Showing results by narrator "Lauren Pedersen" in All Categories

Since the early twentieth century, the United States has led a global prohibition effort against certain drugs in which production restriction and criminalization are emphasized over prevention and treatment as means to reduce problematic usage. This “war on drugs” is widely seen to have failed, and periodically decriminalization and legalization movements arise. Debates continue over whether the problems of addiction and crime associated with illicit use of drugs stem from their illegal status or the nature of the drugs themselves.

The last thing Mabel needed was a flying saucer, not to mention a rash of similar sightings all over town. Her life’s already been upended by getting fired and moving to Grandma’s old house in Medicine Spring. So far, the deceptively sleepy village has delivered several murders—and romance with a handsome private investigator. Are little green men next? While Mabel tries to get to the bottom of the apparent space invasion, she also gets herself caught between competing candidates for township supervisor.

We have all heard of post traumatic stress, but few of us think about the possibility of post traumatic growth—the positive ways in which we can be transformed by our trauma. Yet this is precisely what can happen when we face our hurts, struggle through the rubble of our broken relationships, and unearth the ways God wants to use our trials to refine and mature us.

When life throws us non-stop challenges and curveballs, how can we have any hope of building a fulfilling and intimate marriage? How do we move from stressed and stretched to energized and inspired, finding the strength to transform both our lives and relationship? Robert Paul and Tara Lalonde equip husbands and wives with practical, biblically based tools to transform their personal lives and grow their marriage into something they’ll both love

Mark and Elias Hammond are brothers in bustling Boston. The two brothers have been very close from childhood, and especially since they made a promise to their dying mother years before that they would never be separated.

If Adele Marten’s troubled childhood taught her anything, it was that family is everything. So when the time comes to keep a promise she made to her dying friend, she knew she would do whatever it takes to reunite a father and son...who have never met. Even risk her fragile heart.

Jill's wedding to police chief Greg King is just days away, at a historic Spanish mission with a courtyard full of olive trees. But the folks in South Cove are more intrigued by what kind of ceremonies might be going on behind the walls of New Hope. Jill isn't fond of the man, but his followers seem nice, and they buy a lot of books. After a distraught woman stops by at Coffee, Books, and More with a picture of her daughter, who she believes needs rescuing from the suspected cult—and then Matthews's body is found, at Jill's wedding venue of all places—Jill makes a commitment to solve the case.

This delightful collection includes Love Letter Courtship, S.W.A.K., and The Wrong Valentine.

An anthology of time’s most beloved stories, written and adapted by the world’s most well-known fairy tale authors, and narrated by a variety of great storytellers.

No longer having carpet in your bathroom. Losing a job, finding a calling. Listening to elk bugle. Planting a garden. Discovering dyslexia in a child. Moving out of your in-laws’ house. Game nights with married children. Rest and nature walks. Unexpected time with grandmother. Teaching kids to fish and not to panic. Zoom for visiting, schooling, worshiping, celebrating, working. These are victories under any circumstances, but especially so under the murky, heavy clouds that 2020 forced on us. Here is proof that hope illuminated the darkness of even our worst days.

You’re tired. You have trouble sleeping and thinking, you feel down and stressed out, and you worry that you’ve lost your edge. You're plagued by many physical symptoms, too! Your doctor told you that you were depressed, handed you a prescription for an antidepressant, and referred you to a psychiatrist. Your heart of hearts truly believes that you're not depressed, but you don't know what causes you to feel this way.

Sybil Roberts uses the warmth of delicious meals to lift the spirits of road-weary travelers at her family’s inn. Her life at the inn would be perfect if she could just get her brothers and mother to move back home. And if she could see Isaac Owens again. He visited the inn once when he interviewed for the farm manager job, and she’s dreamed of his return to Falls Creek ever since.

Taya Trapp has faced danger before, but never like this. Former special ops, she's now on a mission to keep her niece safe from the hands of her abductors. Her only option is to hide out in the middle of the Ozark mountains, where she meets Ryan Boyne, a crime novelist with a tender heart. Together, they must unravel the secrets of Misty Hollow to bring down a man called The Boss, a task that will test them both to their limits.

Marley Brooks is used to receiving fan mail, but when letters from one particular fan take a dangerous turn and a coworker is killed, she leaves her job and flees to Misty Hollow. Her desire to hide doesn’t come easy, as even the people in this remote mountain town recognize her. The letters continue, and Marley enlists the help of local farmer Dirk Mason, former military police.

Bailey Colburn is safe in the Land, but her father figure, Professor Tim, never made it to Good Springs. When Bailey discovers Tim is lost in the Land’s dangerous mountain terrain and out of his life-saving medication, she sets out to rescue him. Even with the help of intriguing native Revel Roberts, Bailey faces an impossible journey to save Tim. The mountains are shrouded in dark folklore and full of deadly surprises.

After losing my husband three years ago, I'm ready for a fresh start for me and my daughter. I appreciate all of my parents' help, of course, but I can't live with them forever (and I don't want to). Dr. Drew Reed, my father's coworker, informs me his basement (turned income-property) is available for rent. And he also needs a part time nanny. Lucky for him, I can do both! But living in such close proximity, seeing him in those dang sexy surgical scrubs, and watching him with our girls . . . is making my heart thaw in ways I never expected. But am I ready to love again?

Mrs. Jane Lewis, a widow, wants to marry again. But because her in-laws had been nasty people, she has promised herself that never will she marry a man with a mother, father, brothers, or sisters. She goes west because there are many single men there who are alone. She travels with the Jones family, a sprawling friendly tribe. She’s attracted to Caleb, the eldest son, but having immediate relatives seems to disqualify him. What about Mr. Tremblay who, like her, is alone? Maybe beneath his hard exterior is a broken heart just like hers?

When her sister, the only family she had left, is murdered by a serial killer stalking the women of Misty Hollow, Madison Everton is determined to find the killer’s identity. Women are being abducted and held for three days before their bodies are dumped, and the women all hold a strong resemblance to Madison. Will she find him before he finds her?

Jill's family law career is in a rut. Watching a client go back to her abusive husband, yet again—and then learning she's been passed up for a partnership, yet again-finally prompts her to take a break. She'll have to dip into her emergency fund. But after all those long days in her windowless office, subsisting on leftover cake from the break room, it's time to smell some flowers. When she arrives in picturesque South Cove on the Pacific coast, she finds friendly residents, a peaceful beach, and nature's beauty.

A threatening letter. Hidden clues. A woman on the run. Alisa Gosling finds a piece of a letter under a desk in an office she cleans. Curiosity has her locating the other pieces. Putting the puzzle together, she discovers a threatening letter best left hidden. As danger increases after she turns the letter over to the police, she flees to Misty Hollow and the Leaning O Ranch. Trouble follows her, as the bad guys believe she has something they want. Local law enforcement can’t be trusted.