Publications by Type: Book

Dr. Katharine Brooks provides a road map for twenty-somethings, replacing obsolete thinking that "major = career," and instead using positive psychology, mapping techniques, and experimental wanderings to help job seekers reframe their skills. Brooks provides effective strategies to help readers mine their academic and life experiences for new insights into landing jobs with the best employers, and finding alternatives when the situation calls for a Plan B.  You Majored in What? offers a practical and proven approach to reframing experiences, discovering overlooked opportunities, and finding a true calling, regardless of your undergraduate major or the state of the job market.

In Wishful Thinking, the first book in his much-loved lexical trilogy, Frederick Buechner puts the language of God, the universe, and the human spirit under his wry linguistic microscope. In his often ironic and always keen-sighted reflections on such terms as agnostic, envy, love, and sin, he invited us to look at theses everyday words in new and enlightening ways. Freshly revised and expanded for this edition, Wishful Thinking is a "beguiling" [Time] adventure in language for the restless believer, the doubter, and all who love words.

A current theoretical context for student development -- Developing competence -- Managing emotions -- Moving through autonomy toward interdependence -- Developing mature interpersonal relationships -- Establishing identity -- Developing purpose -- Developing integrity -- Clear and consistent institutional objectives -- Institutional size -- Student-faculty relationships -- Curriculum -- Teaching -- Friendships and student communities -- Student development programs and services -- Creating educationally powerful environments.

We all know that higher education has changed dramatically over the past two decades. Historically a time of exploration and self-discovery, the college years have been narrowed toward an increasingly singular goal—career training—and college students these days forgo the big questions about who they are and how they can change the world and instead focus single-mindedly on their economic survival. In The Purposeful Graduate, Tim Clydesdale elucidates just what a tremendous loss this is, for our youth, our universities, and our future as a society. At the same time, he shows that it doesn’t have to be this way: higher education can retain its higher cultural role, and students with a true sense of purpose—of personal, cultural, and intellectual value that cannot be measured by a wage—can be streaming out of every one of its institutions ... The key, he argues, is simple: direct, systematic, and creative programs that engage undergraduates on the question of purpose. Backing up his argument with rich data from a Lilly Endowment grant that funded such programs on eighty-eight different campuses, he shows that thoughtful engagement of the notion of vocational calling by students, faculty, and staff can bring rich rewards for all those involved: greater intellectual development, more robust community involvement, and a more proactive approach to lifelong goals. Nearly every institution he examines—from internationally acclaimed research universities to small liberal arts colleges—is a success story, each designing and implementing its own program, that provides students with deep resources that help them to launch flourishing lives.

Paulo Coelho's masterpiece tells the magical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure as extravagant as any ever found.  The story of the treasures Santiago finds along the way teaches us, as only a few stories can, about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and, above all, following our dreams.

Drawing on the revelatory results of a landmark study, William Damon--one of the country's leading writers on the lives of young eoeple, who book Greater Expecations won hte Parents' Choice Award--brilliantly investigates the most pressing issue in hthe lives of youth today: why so many young people are "failing to launch." Damon offers compelling portraits of young people who are thriving and identifies the nine key factors that have made the difference for them, presenting simple but powerful methods that parents and all adults can and must employ in order to cultivate that energized sense of purpose in young people that will launch them on the path to a deeply satisfying and productive life.

The most fundamental guide to the Enneagram ever offered, this book features effective self-tests to determine simply and accurately what your personality type is. Daniels and Price provide step-by-step instructions for taking inventory of how you think, what you feel, and what you experience. They then guide you in your discovery of what your type means for your personal well-being and your relationships with others, and they show you how to maximize your inherent strengths. Brimming with empowering information for each of the nine personality types—Perfectionist, Giver, Performer, Romantic, Observer, Loyal Skeptic, Epicure, Protector, and Mediator—this one-of-a-kind book equips you with all the tools you need to dramatically enhance your quality of life.

Contributions from a wide array of Latino/a scholars deepen our understanding of Catholic theological exploration and theological education among and for Latino/a Catholics. 

While the growth in both numbers and influence of Hispanics in North American Catholicism and Protestantism has been commented on widely, up until now there has been no systematic attempt to define a Hispanic theology...In delineating the very particular nature and worldview of Hispanic/Latino theology, Caminemos con Jesus challenges both traditional Euro-American theologies and modern Western epistemological assumptions. It examines the implications of this theological method for the Church and the academy, as well as for the future of the Latino community and North American society...

Tales of Good and Evil focuses on what Hallie calls the "lucid mystery" of those who choose to help others in need, through the life stories of three people...In this study in moral ambiguity, written with great eloquence, we see a distinguished ethicist's concern with grasping the essence of good and evil both in daily life and under extraordinary circumstances.

Helping Sophomores Succeed offers an in-depth, comprehensive understanding of the common challenges that arise in a student's second year of college...Helping Sophomores Succeed serves as a foundation for designing programs and services for the second-year student population that will help to promote retention, academic and career development, and personal transition and growth.

Drawing from a decade of work with hundreds of twentysomething clients and students, THE DEFINING DECADE weaves the latest science of the twentysomething years with behind-closed-doors stories from twentysomethings themselves. The result is a provocative read that provides the tools necessary to make the most of your twenties, and shows us how work, relationships, personality, social networks, identity, and even the brain can change more during this decade than at any other time in adulthood-if we use the time wisely.

The Social Change Model of Leadership Development particularly appeals to undergraduate students because it's an approach to leadership development that views leadership as a purposeful, collaborative, values-based process that uses multiple perspectives to enact positive social change. This accessible textbook engages the reader in understanding the nature of social change and the dimensions of leadership that help one become an effective change agent. It includes case studies, reflection questions, and learning activities to help facilitate engagement with the model. Written and edited by some of the country's most recognized and active scholars and educators in student leadership, the book has been field-tested by leadership faculty.

After describing the biblical mandates for the mission of ministry, Dr. Messer calls church leaders to:

• understand the world as God's body
• live as a covenant of global gardeners
• work as bridge builders
• form a company of star-throwers and peacemakers
• embrace a community of fence movers.

"In the United States," writes Carmen Nanko-Fernandez, "las teologias latinas are theolgies dreamed in Spanish, articulated in English, and lived in Spanglish." The title of her book conveys the creative tension of this complex, multidimensional reality. Latina theolgoies participate in that 'irruption of contextuality' that characterizes our time. Using fresh, playful language that tweaks the pretentions of mainstream academic theology, she covers a range of topics, from the implications of population shifts on the identity of the church, to the role of the 'everyday' or 'lo cotidiano' in theology, and even the global phenomenon of 'beisbol.'

After fifteen years of teaching anthropology at a large university, Rebekah Nathan had become baffled by her own students. Their strange behavior—eating meals at their desks, not completing reading assignments, remaining silent through class discussions—made her feel as if she were dealing with a completely foreign culture. So Nathan decided to do what anthropologists do when confused by a different culture: Go live with them. She enrolled as a freshman, moved into the dorm, ate in the dining hall, and took a full load of courses. And she came to understand that being a student is a pretty difficult job, too. Her discoveries about contemporary undergraduate culture are surprising and her observations are invaluable, making My Freshman Year essential reading for students, parents, faculty, and anyone interested in educational policy.

What does it mean to find and follow our personal calling? How do we distinguish between the "still, small voice" of our authentic vocation and all of the other competing counterfeit voices in ourselves and in our culture? Specifically, how do we balance the inward listening to our hearts and the need to listen with our hearts to the realities and needs of our world? Drawing widely on the wisdom of saints, sages, and the traditions of spiritual direction, Neafsey describes a path to living in the place, as Frederick Buechner has put it, "where our deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet."

With wisdom, compassion, and gentle humor, Parker J. Palmer invites us to listen to the inner teacher and follow its leadings toward a sense of meaning and purpose. Telling stories from his own life and the lives of others who have made a difference, he shares insights gained from darkness and depression as well as fulfillment and joy, illuminating a pathway toward vocation for all who seek the true calling of their lives.

Building on the foundation she established with her ground-breaking book, The Critical Years, Parks invites us to take up responsibility for providing thoughtful mentorship and mentoring environments during the wilderness years of young adulthood. In this updated edition she addresses recent current events: violence in our culture, smart phones, mixed spirituality/religious identities, social media/networking, the economic crisis, changing racial identity, cultural shifts and other forces shaping the narrative of young adulthood today. She provides concrete ways of employing the theory in different types of mentoring communities, more on the relationship between meaning-making (faith/religion/spirituality) and disciplinary learning and includes new (and more timely) stories and illustrations.