Mailbox Monday -- August 30th

The reason why I love Mondays -- Mailbox Monday hosted this month by Chick Loves Lit. Below are the following advance review copies that I received this week:

1) What a Difference a Dog Makes by Dana Jennings. Publisher's Summary. Our dogs come into our lives as “just the family pet,” but before we know it they become drinking buddies and fuzzy shrinks, playmates and Cheerios-munching vacuum cleaners, alarm clocks and sleeping partners. And, in their mys­terious and muttish ways, our dogs become our teachers.

When Dana Jennings and his son were both seriously ill—Dana with prostate cancer and his son with liver failure—their twelve-year-old miniature poodle Bijou became even more than a pet and teacher. She became a healing presence in their lives. After all, when you’re recovering from radical surgery and your life is uncertain, there’s no better medicine than a twenty-three-pound pooch who lives by the motto that it’s always best to play, even when you’re old and creaky, even when you’re sick and frightened.

In telling Bijou’s tale in all of its funny, touching, and neurotic glory, Jennings is telling the story of every dog that has ever blessed our lives. The perfect gift for animal lovers, What a Difference a Dog Makes is a narrative ode to our canine guardian angels.

Thanks to Random House!

2) The Tree by John Fowles. Publisher's Summary. Finally back in print, here is the 30th anniversary edition of The Tree—the renowned English novelist John Fowles’s (The Magus, The French Lieutenant’s Woman) moving meditation on the connection between the natural world and human creativity. An inspiring modern ecological classic, The Tree is both a powerful argument against taming the wild and a major author’s inspiring and beautifully written defense of “the joys of getting lost,” and of spontaneity in life and art.

Thanks to Harper Collins!

3) Becoming a Woman of Destiny by Suzan Johnson Cook. Publisher's Summary. Life is full of turning points—moments in time when our actions determine whether we grow wiser, make meaningful connections or peddle in place. Many women stumble during these stressful transitions rather than move forward into their destiny. but Suzan Johnson Cook, a.k.a “Dr. Sujay,” knows firsthand how to seize these opportunities.

Faith advisor to both President Barak Obama and former President Bill Clinton, Dr. Sujay is the first black woman to be senior pastor of the 200-year-old American Baptist Churches (a male-dominated realm), to be president of the 10,000-member Hampton University Ministers’ Conference (another male-dominated arena), to be appointed chaplain of the NYC Police Department and, now, to be appointed by President Obama as Ambassador-At-Large for the State Department’s Office of International Religious Freedom.

With each transition, Dr. Sujay has triumphed with the help of a tight circle of supportive friends as well as the guidance of her Biblical mentor, Deborah. In her new book, Becoming a Woman of Desting: Turning Life’s Trials into Triumphs, she shares the wisdom of Deborah—who, as prophet, judge, warrior and wife, is the ancient equivalent of the modern-day multi-tasking woman. She also shows women how they can harness the support of their peers through “Destiny Circles” and start building a life of success and spiritual fulfillment.

Thanks to the Penguin Group!