How Lemon Happened - Beltzhoover Pride

In his previous book, Some Things I Think I Said, Waltman displayed his triple-threat writing, with his mix of short stories, poetry, and humor.

In this work, he goes deeper into the only non-fiction story from his earlier book, this sequel is a close examination of the early years of his main character, Lemon. Three days of interviews with his family, old friends, and neighbors in the black communities of Pittsburgh yielded more clarity and truth than anticipated. When Lemon Happened, How Lemon Happened – Beltzhoover Pride became bigger than just Lemon and Beltzhoover. It represents the struggles and achievements by those who grew up without the benefit of societal privilege.

How to Build a Hotel from Scratch

How to Build a Hotel from Scratch offers more than just a guide to hotel construction – it’s a soulful journey through cultures, cuisines, and human connection. Meet Tatyana, a Korean woman raised in a quaint Uzbek village, a place whose heart beats with the age-old tradition of hospitality. Nurtured by her surgeon parents, Tatyana finds her earliest inspirations within the walls of her father’s home library.

But her story transcends the mere building of brick-and-mortar structures. It delves into the philosophical foundations that underpin hospitality and asks compelling questions: What defines us as global citizens? What unites us through our diverse cuisines, histories, and cultures? Is the spirit of hospitality a universal marker of trust and goodness?

As she navigates her way from a breakthrough job with a renowned U.S. hotel brand to spectacular global locales – including Miami, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Paris, Rome, Florence, Seoul, and Jeonju – a Tatyana garners invaluable experiences. Each destination is a stepping stone toward her ultimate aspiration: creating her own vision of a luxury, sustainable, wellness-focused hotel.

This book, then, serves as both a personal journey and a practical guide, offering readers an inside look into the intricacies of the hotel industry, informed by a lifetime of rich, international experiences.

Hug the Moments

Hug the Moments invites readers to discover the extraordinary adventures, miracles, and revelations bubbling beneath the surface of our world.

Amidst the constant barrage of negative news, there exists a faith-based love force, alive and in motion moment-to-moment.

Featuring powerful, heart-stirring dramas filled with suspense, this book aims to instil in readers the most desirable goals in life – a sense of optimism, peace, and hope.

By revealing uplifting narratives hidden within everyday life, Hug the Moments calls us to pause and embrace the beauty around us.

Humanity in Trouble and Our Failure to Act

Mankind is on a crash course with destiny and doesn’t seem to have a clue! We are witnessing rapidly accelerating global warming of our own making that could potentially result in species extinctions, including our own. Witness widespread signs of the impending disaster including super storms, record drought, floods, forest fires and climate refugees. Dangerous nuclear saber rattling by Russia and North Korea is on the upswing and the Russian invasion of Ukraine threatens to expand to Western Europe. The increasing number of fascist, autocratic, dictator-run states such as China, North Korea, Turkey, and Brazil are snuffing individual freedoms, denying social justice and fanning the flames of global conflict.  The world’s population is rapidly approaching eight billion and is well past the point of Earth’s ability to sustain us. Crushing poverty, starvation, and dozens of militarized religious and ethnic conflicts. We have polluted our planet with toxic chemicals, oil spills, reckless dumping of trash on land and sea, contaminating the oceans with fish and fowl killing plastic waste.

This book is the result of overwhelming outrage and disappointment with our species, our failure to adequately address worldwide problems that threaten our very existence. We (if there is a ‘we’) should be embarrassed and ashamed. Nature has endowed us with near perfect bodies and amazing brains and for the most part we squander our evolutionary inheritance. And the greatest gift of all, consciousness, is under-developed in most of us. In this collection of essays, the author offers insights into the human condition, the reasons we have run afoul of the natural order, along solutions to alleviate human suffering on an individual and global scale plus some playful jabs at our human folly.

Humans as Third Dimensional Beings

Explore a fresh lens on human identity in 'Humans as Third Dimensional Beings', where the author introduces a unique dimension that sets Homo sapiens apart – the Third Human Dimension (THD). Traditionally viewed as bi-dimensional entities encompassing body and soul, this book ventures beyond, inspired by a rich blend of cultural insights, social science theories, and Islamic perspectives.

Contrary to prevalent social science paradigms that label humans as Homo Oeconomicus, Homo Politicus, or Homo Sociologus, Professor Dhaouadi underscores a vital yet overlooked facet: Homo Culturus or the Third Dimensional Being. The philosopher and social scientist Herbert Marcuse once analysed ‘one-dimensional man’. This work not only challenges social scientists for overlooking the Homo Culturus aspect but also critiques anthropologists, despite their focus on culture, for missing this crucial dimension.

Highlighting the THD or the Homo Culturus is imperative for lending credibility to social sciences, especially when asserting the three Homos as fundamental aspects of human behavior. Dive into an enlightening discourse that re-evaluates human essence through the prismatic lens of culture, offering a novel conceptualization that enriches the understanding of our complex nature.

I Am a Catholic in Case of an Accident

In I Am a Catholic in Case of an Accident, Catholic priest Andy Costello reflects on over 50 years in ministry, candidly exploring what it truly means to be Catholic in today’s world. With wisdom, humor and humility, Fr. Costello ponders questions of faith, doubt, and remaining devout amidst the challenges facing the modern Church.

Drawing on a lifetime of experiences as a priest serving diverse parishes across America, he offers relatable insights on Catholic identity, sharing personal stories and perspectives that will resonate with Catholics and spiritual seekers alike. Through short vignette-style chapters, Costello examines Catholic traditions, the humanity of Jesus, models of the Church, and staying connected to one’s faith.

I Am a Catholic in Case of an Accident is an inviting, introspective read that will inspire readers to contemplate their own religious journeys and what being Catholic means to them. Fr. Costello’s conversational musings provide a compassionate guide for anyone navigating the joys and struggles of a life of faith.

I Have a Beautiful Brain, Compared to the Brains of Alcoholics and Drug Addicts

In this insightful and deeply personal exploration, Stewart Odendhal DVM PhD offers a unique perspective on the devastating effects of alcohol and drug addiction. Drawing from his professional background and personal encounters with addiction, Odendhal embarks on a mission to educate and deter young individuals from the lures of alcohol. This book is not only a narrative but a crusade against the widespread ignorance about the debilitating effects of alcohol on the brain.

Beginning with a startling revelation from a CT scan, Odendhal’s curiosity is piqued by the physical differences in the brains of alcoholics and drug addicts compared to those who abstain. This discovery propels him into an exhaustive research journey, delving into the science behind addiction, the societal implications, and personal anecdotes that paint a vivid picture of the struggles with alcoholism.

With chapters detailing his own experiences with alcoholic family members, the scientific intricacies of alcohol’s impact on the brain, and a poignant account of his battle with smoking addiction, Odendhal’s narrative is both educational and deeply human. He reflects on his interactions with Alcoholics Anonymous members, exploring the gap between scientific knowledge and the personal experiences of those battling addiction.

I Have a Beautiful Brain, Compared to the Brains of Alcoholics and Drug Addicts is a clarion call for a more informed approach to alcohol education, emphasizing the need for early intervention and awareness. Odendhal’s dedication to this cause shines through each page, making this book an essential read for anyone touched by the effects of alcoholism or seeking to understand the complex interplay between addiction and the human brain.

I Want Freedom

I am now certain that my purpose is to be a voice for those who are suffering at this very moment from forced arranged marriages or stuck in cycles of abuse. My past made me who I am today, and while I wouldn’t wish what I’ve been through on anyone, I am proud of who I’ve become as a result. Fathers and mothers, sisters and brothers, daughters and sons, I need you: without your help, this is just an empty dream. Together, we can save some of these innocent young girls and women, who in some cases are as young as five years old. Without your help, I can’t bring them to safety and provide them with the education and life lessons that will allow them to reach a brighter future. This is an issue that affects millions of women all over the world, including here in the US; we are all human, and together we can make a change.

I Was a 12-Year-Old Rock Star...

Is extrasensory perception – E.S.P – real? Can certain individuals tap into a running stream of cranial activity from the very future itself?

Can such a person engage in such tremendously overwhelming action and not be known to the world as yet? Read on to discover hidden truths, not only about the rock music of 70s and 80s, but most assuredly about your own inner being and mankind itself.

Illinois 1000

Illinois 1000 is a quick dive into the lives of the English and the Indians of the Upper Midwest a thousand years ago.

Building on The Year 1000 by British historians Robert Lacey and Danny Danzinger, the author moves from one side of the Atlantic to the other. The contrasts are as much from the past to the present as between the two very different cultures. ‘Primitive’ is often used to describe the Indians’ way of life, and not without at least some reason. So much of what characterized and made English life possible was entirely absent in North America.

Yet, centuries later, hundreds, even thousands of Europeans joined the Indians, preferring their way of living to that which they had known in Europe or colonial America. The Indians, the first people, survived and prospered in what was at that time not amber fields of grain but a very ungenerous landscape. If they were brutal, they were hardly unique. In their affinity to the earth they lived on, there were few like them.

In My Head

I was 40 years old when I was diagnosed with Inattentive ADHD and ODD. Reflecting on my childhood, life all of a sudden made sense. These weren’t character flaws, but the way that my brain was designed to work.

As a parent to a neurodiverse kiddo, I knew that there were resources out there geared towards kids but when I looked for tools to use to organize my own brain, I came up short. I had survived 40 years without these resources, but now I needed to support and work with my brain rather than push it into spaces that it just isn’t designed to go in.

Instead of feeling disappointed and let down, I sought out to create a journal of activities that can help an ADHDer organize their brain, deal with intrusive thought spirals, find hope and create a space for emotional regulation. Truly, this isn’t just a journal of blank pages to dump out your thoughts (or feel overwhelmed by the vast blank pages), but a thoughtfully curated collection of activities to truly help you unravel and understand yourself.

In My Head – the ADHD Journal for Adults is a space to simultaneously get lost and find yourself in.

In Search of My America

In Search of My America is one of the few Korean American women's autobiographies published in the United States. Being a woman of color trying to rise in an academia dominated by the white male, I had to play an all-American negating her ethnic background. Being a non-native speaker teaching English to native speakers, I had to play a consummate professional in denial of her accent. Being an Asian woman whose sexuality has been historically objectified and has been equated to that of a Madame Butterfly, I had to play a fiercely independent woman without an ounce of a submissive attitude. In In Search of My America, I describe the intimate details of the mask I had to wear to cope with cultural and racial stereotypes. 

In Search of My America is about a spectrum of issues, including my naïve American dream and rude awakening, my process of Americanization, my loneliness as an expatriate, my endeavors to reconcile the conflicting demands of human sexuality and intellect, and my attempt to build bridges between different worlds. I weave a giant piece of embroidery with all these components and set them against a series of tales created from Korean myths, bilingual metaphors, folklore, and legends.