s fascination with beauty and present different views about all kinds of makeovers. Sometimes funny, sometimes serious, and always thought provoking, this anthology will open eyes and minds. Authors include Joseph Bruchac, Marina Budhos, Evelyn Coleman, Peni R. Griffin, Margaret Peterson Haddix, Norma Howe, Jess Mowry, René Saldaña, Jr., Marilyn Singer, Joyce Sweeney, and Terry Trueman.

Keith Grant and Valerie Maryman know that a meaningful life rests largely upon ones capacity for hope. Our fears and lack of trust in ourselves and others can keep us from leading a purposeful life. Find hope in the commentary of eleven interviewees who share their insights regarding difficult situations and how these situations helped them persevere and lead them to greater meaning in their lives. Embrace compelling interviews of Henry McClendon, Director of New Detroit Rev. Dr. Shelia BrownBurrell, Life Challenge Erminina Ramirez, Chief Executive Officer of CHASS Janis McFaul, PhD, General Motors Heaster Wheeler, Executive Director of NAACP (Detroit Branch) Adolphus Cast, Bishop of Life Applications Church, Warren, Michigan Edward Wingard, PhD, Retired Vice President of Academic Affairs Union Institute and University Damon Keith, Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Rosalind Andrews Worthy, Founder of Gospel Against AIDS Jamie Kjos, Pastor of Brightmoor Christian Church, Novi, Michigan Marjorie Harris, PhD, Retired President of Lewis College of Business Let Fruit of the Spirit provide you with inspiration to help you persevere and develop more hope, resilience, and faith to live a more meaningful life.

Provides advice for engendering active, voluntary reading among middle-school students. Incorporates coordination with the school calendar, author visits, and journaling as motivational devices and strategies.

This is a true, semibiographical story about a young woman who was raised by a very strict and abusive father in the Midwest. She led a very oppressed life growing up and then marrying a very abusive husband. The story begins in a hospital, where Jean has lost the will to live. A kindly priest, Father Warner, making his rounds of the hospital ward, encounters Jean, who then relates the story of her life to him. Jean, who now has children of her own, is very depressed that her own children may very well experience a similar fate as each generation seems to pass on to the next the oppression that they themselves experienced while growing up. Father Warner takes it upon himself to help Jean in whatever way possible to restore her willingness to live.

This book includes real–life examples from over 70 respected organizations, small and large, representing a multitude of industries using stories to drive results. Leaders from organizations such as Microsoft, Lands’ End, Verizon, U.S. Air Force, and World Vision demonstrate the strong positive influence stories can have. No abstract theories or platitudes are conveyed here. The book spells out how Kevin Roberts, CEO worldwide of Saatchi & Saatchi, achieved sustained sales growth after several mergers and downsizings caused the organization to fall on hard times. It also shows how Erik Shaw, president and CEO of FivePoint Federal Credit Union, overcame resistance to an organizational name change, resulting in membership growth exceeding the national average.