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Gifted Storyteller’s Journey with Parkinson’s and Other Challenges of a Long Life

Gifted Storyteller’s Journey with Parkinson’s and Other Challenges of a Long Life

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When Parkinson’s disease descended like a dense fog on master storyteller John J. Clayton, he was forced to pivot his perspective, change his expectations and write from a place he calls “… both alive and not alive. Like a kind of ghost …”

Parkinson’s Blues: Stories of My Life begins with the arrival of the dark unexpected. In a Monty Python skit, someone in a drab living room complains about being nagged by ques-tions. “I didn’t expect the Spanish Inquisition,” he complains. Suddenly Michael Palin, in red 16th century costume, bursts into the room. “Nobody Expects the Spanish Inquisition!” he shrieks.

Who expects the onset of Parkinson’s? Or cancer? Or stroke? Or the loss of a child? The terrible surprise—the life we didn’t expect—isn’t limited to Parkinson’s. It’s the existential condition of everyone’s life. In fourteen sketches, John J. Clayton links the experience of PD with the experience of childhood sickness, family battles, the struggle to make a good life out of a painful life. The sketches express the hope that we can grow spiritually in the midst of the terrible.

Through 14 eloquent stories — all of which underscore that Clayton’s gift and spirit remain fully intact — Clayton links the onset of Parkinson’s disease with other unexpected, and challenging experiences.

Parkinson’s Blues explores the anticipated pain and unexpected comedy of Parkinson’s in a manner that is deep, graceful and dignified.

Author John J. Clayton has published nine volumes of fiction, both novels and short stories. His collection of interwoven short stories, Minyan, was published in September 2016; his collection Many Seconds into the Future in 2014. Mitzvah Man, his fourth novel, arrived in 2011.

Clayton’s stories have appeared in AGNI, Virginia Quarterly Review, TriQuarterly, Sewanee Review, over twenty times in Commentary, in Notre Dame Review, Missouri Review and The Journal. Two personal essays have been recently published in Jewish Review of Books. His stories have won prizes in O.Henry Prize Stories, Best American Short Stories, and the Pushcart Prize anthology. His Radiance, a collection of stories, was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award.

Clayton grew up in New York City; received his B.A. at Columbia, his M.A. at NYU and his Ph.D. at Indiana. For much of his career he taught modern literature and fiction writing as professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He has also written two books of literary criticism: Saul Bellow: In Defense of Man and Gestures of Healing, a psychological study of the modern novel.

For more information, please visit www.johnjclayton.com.

Parkinson’s Blues
Publisher: Paragon House
Release Date: September 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-155778943351895
Available from Amazon.com and Amherst Books

Trish Stevens
Karen Anderson
Ascot Media Group, Inc.
Post Office Box 2394
Friendswood, TX 77549
[email protected]
www.ascotmedia.com
281.333.3507 Phone
800.854.2207 Fax

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How Our Government Really Works—What Every Teenager Should Know

How Our Government Really Works—What Every Teenager Should Know

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Whether you’re a student, parent, educator or engaged citizen seeking the truth, You Call This Democracy? How to Fix Our Government and Deliver Power to the People from public policy expert Elizabeth Rusch paves the way for every citizen to not only understand the flaws in our current democracy but to also fix them.

“We think we live in a democracy. One person, one vote. But how democratic is our government really?” Rusch asks. “The hard truth is that political power is not shared equally among all citizens. It shouldn’t matter if you are rich, poor, urban, rural, Democrat, Republican, old or young when you mark your ballot. Your race and gender shouldn’t matter either. But they all do.”

You Call This Democracy? gives an honest view of how our democracy truly functions, who really has the power and why (and how that power impacts politicians and policies) and how we can work together to make our democracy more responsive to the will of the people.

Consider the following:

  1. Presidents can take office without winning the popular vote.
  2. Voting districts are drawn by politicians for their own benefit.
  3. Millions of citizens—young, old, poor, people of color, women—are blocked from voting.
  4. Money wields much more influence than the wishes of ordinary Americans.

You Call This Democracy? offers insightful solutions to undemocratic elements plaguing our government, with inspirational examples of citizens already working to make change. International comparisons, extensive sources and resources prompt readers to dig deeper ― and take action.

Supplementary materials to the book include Rusch’s “50 State Democracy Report Card” (https://www.youcallthis.com/your-state), where people can check to see how democracy fares in their state overall and on specific metrics, and how they can strengthen democracy in their state; and a series of short, fun, informative videos on the issues covered in the book, called Flash Course on Democracy, available free at: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUOGZlteO6dRY7aQV1uqpddW1C1maGLxP.
Additionally, discussion guides and debate questions are available at www.youcallthis.com.

Elizabeth Rusch is the author of 20 award-winning books, and more than 100 magazine and newspaper articles. She is also the creator of the “50 State Democracy Report Card” and the video series Flash Course on Democracy. You Call This Democracy?, an Amazon Bestseller, was featured in the New York Times Book Review and received a starred review from Kirkus, which called it “a riveting must-read.” Rusch and her work have also been featured in The Discovery Channel, Oregon Public Broadcasting’s Think Out Loud, The Wall Street Journal, Teacher magazine, Parenting Magazine and Working Mother, among many others. Rusch has a master’s in public policy from the University of California, Berkeley, and has served as a Jacob K. Javits Fellow in the U.S. Senate. Visit her at www.elizabethrusch.com, www.youcallthis.com and on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUOGZlteO6dRY7aQV1uqpddW1C1maGLxP.

You Call This Democracy? How to Fix Our Government and Deliver Power to the People Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN-10: 0358176921
ISBN-13: 978-0358176923
Available from Amazon.com and wherever books and audiobooks are sold

Trish Stevens
Anna Jones
Ascot Media Group, Inc.
Post Office Box 2394
Friendswood, TX 77549
[email protected]
www.ascotmedia.com
281.333.3507 Phone
800.854.2207 Fax

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Sweet Holiday Romance Will Have Readers Wrapped Up in Christmas Joy

Sweet Holiday Romance Will Have Readers Wrapped Up in Christmas Joy

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When quilt shop owner Sophie Davis sorts through a box of books that had been donated to her church, she’s surprised to find a former marine’s journal. Sophie can’t help but peruse the entries, finding herself drawn to the stranger on the pages. As the daughter of a veteran and a seamstress who sews Quilts of Valor, she feels a deep connection to the former soldier who wrote the emotional entries, and she longs to heal his heart.

The man who wrote the journal, former Marine Cole Aaron, battled to find peace after returning to civilian life, and his journal was the conduit toward a truce with his past. Always needing to protect others, Cole now fights fires and is embracing his new life in Pine Hill, Kentucky. When Sophie shows up at the fire hall with his journal, he fears digging up the demons from his past and tells her to trash it.

Their paths continue to intertwine, with both Sophie and Cole volunteering for their community. But it’s hard for Cole to let down his guard, and he doesn’t need anyone’s pity. After all he’s been through in the past, can he find faith in a more hopeful future — one touched by joy?

Wrapped Up in Christmas Joy is the latest sweet romance from Hallmark Publishing author Janice Lynn. A sequel to her first story, Wrapped Up in Christmas, her new installment can also stand alone and is the perfect small-town Christmas romance to warm readers’ hearts during the holiday season.

Janice Lynn is a USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author. She strives to write characters who evoke strong emotions and make readers want to go along on their journeys.

Her first sweet romance, Wrapped Up in Christmas, was a bestseller on Barnes & Noble, Wal-Mart, Amazon (hit #13 overall in paid fiction in Kindle) and ibooks (hit number #1 paid ebook fiction); was Hallmark Publishing’s first release to hit the USA TODAY and Wall Street Journal’s bestseller lists; and was a finalist in the Bookseller’s Best Award. Janice also writes contemporary Medical Romances for Harlequin, and her books have won numerous awards, including the National Readers’ Choice Award, the Golden Quill for Best Short contemporary Romance and for Best First Book, Romantic Times Magazine’s American Title, and the Holt Medallion Award of Merit.

Janice lives in Tennessee with her Prince Charming, their seven kids, her vivid imagination, an adorable Maltese named Halo who’s the true princess of the house and a bunch of unnamed dust bunnies who took up permanent residence after Janice started her writing career. In addition to writing romance, Janice is a nurse practitioner, a quilter, an exercise queen, a military mama and a member of and an avid supporter of the Quilts of Valor Foundation. Just kidding on the exercise queen.

For more information, please visit www.janicelynn.com. You can also connect with the author on social media at: https://www.facebook.com/janicemarielynn;
https://twitter.com/janicemarielynn; or https://www.instagram.com/janice.lynn.author/.

Wrapped Up in Christmas Joy
Publisher: Hallmark Publishing
Release Date: October 27, 2020
ISBN-10: 1952210038
ISBN-13: 978-1952210037
Available from Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Walmart.com

Trish Stevens
Karen Anderson
Ascot Media Group, Inc.
Post Office Box 2394
Friendswood, TX 77549
[email protected]
www.ascotmedia.com
281.333.3507 Phone
800.854.2207 Fax

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Ordinary People Extraordinary God Shares 17 True Stories of Everyday Heroes

Ordinary People Extraordinary God Shares 17 True Stories of Everyday Heroes

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Children may never learn their names and hear their stories in Sunday school, but there are plenty of “ordinary people” all around us who have accomplished God’s remarkable work in their own individual ways. In Ordinary People Extraordinary God: 17 Personal Stories of Lives Transformed by the Love of God, author Rick Schatz shares inspirational true stories of eve-ryday people who answered God’s call to service.

“Most were not raised in Christian homes but have made a commitment to Christ and are serving him in various ways around the world,” Schatz explains. “Few, if any, would be considered superstars in the eyes of the world, but each of them is serving others in life-changing ways.”

Ordinary People Extraordinary God profiles personal friends and contacts of Schatz’s who have served Jesus in a variety of capacities, such as becoming a hospice nurse later in life, writing books, developing resources to help others in need and serving in churches. The honest accounts don’t hide the flaws and struggles that these servants endured. In fact, it’s through pointing out the insecurities and the ups and downs that Schatz underscores the fact that God can and does use “ordinary people” to reach others with His love and grace. This book also shares that all God needs from His followers is their availability because He will supply everything else that is needed to get His work done.

As readers follow the 17 journeys featured in the book, it is Schatz’s hope that the stories will encourage and challenge people to first seek God and then to serve Him for His glory.

“The goal of the book is to encourage others to seek a personal relationship with God and for those who already have such a personal relationship to dream bigger and reach for the stars in serving Him,” Schatz adds.

Author Rick Schatz earned a BS in chemical engineering and an MBA from Harvard, where he became a Christian during his second year. In addition to a long career as an executive for several major corporations, including as the founder and part-owner of Creative Waterworks, Schatz has been a deacon, elder, Bible teacher and preacher since 1969.

He has also served on the board and leadership teams of On Target prison ministry, Spiritual Counterfeits Project and the John Guest Evangelistic Crusade in Cincinnati.

Schatz officially left the business world in 1990 and served with pureHope ministry as COO and president/CEO from 1990 until 2014. He joined The Prayer Covenant in 2014, where he served as president and currently serves as COO.

Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Schatz married his high school sweetheart, Sharon, in 1967. They have three grown sons and 11 grandchildren.

For more information, please visit www.rickschatz.com.

Ordinary People Extraordinary God: 17 Personal Stories of Lives Transformed by the Love of God
Publisher: High Bridge Books
ISBN-10: 1946615455
ISBN-13: 978-1946615459
Available from Amazon.com

Trish Stevens
Julia Vaughn
Ascot Media Group, Inc.
Post Office Box 2394
Friendswood, TX 77549
[email protected]
www.ascotmedia.com
281.333.3507 Phone
800.854.2207 Fax

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The Great Rupture Explores Impact of Information Age on Humanity

The Great Rupture Explores Impact of Information Age on Humanity

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Imagine that by the 2040s, Harvard College is shuttered, its hallowed halls impenetrably overgrown with miles of vines — closed for lack of demand in Ivy-League education. It’s just one jarring possibility suggested in Viktor Shvets’ thought-provoking deep-dive into the challenges facing today’s world: The Great Rupture – Three Empires, Four Turning points and the Future of Humanity – Do we need to be free?

“The lessons of the last five centuries were unequivocal — without freedom, there could be no prosperity or happiness. However, does this still hold true in the Information Age?” Shvets asks.

He expertly and compellingly distills the lessons learned over the last five centuries, and projects these into the future. Could the Information Age be rewriting the recipe for individual and national success?

According to Shvets, modern technologies are disrupting the structure of our societies, altering every facet of our lives, from the nature of work and what we intrinsically value to how we are informed, entertained and educated — it promises to be a far deeper disruption than Industrial Revolutions. Humanity is at a major turning point, and how we respond to the merger of technology and financialization will decide our future. Will it be capitalism or communism, feudalism or despotism?

The Great Rupture explores the weakening nexus between freedom and prosperity and what that means for the future of humanity. From the birth of our modern world, pivotal events have led to the collapse of non-Western civilizations — Mongol warriors sweeping across Eurasian steppes; the Black Death and a re-awakening of human spirit; Zheng He’s voyages and the collapse of Novgorod republic; and finally, the ban on printing in Arabic. What can we learn from these historical events to better prepare ourselves for the future?

As we hurtle toward that uncertain future, Shvets writes we must decide whether our cherished individual freedoms are still necessary for success and prosperity, or if in adapting to new technologies, non-Western civilizations are now better positioned for this new world, creating highly illiberal and possibly brutal orders that might no longer suffer from stagnation of ideas or wealth. For the first time in at least five centuries, we have an opportunity and tools to build a different society and economy. The book explores specific policy choices that might help us navigate this treacherous transition. Will we embrace the challenge?

Author Viktor Shvets is a global strategist at Macquarie Bank. In his almost four-decades-long investment banking career, he worked in Sydney, Melbourne, Hong Kong, London, New York and Moscow at a number of global investment banks, such as Baring Securities, Deutsche Bank, DLJ, Lehman Brothers and Credit Suisse. Over the years, he has been a highly rated analyst across various disciplines, head of research and is now recognized as one of the more innovative global market strategists, working on the intersection between finance, technology, politics and history. He is a prolific writer on key global trends and is a frequent commentator on CNBC, Bloomberg and other media outlets.

Viktor was born in Kiev, which at the time was the capital of the Soviet Ukraine. He attended Kiev University of Trade before immigrating to Australia, where he completed a Bachelor of Economics degree from the University of Sydney and a Master of Commerce degree from the University of New South Wales. He is married with two sons and currently resides in Hong Kong.

For more information, please visit viktorshvets.com.

The Great Rupture – Three Empires, Four Turning points and the Future of Humanity – Do we need to be free?
Publisher: Boyle & Dalton
ISBN-10: 163337386X
ISBN-13: 978-1633373860
Available from Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Kobo.com and iTunes

Trish Stevens
Margot Cunningham
Ascot Media Group, Inc.
Post Office Box 2394
Friendswood, TX 77549
[email protected]
www.ascotmedia.com
281.333.3507 Phone

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True Story of Survival Opens Minds and Dialogues about Mental Health

True Story of Survival Opens Minds and Dialogues about Mental Health

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Mark Henick stood precariously on the wrong side of the railing on a crumbling, concrete overpass. The bridge spanned two realities and, for Henick, had become a symbol of escape — in one form or another. A voice behind him tried to help. A crowd gathered. Siren lights flashed in his peripheral vision. Surrounded but still alone, Henick let go.

So-Called Normal: A Memoir of Family, Depression and Resilience from Mark Henick is a vital and triumphant story of perseverance and recovery by one of North America’s foremost advocates for mental health

Henick’s near-death experience on the overpass that night would alter his emotional orbit just enough that his exit from a psychiatric ward following that suicide attempt in 2003 would be his last. His transformation didn’t happen overnight — it was a gradual process punctuated with new challenges and setbacks — but slowly, his patterns reversed and he began a profound, “upward” spiral toward recovery.

So-Called Normal chronicles Henick’s youth and the events that led to that fateful night on the bridge and the experiences and transformation that followed. It is a vivid and personal account of a boy who had to deal with the breakdown of his parents’ marriage, an abusive stepfather, bullying and trauma — all while trying to navigate his progressively worsening mental health. In the backdrop is a community that didn’t talk about mental illness, one where silence and maintaining the comforts of “normal” was paramount. So-Called Normal is not a “misery memoir” about suicide — it’s a gripping, inspirational story of survival.

Author Mark Henick’s TEDx talk about being saved from death by a stranger is one of the most watched in the world and has been viewed millions of times. His search for “the man in the brown jacket” whose bravery and strong arms kept him from falling to his death went viral around the world (and was successful!). Henick has been on television and radio and has written many articles on mental health. He has hosted more than 60 intimate conversations about mental health with notable public figures and celebrities on his podcast, So-Called Normal, and has executive produced and hosted the Living Well podcast for Morneau Shepell. Henick has served on the board of directors for the Mental Health Commission of Canada, and was the president of a provincial division of the Canadian Mental Health Association — the youngest person in either role. He has worked as a frontline clinician, a program manager and the national director of strategic initiatives for CMHA. Currently the CEO and principal strategist for Strategic Mental Health Consulting, Mark Henick is in high demand as an international keynote speaker on mental health recovery.

To watch Henick’s powerful TEDx talk, please visit . For more information, please visit www.markhenick.com or connect with the author on the following social media sites: www.facebook.com/markhenick/; https://twitter.com/markhenick; and www.youtube.com/markhenick.

So-Called Normal: A Memoir of Family, Depression and Resilience
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: January 12, 2021
ISBN-10: 1443455032
ISBN-13: 978-1443455039
Available from Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Audible and others

Trish Stevens
Teresa Hinojosa
Ascot Media Group, Inc.
Post Office Box 2394
Friendswood, TX 77549
832.569.5773 Direct
281.333.3507 Phone
800.854.2207 Fax
[email protected]
www.ascotmedia.com

 

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Urban Blight and Struggle for Power Fuel Tale of Political Tug-of-War

Urban Blight and Struggle for Power Fuel Tale of Political Tug-of-War

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Democratic President Bob Jordan and Republican House Speaker Mitchell Lawrence have known each other for years and share the philosophy that collaboration between the parties is the best way to govern. Their view, however, isn’t as popular as they’d hoped.

After 50 years of failed governmental attempts to improve failed inner-cities, Jordan and Lawrence choose a private development as the mechanism to institute change.

The project, dubbed A Hand Up, has an ambitious vision: transform the inner-cities that are beset with urban blight into safe, vital municipalities with great schools, thriving businesses and other options for recreation. In other words, give people a reason to want to be there.

Recreating a “new” city from the ashes of urban squalor, however, requires the cooperation of and support from government and the loss of power and control is more than current leaders are willing to abide.

Money and power are vested in the status quo. Politicians from both parties, big companies, unions, and the media thrive in this environment. Changes in approach threaten their power and they must do all they can to stop them. Out of this need for the status quo a plot to assassinate begins to grow.

While first and foremost a novel written to entertain, A Hand Up from Martin Laurent resonates with real-world problems that plague big-city projects and the political divide that prevents progress. Laurent’s narrative compellingly underscores the critical need for government entities to collaborate on even the most fundamental challenges. Perhaps a novel that supports neither (or both) sides of the political divide offers the best chance for building bridges.

Author Martin Laurent worked for General Motors for 32 years. With an educational background in mechanical engineering and business. Practical experience in facilities engineering, industrial relations and corporate strategic planning, and manufacturing management, Laurent’s expertise in change management lends authenticity to A Hand Up, in which he skillfully describes a common sense process for inner-city improvement.

Since his retirement, he consulted for a time before deciding to simply concentrate on life in Santa Fe, where he lives with his wife of over 50 years, Keren. The couple has travelled extensively.

Laurent has also served on the board of the Santa Fe Recovery Center since 2008. When he began, the center was a 23-bed residential treatment facility that provided a 30-day recovery program. Today, the center has expanded its capacity by five times and offers a wider array of services. The center has been recognized by the State of New Mexico for its excellence. Additional expansions are planned.

Laurent is also the author of The Third Bounce and Pray for Rain, a series that centers on these same two politicians and their wives.

For more information, please visit www.martylaurent.com.

A Hand Up
Publisher: Lithe Excel
Release Date: August 3, 2020
ISBN-13: 978-1-944293-51-2
Available from Amazon.com and www.martylaurent.com

Trish Stevens
Maria Jenson
Ascot Media Group, Inc.
Post Office Box 2394
Friendswood, TX 77549
[email protected]
www.ascotmedia.com
281.333.3507 Phone
800.854.2207 Fax

 

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