Books with author Elizabeth Johnson

Meet a few of the people whose stories appear in Everyday Heroes:•Rod Sutton was an angry, fatherless kid expelled from school at the age of thirteen for assaulting a teacher. Today he runs an innovative program that teaches high-risk youngsters to respect themselves and others. •Yvonne Chavez was a teenage mother caught up in gang violence and an abusive marriage. Today she is an outstanding college student who intends to practice law. •Elda Sara Morgan was an outcast in school, ignored or cruelly teased because of a disability. Today she is a teacher dedicated to finding the beauty and promise in each of her special-needs students. •Joe Davis was a high-school dropout, a drug addict, and a mugger. Today Joe is a college graduate with a a passionate mission to steer young people away from the path of self-destruction. Everyday Heroes tells the stories of these and nine other men and women who have faced—and overcome—serious challenges in their lives. The stories testify both to the power of their determination and to the resilience of the human spirit.

New home, new school and no dad. These are tough on 15 year-old James. When the family gets a shelter dog, the family meetings are all about containing Rascal. The house is adorned with bungee cords, electric fence and doggy door, but nothing can contain Rascal, a freedom loving escape artist. James copes in his own way with his dad’s loss by journaling, writing letters to his dad and drawing cartoons of Rascal. The family pulls together and humor reigns once more as new friends flock to James after meeting Rascal Ultimately, Rascal is put to the test: to find James a girlfriend.

I never heard him come after me and even as I climbed the slope and stumbled onto our shaded back lawn, I didn’t look back. It was like the day the gnomes chased me all over again, but this time I was not escaping some horrible little creatures, I was fleeing from an incredibly good-looking guy who could very well understand me completely. I was either saving myself from that serial killer I always imagined lived down in the swamp, or I had finally gone over the deep end . . . Meghan Elam has been strange her entire life: her eyes have this odd habit of changing color and she sees and hears things no one else does. When the visions and voices in her head start to get worse, she is convinced that her parents will want to drag her off to another psychiatrist. That is, until the mysterious Cade MacRoich shows up out of nowhere with an explanation of his own. Cade brings her news of another realm where goblins and gnomes are the norm, a place where whispering spirits exist in the very earth, and a world where Meghan just might find the answers she has always sought.

Magical realms, Celtic warriors, and faerie glamour: Percy Jackson meets The Mortal Instruments. “An appealing blend of awkward teen and powerful Fae. I love the passion, mystery and adventure the heroine experiences.” ★★★★★ “Do you trust me Meghan?” His voice was soft, almost pleading. I swallowed and tried hard to discern his expression in the dark. The paltry amount of light reaching this far into the small cavern glinted off his eyes, giving him the appearance of a demon trying to tempt me into doing something evil. “Yes,” I answered, my own voice a mere whisper, “I trust you.” “Good.” He gave my hand a quick squeeze, and then I was pulled forward into the icy abyss that loomed before us . . . A year ago, Meghan Elam learned that she was Faelorehn, a being of the Otherworld. Immortal. Now she must juggle her life in the mortal world with the one she has started to build in the Otherworld. However, keeping her identity secret from her friends and family while trying to avoid a wrathful Celtic goddess is no easy task. With the help of the intriguing Cade MacRoich, Meghan will learn that not only does she come from a place full of magic and wonder but that she, too, is far more powerful than she ever thought possible.

Otherworldly magic, Celtic monsters, and the wrath of the Morrigan: A Court of Thorns and Roses meets Percy Jackson. “The story is a fantastic adventure full of magic, love, coming of age, betrayals, and good vs. evil!! You won't want to put them down once you start.” ★★★★★ Suddenly, my pain and anger honed themselves into a sharp point, one aimed directly at the goddess's heart. She had been controlling Cade’s life, my life, for far too long. And then, in a powerful wave of realization strong enough to sweep the frantic tornado in my mind off course and force the air from my lungs, I understood what I needed to do . . . Meghan Elam knows that she belongs in the Otherworld, but she doesn't know if she's quite ready to take that leap. With Cade on the mend and her mortal family aware of their daughter's true identity, everything seems lined up for her to make a smooth transition into her new life. Unfortunately, Meghan has a mortal enemy, an angry goddess who has not yet given up on her chance for revenge. As Meghan struggles to find her place in Eile, secrets from a past she knows nothing about well up and threaten to tip the scales even further. And when the Morrigan vows to bring a war down upon the Otherworld, she finds herself stuck in the middle of an epic battle, one that promises to destroy all that she holds dear. In order to save the ones she loves the most, Meghan must be prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice and hope that she will be strong enough to vanquish her enemy once and for all.

We asked ten African American men from a wide range of backgrounds this question: If you had a chance to speak to the young Black men of America, what would you say?The essays in Brother to Brother are their answers. In this book, you will read the frequently encouraging, sometimes angry, occasionally sad, often challenging, but always thoughtful words of these ten men, including . . . • Kenyon Whittington, an abused and abandoned child who not only overcame his own harsh circumstances but now serves as a guide to others;• Fluke Fluker, a one-time juvenile delinquent, later Marine Corps sergeant, and founder of an organization that turned one failing Los Angeles high school around;• Joseph Marshall, Jr., whose success in touching the lives of San Francisco gang members has earned him an Oprah “Use Your Life” award;• Elijah Anderson, a distinguished sociologist whose study of the Black community is world-renowned;• Joe Davis, a former junkie and drug dealer, now a mental health therapist who works tirelessly to end the kind of senseless violence that put him in a wheelchair.These men and others are waiting for you in the pages of Brother to Brother. They reach out to take you by the hand and say, “Sit down, my brother. Let’s talk.”