Showing results by author "Paula Daly" in All Categories

Perfection is the enemy of parenting. Jim Daly sees and hears from mothers and fathers trying hard to pursue perfection. They listen to the best experts and read all the right books. When someone gives them a "World's Best Mom" or "Number One Dad" coffee mug, they want it to be true. And they want their children to pursue perfection, too. It's admirable for parents to be the very best moms and dads they can be for their children. But sometimes in so doing, they leave grace behind - both for themselves and for their children.

Lisa Kallisto is the not-so-perfect model of the modern woman. During an impossibly hectic week, Lisa takes her eye off the ball for a moment and her world descends into a living nightmare. Not only is her best friend's thirteen-year-old daughter missing, but it's Lisa's fault. To make matters worse, Lucinda is the second teenage girl to disappear within the past two weeks. The first one turned up stripped bare and abandoned on the main street after a horrible ordeal. Wracked with guilt over her mistake, and after having been publicly blamed by Lucinda's family, Lisa sets out to right the wrong.

Natty and Sean Wainwright have a rock-solid marriage and family. When their younger daughter falls ill on an overseas school trip, Natty rushes to her side. Luckily, Natty's best friend from college, Eve Dalladay, is visiting and offers to stay with Sean to lend a hand in the Wainwright household. But Natty returns home to find that Sean has fallen in love with Eve. Natty attempts to start anew, but Eve is there to knock her down again.

Marketing, sales, and branding (yes - branding!) must radically shift to reflect how people actually engage with companies. It would be an understatement to say the auto industry has been slow to adapt. Make no mistake, change - spurred by the Amazons, Carvanas, and CarMaxes of the world - is upon us. If you’re not willing to be among the most innovative thinkers regarding brand connection, you’re simply not going to survive, let alone thrive.

When Carrie was accused of brutally murdering her husband’s lover, she denied it. She denied it when they arrested her, when they put her in front of a jury, and when they sent her to prison. Now she’s three years into a 15-year sentence, away from the daughter she loves and the life she had built. And she is still denying that she is to blame. Tess Gilroy has devoted her life to righting wrongs for Innocence UK. But when she is asked to take Carrie’s case, Tess realizes she must risk uncovering the secrets she has struggled for a lifetime to hide.

Jane Campbell avoids confrontation at all costs. Given the choice, she'll always let her husband, Leon, a best-selling thriller author, fight their battles. She'd prefer to focus on the good things in life: precious days with her two young children, a steady and loving marriage, their mischievously playful cat Bonita, and her fulfilling job as a creative-writing teacher. In Jane's eyes, life is altogether sweeter than any individual bump in the road. But when Leon suffers a brutal attack, Jane has to finally face reality.

Karen Bloom is not the coddling mother type. She believes that tough discipline is the true art of parenting. She expects her husband and her children to perform at 200 percent, no matter the cost. But her unending quest for excellence causes her seemingly flawless family to rebel against her. When tragedy strikes the Blooms, Karen's carefully constructed facade begins to fall apart - and once the deadly cracks appear, they are impossible to stop.

Single mother Roz has reached her breaking point. After the dissolution of her marriage, Roz's business has gone under, debts are racking up, the rent is late, and she's struggling to provide for her son, who is misbehaving in school. When Roz gets an eviction notice, she knows it's time for action - she has two weeks to find a solution, or they will be kicked out of their home.

What if your best friend’s child disappears? On your watch? What would you do? This is exactly what happens to Lisa Kallisto one freezing December in the English Lakes. Her whole world descends into the stuff of nightmares. Because, not only is 13-year-old Lucinda missing, and not only is it all Lisa’s fault, but she’s the second teenage girl to disappear within a fortnight. And the first one turned up stripped bare, after suffering from a terrifying ordeal. Wracked with guilt over her mistake, and after being publicly blamed by Lucinda’s family, Lisa sets out to right the wrong.

Natty and Sean Wainwright are happily married. Rock solid in fact. So when Natty's oldest friend, Eve Dalladay, appears - just as their daughter collapses on a school trip in France - Natty has no qualms about leaving Eve with Sean to help out at home. Two weeks later and Natty finds Eve has slotted into family life too well - her husband has fallen in love with Eve. He's sorry, he tells her, but their marriage is over. With no option but to put a brave face on things for the sake of the children, Natty embarks on building a new life for herself.

Jane doesn’t like confrontation. Given the choice, she’ll let her husband, Leon, fight their battles. She’d prefer to focus on what’s going well, the good things in life. But when best-selling crime author Leon is brutally attacked in the driveway of their home, in front of their two young children, Jane has to face reality. With her husband in a coma, Jane must open her eyes to the problems in her life, and the secrets that have been kept from her, if she’s to find out who hurt her husband - and why. Maybe it’s time to face up to it all. Who knows what you might find....

Karen Bloom has always wanted the best things in life. And that includes her children; quite simply, she expects them to be perfect. Her son, Ewan, has been something of a disappointment, and she won't be making the same mistake again with her beloved daughter, Bronte. Bronte's every waking hour will be spent at music lessons and dance classes, doing whatever it takes to excel. But as Karen pushes Bronte to the brink, the rest of the family crumbles.

When Carrie was accused of brutally murdering her husband’s lover, she denied it. She denied it when they arrested her, when they put her in front of a jury and when they sent her to prison. Now she’s three years into a 15-year sentence, away from the daughter she loves and the life she had built. And she is still denying that she is to blame.

We all think we know who we are. What we’re capable of. Roz is a single mother, a physiotherapist, a sister, a friend. She’s also desperate. Her business has gone under, she’s crippled by debt and she’s just had to explain to her son why someone’s taken all their furniture away. But now a stranger has made her an offer. For one night with her, he’ll pay enough to bring her back from the edge. Roz has a choice to make.

Lisa Kallisto, heillos überforderte Mutter dreier Kinder, ist verzweifelt: Lucinda, eine Freundin ihrer Tochter, ist spurlos verschwunden - dabei hätte sie in Lisas Obhut sein sollen, denn es war geplant, dass sie die Nacht bei den Kallistos verbringt. Die Polizei vermutet, dass Lucinda bereits am Vortag entführt wurde. Um ihr Versagen wiedergutzumachen, macht sich Lisa selbst auf die Suche nach dem Mädchen.