Disasters at Sea

In October 1851, the bustling harbors of Gloucester, Massachusetts marked the onset of a promising venture as the American fishing fleet set sail towards the bountiful mackerel run in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. However, as they neared the waters off Prince Edward Island, Canada, an unanticipated hurricane engulfed them in a tempest of terror and despair, obliterating over 200 schooners and vessels. The calamity claimed the lives of over 100 seamen, a tragic toll that resonated across the waves.

Disasters at Sea unveils the poignant yet inspiring chronicle of the Prince Edward Island residents, who, propelled by compassion, rallied to extend a lifeline to the beleaguered seamen. Their unwavering aid echoed the noble deeds of the Newfoundland residents during the 9/11 crisis. With hearts brimming with empathy, they embarked on a mission of rescue, recovery, and honor for the fallen, manifesting an enduring maritime bond.

This narrative reflects on the ethos of neighborly duty prevalent in the 19th-century Maritime Canada, highlighting a stark contrast against the seemingly indifferent response of the vessel owners in the aftermath, who appeared to evade accountability for the lost souls and shattered vessels. Disasters at Sea navigates through the haunting whys of fate’s discernment amidst the storm, unearthing the profound human spirit that surges even amidst the darkest squalls, painting a timeless tableau of maritime valor and human resilience.

Discover the Matrix

The most dangerous move in business is the failure to see the space between. What's the greatest crisis among Leaders today? According to Harvard Business Review (Apr 2020), leaders are living in crisis with no modern-day precedent. Governments, corporations, hospitals, schools, and other organizations need now, more than ever, are "real leaders" people who "help us overcome the limitations of our own individual laziness and selfishness and weakness and fear and get us to do better, harder things than we can get ourselves to do on our own."

Like most, real leaders are not born; having the ability to help others see the space between is not written into their genetic code. Many leaders are forged in crisis. Prime Minister Winston Churchill encouraged his people to keep the faith: "We shall not fail or falter; we shall not weaken or tire. Neither the sudden shock of battle, nor the long-drawn trials of vigilance and exertion will wear us down. Give us the tools, and we will finish the job."

This book provides today's leaders with the tools to get the job done; the skills to see the space between. Challenging conventional wisdom, self-imposed limitations, and abstract obstacles, global business coach and leading keynote speaker Angela Cusack dares you to Discover the Matrix.

Do It Again William

Oh no! It appears that William, who is now a LOT older than the usual kindergartner, did NOT learn all he was SUPPOSED to learn in Kindergarten, so his mother decides he had better repeat it.

This book tells the story of poor William’s hilarious trials and triumphs, as he ‘Does it again!’

Do No Harm

Doctor Gideon Teague is ready to call it quits as he nears the end of his medical training. Years of continuous hard work and the specter of tragedy following him from his time as a Marine have taken a heavy toll and his physical and emotional reserves are spent. In the nick of time, an opportunity for a mission trip to Honduras seems like just the ticket to rekindle a long dead spark of passion and adventure; and to escape the day-to-day drudgery of his life as a resident physician.  While there, he and a pragmatic service missionary named Eliza are violently sucked into the vast criminal underworld infecting the region. To save themselves from being trafficked, Gideon will have to embrace the military experience he’d forsaken and confront the ghosts that drove him away. Will it be enough, or will he lose what little of his self-identity remains?

Do You Dream of Trains?

When you’re in love, you often dream of the thing you love, even if it’s a train. You dream of “trains speeding through the desert night, thousands of stars shining bright.” And you wonder, will others see the beauty you see, the freedom you feel, or the excitement of winning a race, when you are on a train?

Domestic Beasts

In the mid-2010s, Detroit experienced an urban flight the likes of which the United States had never seen before. At its worst, in some neighborhoods, over eighty percent of the buildings lay vacant, the only inhabitants being thousands upon thousands of stray dogs. Without humans, these abandoned house pets were left to fight and scrape and hunt and fend for themselves in the apocalyptic urban hellscape that is post-blight Detroit.

Scout, a loyal and loving pet dog, is abandoned when his family flees foreclosure. For the first time in his life finding himself unable to rely on humans, Scout is forced to venture into the wilds. He quickly learns that self-reliance is far more challenging, freeing, terrifying, and dangerous than he ever could have imagined. Exposure, uninviting humans, rival dog packs, and wild animals make every day a battle to shed his domesticity and find the will to survive.

Don Harris Oben: In Search of a Future

This book chronicles the captivating journey of Don, who as a young boy used to listen with rapt attention to the fascinating stories his father told about his travels in colonial Nigeria. These tales invoke in little Don a burning desire to one day undertake his own voyage of discovery, to broaden his horizons beyond the familiar.

So Don sets out into the unknown at the tender age of 14, quickly realizing that expanding one’s worldview is no one-time event. Rather, it is a lifelong process full of twists, turns, and unexpected revelations about places, peoples, and even himself. As Don navigates a complex and often bewildering world, we walk alongside him through monumental challenges, missed opportunities and connections made.

With a wife and five third-culture kids in tow, Don’s pursuit to continually push boundaries and search for a brighter future proves as epic and demanding as that of history’s great exploratory figures. His tireless voyage makes us reflect on what it means to have an inquisitive mind, confront hardship, and leave behind footprints that point others to higher horizons long after we are gone.

Don't Look Back

Trouble isn’t something the art ladies set out looking for, but sometimes it finds them anyway. Life happens and this merry band of artists from the small town of Calhoun, including Stubby who is the former governor of Texas, face problems and misfortunes head-on.

The daughter-in-law of one of the women deserts her family for reasons unknown in the beginning. This leaves art lady Shannon and the others in the group to pick up the pieces and help her eight-year-old twin grandchildren get on with life. The women are so committed to restoring happiness to these broken hearts that they participate in a mother-child softball game. Competing against mothers half their age, along with trying to corral a mischievous group of third graders, involves heart-warming and hilarious situations all at the same time. While this is going on, find out what Stubby, owner of the two-cow ranch, does to upset the apple cart by surprising the women and others in the community with a totally new endeavor that comes completely out of left field. Meanwhile, the missing daughter-in-law spins her own web of confusion and mystery that ties together the insecurities and formerly dead-end life of Lila, the homeless young mother introduced in It’s a New Day.

The attitudes of forgiveness, understanding, humor, and second chances are all brought to life in Don’t Look Back. Members of the art group make choices on how to live life as they embark on the vacation of a lifetime and the issues they leave behind. These women will make you laugh, cry, and, more than anything, cause you to search yourself for what values you deem most important.

Doodle and Doggo go to the Moon

Traveling to the moon is a monumental challenge. Doodle knows he will need a crew ready for the task. Will Doggo come along for the ride? Who else will he bring on this epic voyage? What will they discover about this faraway place that occupies the night sky? Will Doodles illustrations and imagination rocket him and his team into space and be back in time for dinner? Join Doodle and Doggo on an adventure they won’t soon forget!

Doodle Town

Doodles stream freely through the act of a dream and all form of creativity will arise along the path. This is the way of creative abandon. This is where the joy becomes magic, roaming free to build that joy into form. And this is where wishes can appear in tandem with the dreams.

Doodle Town arises this way when a small, irritated boy falls to sleep after failing to find the gift of joy through sketches made from a pen. But as he falls asleep, his wishes take shape in magical ways that delight us all. Whimsy takes its form and dreams just come to be.

It would seem that as frustration pulls up all the stops, where following our dreams will often bring in success. Life will bustle with wonder, color, and vibrant form as frustrations fades away.

Here in Doodle, that’s the way things go. Magic hinges on mental abandon.

So, journey along through your dreams and you’ll surely find your way.

Double Star

This story is set in Germany at the start of the First World War and follows Klaus, a quiet astronomer of Jewish background, who spends his time with a telescope in an observatory on the edge of town. There he meets an independent young woman from a well-to-do background whose desire for a career of her own leads her to work on the laboratory’s microscope.

Their different backgrounds clash even as the world is changing around them. Ulla is forced to keep her work secret from her socially ambitious mother to whom status and the old ways are prized above all. Her father encourages Ulla to help him in his quest to find a cure for a deadly disease. However, he has a secret of his own which also threatens the stability of their family.

As their relationship grows and Ulla and Klaus share their scientific discoveries, unforeseen events force them to make choices which will have far-reaching consequences for both them and their families.

Down by the River

Jason and his family were doing well within their community. The kids were growing and were excelling in school and their other activities. Jason’s wife, Alison, was painting up a storm and was preparing for her art show. He finally felt that his work as a counsellor was growing in the direction that he wanted.

But in a moment, it all changed. Jason and his son, Junior, are severely injured. His daughter, Emma, is flown to a special hospital. And Alison is locked in a life-or-death battle against her own wounds.

Jason struggles to find answers. Who wanted to harm his family and how could he stop it from happening again? The family needs to come together and work to find the answers. Community members and other family members came to help in their recovery and their search for answers. But still, they weren’t safe.

Would they be able to find the answers they needed before things deteriorated?