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Becoming Ray Bradbury
By Jonathan R. Eller. 2011
Becoming Ray Bradbury chronicles the making of an iconic American writer by exploring Ray Bradbury's childhood and early years of…
his long life in fiction, film, television, radio, and theater. Jonathan R. Eller measures the impact of the authors, artists, illustrators, and filmmakers who stimulated Bradbury's imagination throughout his first three decades. Unprecedented access to Bradbury's personal papers and other private collections provides insight into his emerging talent through his unpublished correspondence, his rare but often insightful notes on writing, and his interactions with those who mentored him during those early years. Beginning with his childhood in Waukegan, Illinois, and Los Angeles, this biography follows Bradbury's development from avid reader to maturing author, making a living writing for pulp magazines. Eller illuminates the sources of Bradbury's growing interest in the human mind, the human condition, and the ambiguities of life and death--themes that became increasingly apparent in his early fiction. Bradbury's correspondence documents his frustrating encounters with the major trade publishing houses and his earliest unpublished reflections on the nature of authorship. Eller traces the sources of Bradbury's very conscious decisions, following the sudden success of The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man, to voice controversial political statements in his fiction, and he highlights the private motivations behind the burst of creative energy that transformed his novella "The Fireman" into the classic novel Fahrenheit 451. Becoming Ray Bradbury reveals Bradbury's emotional world as it matured through his explorations of cinema and art, his interactions with agents and editors, his reading discoveries, and the invaluable reading suggestions of older writers. These largely unexplored elements of his life pave the way to a deeper understanding of his more public achievements, providing a biography of the mind, the story of Bradbury's self-education and the emerging sense of authorship at the heart of his boundless creativity.Lou Harrison
By Leta E. Miller, Fredric Lieberman. 2006
Music's inclusivity--its potential to unite cultures, disciplines, and individuals--defined the life and career of Lou Harrison (1917-2003). Beyond studying with…
leading composers of the avant-garde such as Henry Cowell and Arnold Schoenberg, conducting Charles Ives's Pulitzer Prize-winning Third Symphony, and staging high-profile percussion concerts with John Cage, Harrison has achieved fame for his distinctive blending of cultures--from the Chinese opera, Indonesian gamelan, and the music of Native Americans to modernist dissonant counterpoint. Miller and Lieberman also pull readers into Harrison's rich world of cross-fertilization through an exploration of his outspoken stance on pacifism, gay rights, ecology, and respect for minorities--all of which directly impacted his musical works. Though Harrison was sometimes accused by contemporaries of "cultural appropriation," Miller and Lieberman's brisk study makes it clear why he is now lauded as an imaginative pioneer for his integration of Asian and Western musics, as well as for his work in the development of the percussion ensemble, his use of found and invented instruments, and his explorations of alternative tuning systems. Harrison's compositions are examined in detail through reference to an accompanying CD of representative recordings."MAXIMUM CLARITY" AND OTHER WRITINGS ON MUSIC
By Ben Gilmore, Ben Johnston. 2006
Described by New York Times critic John Rockwell as "one of the best non-famous composers this country has to offer,"…
Ben Johnston reconceives familiar idioms--ranging from jazz to Southern hymns--using just intonation. Johnston studied with Darius Milhaud, Harry Partch, and John Cage, and is best known for his String Quartet No. 4, a complex series of variations on Amazing Grace. This volume reveals he is also a truly literate composer, who writes and speaks about music with eloquence and charm. "Maximum Clarity" and Other Writings on Music spans forty years and brings together forty-one of Johnston's most important writings, including many rare and several previously unpublished selections. They include position papers, theoretical treatises, program notes, historical reflections, lectures, excerpts from interviews, and letters, and they cover a broad spectrum of concerns--from the technical exegesis of microtonality to the personal and the broadly humanistic. The volume concludes with a discography of all commercially available recordings of Johnston's music.Christmas Miracles
By Jamie Miller. 1997
At Christmas, our hearts are touched by reports of wondrous occurrences that make us stop, reflect, and hope. This luminous…
book shares true accounts of Christmas miracles-- inspiring events that happened to real people at Christmas time, including: A Christmas Mystery: A deaf boy's generosity is miraculously rewarded First Christmas: Newlyweds take part in the local Christmas pageant -- and receive a surprising lesson in timeless love My Christmas Angel: A pro baseball player visits a children's ward to cheer the patients, and is himself transformed A Heart for Christmas: A series of coincidences brings new life to a little girl The Stranger: A gentle, mysterious Christmas Eve visitor awes a family Christmas Saved My Mother: A rabbi tells how his mother, fleeing the Holocaust, was spared on Christmas Eve George Misses a Shift: Sudden car trouble on Christmas night saves a couple's life... and more. Albert Einstein said, "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is." If you believe in miracles -- or want to -- let Christmas Miracles light the candle of hope in your heart this year.Treehab: Tales from My Natural, Wild Life
By Bob Smith. 2016
In this bitingly funny and often surprising memoir, award-winning author and groundbreaking comedian Bob Smith offers a meditation on the…
vitality of the natural world--and an intimate portrait of his own darkly humorous and profoundly authentic response to a life-changing illness. In Treehab--named after a retreat cabin in rural Ontario--Smith muses how he has "always sought the path less traveled." He rebuffs his diagnosis of ALS as only an unflappable stand-up comic could ("Lou Gehrig's Disease? But I don't even like baseball!") and explores his complex, fulfilling experience of fatherhood, both before and after the onset of the disease. Stories of his writing and performing life--punctuated by hilariously cutting jokes that comedians tell only to each other--are interspersed with tales of Smith's enduring relationship with nature: boyhood sojourns in the woods of upstate New York and adult explorations of the remote Alaskan wilderness; snakes and turtles, rocks and minerals; open sky and forest canopy; God and friendship--all recurring touchstones that inspire him to fight for his survival and for the future of his two children. Aiming his potent, unflinching wit at global warming, equal rights, sex, dogs, Thoreau, and more, Smith demonstrates here the inimitable insight that has made him a beloved voice of a generation. He reminds us that life is perplexing, beautiful, strange, and entirely worth celebrating.TIME Hillary: An American Life
By Editors of Time Magazine. 2011
Hillary Clinton embodies a world of "firsts": The first First Lady to have an active - and controversial role -…
in her husband's presidency, the first American First Lady to run for political office (and win it), the first female United States Senator from the state of New York, and certainly not last, nor the least, the most widely traveled Secretary of State in history. With reporting that only TIME magazine can bring to you, this book touches upon the high and low points of her life and career - from her time as First Lady, where she was often criticized for her active and assertive role in Bill Clinton's presidency, to her time in the United States Senate, her historic campaign for the nomination for president, and her decision to serve under the man who would defeat her - Barack Obama - as Secretary of State. This book will also help to dissect what the future might hold for Hillary, whether she chooses to run for office again or decides to remain a private citizen and devote her time to lecturing, teaching, and philanthropy.Religious Liberty
By Williams, Robinson, Daniel N., Richard N.. 2016
What are the rights of religious institutions? Should those rights extend to for-profit corporations? Houses of worship have claimed they…
should be free from anti-discrimination laws in hiring and firing ministers and other employees. Faith-based institutions, including hospitals and universities, have sought exemptions from requirements to provide contraception. Now, in a surprising development, large for-profit corporations have succeeded in asserting rights to religious free exercise. The Rise of Corporate Religious Liberty explores this "corporate" turn in law and religion. Drawing on a broad range perspectives, this book examines the idea of "freedom of the church," the rights of for-profit corporations, and the implications of the Supreme Court's landmark decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby for debates on anti-discrimination law, same-sex marriage, health care, and religious freedom.Neuroscience, Consciousness and Spirituality
By Wayne B. Jonas, Harald Walach, Stefan Schmidt. 2010
Neuroscience, Consciousness and Spirituality presents a variety of perspectives by leading thinkers on contemporary research into the brain, the mind…
and the spirit. This volumes aims at combining knowledge from neuroscience with approaches from the experiential perspective of the first person singular in order to arrive at an integrated understanding of consciousness. Individual chapters discuss new areas of research, such as near death studies and neuroscience research into spiritual experiences, and report on significant new theoretical advances. From Harald Walach's introductory essay, "Neuroscience, Consciousness, Spirituality - Questions, Problems and Potential Solutions," to the concluding chapter by Robert K. C. Foreman entitled "An Emerging New Model for Consciousness: The Consciousness Field Model," this book represents a milestone in the progress towards an integrated understanding of spirituality, neuroscience and consciousness. It is the first in a series of books that are dedicated to this topic.The Muslim World in the 21st Century
By Samiul Hasan. 2011
Islam is not only a religion, but also a culture, tradition, and civilization. There are currently 1.5 billion people in…
the world who identify themselves as Muslim. Two thirds of the worldwide Muslim population, i.e. approximately a billion people, live in forty-eight Muslim majority countries (MMC) in the world- all of which except one are in Africa and Asia. Of these MMCs in Africa and Asia, only twelve (inhabited by about 165 million people) have ever achieved a high score on the Human Development Index (HDI), the index that measures life expectancy at birth, education and standard of living and ranks how "developed" a country is. This means that the majority of the world's Muslim population lives in poverty with low or medium level of human development. The contributions to this innovative volume attempt to determine why this is. They explore the influence of environment, space, and power on human development. The result is a complex, interdisciplinary study of all MMCs in Africa and Asia. It offers new insights into the current state of the Muslim World, and provides a theoretical framework for studying human development from an interdisciplinary social, cultural, economic, environmental, political, and religious perspective, which will be applicable to regional and cultural studies of space and power in other regions of the world.Patterns of Rationality
By Tommaso Bertolotti. 2015
This book proposes an applied epistemological framework for investigating science, social cognition and religious thinking based on inferential patterns that…
recur in the different domains. It presents human rationality as a tool that allows us to make sense of our (physical or social) surroundings. It shows that the resulting cognitive activity produces a broad spectrum of outputs, such as scientific models and experimentation, gossip and social networks, but also ancient and contemporary deities. The book consists of three parts, the first of which addresses scientific modeling and experimentation, and their application to the analysis of scientific rationality. Thus, this part continues the tradition of eco-cognitive epistemology and abduction studies. The second part deals with the relationship between social cognition and cognitive niche construction, i. e. the evolutionarily relevant externalization of knowledge onto the environment, while the third part focuses on what is commonly defined as "irrational", thus being in a way dialectically opposed to the first part. Here, the author demonstrates that the "irrational" can be analyzed by applying the same epistemological approach used to study scientific rationality and social cognition; also in this case, we see the emergence of patterns of rationality that regulate the relationships between agents and their environment. All in all, the book offers a coherent and unitary account of human rationality, providing a basis for new conceptual connections and theoretical speculations.Mythos
By Markus C Schulte von Drach. 2012
Eine Expedition ins Herz des Dschungels. Eine Reise an den Anfang und das Ende des Glaubens. Eine abenteuerliche Auseinandersetzung mit…
der Religion und der Evolution. Im Jahr 1539 begegnet der spanische Konquistador Juan de la Torre im Amazonasdschungel dem Teufel. Als fast 500 Jahre später die deutsche Schriftkundlerin Nora Tilly im Indienarchiv von Sevilla auf Dokumente des Spaniers stößt, entdeckt sie Hinweise auf einen Inka-Schatz. Doch bald muss sie feststellen, dass sie nicht die einzige ist, die sich auf den Weg macht, um das Gold zu finden. Die irische Journalistin Brea MacLoughlin reist mit einer Delegation katholischer Geistlicher ebenfalls nach Peru, um ein angebliches Wunder in den Anden zu überprüfen. Zu dieser Delegation gehört auch der junge Priester Arnaud d'Albret, der in Südamerika über eine ihm verbotene Liebe hinwegzukommen hofft. Nach dem gewaltsamen Tod seines Mentors schließt d'Albret sich Nora Tilly an. Auch Brea MacLoughlin folgt der Expedition der Schatzsucher. Im Dschungel Perus entdeckt unterdessen der Biologiestudent Francisco Pérez etwas, das eigentlich nicht existieren dürfte: das fünfzehn Millionen Jahre alte Fossil eines Riesenkrokodils, in dessen Schädel eine Pfeilspitze steckt. Der Versuch, dieses Rätsel zu lösen, führt ihn schließlich mit den Schatzjägern aus Europa zusammen. Doch was die Expedition im Dschungel erwartet, ist nicht nur das Gold der Inka. Tief im Wald stoßen sie auf etwas, das ihr Weltbild in Stücke reißt. ......... "Eine abenteuerliche Melange aus Dawkins' Gotteswahn, Indiana Jones und Jurassic Park. Schulte von Drach gelingt, was Dan Brown nie schaffte: den Leser zu fesseln, ohne seinen Verstand zu lähmen. Absolut empfehlenswert!" Michael Schmidt-Salomon, Philosoph und Schriftsteller, Vorstandssprecher der Giordano-Bruno-Stiftung, Autor von "Jenseits von Gut und Böse" "Wie viel Menschenwerk steckt in der Religion? Im Unterschied zum ätzenden Stil neoatheistischer Gotteswahn-Polemik setzt dieses Buch auf eine Strategie à la Umberto Eco: Der Reigen religionskritischer Überlegungen ist eingepackt in eine Rahmenhandlung, deren Spannung - Science-Fiction und Thriller im besten Sinn - den Leser mitnimmt zu den Etappen der intellektuellen Auseinandersetzung." Christian Kummer, Biologe, Philosoph und Jesuit, Professor an der Hochschule für Philosophie in München, Autor von "Der Fall Darwin" _____ Terra X und Theodizee, Evolution und El Dorado, Schatzjagd und Gottessuche - Markus C. Schulte von Drachs neuer Roman entführt Sie auf eine abenteuerliche Reise um die halbe Welt und zurück bis ins 16. Jahrhundert: Von Sevilla, Kismayoo, Florida und Iquitos aus machen sich seine Helden auf den Weg ins Herz des Amazonas-Regenwaldes. Auf der Suche nach dem legendären Inka-Gold, einem unglaublichen Fossil und ihrem Seelenfrieden stoßen ein französischer Priester, eine deutsche Schatzjägerin, eine irische Journalistin, ein peruanischer Biologiestudent und ein türkischer Kreationist auf die Spuren des Matararo. Doch gibt es dieses Wesen überhaupt? Lassen Sie sich von den Abenteuern genauso fesseln wie von den Auseinandersetzungen über Religion und Wissenschaft, die diesen Thriller so außergewöhnlich machen. Folgen Sie den unterschiedlichen Persönlichkeiten auf ihrem Weg, bis am Ende alle gemeinsam vor einer einzigen Aufgabe stehen: zu überleben.Place/No-Place in Urban Asian Religiosity
By Joanne Punzo Waghorne. 2016
This book discusses Asia's rapid pace of urbanization, with a particular focus on new spaces created by and for everyday…
religiosity. The essays in this volume - covering topics from the global metropolises of Singapore, Bangalore, Seoul, Beijing, and Hong Kong to the regional centers of Gwalior, Pune, Jahazpur, and sites like Wudang Mountain - examine in detail the spaces created by new or changing religious organizations that range in scope from neighborhood-based to consciously global. The definition of "spatial aspects" includes direct place-making projects such as the construction of new religious buildings - temples, halls and other meeting sites, as well as less tangible religious endeavors such as the production of new "mental spaces" urged by spiritual leaders, or the shift from terra firma to the strangely concrete effervesce of cyberspace. With this in mind, it explores how distinct and blurred, and open and bounded communities generate and participate in diverse practices as they deliberately engage or disengage with physical landscapes/cityscapes. It highlights how through these religious organizations, changing class and gender configurations, ongoing political and economic transformations, continue as significant factors shaping and affecting Asian urban lives. In addition, the books goes further by exploring new and often bittersweet "improvements" like metro rail lines, new national highways, widespread internet access, that bulldoze - both literally and figuratively - religious places and force relocations and adjustments that are often innovative and unexpected. Furthermore, this volume explores personal experiences within the particularities of selected religious organizations and the ways that subjects interpret or actively construct urban spaces. The essays show, through ethnographically and historically grounded case studies, the variety of ways newly emerging religious communities or religious institutions understand, value, interact with, or strive to ignore extreme urbanization and rapidly changing built environments.Standing Up: A Memoir of a Funny (Not Always) Life
By Marion Grodin. 2013
Marion Grodin, daughter of funnyman Charles Grodin, knows firsthand that laughter is truly the best medicine, having not only survived…
breast cancer and divorce, but also, various addictions-including an inappropriate relationship with Haagen Dazs. Her hilarious riffs include; the story of growing large breasts that appeared seemingly overnight (Unfortunately this happened during the summer that she spent on the set of King Kong with her father and Jeff Bridges on whom she developed a huge crush); Her post divorce life, its slight weight gain and how she relied on her wise support group, her cats "BabyFighter" Edmond and "fashionably sporty, forensic expert" Snuggles. In this cleverly written memoir Marion integrates her diverse and challenging life experiences and unstoppable ability to make everything funny in a way that is both entertaining and helpful. She hopes that her book will send a message to those who feel they are misfits and to those locked in addiction: there is a way out - and life can be very good when you kick the habit.Longshot
By Lance Allred. 2009
Lance Allred was probably the last person you'd expect to make it in professional sports. Not only did he grow…
up on a polygamist commune in Montana, he struggles with obsessive-compulsive disorder. If those hurdles to the NBA don't seem large enough, Lance is also deaf. Self-deprecating, witty, and wholly original, Longshot is the unlikely story of an unlikely athlete, who despite these factors and a lot of setbacks along the way, finally realized his dream of playing in the NBA, becoming the first legally deaf player in the league. Lance refused to let others' expectations hinder his dreams, and his refreshing sense of humor about his disability allowed him to face these setbacks without giving up. From his childhood on the commune where he was "Mormon royalty" (his grandfather was prophet Rulon Allred of the fundamentalist sect) to his first time picking up a basketball (eighth grade), to his clumsy efforts to build his skills while growing into his 6' 11" frame, Longshot is a riveting account of a young man finding his purpose and letting the love of the game drive him toward his ultimate goal. Going inside the competitive world of collegiate basketball and the strange experience of playing professionally in Europe, with paychecks that never arrive and a knee injury Lance's team didn't want to cover, Longshot recounts the moment when Lance hit rock bottom. When he came back to the United States for surgery, Lance was prepared to let go of his basketball dreams and become a high school history teacher like his dad. But luckily he had an agent who didn't want to see Lance's dream die, and who found him a deal with the Idaho Stampede, an NBA Development League team in Boise. Although it was paltry pay, it was the last resort. And Lance slowly began to be noticed. Revealing the resilient heart of a young man who truly believes that it's not about failure or success but about being willing to try, Longshot is a Rudy story for a new generation, a tale of inspiration, dedication, and the power of a dream.Finding God in the Waves: How I Lost My Faith and Found It Again Through Science
By Mike Mchargue, Rob Bell. 2016
From the host of the popular podcasts, The Liturgists Podcast and Ask Science Mike, a story of having faith, losing…
it, and finding it again through science--revealing how the latest in neuroscience, physics, and biology help us understand God, faith, and ourselves. What do you do when God dies? It's a question facing millions today, as science reveals a Universe that's self-creating, American culture departs from Christian social norms, and the idea of God begins to seem implausible at best and destructive at worst. Mike McHargue understands the pain of unraveling belief. In Finding God in the Waves, Mike tells the story of how his Evangelical faith dissolved into atheism as he studied the Bible, a crisis that threatened his identity, his friendships, and even his marriage. Years later, Mike was standing on the shores of the Pacific Ocean when a bewildering, seemingly mystical moment motivated him to take another look. But this time, it wasn't theology or scripture that led him back to God--it was science. In Finding God in the Waves, "Science Mike" draws on his personal experience to tell the unlikely story of how science led him back to faith. Among other revelations, we learn what brain scans reveal about what happens when we pray; how fundamentalism affects the psyche; and how God is revealed not only in scripture, but in the night sky, in subatomic particles, and in us. For the faithful and skeptic alike, Finding God in the Waves is a winsome, lucid, page-turning read about belonging, life's biggest questions, and the hope of knowing God in an age of science.From the Hardcover edition.Lithium Jesus: A Memoir of Mania
By Charles Monroe-Kane. 2016
Charles Monroe-Kane is a natural raconteur, and boy, does he have stories to tell. Born into an eccentric Ohio clan…
of modern hunter-gatherers, he grew up hearing voices in his head. Over a dizzying two decades, he was many things--teenage faith healer, world traveler, smuggler, liberation theologian, ladder-maker, squatter, halibut hanger, grifter, environmental warrior, and circus manager--all the while wrestling with schizophrenia and self-medication. From Baby Doc's Haiti to the Czech Velvet Revolution, and from sex, drugs, and a stabbing to public humiliation by the leader of the free world, Monroe-Kane burns through his twenties and several bridges of youthful idealism before finally saying: enough. In a memoir that blends engaging charm with unflinching frankness, Monroe-Kane gives his testimony of mental illness, drug abuse, faith, and love. By the end of Lithium Jesus there may be a voice in your head, too, saying "Do more, be more, live more. And fear less."Postcolonial Philosophy of Religion
By Andrew B. Irvine, Purushottama Bilimoria. 2008
The essays in this volume take up the history of philosophy of religion and contemporary problems within the discipline. They…
pursue these tasks as opportunities to correct Eurocentric biases that distort knowledge not only of religions originating beyond the West, but of the West's own traditions. This is the first collection of its kind. The contributions re-examine colonial experience in India and the Americas, offering discussion of broad methodological issues, critical re-readings of influential Western interpreters of religion, and arguments that explore blindspots and insights typical of colonial difference when viewed through "non-Western" eyes. The volume is aimed at advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and professional scholars in philosophy, religion, and related fields. Readers will benefit from its broad coverage of regions, traditions and problems, and the balance of philosophical critique and reconstruction.Alandra's Lilacs: The Story of a Mother and Her Deaf Daughter
By Tressa Bowers. 1999
When, in 1968, 19-year-old Tressa Bowers took her baby daughter to an expert on deaf children, he pronounced that Alandra…
was "stone deaf," she most likely would never be able to talk, and she probably would not get much of an education because of her communication limitations. Tressa refused to accept this stark assessment of Alandra's prospects. Instead, she began the arduous process of starting her daughter's education. Economic need forced Tressa to move several times, and as a result, she and Alandra experienced a variety of learning environments: a pure oralist approach, which discouraged signing; Total Communication, in which the teachers spoke and signed simultaneously; a residential school for deaf children, where Signed English was employed; and a mainstream public school that relied upon interpreters. Changes at home added more demands, from Tressa's divorce to her remarriage, her long work hours, and the ongoing challenge of complete communication within their family. Through it all, Tressa and Alandra never lost sight of their love for each other, and their affection rippled through the entire family. Today, Tressa can triumphantly point to her confident, educated daughter and also speak with pride of her wonderful relationship with her deaf grandchildren. Alandra's Lilacs is a marvelous story about the resiliency and achievements of determined, loving people no matter what their circumstances might be.Visioneering: Your Guide for Discovering and Maintaining Personal Vision
By Andy Stanley. 2016
Lift Your Vision High Vision is a preferred future. A destination. Vision always stands in contrast to the world as…
it is. Visioneering, according to bestselling author Andy Stanley, is "a clear mental picture of what could be, fueled by the conviction that it should be." With warm, down-to-earth practicality, Andy Stanley explores the ordinary life of Nehemiah and his God-given vision for accomplishing the extraordinary. He shows how the life of this great ancient visionary, determined to rebuild the ruined walls of Jerusalem, reveals principles that can prepare us to find and follow God's multifaceted vision for our own lives. Now this bestseller is again available in an attractive, affordable paperback!Everybody ends up somewhere in life. You can end up somewhere on purpose! Visioneering is the engineering of a vision. It's the process one follows to develop and maintain vision. "Vision," writes Andy Stanley , "is a clear mental picture of what could be, fueled by the conviction that it should be." In the bestselling Visioneering, Stanley builds a compelling case for the necessity of a clear, God-ordained vision for each of the roles of your life. Whether you're a parent with a vision for your children or a CEO pursuing a corporate vision, Visioneering is the perfect tool to help you develop and maintain God's unique purpose for your life.On the Beat of Truth: A Hearing Daughter’s Stories of Her Black Deaf Parents
By Maxine Childress Brown. 2013
As an African American woman born in 1943, Maxine Childress Brown possessed a unique vantage point to witness the transformative…
events in her parents' lives. Both came from the South -- her father, Herbert Childress, from Nashville, TN, and her mother, Thomasina Brown, from Concord, NC. The oldest of three daughters, Maxine was fascinated by her parents' stories. She marveled at how they raised a well-respected, middle-class family in the midst of segregation with the added challenge of being deaf. Her parents met in Washington, DC, where they married and settled down. Her father worked as a shoe repairman for $65 per week for more than 15 years. A gifted seamstress, her mother gave up sewing to clean houses. Because of their modest means, Maxine and her sisters lived more than modest lives. When Maxine's tonsils became infected, her parents could not afford the operation to have them removed. For her high school prom, her mother bought her a dress on credit because she had no time to sew. Herbert Childress showed great love for his young daughters, but events turned him to bitterness and to drink. Throughout all, Thomasina encouraged her girls, always urging them to excel. She demanded their honest best with her signature phrase, her flat hand raised from her mouth straight up in the air, "on the beat of truth."