Biological Parents

Natalie Armstrong has everything: She's smart and beautiful, has the perfect boyfriend, early acceptance to college, and a loving family. But the summer she turns 17, she finally decides to ask some unanswered questions: Who are her biological parents, and why did they give her up when she was born? These questions take her on a journey from the deep woods of Maine to the streets of New York City, from the pages of old phone books and a tattered yearbook photo to the realization that she might actually meet her biological mother face-to-face.

We have long attributed man's violent, aggressive, competitive nature to his animal ancestry. But what if we are just as given to cooperation, empathy, and morality by virtue of our genes? What if our behavior actually makes us apes? What kind of apes are we?

After two years of waiting to adopt - slogging through paperwork and bouncing between hope and despair - a miracle finally happened for Vanessa McGrady. Her sweet baby, Grace, was a dream come true. Then Vanessa made a highly uncommon gesture: when Grace’s biological parents became homeless, Vanessa invited them to stay. Without a blueprint for navigating the practical basics of an open adoption or any discussion of expectations or boundaries, the unusual living arrangement became a bottomless well of conflicting emotions and increasingly difficult decisions.

In this heartwarming and insightful exploration of fatherhood, Fa'Shay Halley delves deep into the profound impact of both biological and bonus dads. Intentional Dads provides a toolbox of strategies for cultivating open communication, instilling core values, and fostering resilience in the face of adversity. Drawing from personal experiences, interviews, and extensive research, Fa'Shay explores the essence of intentional fatherhood. Through powerful narratives and uplifting anecdotes, she reveals the unique challenges and joys faced by fathers as they navigate the complexities of raising ...

At the age of 27, Whitney Dafoe was forced to give up his life as a photographer who traveled the world. Bit by bit a mysterious illness stole away the pieces of his life: First, it took the strength of his legs, then his voice, and his ability to eat. The Puzzle Solver follows several years in which he desperately sought answers. Whitney's father, Ron Davis, PhD, a world-class geneticist at Stanford University whose legendary research helped crack the code of DNA, suddenly changed the course of his career in a race against time to cure his son's debilitating condition.

An exciting new series from the acclaimed author of Red Glass. Zeeta's life with her free-spirited mother, Layla, is anything but normal. Every year Layla picks another country she wants to live in. This summer they’re in Ecuador, and Zeeta is determined to convince her mother to settle down. Zeeta makes friends with vendors at the town market and begs them to think of upstanding, “normal” men to set up with Layla. There, Zeeta meets Wendell. She learns that he was born nearby, but adopted by an American family.

Millie, born Amelia Randall, was robbed of her childhood innocence by a series of tragic events. Her mother, Rachel, had mysteriously disappeared and her birth father was unaware of her existence. Left in the loving care of two humble local women in the slums of Beirut, she survives, but the little girl is separated from them as they are fleeing for their lives from a violent and evil man. Found as a stow-away on a sailing yacht, Millie is taken in by a British couple who help her reunite with her missing mother’s less-than-loving family. As Millie nears adulthood, she strikes out on her ...

Having a baby in a gas station attracted more attention than fifteen-year-old Kennedi wanted. Attention that led to placement with foster mom Amanda who acts overly controlling, and foster dad Henry who seems annoyed at her presence. When Henry suggests they look for her baby’s unknown father through a DNA heritage service to extract monetary restitution from him, Kennedi wonders if Henry is really trying to find relatives to send her to. The baby’s DNA results match with members of a paternal clan but lack matches to Kennedi’s own family lineage, leading to events that have her ...

Can two wounded hearts from broken families build a solid one together? Seeking a fresh start in Saint Cloud, Texas, Simon Smith gets more than he bargained for: an opportunity to learn who his father is… Like Simon, Mackenzie Cox carries scars from a painful childhood. Now a protective single mom, she’s wary of trusting again. Mackenzie has truly captured Simon’s heart, but will his kindness suffice to melt her fears and convince her to give love a second chance? In this poignant tale, two wounded souls discover that the greatest gifts come wrapped in forgiveness, family, and ...

I had a crazy uncle, like most everyone does. Many of his stories were about a big hairy monster that lived in the woods behind his cabin in the woods. He called the monster Bigfoot, a name I thought he made up when I was eight years old because I hadn’t heard the word before that. He had a Bigfoot encounter and was worried about abduction and attack all the time. My story takes place while I was in college, but it started way before that when Uncle Chip was still alive.

A crime forged in grief. One child abducted to replace another. But does a parent ever stop missing, or searching for, their lost child? In time, the discovery of a decomposing body, surrounded by drug paraphernalia, yields clues that help unravel the mystery of what happened to the missing boy, Nathan. Solving the mystery takes us from England to Spain and Portugal - and a bizarre set of circumstances that ultimately brings two families together.