A Place by the Bay by Barbara Duell
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“Great book about how being compassionate can change you and so many other lives. … Very eye-opening.” —Brandi Baker, 5 star Amazon review
“I have read all of Barbara’s books and this by far is my favorite. … Has the perfect amount of ‘steaminess’ between the love interests.” —Kate, 5 star Amazon review
“This book will keep you reading … I cried though it all. … Barbara Duall is a fantastic writer.” —Joan Harris, 5 star Amazon review
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M.W. Pilgrim, renowned photojournalist, has spent the last 15 years “shooting war” in the killing fields worldwide, traveling light ― with a camera, .45 semi-automatic and a bottle of Jack in her backpack. She’s suffered physical wounds and mental anguish, dodging bullets and bureaucrats as she documented the decimation of human life. But she’s always survived ― until one day in the summer of 1995, when Madi finds herself stretched to the limits of endurance while filming the genocide in Bosnia, and her luck runs out.
Severely wounded, she’s evacuated to Landstuhl Medical Hospital in Germany, and her life hangs in limbo until trauma surgeon Neal Baker takes over her care. But common sense and caution have never been her way of life. Barely able to walk, Madi defies her doctors, a decision she soon regrets, and her actions will torment her, even after she returns home only to be caught up in a different kind of war that has invaded the streets of San Francisco ― thrown-aways kids fighting for survival, lost souls the world has forgotten.
Trauma surgeon Colonel Neal Baker has dedicated his life to medicine. He’s fought anger and fatigue, operating in field hospitals never far from the raging battles lines where the wounded mount, and too many die or go mad. Reassigned to Landstuhl, he faces another kind of anguish. Gone are the battlefields, but not the wounded who arrived daily, testing his skills and resolve, demanding he put aside his personal life until one night a woman arrives, airlifted from the carnage of Srebrenica ― unconscious, broken and bleeding ― and his skills are again put to the test.
Doctor-patient relations take on a new meaning as he disregards protocol and becomes infatuated yet frustrated by the tall blonde with penetrating blue-gray eyes. But it’s Madi’s sassy mouth that drives him wild and fuels his desire. Medical orders mean nothing to her; promises are broken, and her determination to do the impossible puts lives in jeopardy.
Blindsided by a passion that builds each day, Neal joins Madi on a journey that speeds past chaos only to end in a final separation. Haunted by desire and doubt, he will travel halfway around the world to San Francisco to find her. Caught up in her battle to save the lives of the lost and broken, he finds more, an awakening of hope ― a gathering of love and pain ― and then trust that leads to a new beginning.
For more information, read our review here.
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The Way of the Wind by Dino Carella
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Ostro is not only the name of the wind that blows into Italy from the Mediterranean Sea but also of a manager who finds himself at 50 trapped in a cause that he no longer feels dedicated to. On the verge of a nervous breakdown, he devises a plan to get out of that vicious circle; however, the company puts a stop to that by sacking him beforehand.
Without losing heart, he embarks on the journey of a lifetime — crossing the Indian Reservations of America, his mother’s homeland, hoping to find the connection with the spirit of his ancestors who had spoken to him as a boy. With the help of a Native American spiritual guide and a clairvoyant, he experiences the human dimension that transcends the visible and binds him to infinity.
Author Dino Carella knows about what he writes. During his 28-year career as a corporate manager and board member, Carella experienced recognition and success, but also the effects of burnout. “I know how it feels to be stuck in the wheel of productivity with social, financial and family commitments,” he says, “yet also how liberating it is to surrender to life as is.”
His own spiritual journey has opened his eyes to what truly matters: “Pursuing one’s own spiritual path is not a ‘nice to have’ but a necessary condition to shift the sense of our presence from being mere executors with ‘roles’ and ‘duties’ to more aware, fulfilled, productive and impactful individuals.” Carella now works as a coach and writer in Rome.
The Way of the Wind will inspire you with its journey to new beginnings in new lands.
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