With a rewarding career as a teacher, a near flawless husband, and the perfect house in the suburbs, 33-year-old Nicky Fowler thought her whole life was mapped out. When she and her husband experience fertility issues that lead to a devastating tragedy, their marriage crumbles and Nicky is left with the inability to cope with her ever-changed life. Desperate to flee from her current situation, she accepts a volunteer teaching position at an orphanage in Kenya, but finds that her new life is more difficult than she was expecting; drought has forced the country into famine and violence is everywhere. When she learns that the orphanage director takes her hatred for the world out on the orphans, Nicky seeks the aid of her host mother, Mama Bu. Over cups of chai tea, Mama Bu offers perspective and Nicky realizes she must not only teach the orphans, she needs to save them. This is a journey that explores the resilience of the heart, and the determination for finding good in the world.

The stigma of mental illness and the power of a mother's love come together in this achingly honest novelWidely acclaimed for her ability to tell emotionally powerful stories that capture the real lives of women, bestselling novelist Heather A. Clark tackles the subject of childhood mental disorders. Elephant in the Sky is told from both nine-year-old Nate's point of view and that of his mother, Ashley, an overworked ad executive who struggles with a demanding workload and the worry that she's not spending enough time with her family — especially as her son's battle with mental unbalance and paranoid delusions escalates. The two narratives converge in a deeply moving tale of a family dealing with mental illness.Elephant in the Sky is a story about unconditional love, and it articulates a complicated, real-life subject with grace, wisdom, and sensitivity. It looks at what it means to be different in our society and beautifully explores the...