Not everyone is a fan of reading books that are filled with pain, suffering, challenge, and triumph. But you also cannot deny that, by pointing out the limitations of human effort, tragedy can make us feel humble and grateful for the good things we have in our lives.
Experts also suggest that these sad stories help us appreciate what makes our lives meaningful.
Here are Three Books that will Ignite Your Passion with their Tragedy into Triumph Stories.
Good Morning, Hope: A True Story of Refugee Twin Sisters and Their Triumph over War, Poverty, and Heartbreak by Argita Zalli and Detina Zalli (Author)
#1 Best Seller in Teen & Young Adult Women Biography eBooks
The inspiring true story of the Zalli family, forced to rebuild their lives in a new, uncertain land.
Born in poverty-stricken Albania, twin sisters Argita and Detina Zalli always dreamed of becoming doctors. But when the government collapsed, plunging the country into anarchy and civil war, the twins’ dream unraveled along with their homeland.
Their parents were determined to find a way to leave and save their daughters’ futures—not to mention their very lives. After several dangerous attempts, they finally escaped, only to be thrust into a new nightmare as refugees.
With grit and determination, they fought their way forward. When tragedy struck yet again, threatening what they held most dear, the girls had to accept the high price they had all paid to survive.
In Good Morning, Hope, Argita, and Detina share their harrowing stories of courage and resilience. The strength of their family, particularly the sisters’ unbreakable bond as twins, nurtured and sustained them throughout their perilous ordeal.
Loved Just As I Am by Melissa McDaniel (self-help/memoir/faith)
Shame is a bully. Shame also works overtime to keep victims quiet. Author and Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Melissa McDaniel shares the story of how her idyllic life in the Deep South was changed forever when she was sexually assaulted at age eleven.
Driven by an incredibly strong faith and the heart of a warrior woman, it took Melissa over three decades to kick the shame bully to the curb and rise up to tell her story. But this is not just a true story of navigating trauma; it is a story of inclusion, racism, love, and a belief that God loves us all, just as we are.
Secret Voices: A Year of Women’s Diaries (Edited by Sarah Gristwood)
This book is a captivating collection of extracts from women’s diaries, looking back over four centuries to discover how women’s experience—of men and children, sex and shopping, work, and the natural world—has changed down the years. And, of course, how it hasn’t.
Within the pages, readers will find Lady Anne Clifford in the seventeenth century and Loran Hurscot in the twentieth, stoically recording an unreasonable husband’s demands. Included are stories of Joan Wyndham and Anne Frank (at much the same time, but in wildly different settings) describing their first experiences with sex. Anne Lister, in the eighteenth-century north of England, explored her love affairs with women alongside Alice Walker in twentieth-century California. Secret Voices contains a rich mix of incredibly well-known diarists and more obscure ones, and often, the voices echoing down the centuries sound eerily familiar today.
Shared viewpoints include Barbara Pym purchasing daring lingerie, Virginia Woolf relishing her new haircut, Sylvia Plath chronicling her ups and downs, and a stoical Amelia Stewart Knight on the pioneer trail. This book contains a rich mix of incredibly well-known diarists and more obscure ones, and often the voices echoing down the centuries sound eerily familiar today.
One More Thing
A Year in the Secret Garden
As parents, we want/need quality books with extension activities to help our young ones unplug and create memories.
Pulling books from shelves, and stories from pages is also an important act that will the habit of being life-long readers. Quality books with companion book extension activities are not only working to create special family time, but it also allows kids to solve the world’s problems without major consequences. A Year in the Secret Garden is just such a book.
This delightful children’s book is co-written by Marilyn Scott-Waters and Valarie Budyar, and it offers original month-by-month activities that allow readers to delve deeper into the classic children’s tale, The Secret Garden.
Within the 120 pages (with 150 original color illustrations and 48 activities), families will find many activities inspired by The Secret Garden that encourage them to step away from technology and enjoy getting hands and feet into the black earth of a family garden. This book will make a great gift and catalyze many hours of family growth, learning, and FUN!
Grab your copy ASAP and “Meet me in the garden!” More details HERE!
