MPC Library

Title: The Other Side of the River

Author: Alex Kotlowitz

Alex Kotlowitz’s There Are No Children Here was more than a bestseller; it was a national event. His beautifully narrated, heartbreaking non-fiction account of two black boys struggling to grow up in a Chicago public housing complex spent eight weeks on The New York Times bestseller list, was a made-for-television movie starring and produced by Oprah Winfrey, won many distinguished awards, and sparked a continuing national debate on the lives of inner-city children.

In The Other Side of the River, his eagerly awaited new book, Kotlowitz takes us to southern Michigan. Here, separated by the St. Joseph River, are two towns, St. Joseph and Benton Harbor. Geographically close, they are worlds apart, a living metaphor for America’s racial divisions: St. Joseph is a prosperous lake shore community and ninety-five percent white, while Benton Harbor is impoverished and ninety-two percent black. When the body of a black teenaged boy from Benton Harbor is found in the river, unhealed wounds and suspicions between the two towns’ populations surface as well. The investigation into the young man’s death becomes, inevitably, a screen on which each town projects their resentments and fears.

The Other Side of the River sensitively portrays the lives and hopes of the towns’ citizens as they wrestle with this mystery—and reveals the attitudes and misperceptions that undermine race relations throughout America. In this gripping and ultimately profound book, Alex Kotlowitz proves why he is one of this country’s foremost writers on the ever explosive issue of race.

Title: Chocolate for a Woman’s Soul

Author: Kay Allenbaugh

Treat yourself to 77 true stories that celebrate life and capture the essence of what it means to be a woman. Like chocolate, these stories soothe, satisfy, and delight—better yet, they’re good for you! Written by and for women, here are heartfelt insights on commitment, compassion, work, marriage, friendship, motherhood, love, courage, spirituality, passion, and dozens of other topics. Contributors share their most personal experiences—funny, poignant, powerful, and uplifting—as they inspire you to jump-start your own life, discover your talents and vocations, overcome old fears, find love, and let your dreams take flight. Like a box of chocolates, this book can be enjoyed in one sitting, or you can pick out treats at random and savour them one at a time. Whether you want a good laugh or need a good cry, the perfect “chocolate story” is right here, waiting for you!

Title: Finding I Am / Author: Lysa TerKeurst

This book is donated by Cate Paledino. Video lessons are available at Church office.

What is the deep cry of your heart? The ache in your soul that keeps you up at night? The prayer you keep repeating? Jesus not only cares about this deep, spiritual wrestling, but He also wants to step in and see you through it.

Join Lysa TerKeurst on the streets of Israel to explore the seven I AM statements of Jesus found in the Gospel of John. Through this interactive, in-depth study we will be trading feelings of emptiness and depletion for the fullness of knowing who Jesus is like never before.

Features:

  • Leader helps to guide questions and discussions within small groups.
  • Five weeks of personal study segments to complete between six weeks of group sessions.
  • Four days, with an optional fifth day, of study within each week of personal study.

Benefits:

  • Find freedom in difficult circumstances by learning how to shift from “slave mentality” to “set free mentality.”
  • Discover how Jesus is the key to satisfaction by learning the crucial significance behind each of His I AM statements.
  • Trade feelings of emptiness for the fullness of knowing who Jesus is.
  • Grow in biblical literacy with this exploration of the Gospel of John.