Mind, Body, and Soul

Sons Without Fathers

What Every Parent Needs to Know

By Mardi Allen, Ph.D. and James L. Dickerson

Non-Fiction | Parenting

If you are a mother raising a son without a father, or a father who is no longer in the home with his son, this parenting book was written for you.

Did you know there are 5 major diseases and ailments that your son is more likely to acquire without his father (or a suitable male role model) in his life?

Did you know there are 4 characteristics that adult sons without fathers possess that put them at a disadvantage in developing romantic relationships?

Did you know that 70-80 percent of the juveniles in state reform institutions nationwide grew up in father-absent homes?

Screening Adoptive and Foster Parents

A Guide for Students and Professionals

By James L. Dickerson and Mardi Allen, Ph.D.

Non-Fiction | Social Work and Psychology

Screening applicants for adoption or foster homes has life-altering consequences for the children involved, yet there are incredibly few programs available to train screeners. The educational system that certifies thousands of social workers each year does not understand the specialized training required to screen adoptive and foster parents; social work schools provide minimal interview training and what training they do provide focuses on therapeutic interview techniques rather than screening skills. There is a clear need for a book like Adoptive and Foster Parent Screening, one that can be incorporated into course requirements and used by working social workers and psychologists involved with adoption and foster parent screening.

Screening Adoptive and Foster Parents, written by a former private and public agency social worker, who has placed hundreds of children into adoptive and foster homes, and a psychologist, meshes the best of psychology and social work experience into a definitive guide for screening adoption and foster home applicants. The book provides information on:

  • evaluating aberrant behavior and unhealthy parenting attitudes among applicants
  • adoptive and foster parent issues
  • interview techniques
  • writing home studies
  • screening for male child predators
  • child development, the stages
  • understanding the Foster Parent Syndrome
  • psychological testing

Adoptive and Foster Parent Screening is based on case histories, research data, and interpretive analysis. The book is written in an accessible style free of technical language, thus making it appropriate for college-level students and professionals who don’t have time to sift through empirical data to obtain accessible information that they can adapt to their profession.

Mardi Allen, Ph.D. is the former Clinical Services Liaison with Mississippi Department of Mental Health and past president of the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (2002-2003). She is co-author of several books, including How to Screen Adoptive and Foster Parents: A Workbook for Professionals and Students, published by the National Association of Social Workers, and Basics of Adoption.

James L. Dickerson is a former public and private agency social worker in charge of screening adoptive and foster parent applicants, and a case manager for the Mississippi Department of Mental Health in the area of intellectual disabilities. He developed a landmark mentoring program for adults with intellectual disabilities and wrote a grant that obtained federal funding for the program. He is the co-author of How to Screen Adoptive and Foster Parents: A Workbook for Professionals and Students and Basics of Adoption.

The First Year: Cirrhosis

For all those newly diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver–a unique and comprehensive guide to understanding and managing your condition.

By James L. Dickerson

Non-Fiction | Wellness

Millions of Americans live with cirrhosis of the liver, a degenerative, complex, and often misunderstood condition in which liver cells are damaged and then replaced by scar tissue, impeding liver function. The disease is most commonly caused by excessive alcohol consumption, hepatitis, or complications from prescription drugs.

Immediately after his diagnosis, James L. Dickerson set out to educate himself on all of his options–and found there is hope for recovery. Now, he offers The First Year: Cirrhosis, the first guide for patients and their families to understanding and managing this chronic condition. In clear, accessible language, the book walks readers step-by-step through everything they need to do each day of the first week after a cirrhosis diagnosis, each subsequent week of the first month, and the following eleven months of the crucial first year.

From understanding causes to coping with complications, The First Year: Cirrhosis provides medically-sound, empathetic guidance. The book includes advice on treating symptoms, extending longevity, managing stress, and getting the best care possible for anyone affected by this condition.

Mind Over Fork

Escape Dieting to Find the Healthy Lifestyle You Deserve

By Rebecca Turner

Non-Fiction | Wellness

Rebecca Turner provides practical advice that goes beyond the plate to something deeper and more lasting. Unlike other diet programs, this book uses the mind as an access point to specifically identify what is holding the individual back and releasing unprocessed emotions toward food. The process laid out in the book will provide a lasting investment in self-development.

Rebecca Turner is a registered dietitian and nutritionist.

Available formats: Paperback and eBook

Enjoy Good Health

By Rebecca Turner

Non-Fiction | Christian Self-Help

This is a companion guide to the author’s popular wellness book, “Mind Over Fork.” This book uses Bible verses to highlight her positions on dieting, food selection, and overall wellness. While the world provides us with an ideal standard of health and happiness, Christians have a secret wellness weapon that doesn’t come from pills, powders, food pyramids, or supplements. The difference between believers and nonbelievers is Christians have a guidebook to living a life of purpose, filled to the brim with practical advice for everyday life. It’s called the Bible. The problem is that rarely do believers turn to the pages of God’s Word for nutrition and fitness advice. The author is trying to change that. Christians should strive to live a life that brings glory to God (1 Corinthians 10:31), and that includes what they choose to eat, why they want to eat it, and how they care for their bodies.

Available formats: Paperback and eBook

Miss Juanita’s Delta Cuisine

By Juanita Emily Caldwell

Non-Fiction | Cookbook

Miss Juanita Caldwell, who passed away just weeks from her 99th birthday, lived in Mississippi her entire life, mostly in the Mississippi Delta. This collection of over 100 recipes covers a span of more than 80 years, offering a delicious taste of Delta cuisine from the 1930s to the present.

“Below the title, ‘Miss Juanita’s Delta Cuisine,’ the book’s cover is adorned with a picture of Miss Juanita Emily Caldwell in her younger days. Much like the cover, Miss Juanita’s life, loves, and family are the focal point of this work, and she comes across as a lady who knows that good food is one of the greatest displays of affection there is . . . Miss Juanita is representative of many women of her era, and a kind of soul that will never die. Miss Juanita’s favorite caramel pie is now my favorite as well, and, in that regard, a little piece of the Delta will live on.” – Kristen M. Hillman, New Orleans Review of Books

“Through ‘Miss Juanita’s Delta Cuisine,’ the author shares precious memories and photographs and more than 100 of her most-loved recipes—all of which were a lifetime in the making.” – Today in Mississippi

Available formats: Hardcover

Rethinking Women’s Health

A Guide to Wellness

By Alison E. Buehler

Non-Fiction | Self-Help

Rethinking Women’s Health is the first book to provide practical and integrative health solutions while addressing exactly what women can do to shift their culture from one that treats disease to one that cultivates wellness for women at every stage of life. Women are beginning to understand that they must find and share their own solutions to health epidemics in order to achieve wellness, rather than relying on an over-industrialized health care system. These stories hold the power to heal women.

The OB/GYN is the primary doctor for females throughout their lives, yet women are not getting answers to serious health concerns at doctors’ appointments. They are swarming blogs, chat rooms, and Facebook support groups looking for alternative answers to health challenges and encouragement from an empathetic community as they move through the stages of womanhood. Women are taking the responsibility for health back into their own hands. As integrative health hero, Dr. Terry Wahls, says in the Preface, “People are interested in wellness because the epidemic of poor health has not been stopped by increasing medications or medical interventions.”

Available formats: Paperback, hardcover, and eBook

Back From the Brink

Saying No to Suicide

By Chris F. Minshew, with introduction by Mardi Allen, Ph.D.

Non-Fiction | Self-Help

Author Chris Minshew was at a point in his life where he felt suicide was his only option. He made it to the point of placing the pistol against his head. Then something happened that brought him back from the brink of death. That experience—and what he was able to learn and accomplish in subsequent years—convinced him to interview others who had shared his experience.

Back From the Brink is a collection of riveting stories told by individuals who either attempted suicide and failed—and then realized it was a bad choice—or individuals who have stepped back from that fatal choice and gone on to live satisfying lives filled with hope. There is life after saying no to suicide.

Back From the Brink has garnered high praise, including:

“There is power in the personal narrative. Back From The Brink is an intimate collection of stories provided by individuals who’ve survived attempting suicide. This unique book gives a voice to a pervasive epidemic so many struggle to talk about. These are stories that need to be heard.” – J.L. Craig, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist

Available formats: Paperback and eBook

Your Angel is Waiting

A Cookbook to Die For

By James L. Dickerson

Non-Fiction | Celebrity Cookbook

A celebrity cookbook that poses the question: if you knew that you were going to die on a certain day, what would you want for your last meal? The author approached celebrities from all walks of life—politics, music, television, film, business, sports, and arts and letters. He asked for either a menu or an actual recipe. Who sent recipes: Bill Clinton, John McCain, Gregg Allman, Betty White, to name a few. Previously published by Kensington Books under the title Last Suppers. This edition was updated and expanded.

Available formats: Paperback

Because I Said So

By Annie Oeth

Non-Fiction | Parenting with Humor

“Our own precious Annie Oeth has penned Genius for us in BECAUSE I SAID SO. Matters not if one never parented a child–for certain, everybody WAS one, once–so the appeal and the truth are universal.” – Jill Conner Browne, Multiple #1 New York Times Bestselling author and THE Sweet Potato Queen

“But whyyyy?”
“Because I said so.”
It’s the answer that rolls off the tongues of mamas from all over. In Because I Said So: Life In The Mom Zone, veteran mama Annie Oeth tells of the worries, laughter, and sheer terror of being a mother. Trips to the emergency room, college graduations, and the dangerous combination of teenagers and fireworks are all fair game in this romp through southern motherhood. Spilling the (jelly)beans on Easter egg hunts, Santa Claus, and frogs in mailboxes, Oeth writes of life, love, and raising children while hanging on to her sense of humor. From stories of laughter to tales of tears shed, she remembers her own growing-up years in small-town Mississippi, her parents’ 44-year romance, and her own children’s travels on their way to adulthood, crafting stories that will touch hearts and funny bones.

 Available formats: Paperback and eBook

Recipes and Road Stories

Life on the Road with Sisters Hannah & Caroline Melby

Non-Fiction | Cookbook

Fearless sisters take on bluegrass and country music establishment, collecting down-home recipes along the way. They grew up in Starkville, Mississippi, played fiddle and mandolin from an early age, evolving from bluegrass to progressive country as they perfected their skills. In 2008 they won the “Best New Act in Country Music” competition at the Colgate Showdown held at the renowned Ryman Auditorium. The award was presented by country music star LeAnn Rimes.

Available formats: Paperback and eBook

Living on Love

Cooking When You’re Short on Time and Cash

By Annie Oeth

Non-Fiction | Cookbook

This is a cookbook for individuals who neither have an unlimited budget for food nor have the time to prepare and cook elaborate meals for themselves or their family. Sometimes cooking with love is all about snatch and run. Other times it requires a certain amount of discreet psychology.

“Cooking like anyone else but you is impossible. If you used recipes by Martha Stewart, you’d be putting your spin, your flavor, on Martha’s “suggestions,” writes Oeth. “With this in mind, here are my recipes. Put your own spin on them.”

Not only does the author provide a tasty assortment of recipes, she offers the cost and prep/cook time for each meal. Most of the meals cost less than $10 and take less than 30 minutes to prepare or cook.

“Annie Oeth’s Living On Love is the kind of down-home sass that every kitchen needs. Oeth chats with the reader in a way that feels like a front porch setting and uses cooking as a love language, reaching straight to the heart of the reader. The best part about this book is the lengthy list of recipes that make your stomach growl, but don’t take a bite out of your pocketbook.” —Hannah and Caroline Melby of the band, Hanalena, authors of “Recipes and Road Stories”

Available formats: Paperback and eBook

For Love or Money

By Annie Oeth

Non-Fiction | Relationship | Finance

As it turns out, bungee jumping is much safer than entering into new relationships or investing your money. Love, money, and taking risks all have one thing in common. Each is a series of leaps, large and small. For Love or Money sorts our life’s triumphs and pitfalls, whether they be in relationships, finances, or all of the above.

About Oeth’s first book, bestselling author Jill Conner Browne wrote: “Our own precious Annie Oeth has penned Genius for us in Because I Said So. Matters not if one never parented a child—for certain, everybody was one, once—so the appeal and the truth are universal.”
Whether you’re just starting out in life or have been there and have the T-shirt to prove it, For Love or Money will take you from the shaky ground on which you sometimes stand to the launching pad of your next leap of faith.

Available formats: Paperback and eBook

One More Mountain

By Janet Buckwalter

Non-Fiction | Spiritual | Outdoor | Adventure

Experience five wildly different journeys across America. Dip your toes into the Pacific Ocean after pedaling 4,100 miles with a silver-haired, spitfire grandma on a trike. Feel your lungs explode as you struggle the last few miles up and over the Rocky Mountains with Dick & Rick on their bike/wheelchair. Beg your quivering biceps to stay in the race with Team Can Be Venture racing their hand cycles. Hear the wheels of your skateboard hug the hairpin turns down the Appalachians as Jack shares the memory of his son across the US. Find refreshment in the warm, bottled water taste of youthful idealism as Matt and Brandon run mile after mile, sharing their dream to bring clean water to the children of Africa. These are the stories of individuals who crossed America, sometimes under harsh conditions, to spotlight individuals with disabilities, share memories of loved ones, or help those in need. This book is a celebration of strength. Of ordinary folks doing extraordinary things with their lives. Of shouting in the face of obstacles, “Yes, I can!” Of living life based on what it can be instead of what is. Share their powerful stories as they leave footprints of compassion and selflessness in their wake, road warriors in search of adventure.

Available formats: Paperback and eBook

Playing to Win

By Allen Guy

Non-Fiction | Self-Help

Can knowing more about sports help you become a super salesperson? This author thinks so. Playing To Win is a convergence of sports analogies and practical business skills to educate and entertain readers as they further develop their sales abilities. Written to appeal to youthful professionals seeking to grow in their careers, the book provides applicable advice that can easily be remembered as a result of the book’s sports theme.
The market is filled with books promising to propel one’s sales career to the top. Yet these books make it impractical for readers to retain, let alone apply, the myriad principles laid out in such writings. Playing to Win combines simple, yet effective sales principles with sports analogies to help the reader absorb and implement what he or she reads.

Available formats: Paperback