Book Review

Terri Schichenmeyer  |   OW Contributor
Jan 13 2011

Author: Rebecca Burns

In days of old, when someone messed with a king, the challenger was usually thrown into a dungeon without trial or jury. Justice was swift and mercy was rare.

That’s because, oftentimes, the king held things together. Loved or hated, he was a force to be reckoned with. He had power and powerful friends, and messing with him wasn’t advised.
On that subject, little has changed through the centuries, as you’ll see in “Burial for a King” (c.2011, Scribner, $24 / $28.99 Canada, 256 pages, includes notes) by Rebecca Burns.

Terri Schichenmeyer  |   OW Contributor
Dec 9 2010

Jesse, Hannah and Carroll Foster; illustrated by Jean Christodoulou

At about this time every year, little ones begin to wonder about some very important things.

Have they, for instance, been a good kid–good enough for a visit from St. Nick? Will Santa be able to find their house? Does he prefer chocolate chip or sugar cookies with sprinkles, or is he more of a peanut-butter-cookie-kind-of-guy? And if their home doesn’t have a chimney, how in the world can he ever leave presents?

Terri Schichenmeyer  |   OW Contributor
Dec 2 2010

By Randal Pinkett and Jeffrey Robinson (with Philana Patterson)

Imagine that you’re standing in a room full of people, and you’re completely alone.

Throughout your adult life, you’ve been in rooms just like that, solitary in a crowd of people you know. It’s a familiar feeling, one you’ve had before, and you’d leave but the doorway keeps moving when you try.

Terri Schichenmeyer  |   OW Contributor
Nov 25 2010

From the editors of O, the Oprah Magazine

Around your house, time is precious.

While it’s true that you’ve got home appliances your great-grandma only dreamed about–an automatic washer and dryer, a microwave, a water heater, an automatic coffee maker, and a cookstove that doesn’t require wood to work–you still can’t manage to sit down for 10 minutes without thinking of 10 things that need doing.

Fun? Who has time for anything fun?

Terri Schichenmeyer  |   OW Contributor
Nov 18 2010

Written and read by Robert M. Poole

He was somebody’s baby once, and treasured.

His mother carried him nine months, anticipating the day she’d meet him; his father secretly hoped for a boy. His arrival was heralded, his childhood happy, his adolescence fleeting. He grew up to be a fine man, loved by family and friends, known for his valor and conviction.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.