Meaning and Relatedness

Topics of conversation: * Relatedness and what it really means * Influences and inspirations * Mythology, symbolism and ethics * Social issues today, including family courts * Reading from "Meaning and Relatedness"

For the Love of Dogs

In no particular order, Suzanne Woods Fisher is a wife, mother, writer, lifelong student of the Bible, raiser of puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind, a gardener and a cook...the latter two with sporadic results. A former contributing editor to Christian Parenting Today magazine, Suzanne's work has appeared in many magazines.

The Year of No Money in Tokyo

Wayne Lionel Apont gives an intimate, first-person, true story about triumphing over adversity, in the form of being poor and American, in Japan, during the country`s worst recession, since the second world war. His book "The Year of No Money in Tokyo" depicts for the first time the financial, emotional, and psychological effects of yearlong unemployment on a foreigner in Japan. The memoir draws attention to how economic hardship can be an opportunity for reinvention. The book will inspire people who have experienced reduced financial circumstances by showing them that they can recover, even under the most difficult conditions.

Actress Nadia Sahari Reveals She Survived Abuse

Nadia Sahari tells the remarkable, true story of her early life. Ms. Sahari was born in Lebanon to Arab parents who were Shia Muslims. Breakaway, her sensational journey through abuse, lifts the veil on her struggle for freedom. Until her early twenties, she was a victim of many abuses, including molestation, repeated beatings, rape, kidnapping and several attempts on her life. Miraculously she survived. Through it all she clung to her dream to be an actress. She never gave up. Today she is finally living her dream after years of healing. Her life story will bring hope, inspiraton, and encouragement to abused women and children everywhere. Ms. Sahari resides in the Texas Hill Country near her children with her husband and their pets. She is free at last.

Addiction: What's Really Going On? Inside a Heroin Treatment

Topics of conversation: * Prevalence of addiction in today's society. * Effects of heroin and the current treatment model for heroin addiction * Deborah McCloskey's (co-author) experience as an addictions counselor * Potential areas of change for current treatment models * Dr. Barbara Sinor's recovery work and future projects Addiction: What's Really Going On? by author Barabara Sinor contains powerful true-life stories woven together to form a tapestry filled with pain, joy, defeat, and success. The entire book is molded around Deborah McCloskey's heartfelt desire for her clients to be free of drugs. Her counseling methods both endeared her as "the counselor to get" and locked her into a decade of searching for better ways to help those she felt were stuck on the merry-go-round of a methadone system. This book should be read by teachers, hospitals employees, college students, government officials, and our general adult population whether addicted, sober, or straight.