ON THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED
By Ed Hajim
A powerful story touched with family trauma, deprivation and adversity balanced by a life of hard work and philanthropy.
At the age of three, Ed Hajim is kidnapped by his father, driven cross-country, and told his mother is dead. His father soon abandons him in order to seek employment, leaving Hajim behind. This establishes a pattern of neglect and desertion that continues for Hajim’s entire childhood. The lonely boy learns the value of self-reliance and perseverance despite his financial deprivation and the trauma of being an orphan.
In a memoir filled with human drama, wisdom and timeless life lessons, On the Road Less Traveled: An Unlikely Journey from the Orphanage to the Boardroom tells the improbable story of how Hajim bounced from foster homes to orphanages, in a daily struggle to survive, to living the American dream as an accomplished Wall Street executive and model family man.
THE AUTHOR
Ed Hajim, the son of a Syrian immigrant, is a seasoned Wall Street executive with more than 50 years of investment experience. He has held senior management positions with the Capital Group, E.F. Hutton, and Lehman Brothers before becoming chairman and CEO of Furman Selz. Hajim has been the co-chairman of ING Barings, Americas Region; chairman and CEO of ING Aeltus Group and ING Furman Selz Asset Management; and chairman and CEO of MLH Capital. He is now chairman of High Vista, a Boston-based money management company. In 2015, he received the Horatio Alger Award, given to Americans who exemplify the values of initiative, leadership, and commitment to excellence and who have succeeded despite personal adversities.
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To learn more about Ed, visit his website.
HER MOTHER’S GRAVE
By Lisa Regan
A gripping rollercoaster ride, perfect for fans of Angela Marsons, Robert Dugoni and Rachel Caine.
When two young boys discover human bones buried beneath a tree in a trailer park, Detective Josie Quinn races to join her team at the scene. She used to play in those woods as a child, happier outside and away from her abusive mother, Belinda Rose. Josie’s past crashes into her present when a rare dental condition confirms the bones belong to a teenage foster child who was murdered thirty years ago. A girl named Belinda Rose … Josie hasn’t seen her mother in years but, with an undeniable connection between her mother and the dead girl, does she dare try to track her down?
Just as Josie gets closer to uncovering a secret that will shatter her world forever, another body is uncovered. It’s suddenly clear that someone very close to Josie will stop at nothing to keep the truth buried forever. As she battles the demons from her past, can Josie stop this killer before another precious life is taken?
THE AUTHOR
Lisa Regan is the USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Detective Josie Quinn series as well as several other crime fiction titles. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, Crime Writers Association and Mystery Writers of America. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband, daughter and Boston Terrier named Mr. Phillip.
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To learn more about Lisa, visit her website.
AMORA
By Grant Hallstrom
Ben Hur meets Gladiator in this historical novel based on the true story of the noblewoman who inspired Justin Martyr’s petition to the Roman senate.
A sweeping action-adventure and a moving examination of spirituality and faith, Amora follows the story of Leo, a stern Patrician, who finds his life turned upside down after he betrays his Christian wife and her slave to die in the arena. Meanwhile, the slave’s fiancé seeks revenge, and Leo’s crippled son struggles with the loss of his mother as he pursues a budding romance.
In this tale of forgiveness versus vengeance, Hallstrom explores the path to healing as the characters struggle with the pains of loss, betrayal and guilt.
THE AUTHOR
Grant Hallstrom founded HistoryofChristianTheology.com and is the primary contributor of its content. He is the author of the book, Emotional Black Holes, and several articles regarding the application of theology in one’s personal life. Hallstrom is also the founder and managing partner of the full-service business law firm, Hallstrom Klein & Ward LLP, located in Irvine, CA. He is married to his sweetheart, Jean, and they have six children and eleven grandchildren.
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FOR DEEP THINKERS ONLY: HOW CULTURE MANIPULATES YOUR REALITY
By John Ivers
Have you ever felt like you don’t fit in? Well, according to Dr. John J. Ivers, it’s likely not you. It’s the culture you live in that’s affecting your sense of self-esteem, worth and identity.
Ivers, a professor of Languages & International Studies, and former college dean, intends not only to inform readers about profound cross-cultural differences, but attempts to do it in an interesting and entertaining manner. His work demonstrates how all people, in a sense, are victims of their cultural paradigms and how a deeper understanding of these manipulative models can lead to a more fulfilling existence and a more rational and healthy self-concept.
The cross-cultural material in the book is interspersed with stories from the ancient Greeks and Romans such as the Oracle at Delphi, the Vestal Virgins, and a number of accounts from the venerable Plutarch. He discusses archaeological and cultural mysteries from the jungles of Mesoamerica to the diverse subcontinent of India. The material in the book allows one to delve into the deeper psychological realm of our distinct cultural realities in an engaging and provocative way.
THE AUTHORS
Dr. John J. Ivers has worked as a university professor for over 30 years and is a former college dean. He presents often at academic conferences and has 10 scholarly journal publications addressing cross-cultural differences and/or good teaching. In 2016, he contributed a chapter to the book Invitational Education and Practice in Higher Education: An International Perspective. John is the recipient of several college teaching awards and has been included in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers, Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in the World.
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LA SYLPHIDE VOLUME I
By Madelaine Chaproll
La Sylphide is a family saga in the best sense of the word. The story begins after the Second World War in Transylvania — now a region in Romania where Germans settled several centuries ago — and continues on to present-day Germany. The peculiar title of the novel symbolizes the fate of a dancer who was allowed to dance the lead role in the ballet, La Sylphide, only once.
The first volume deals with the history of a Transylvanian-Saxon family whose male members were deported to Russia after the war and who — after the men return — emigrate to a Germany destroyed by bombs. The book provides in-depth insight into bourgeois life in a Transylvanian town: its German inhabitants treasure their heritage but find themselves uprooted by the turmoil of war. They reflect on the country from where their ancestors arrived in this wonderful paradise centuries ago. The main character of the book is in a sense the sylph who sacrifices herself for love. Thus, she becomes the symbol of the purest passion that can exist: the devotion of one’s life for others.
THE AUTHOR
Madeleine Chaproll was born a migrant child in Romania. She was five when she first entered an orphanage. Her life was one of permanent moving: new towns, new boarding homes, new schools. But despite of all this, her childhood was an absolutely ordinary one. The tremendous power of her fantasy could transform even the saddest moments in her life into joy and hope. She would call herself a blessed child. Books and the study of ballet and music brought color and beauty into her life, allowing her to often ignore the grey reality. She studied at a commercial college and later married an ethnic German engineer, with whom she emigrated a few years later to Germany.
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UNFETTERED JOURNEY
by Gary F. Bengier
A world that’s “as richly imagined as the Bladerunner movie,” raves Midwest Book Review.
Unfettered Journey is the story of Joe Denkensmith, an AI scientist who seeks to create true robot consciousness. He leaves everything behind to find answers. But a mysterious woman on a personal mission interrupts his search. Fighting unjust forces, Joe and the woman are swept into an evil plot neither can elude. Their struggles against machines, men and nature test the resilience of the human spirit.
Set in a richly imagined near future, this is a cross-genre novel combining thrilling action, adventure and a love story. It traces an epic journey — from inside the human mind to the vastness of space, from AIs battling in the desert to the peace of a mountain refuge. It asks social, spiritual and philosophical questions that will linger. How does the will to survive bring clarity to the human experience? What would you sacrifice to achieve social justice?
THE AUTHOR
After a career in Silicon Valley, Gary pursued passion projects, studying astrophysics and philosophy. He’s spent the last two decades thinking about how to live a balanced, meaningful life in a rapidly evolving technological world. This self-reflective journey infuses his novel with insights about our future and the challenges we will face in finding purpose.
Before turning to writing speculative fiction, Gary worked in a variety of Silicon Valley tech companies. He was eBay’s Chief Financial Officer and led the company’s initial and secondary public offerings. Gary has an MBA from Harvard Business School, and an MA in philosophy from San Francisco State University. He has two children with Cynthia, his wife of forty-three years. When not traveling the world, he raises bees and makes a nice Cabernet at the family’s Napa vineyard. He and his family live in San Francisco.
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