***ALL the profits from Shift will go to World Bicycle Relief.*** This is a must-read book for anyone looking to change their perspective and live a more purposeful life. Michael O'Brien (OB to his friends) shows that the secret to becoming our best starts with our mindset. Drawing on his personal story from his ''last bad day'', Michael shares the emotional and physical recovery that starts with his near-death accident on the morning of July 11th , 2001. A keen cyclist out on a training ride in New Mexico, Michael was hit head-on by an SUV that crossed into his lane traveling 40 miles per hour. He takes readers into the early darkness of his recovery and the perspective shift that gave him the awareness that he could be defined by how he responded to his tragedy - not by the tragedy itself. Michael uses his newfound perspective to fuel his recovery and help him create a better a better tomorrow. In Shift, Michael introduces ''ways of being'' that can help anyone build a stronger peloton (the team that transcends the individual) and get closer to the best version of themselves. Michael's story is life changing, inspirational, and insightful. Shift is a book about the power of mindset, perspective, and grit to enable each of us to ride the ups and downs of our life's journey.
In Love is Stronger than Pain, author Michael J. OBrien, Irenes son, offers a true account of a wife and mother whose faith and perseverance were heroic. She raised eight children, two of whom were invalids born with a rare skin disease needing her constant care. She coped with the tragic accidental death of her twenty year old son, the death of her beloved husband, a fire in the family home, and the death of her parents, all within a few years. Love is Stronger than Pain follows Irenes incredible journey as she learned to see the loving hand of God at work in every circumstance of her life. Her faith and endurance were tested beyond limits, yet she persisted in her trust in God. Its not very often that a book can reach into your heart and move you. Michaels intimate telling of his mother, Irenes life journey did just that. Through this story, I was reminded that the capacity to love grows through heartache and suffering; that true joy is experienced when we trust God one day at a time. Michaels story is a beautiful tribute to his mother, but greater than that, its a story of unconditional love. Jim Kelly, NFL Hall of Fame Quarterback
This work is a profound and illuminating conversation between two Catholic artists who are also gifted writers. The setting is a house in the woods near Combermere, Canada. The two men are alone, free to explore the wellsprings of Christian art and the suffering that its creation entails. This moving discussion between the two artists and writers is not theoretical. It lays bare the anguish and the joy of a life lived in the service of an artist''s vocation. Includes an eight-page art insert.
Dr. Owen Whitfield is the elderly Oxford professor of history who first appeared in Michael O''Brien''s novel The Father''s Tale. In the events of The Sabbatical, which occur sometime later, Dr. Whitfield is looking forward to a sabbatical year of peace and quiet, gardening in his backyard, and tinkering with what he calls his latest "unpublishable book". As the year begins, he is drawn by a series of seeming coincidences into involvement with a group of characters from across Europe, including a family that has been the target of assassination attempts by unknown powers. During his journey to Romania, the situation in which he finds himself becomes more sinister than it first seemed. The story deals with the tension between fatalism and the providential understanding of history, with the courage and love that are necessary for navigating through a confusion of signs, and with the triumph of faith and reason over the forces of destruction.
Early in 1815, Louisa Catherine Adams and her young son left St. Petersburg in a heavy Russian carriage and set out on a difficult journey to meet her husband, John Quincy Adams, in Paris. She traveled through the snows of eastern Europe, down the Baltic coast to Prussia, across the battlefields of Germany, and into a France then experiencing the tumultuous events of Napoleon's return from Elba. Along the way, she learned what the long years of Napoleon's wars had done to Europe, what her old friends in the royal court in Berlin had experienced during the French occupation, how it felt to have her life threatened by reckless soldiers, and how to manage fear. The journey was a metaphor for a life spent crossing borders: born in London in 1775, she had grown up partly in France, and in 1797 had married into the most famous of American political dynasties and become the daughter-in-law of John and Abigail Adams. The prizewinning historian Michael O'Brien reconstructs for the first time Louisa Adams's extraordinary passage. An evocative history of the experience of travel in the days of carriages and kings, Mrs. Adams in Winter offers a moving portrait of a lady, her difficult marriage, and her conflicted sense of what it meant to be a woman caught between worlds.
John F. Kennedy creates an absorbing, insightful and distinguished biography of one of America's most legendary Presidents. While current fashion in Kennedy scholarship is to deride the man's achievements, this book describes Kennedy's strengths, explains his shortcomings, and offers many new revelations. There are many specialized books on Kennedy's career, but no first-class modern biography--one that takes advantage of the huge volume of recent books and articles and new material released by the JFK library. Ten years in the making, this is a balanced and judicious profile that goes beyond the clash of interpretations and offers a fresh, nuanced perspective.
The harrowing autobiography of Michael O'Brien (one of the Cardiff Newsagent Three) who was imprisoned for 11 years for a murder he didn't commit. Michael received the largest payout ever by the police to anyone who has been wrongly convicted.
Finger Painting" is a series of images made with my fingers on the ipad using the "paper" app. The images are usually made early in the morning, or late in the evening, and are the vision of the events of my days. The wildfires in Texas had dominated my thoughts for a time, and the images are the result of both firsthand observations, memories of fires in the prairie where I grew up, and of news images.The land here is Texas is big...and bright... The one who holds my heart and I drove a thousand miles one weekend, and barely left Texas. The images of fields and green and buttes all come from that trip. We drive South every few weeks, down little country roads where the sun always seems to be setting. There is a stand of Live Oaks on the left, and the sun is always resting on the horizon to the right. That image stays with me still.I hope you'll try painting, just let your fingers do the work, like in kindergarten, sometimes magic appears...
In this fifth novel in his series, Children of the Last Days, Michael O'Brien explores the true meaning of poverty of spirit. Loosely based on the real lives of a number of native North Americans, A Cry of Stone is the fictional account of the life of a native artist, Rose WGbos. Abandoned as an infant, Rose is raised by her grandmother, Oldmary WGbos, in the remotest regions of the northern Ontario wilderness. The story covers a period from 1940 to 1973, chronicling Rose's growth to womanhood, her discovery of art, her moving out into the world of cities and sophisticated cultural circles. Above all it is the story of a soul who is granted little of human strengths and resources, yet who strives to love in all circumstances. As she searches for the ultimate meaning of her life, she changes the lives of many people whom she meets along the way. O'Brien takes the reader deep into the heart of a "small" person. There he uncovers the beauty and struggles of a soul who wants only to create, to help others to see what she sees. The story also explores the complex lies and false images, the ambitions and posturing that dominate much of contemporary culture, and shows how these have contributed to a loss of our understanding of the sacredness of each human life. Once again, Michael O'Brien beautifully demonstrates that no matter how insignificant a person may be in the world's eyes, marvels and mysteries are to be found in everyone. His central character, Rose, is among the despised and rejected of the earth, yet her life bears witness to the greatness in man, and to his eternal destiny.
This is the story of a man who researched his family tree only to find it had been growing in a forest full of unusual life.His family began arriving in Sydney, Australia in 1839, whether by choice or by the order of an overworked judge. Either way, they left their old ways (and sometimes, spouses) behind and began a new life (sometimes with new spouses).While the O'Brien and Kingdom families had their share of interesting people, so did life around them. There were heroes, villains, brilliant minds, and utter morons. There was thrilling entertainment (until television arrived), political shenanigans, sporting successes and complete failures. There were some extraordinary stories in some extraordinary times.With a dry sense of humour and the odd tear in his eye, Michael O'Brien tells the tale of his family and the world they lived in. It is funny, it is sad, it is tragic, it is triumphant.It is their story ? and it is history.
In this magisterial history of intellectual life, Michael O'Brien analyzes the lives and works of antebellum Southern thinkers and reintegrates the South into the larger tradition of American and European intellectual history. O'Brien finds that the evolution of Southern intellectual life paralleled and modified developments across the Atlantic by moving from a late Enlightenment sensibility to Romanticism and, lastly, to an early form of realism. Volume 1 describes the social underpinnings of the Southern intellect by examining patterns of travel and migration; the formation of ideas on race, gender, ethnicity, locality, and class; and the structures of discourse, expressed in manuscripts and print culture. In Volume 2, O'Brien looks at the genres that became characteristic of Southern thought. Throughout, he pays careful attention to the many individuals who fashioned the Southern mind, including John C. Calhoun, Louisa McCord, James Henley Thornwell, and George Fitzhugh. Placing the South in the larger tradition of American and European intellectual history while recovering the contributions of numerous influential thinkers and writers, O'Brien's masterwork demonstrates the sophistication and complexity of Southern intellectual life before 1860.
The Shimwalkers are a simple folk. Their only purpose in life is to fit in, to make level what is sloped, to make solid what is shaky. They wander the planet seeking those places that need a little adjustment and force themselves into those gaps, forever, just so our shaky world seems a bit more solid. The Shimwalkers exist in the world with the floaters, a group of beings that drift in the wind. Floaters are more complex than the Shimwalkers, being filled with ideas and aspirations about a fuller life. Blockwalkers pose little threat to the Shimwalkers, who easily wedge between them, but the Blockwalkers seem focused on bringing down the ideas and ideals of the Floaters.This collection centers around the annual migration of the blockwalkers to the north, back to the quarries near St. Could Minnesota where the shimwalkers first split them from the earth. Along the way there are risks, hazards, losses, miracles and simple pleasures, all things we share on life's journey.
A few thoughts about leaves...Last year I learned that leaves don't fall, they're pushed!Pushed off the twig by the bud of next year's growth. There's interesting symbolism in that, being pushed out, old leaving, new arriving... This is good news if you're young, not as good news if you're not... Still, leaves that get pushed out make important, perhaps essential contributions not only to the tree that produced them, but to the biomass all around the tree too... interesting symbolism there too...I also learned that the color leaves "turn" is actually the color that they are...underneath the green. The green, evidence of work... healthy photosynthetic processes, simply masks what's beneath... If we were like leaves, perhaps our true selves are being masked by the work we do, and that while we're all on the same team, the differences between us is masked by the work we do...These images were taken, usually on per day except for some garden outings, between 2009 and 2011.
Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan was a political prisoner of the Communist regime in Vietnam for thirteen years, nine of which he spent in solitary confinement. His remarkable faith sustained him during those long years when he would celebrate mass in secret with three drops of wine in the palm of his hand and the host smuggled inside a flashlight by his faithful. His spiritual writings, penned on the back of old calendars, have spread throughout the world inspiring millions. Road of Hope: The Spiritual Journey of Cardinal Nguyen Van Thuan is an original Salt and Light documentary exploring the man and his message. This powerful film traces the history of Thuan from his privileged upbringing in a powerful political family to decades of war, betrayal and suffering - all experiences which helped form his singular conviction that "Love Conquers All." Featuring interviews with those who knew him best, never before seen family videos, and rare archival footage of Thuan sharing his most revealing insights, Road of Hope offers an unprecedented glimpse into the life of a modern day martyr and saint.
The most versatile and highly respected academic leader in the United States, Father Theodore Hesburgh was known for his rare energy and ability to carry out a staggering variety of assignments with distinction. He combined an exceptional blend and balance of qualities-intellect, character, personality, spirituality, and management skill. A man of enormous good will, he tried to embody the compassion of Christ. During his career as president of the University of Notre Dame from 1952 to 1987, enrollment doubled, the endowment grew from $9 million to $350 million, and the number of buildings on campus increased from 48 to 88. At the time of his retirement, his signature was on the degrees of four out of five living Notre Dame graduates. While transforming Notre Dame into a great university, he transformed himself into a national figure with influence far beyond his campus. He was tapped for service by every American president since Eisenhower and by three popes. His fifteen Presidential appointments involved him in almost all the major social issues, and for fifteen years he served on the U.S. Civil Rights Commission. This book examines Fr. Hesburgh's personality, leadership qualities, management strategies, and central role as a priest. It chronicles his prominent position in advancing civil rights and explores his relationship with famous people, among them John and Robert Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, and Pope Paul VI. Finally, the biography investigates unfamiliar aspects of his life: his relationship with women and his six "adopted" children, his attitude toward Notre Dame's high profile football program, and his sometimes controversial views on the Vatican, celibacy, birth control, abortion, and homosexuality. Michael O'Brien is professor of history at the University of Wisconsin-Fox Valley, Menasha, Wisconsin. He is the author of McCarthy and McCarthyism in Wisconsin (1981), Vince: A Personal Biography of Vince Lombardi (1987), and Senator Phillip Hart: The Conscience of the Senate (1996). "A fascinating examination of the Hesburgh era and his towering legacy of service to his church, his country, and his fellow citizens."--Today's Catholic "O'Brien draws on archives and interviews as well as secondary research to produce a thorough survey of the life and character of perhaps the most powerful Catholic priest in the post-World War II U.S."--Booklist "The world has urgently needed a comprehensive study of Fr. Hesburgh's phenomenal accomplishments. . . . This book] is very adequate for chronicling and studying the career of one of the Church's most significant individuals of the century. O'Brien's research, including interviews with many who worked with Hesburgh, is solid. If other analyses of the work of Fr. Hesburgh are forthcoming, they will surely rely heavily on this biography. Public and academic libraries, and those parish libraries serving Notre Dame alumni, will do well to purchase this book."--Catholic Library World "A detailed but accessible biography. . . Although O'Brien's account is strictly chronological and rarely attempts interpretation his biography of a life of single-minded devotion will interest readers already fascinated by Hesburgh as well as those who meet him here for the first time."--Publishers Weekly "O'Brien has done a good job of synthesizing the long list of books, articles, diaries and other things written by and about Father Ted. He alos has interviewed 118 people who worked with Father Ted or otherwise know him well. The result is a book that not only chronicles his notable accomplishments but also tells us what makes Father Ted tick. . . . For all who admire this amazing man, and for those who don't know him, I recommend this book."--St. Anthony Messenger "In an a
With information on planning and design, annuals, perennials, and bulbs, soil, fertilizer, sunlight, tools and equipment, this handy reference contains step-by-step advice for every gardener--even the most inexperienced ones--on growing and caring for all types of gardens. Special chapter on organic gardening. (Gardening)
A pamphlet presenting thoughts about materiality in architecture and the place of materiality in achieving architectural presence. Edmund Husserl's formulation of the phenomenological reduction is proposed as the core method for uncovering, what we know and what we think are the central characteristics of a given thing. Heidegger's proposition of "Thingness" becomes the operational goal for achieving architectural materiality i.e. "the wall-ness of wall" or the "wood-ness of wood." Written in a non-academic, approachable style suitable for beginning and advanced students and practitioners of architecture.
Canadian bookseller Alex Graham is a middle-age widower whose quiet life is turned upside down when his college-age son disappears without any explanation or trace of where he has gone. With minimal resources, the father begins a long journey that takes him for the first time away from his safe and orderly world. As he stumbles across the merest thread of a trail, he follows it in blind desperation, and is led step by step on an odyssey that takes him to fascinating places and sometimes to frightening people and perils. Through the uncertainty and the anguish, the loss and the longing, Graham is pulled into conflicts between nations, as well as the eternal conflict between good and evil. Stretched nearly to the breaking point by the inexplicable suffering he witnesses and experiences, he discovers unexpected sources of strength as he presses onward in the hope of recovering his son--and himself"--Jacket.
Originally published in 1979. The idea of the "South" has its roots in Romanticism and American culture of the nineteenth century. This study by Michael O'Brien analyzes how the idea of a unique Southern consciousness endured into the twentieth century and how it affected the lives of prominent white Southern intellectuals. Individual chapters treat Howard Odum, John Donald Wade, John Crowe Ransom, Allen Tate, Frank Owsley, and Donald Davidson. The chapters trace each man's growing need for the idea of the South—how each defined it and how far each was able to sustain the idea as an element of social analysis. The Idea of the American South moves the debate over Southern identity from speculative essays about the "central theme" of Southern history and, by implication, past the restricted perception that race relations are a sufficient key to understanding the history of Southern identity.
Michael O'Brien has masterfully abridged his award-winning two-volume intellectual history of the Old South, Conjectures of Order, depicting a culture that was simultaneously national, postcolonial, and imperial, influenced by European intellectual traditions, yet also deeply implicated in the making of the American mind. Here O'Brien succinctly and fluidly surveys the lives and works of many significant Southern intellectuals, including John C. Calhoun, Louisa McCord, James Henley Thornwell, and George Fitzhugh. Looking over the period, O'Brien identifies a movement from Enlightenment ideas of order to a Romanticism concerned with the ambivalences of personal and social identity, and finally, by the 1850s, to an early realist sensibility. He offers a new understanding of the South by describing a place neither monolithic nor out of touch, but conflicted, mobile, and ambitious to integrate modern intellectual developments into its tense and idiosyncratic social experience.
Ethan McQuarry is a young lighthouse keeper on a tiny island, the rugged outcropping of easternmost Cape Breton Island on the Atlantic Ocean. A man without any family, he sees himself as a silent"vigilant", performing his duties courageously year after year, with an admirable sense of responsibility. He cherishes his solitude and is grateful that his interactions with human beings are rare. Even so, he is haunted by his aloneness in the world and by a feeling that his life is meaningless. His courage, his integrity, his love of the sea and wildlife, of practical skills and of learning are, in the end, not enough. He is faced with internal storms and sometimes literal storms of terrifying power. From time to time he becomes aware that messengers are sent to him from what he calls "the awakeness" in existence, "the listeningness". But he cannot at first recognize them as messengers or understand what they might be telling him, until he finds himself caught up in catastrophic events and begins to see the mysterious undercurrents of reality—and the hidden face of love. Michael D. O'Brien, iconographer, painter, and writer, is the popular author of many best-selling novels including Father Elijah, Elijah in Jerusalem, The Father's Tale, Eclipse of the Sun, Sophia House, Theophilos, The Fool of New York City, and Island of the World. His novels have been translated into twelve languages and widely reviewed in both secular and religious media in North America and Europe.
Does this ring any bells? Mortgaged to the hilt, rising at 5.30 to commute across three counties to jobs in Dublin, fed-up, bleary-eyed and only in your thirties? Michael Kelly and his wife were classic Celtic Cubs. Then they simplified, down-sized, opted out. Now they live happily in a leaky cottage in Dunmore East, their ties with the capital severed and their careers as corporate drones abandoned. They grow vegetables and rear an ever-expanding coterie of animals: laying hens, a cock named Roger and pigs called Charlotte and Wilbur. And they don't hate Mondays anymore! This is an extremely humorous, thought provoking account of one couple's discovery that there is an alternative to the consumer driven lifestyle. As Michael Kelly describes the hilarious hazards of rural life as well as the advantages, he demonstrates how one brave decision can transform your life. A funny and inspiring account of the ups and downs of letting go of the Tiger. You can see Michael talking about the changes he has made to his life here (courtesy TV3): You can also read about Michael's continuing adventures with rural life on his website www.michaelkelly.ie.
Learn the secrets to success from one of the most successful independent addiction counselors. Addiction Private Practice is a comprehensive business plan for addiction counselors and therapists who want to effectively and safely help clients with substance abuse problems in a private office setting. Michael O’Brien will help you to break free of the shackles of addiction treatment programs, earn the income you deserve, achieve your true potential, and help more people with substance use disorders than you ever imagined possible. Already in Private Practice? Michael O’Brien’s informed strategies, processes, and best practices will help you take your practice to the next level or refocus your existing practice to serve those with substance abuse disorders. In this definitive guide, you will learn: - The fundamental components of a successful, ethical, and safe addiction practice. - Everything you need to know to get started with very minimal start-up capital. - The best practices of a successful addiction practice. - How to effectively and ethically market your services. Michael O’Brien has negotiated discounts and free access to tools and services that will save you thousands of dollars when launching your practice and allow you to get started with very little capital. Turn self-doubt into confidence and join the revolution that is occurring in the addiction treatment industry! What other counselors are saying about Addiction Private Practice: “Michael O’Brien has not only literally written the book on achieving success in addiction private practice, but he is also living proof that it is possible. His bulletproof addiction practice model is easy to understand and execute, even for those who are not technologically savvy. Any competent counselor can use this book to achieve their desired success. He is selflessly handing his proven strategies to his future competition and propelling the profession forward! This is a huge leap forward for all addiction professionals." Sherrie Rager, Ph.D., CADC II, M-RAS, CCDS “Addiction counselors have been waiting for this ground-breaking work! Clear, concise, and expert guidance in launching a private practice. Michael takes the guesswork out of building, marketing, and managing a successful addiction practice. There are many books on starting a private practice, but none are dedicated to the specific needs of addiction counselors. Even if you are already in private practice, this book is worth reading. The processes, marketing wisdom, and business model will boost your existing practice.” Christopher Wellington, LAADC “If you intend to start a private practice, you must read this book. You’ll discover many insights that will benefit your business and your clients. Michael’s model sets a new standard for best practices in addiction private practice. His step-by-step instructions are easy to implement and understand. Don’t start a practice without it!” Nelu Zia, LAADC, SAP “Addiction Private Practice has been monumental in helping me start my practice. This book lays out step-by-step how to get started, maintain, and continue to thrive in private practice. By following Michael's strategies, I was able to obtain eight clients in a matter of weeks! His knowledge and strategies work. As a substance abuse counselor, without this information and guidance, I may never have gone into private practice." Bryan Vasquez, CAT-C III
Are you experiencing a void in your life? Are you a nominal Christian and lack zeal for the Church? Have you become complacent, content, and satisfied with your nominal commitment to an organized religion? Or are you a zealous Christian and do not feel a thirst for more? In IWANT MORE!, author Michael OBrien offers a look at developing a vibrant and powerful relationship with the Person of the Holy Spirit. A prayer more than a theological treatise, this spirituality book presents a heartwarming look at the Person of the Holy Spirit and the important role he plays in the lives of Christians everywhere. Through a variety of scriptures, OBrien shows how this special relationship could help empower lives and change them permanently for the better. Personal and passionate, I WANT MORE! encourages all people, those who have a spiritual void and those who thirst for more, to seek and know the Person of the Holy Spirit and be blessed.
A love letter to a community of Trappist monks who provided family when it was needed the most. This warmhearted memoir describes how a small, insecure boy with a vibrant imagination found an unlikely family in the company of monks at Holy Trinity Abbey, in the mountains of rural Latter-day Saint Utah. Struggling with his parents' recent divorce, Michael O'Brien discovered a community filled with warmth, humor, idiosyncrasies, and most of all, listening ears. Filled with anecdotes and delightful "behind the scenes" descriptions of his experiences living alongside the monks as they farmed, prayed, buried their dead, ate, and shared the joys of life, Monastery Mornings speaks to the value of spiritual fatherhood, the lasting impact of positive mentoring, and the stability that the spiritual life can offer to people of all ages and walks of life.
Michael O'Brien presents a thrilling apocalyptic novel about the condition of the Roman Catholic Church at the end of time. It explores the state of the modern world, and the strengths and weaknesses of the contemporary religious scene, by taking his central character, Father Elijah Schäfer, a Carmelite priest, on a secret mission for the Vatican which embroils him in a series of crises and subterfuges affecting the ultimate destiny of the Church. Father Elijah is a convert from Judaism, a survivor of the Holocaust, a man once powerful in Israel. For twenty years he has been "buried in the dark night of Carmel" on the mountain of the prophet Elijah. The Pope and the Cardinal Secretary of State call him out of obscurity and give him a task of the highest sensitivity: to penetrate into the inner circles of a man whom they believe may be the Antichrist. Their purpose: to call the Man of Sin to repentance, and thus to postpone the great tribulation long enough to preach the Gospel to the whole world. In this richly textured tale, Father Elijah crosses Europe and the Middle East, moves through the echelons of world power, meets saints and sinners, presidents, judges, mystics, embattled Catholic journalists, faithful priests and a conspiracy of traitors within the very House of God. This is an apocalypse in the old literary sense, but one that was written in the light of Christian revelation.
In this fictional narrative, Theophilis is the skeptical but beloved adoptive father of St. Luke. Challenged by the startling account of the 'Christos' received in the chronicle from his beloved son Luke and concerned for the newly zealous young man's fate, Theophilos, a Greek physician and an agnostic, embarks on a search for Luke to bring him home. He is gravely concerned about the deadly 'illusions' to which Luke has succumbed regarding the incredible stories surrounding Jesus of Nazareth, a man of contradictions who has caused so much controversy throughout the Roman Empire. Thus begins a long journey that will take Theophilos deep into the war between nations and empires, truth and myth, good and evil, and into unexpected dimensions of his very self"--Page 2 of cover.
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