Showing results by narrator "Laural Merlington" in All Categories

A parent becomes a new person the day the first grandchild is born. Formerly serious adults become grandparents who dote on their grandchildren. This new audiobook includes the best stories on being a grandparent from past Chicken soup books, representing a new listening experience for even the most devoted Chicken Soup fan. Everyone can understand the special ties between grandparents and grandchildren - the unlimited love, the mutual admiration and unqualified acceptance.

The terrible tragedy Alana Reeves suffered on Wyoming's Broken Mountain has vanished from her memory. Now nothing remains of those six lost days that cost her everything she held dear. But a man has appeared from the shadows of Alana's past - a rugged outdoorsman who once dwelt in a wounded heart he is now sworn to heal.

After years of trying to become pregnant without success, Rachel Dawson and her husband Thomas felt their dreams had finally come true the day they brought home their newly adopted twin babies. Though the lawyer Baron Bell who arranged for the surrogate mother charged a hefty six-figure fee, one glance into the eyes of their precious children told them it was all worth it - until the birth mother reappeared, first demanding more money, then the twins themselves.

Sometimes, justice is a long time coming. That’s the case with Julie Wyatt, whose story strikes close to home for the original founder of the Sisterhood, Myra Rutledge, and her best friend - and fellow Sister - Annie. Julie is convinced her greedy daughter-in-law, Darlene, had something to do with the mysterious circumstances surrounding her son Larry’s death. She desperately wants to get a confession out of Darlene - and to ensure the safety of Larry’s daughter, Olivia. As Myra, Annie, and their cohorts dig deeper into Darlene’s shady dealings, events unfurl in a way that no one could have predicted....

Clare has just been through a devastating divorce. She's driven by anger and revenge...until she learns something about her ex-husband that forces her to look deep inside for the forgiveness and compassion she's rejected - and for the person she used to be.

This book continues Chicken Soup for the Soul's focus on inspiration and hope in these difficult times. These inspirational stories remind us that each day holds something to be thankful for - whether it is having the sun shine or having food on the table. These stories of gratitude, getting back to basics, recovering from adversity, and silver linings remind us of the simple pleasures of family, home, health, and inexpensive good times.

The most grueling challenge of Raine Smith's equestrian career looms before her - the Olympic Games. Little does she realize that she's about to face greater perils in the arms of a stranger than she's ever found on the back of her horse.

Many residents of South Lick, Indiana, claim the Outhouse Race, in which competitors push old-timey outhouse replicas on wheels at the annual Abe Martin Festival on Memorial Day, is the best thing since indoor plumbing. Just because country store and restaurant owner Robbie Jordan has too much to do managing her new deep fryer as well as an old lover reappearing, she's not going to miss out on the fun. Plus, it's good for business. But when a dead body and a cast-iron skillet tumble out of the Pans 'N Pancakes outhouse entry on the race route, it seems someone is trying to frame Robbie.

When a trailer park fire takes the life of a lonely, wheelchair-bound man, police psychologist Dr. Dot Meyerhoff is doing double duty counseling the first responders involved, especially the traumatized dispatcher. But talking with the distraught young 9-1-1 operator about the dying man's last words leads Dot to wonder if there's more to this fire than meets the eye.

With spring’s arrival in Goosebush, Lilly and the Beautification Committee turn their eyes to new projects. A cleanup of the historic Goosebush Cemetery may be in order after Lilly and Delia find the plots there sorely neglected and inexplicably rearranged. Lilly soon discovers that Whitney Dunne-Bradford snapped up custodianship of the graveyard once she inherited Bradford Funeral Homes. But before Lilly can get to the bottom of the tombstone tampering, she stumbles upon Whitney’s body at the Jayne family mausoleum.

Few topics have as many myths, stereotypes, and misperceptions surrounding them as that of poverty in America. The poor have been badly misunderstood since the beginnings of the country, with the rhetoric only ratcheting up in recent times. Our current era of fake news, alternative facts, and media partisanship has led to a breeding ground for all types of myths and misinformation to gain traction and legitimacy. Poorly Understood is the first book to systematically address and confront many of the most widespread myths pertaining to poverty.

The impact of immigrants over the past half century has become so much a part of everyday life in the United States that we sometimes fail to see it. This deeply researched book by one of America's leading immigration scholars tells the story of how immigrants are fundamentally changing this country.

Lilly Jayne typically spends the harvest season baking festive pies and crafting colorful wreaths to enter in the library’s annual fundraising contest. But this year, autumn opens on a somber note when beloved local theater owner Leon Tompkin dies unexpectedly. His memorial sets the scene for a mini reunion of The Goosebush Players’ best and brightest alumni, including Hollywood star Jeremy Nolan...until someone plucks Jeremy from the spotlight.

The idea of the United States as a nation of immigrants is at the core of the American narrative. But in 1924, Congress instituted a system of ethnic quotas so stringent that it choked off large-scale immigration for decades, sharply curtailing arrivals from Southern and Eastern Europe and outright banning those from nearly all of Asia. In a riveting narrative filled with a fascinating cast of characters, Jia Lynn Yang recounts how lawmakers, activists, and presidents from Truman through LBJ worked relentlessly to abolish the 1924 law.

Lilly Jayne typically spends the harvest season baking festive pies and crafting colorful wreaths to enter in the library’s annual fundraising contest. But this year, autumn opens on a somber note when beloved local theater owner Leon Tompkin dies unexpectedly. His memorial sets the scene for a mini reunion of The Goosebush Players’ best and brightest alumni, including Hollywood star Jeremy Nolan... until someone plucks Jeremy from the spotlight - permanently.

With her family’s safety at stake, Megan must pick her way through the von Tresslers’ sordid family secrets and colorful personalities. She discovers that the malice that’s befallen Winsome has roots in the past, and she’ll need to dig deep to weed truth from lies and innocence from guilt, or the body count will grow even higher.

Between hosting a haunted house on her lawn, serving on the town’s 400th Anniversary Planning Committee, and prepping for the Fall Festival’s 10k fundraiser, Lilly has her hands full. She doesn’t have time for prickly newspaper reporter Tyler Crane, who’s been creeping around town, looking for dirt on Goosebush’s most notable families...until he’s found dead on the race route moments before the start. An unfortunate accident? Or did Tyler unearth a secret that someone in Goosebush is willing to kill to keep?

With the explosion of the older adult population, this important book explores the opportunities and challenges that this presents for the Christian community. Amy Hanson challenges us to let go of many old stereotypes regarding aging and embrace a new paradigm that sees older adults as active, healthy, and capable of making significant contributions. The author shows church leaders how they can unleash the power of the baby boomer population to strengthen their congregations.

It's summertime in Winsome. Washington Acres is abloom, Megan is preparing for the grand opening of her wood-fired pizza farm, and things with her beau, handsome Dr. Finn, are getting as hot as the August temperatures. But when Megan's father arrives with his high-maintenance Italian wife, Sylvia, and announces they're staying at the new yoga retreat center a town away, a sweet occasion sours.

With more than 41 million Americans over the age of 65 in the United States, the question becomes how much (or, perhaps, what type) of memory loss is to be expected as one gets older and what should trigger a visit to the doctor. Seven Steps to Managing Your Memory addresses these key concerns and more. Accessible yet comprehensive, this book features clinical vignettes and character-based stories that provide real-life examples of how to successfully manage age-related memory loss.