Welcome Home: Narratives of Hope
People are fascinated with what happens after death. The theme of life after death is popular in many films, publications, books, and other sources. For example, Surviving Death is a docuseries that explores various popular beliefs about what happens after death. Books about those who have had near-death experiences fill the shelves. Heaven is for Real recounts the experience of a four-year-old boy during his emergency surgery with some very compelling accounts of his time during surgery and in heaven.

This book is the result of many years of Bible studies and of experiencing God’s workings in my life. I have discovered that His truths and events in the Bible are real in very personal ways. This book’s stories and characters are created from those studies and my personal spiritual experiences through the years. So, for me, the Bible tells true, not fictional, stories. Especially Christ, His life, death, and resurrection. However, since life after death is not absolutely verifiable, this book is also an imaginative effort, so it is the combined product of pure creativity and of my belief system and experiences.

These narratives are meant to give hope and encouragement as we all face the death of loved ones and our own bodies. The absolute perfection of God’s plan is to reunite us to the Father through Jesus Christ and His sacrificial death and to provide His promise of entry into heaven as a result of our salvation, born-again belief in Him. He died, so humanity can have peace and hope and eternal life.

So be encouraged. And, if you believe in Him, you might hear “‘Well done, good and trustworthy servant’” (Matthew 25:21).

Cat Tales of Clanton Creek
Have you ever been curious about what your pet is thinking? Or maybe wondered if a polar bear at the zoo frolicking in the water tank is content or wishing to be in the Arctic’s freezing water? Or what the deer might be feeling as they stare back at you from a corn field? Cats living in a farm community know how to communicate. Not like humans but just as effectively. Leah, the resident farmer’s wife, knows more than most about how the cats interact with each other, how they function individually and in the community, and how they communicate with each other and with her. Each cat has its story to tell. They learn how to deal with young bullies. They deal with enemies, both animals and humans, even a cat that seems the incarnate of evil. They work together in a hierarchical community, knowing what appropriate behavior is and what is not. They protect their kittens but make them grow up fast in order to survive. They mourn over the death of members of their families as they line up to see them buried under the funeral tree. They accept the care of the weak and infirmed and include them as one of their own families. They reunite with relatives long since disappeared from the farm and form stronger bonds than before. You will learn all this and more through the narratives of a community of cats. Based on a real Iowa farm, you will understand how they survive and enjoy the humans on that farm.

Dianna’s Daring Journey: A Cat’s Search for Home
Have you ever been far from your home without any discernable way to return? Have you experienced searing loneliness and uncontrollable fear in a hostile place with strangers? Have you ever asked yourself exactly what “home” means? Can you ever really “go back home again” to where you were born and raised? Does life involve flexibility in dealing with change? Come on a cat’s discovery of who she is and how she fits into different communities she encounters while she seeks her home to which she truly belongs. Dianna makes many discoveries along her journey. She meets many characters—some friendly and some villainous. Some are living on farms, or wild and living in forests and fields—and some are human who want to help and some who want to kill. Dianna experiences serious, life-threatening characters and situations. She meets some very funny animals too that make her forget for a while how desperate she is. I hope this book is enjoyable for you as you travel with Dianna and maybe make some discoveries of your own and the place where you belong.

The Circle of Gifts
These days, discovering one’s ancestors is a popular pastime for many. Something almost innate seems to motivate humans to desire to discover where their descendants came from and, maybe, even why they migrated to lands far from their country of birth. For me, it was a connection to my family and culture that propels me to discover my roots, distant and near in time and in geography. I have always wanted to get to know my ancestors and family members but could never explain why. Maybe it was that as the youngest of my siblings, I never knew my own grandparents. Could it be that? Why was I the only child who sent flowers to a great aunt I don’t remember meeting who became a Catholic nun when Catholicism was not of interest to the rest of the family? Why did she choose that profession? What motivated my distant generations to venture across the unforgiving ocean to a distant, unknown world? What were their distant personalities that echo in my own and my children’s generation? For instance, why is music so prevalent in many generations? Is it true that “somethings runs in the family”? What would explain my descendants’ and my own son’s almost innate passion for music and for their natural musical talent? This book is a combination of fact and fiction of my family and its ancestors, near and far in time and place. Maybe it will encourage you to discover your roots and connect with your ancestors.

Dr. Bonne Doron is a retired college professor who lives with many rescued
animals. She volunteered at the VA hospital and other facilities, doing pet
therapy with her golden retriever, Bella, and a cat called Angel. She has lived in
many states and Germany but found her true home in Iowa, the best location of
all. She is an animal advocate, so pet therapy was a natural fit for her and
offered many opportunities to facilitate animals and humans coming together
for mutual comfort and smiles. Her books are a blend of fact and fiction about
actual Iowa farm cats, her family and distant ancestors, and a glimpse into
heaven where believers are welcomed into heaven by Jesus Himself.