Help, I’m Living with a Tweenager! Tim Handrich ’80 and Deb Schroeder (Infinity Publishing). For their second book, the authors of The Ultimate Middle School Counseling Handbook surveyed hundreds of 10-to-14-year-olds, focusing on such issues as what they wish adults knew, what drives them crazy and what worries them most. Using the results and their own experience as counselors, the authors present practical advice to parents on building a better relationship with their tween children.
Surprised by Motherhood: Everything I never expected about being a mom, Lisa-Jo Baker ’01J.D. (Tyndale House Publishers). “This is my broken, backwards journey from losing a mother toward becoming one,” the mother of three says in this best-selling memoir. The South Africa native and U.S. resident shares the “terrifying love that accompanies motherhood,” as well as the exhaustion, chaos and mundane reality of parenting. Sample chapters are available at her blog, lisajobaker.com.
Vintage, Susan Gloss ’01 (William Morrow). In her debut novel, the author offers what the Library Journal calls “an engaging story” of sisterhood, treasured clothing and transformation as she follows the lives of three women who meet at Hourglass Vintage, a Madison, Wisconsin, clothing store. “Gloss should have a built-in fan base for this book-club-worthy story of redemption, healing, and love,” says Booklist. Gloss also writes the blog GlossingOverIt.com.
What They Wished For: American Catholics & American Presidents, 1960-2004, Lawrence J. McAndrews ’77 (The University of Georgia Press). Beginning with the election of John F. Kennedy as president in 1960, American Catholics have influenced issues of war and peace, social justice, and life and death among U.S. presidents. The author examines the political influence of the nation’s most populous religious denomination, noting that while presidents may not always agree with Catholic voters, they dare not ignore them.
Harlem: The Unmaking of a Ghetto, Camilo José Vergara ’68 (University of Chicago Press). The noted photographer and MacArthur fellow chronicled Harlem for 43 years, and by repeatedly returning to the same locations he gathered a record of urban change. In words and more than 260 images, he tells the story of a New York neighborhood that became known as the heart of African American life and culture but also served as a byword for problems that have plagued many inner cities.
Toby, Stacy A. Nyikos ’90, illustrations by Shawn Sisneros (Stonehorse Publishing). When Toby hatches from an egg on the beach, he must head for his ocean home. This children’s picture book follows the sea turtle as he tries to avoid the birds, crabs and crocodiles who think he’d make a tasty snack. Fun facts about the life cycle of turtles and a list of suggested readings end the book. See stacynyikos.com for a quiz, mazes, coloring pages and instructions on how to draw Toby.
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Bears in the Backyard: Big Animals, Sprawling Suburbs, and the New Urban Jungle, Ed Ricciuti ’59 (Countryman Press). In a time where wild animals are encroaching on human turf, encounters with cougars in Chicago, alligators in Florida and bears virtually everywhere have become increasingly commonplace. The author explores research into why it’s happening, how it impacts the nation, and how to deal with it on a societal and personal level. Readers will learn how to protect against potential danger as they are entertained by hair-raising tales of real-life encounters.
Basil Moreau Essential Writings: An Introduction to the Life and Thought of the Founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross, edited by Kevin Grove, CSC, ’09M.Div., and Andrew Gawrych, CSC, ’02, ’07M.Div. (Christian Classics). The first book to gather the essential spiritual, pastoral and educational writings of the 19th century French priest. Blessed Basil Moreau founded the Congregation of Holy Cross, the religious order that founded Notre Dame and other educational institutions. “Learning to love the cross as a sign of real hope was the spiritual core or Moreau’s theology,” the editors write.
Adventure in Philosophy at Notre Dame, Kenneth M. Sayre (University of Notre Dame Press). This detailed recount offers an inside view of Notre Dame’s Department of Philosophy and the challenges, difficulties and tensions that accompanied its development into one of the most distinguished philosophy departments in the world today. The author, who has been on the Notre Dame faculty for more than 50 years, focuses on the people of the department, describing their relationships and personalities, and how their ambitions affected department affairs overall.
A Shimmer of Something: Lean Stories of Spiritual Substance, Brian Doyle ’78 (Liturgical Press). The accessible collection of prose poems, chants, litanies, simple songs, cadenced prayers and brief bursts of rhythmic observation welcome readers to Doyle’s melodic world, as he captures moments and stories around him. “These are not poems,” says the author, “but life set to the music of poetry.” The author’s characteristic humor and sincerity combine into stories of spiritual substance.
Your God May Be Too Small: Misleading Descriptions of God that Disaffect Us, Nicholas Ayo, CSC, ’56, ’62M.A. (Corby Books). An extended meditation on who God is not, and a probe into who God really is. The author steers readers to an examination of their image of God by showing them a God who loves each and every one of us. “What I hope to describe is a God worthy of belief and more than worthy,” the author writes. “So much is at stake.” God’s many qualities are illustrated through stories, psalms and bible passages.
Cyber Shadows: Power, Crime, and Hacking Everyone, Carolyn Nordstrom and Lisa Carlson ’14 (Corby Books). How does hacking impact societies and citizens? Economics and sovereignty? Daily life? Nordstrom, a Notre Dame anthropology professor, and Carlson, a student of the digital generation, track these questions internationally through hacker conferences and scores of interviews with leading experts to expose the digital world’s dark places and the threats and innovations in cybercrime, espionage and surveillance.
The Cemetery Beneath the Golden Dome: A History of Cedar Grove Cemetery at the University of Notre Dame, 1830 to 2013, Jim Gillis ’51 and Jane Gillis. The authors worked to expose the story of Cedar Grove Cemetery, which Father Theodore M. Hesburgh, CSC, once called, “virtually hidden through the years.” Photographs of 50 notable monuments and descriptions of the people they memorialize, stories about the site and predictions for the future of the cemetery combine to offer a comprehensive view of Indiana’s oldest Catholic cemetery.
Dreaming — The Sacred Art: Incubating, Navigating & Interpreting Sacred Dreams for Spiritual & Personal Growth, Lori Joan Swick ’01MTS (SkyLight Paths). An introduction to sacred dreaming, in which the person experiences the immediate presence of or communication with the Divine. The book presents the dream experience as a way to deepen spiritual awareness and as a source for self-healing. Exercises for specific sacred dream techniques and practices are included.
Sexes: The Marriage Dialogues, Samuel Hazo ’49 (Northwestern University Press). The book of poems looks at how husbands and wives confront each other at life’s various intersections — sometimes casually, sometimes profoundly — and how these interactions reveal differences in gender. Each poem hints at the inevitable insights and misunderstandings born out of conjugal love. Along with poetry, Hazo has written books of fiction, essays and plays. His Just Once: New and Selected Poems received the Maurice English Poetry Award in 2003.
Contraception and Persecution, Charles E. Rice (St. Augustine’s Press). “Contraceptive sex,” wrote social science researcher Mary Eberstadt in 2012, “is the fundamental social fact of our time.” Here the author contends that the acceptance of contraception is a prelude to persecution, displacing divine law as the state becomes the ultimate lawgiver. Charles E. Rice, a Notre Dame emeritus professor of law, also is the author of numerous works on law and religion.
Thank You for Notre Dame, John Hoffman ’80 and Polly Hoffman ’80 (Mascot Books). This collection of traditions, memories and unique experiences associated with the student experience at Notre Dame is intended for students and alumni to give to those friends, family and teachers who made it possible for them to attend the University. It includes photographs of numerous parts of the undergraduate experience, such as running around the lakes, singing the alma mater and attending dorm Mass, with interesting facts accompanying each shared memory.
Democratic Renewal and the Mutual Aid Legacy of US Mexicans, Julie Leininger Pycior ’74 M.A., ’79 Ph.D. (Texas A&M University Press). The legacy of the historic mutual aid organizing by U.S. Mexicans continues to inform Mexican-American activism and influence a number of major U.S. social movements. The author traces the early origins of organizing in the decades following the US-Mexican War and the ways in which these efforts have been invoked by contemporary Latino civil rights leaders.
Values for a New Generation: Great Thinkers Discuss What Truly Matters in Life, edited by Robert L. Dilenschneider ’65 (Significance Press). A collection of talks from The Borromean Lectures series at St. Charles Preparatory School in Columbus, Ohio, in which issues of morals and ethics are discussed with a young audience. Contributors include University president Father John I. Jenkins, CSC, ’76, ’78 M.A., F. Russell Hittinger ’75, William McGurn ’80 and Michael Novak, chair of America Studies in autumn 1987 and ’88.
Time Bomber, Robert P. Wach ’83 (Boissevain Books). The novel, set primarily in World War II France, focuses on a pilot whose plane is shot down over Normandy just days before D-Day. The author depicts the danger faced by airmen and others who fought for the Allies, while using the science of time travel to provide a look at the “what ifs” of the ground-breaking work being done by scientists and other scholars during that era. The central character of the novel, Dr. Willem Jacob Van Stockum, is a scientist whose life and work inspired the book.
The Decision, William Bosworth (Tate Publishing). Cardinal Harold Farley, a high-ranking American archbishop, is asked to serve on a worldwide commission of Church hierarchy that seeks to find a way to ease the cumbersome annulment requirements of the Catholic Church. The novel chronicles the radically changing circumstances in his life while serving on the commission as a result of tensions in his professional and personal life. The author attended Notre Dame in the early 1960s.
Periodic Chart of Virtuous Living for Teens: One Element at a Time, Rev. Fred R. Gaglia ’69M.S., ’77MSA (Outskirts Press). After years of teaching the beauty and order of God’s creation, Father Gaglia noticed a relationship between the periodic table — the order of the elements into groups and functions — and the order and functions of humans for their spiritual growth. In this mix of science and spirituality, he took the symbols of the elements of nature and applied them as a guide to living life at a child of God.
Mental Biology: The New Science of How the Brain and Mind Relate, W.R. Klemm ’63Ph.D. (Prometheus Books). The veteran neuroscientist presents the latest research findings on the elusive brain-mind connection. He discusses the role of dream sleep in animals and humans and also explains the differences between nonconscious, unconscious and conscious minds. The author is a professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Texas A & M University and has written 16 previous books.
Under the Skin, Nick Hahn (Hahn International Ltd.). The novel chronicles two young women, one born to wealth in New York and the other into poverty in the African bush, and their unlikely friendship as they challenge a brutal African dictator. The women risk everything as they take on a corrupt, abusive government. In a startling move, they enlist the help of a notorious warlord, and it’s anyone’s guess as to whether their dangerous gamble will pay off. Hahn attended Notre Dame in the late 1950s.
Imputed Knowledge, Edward De Vivo ’78J.D. (Create Space). When a team of hijackers board a plane on the runway at Islamabad International Airport, chaos erupts. When Jude Priore, an aviation defense counsel, later investigates the terrorist attack, he suffers a crisis of faith. Where does innocent suffering come from? Does God use it to test our faith? Or is it random? The author takes on these questions in his debut novel as he offers a glimpse into the deeper implications of tragedy.
Rights of Way to Brasilia Teimosa: The Politics of Squatter Settlement, Charles Fortin ’67 (Sussex Academic Press). The Brasilia Teimosa favela in the city of Recife emerged as a flash point of economic and political interests in the 1930s and the scene of subsequent strife into the 1980s. The protests highlighted the issues of Recife’s low-income residents and their access to urban land tenure. The author is a former professor and program coordinator at the Federal University of Pernambuco in Brazil.
Some Notre Dame Greats I’ve Known, Andrew L. Stevans (CreateSpace). “Each, in their unique way, has shone a great, un-diminishing light on my path through life,” the author writes in this collection of stories about the priests and sisters he met while a student at the former Holy Cross Seminary at Notre Dame. “They shared a quality of positive attitude and mutual concern for each of us aspirants.” Stevans is also the author of Prep School Days: The Seminary at the University of Notre Dame. Both books are available on Amazon.
Sustainable Development: The UN Millennium Development Goals, The UN Global Compact, and the Common Good, edited by Oliver F. Williams, CSC, ’61, ’69M.A. (University of Notre Dame Press). The book contains 22 essays, seven case studies and reflections regarding the work of Western companies working through the U.N. Global Compact to shape more peaceful and just societies and alleviate dire poverty. The editor is director of the Center for Ethics and Religious Values in Business and an associate professor of management at Notre Dame. Contributors include Holly Hermes ’12MBA; Georges Enderle, ND professor of business ethics; Hal Culbertson, executive director of Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute; James O’Rourke IV and Anta Glavas, ND professors of management; and Thomas J. Harvey, ND director of nonprofit professional development.
Juan de Segovia and the Fight for Peace: Christians and Muslims in the Fifteenth Century, Anne Marie Wolf ’89 (University of Notre Dame Press). A theologian, translator of the Qur’an and lifelong advocate for forging peaceful relations between Christians and Muslims, Juan de Segovia was a prominent thinker in 15th century Europe. The author presents a chronological narrative that follows the thought and career of Segovia, who departed from the dominant views of his day to advance arguments he knew would subject him to criticism.
St. Anne in Renaissance Music: Devotion and Politics, Michael Alan Anderson ’97 (Cambridge University Press). The author provides the first study to explore the music that honored St. Anne, the apocryphal mother of the Virgin Mary, and its connections to some of the most prominent court cultures of Western Europe. Until now, Anne’s political symbolism during the 15th and 16th centuries has been primarily discussed through an art history lens; Anderson uses music to demonstrate her wide-ranging intercessional capabilities.
Care for the Church and Its Liturgy: A Study of Summorum Pontificum and the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, William H. Johnston ’72, ’77M.A., ’80Ph.D. (Liturgical Press). The author analyzes and comments on the documents issued by Pope Benedict XVI, which focus on the ordinary and extraordinary forms of the Eucharistic rite. Cardinal Francis George, OMI, archbishop of Chicago, says the book “is a much-needed contribution to liturgical renewal.”
Sealed with a Kiss: An American Love Story in Letters, Bob Zielsdorf ’65 (Two Shores Books). In 1957, 13-year-old Bob Zielsdorf goes on a trip to Massachusetts, where he meets 14-year-old Fran Jordan. Though they spent less than an hour together, they agree to write. Remarkably, they do, beginning a correspondence that will last for eight years and end with an enduring marriage. Drawn from an extraordinary collection of more than 400 personal letters, this coming-of-age story offers a glimpse of an America poised on the brink of change.