After a lifetime of kindly taking care of his irresistible but impossible sister and her wonderful daughter, Tom is finally ready to put himself first. An architect, he finally has an opportunity to build his masterpiece with a new client. Assuming, that is, his rich, fickle client―the last woman he slept with before coming out―doesn’t follow through on her threats to mess it up. Naturally, that’s when his phone rings. His niece, Cecily (the...

India Allwood grew up wanting to be an actress. Armed with a stack of index cards and a hell of a lot of talent, she goes from awkward 16-year-old to Broadway ingenue to tv star. But while promoting her most recent project, a film about adoption, India does what you should never do--she tells a journalist the truth: it's a bad movie. Like so many movies about adoption, it tells only one story, a tragic one. But India's an adoptive mom herself and...

Carrie Ballentyne's life was upended in 1845 when she had to leave the only home she'd ever known in the mountains of upstate New York. With her are her widowed mother and younger brother Nathan, but the separation from Bonner, Ballentyne, and Savard relatives weighs heavily. In time Carrie finds footing as a midwife and nurse, but she never feels at ease in the city. So when, a decade later, she receives an invitation from a doctor in Santa Fe to...

When Nate is invited to a big family reunion in Missouri, he sees it as an opportunity to reconnect with his estranged wife and growing children. Nate takes delivery on an expensive new SUV, persuades his wife, Dorothy, to tag along, and packs up his three kids for what he thinks will be a leisurely drive from L.A. to St. Louis. However, between his wary wife, arguing kids, angry police officers, bizarre hitchhikers, bad diner food, and an unfortunate...

Mothering is messy. Our joy and hope in raising children doesn’t change the reality that being a mom can be frustrating, stressful, and tiring. But just as God is using us to shape our children, God is using our children and motherhood to shape us. In The Better Mom, author Ruth Schwenk, herself a mother of four children, encourages us with the good news that there is more to being a mom than the extremes of striving for perfection or simply embracing...

A recently widowed father raises his three daughters with the help of his brother-in-law and his best friend.

Stonesmere is an English seaside suburb, defined by poignant traditions passed from generation to generation. Marty is a golden girl here, albeit one who quietly chafes against the legacy of her father's accomplishments and the care of her saintly mother - an outsider who became a beloved teacher. Meanwhile, Trent's home-life is in shambles: the only child of a mother forever on the look-out for the boyfriend that can remake their lives, Trent longs...

Nantucket Christmas: From the lighthouse sporting a huge wreath to the Christmas Stroll along its quaint streets, holidays on Nantucket are always magical. However, while the town might be aglow like a scene from Dickens tale, unfortunately for newly married island newcomer Nicole Somerset, Christmas means a dreaded visit from her step-daughter. Headstrong Kennedy brings with her a family of her own--husband Archer and adorable 3 year old son, Maddox--but...

Safa and her whole family celebrate the festival of Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan with feasts and presents, and the sharing of these traditions with those in need.

When someone you love dies, you know what doesn't die? Love. On the hot beach, among colorful umbrellas blooming beneath a bright sun, no one saw a little girl walk into the water. Now, many months later, her bedroom remains empty, her drawers hold her clothes, her pillows and sheets still have her scent, and her mother and father, brothers and sister carry her in their hearts, along with their grief, which takes up so much space. Then one snowy day,...