Heart Essays

The ethos of East Texas is especially embodied in the story of Jeff Traylor, former head coach of the Gilmer Buckeyes, and his long-time coaching staff. A native son, Traylor and his band of brothers transformed the Buckeyes into champions, and in doing so help tell the story of the entire region's obsession with high school football, and undeniable influence on all levels of the sport. This is the story of the coach, the team, and the region.

In Struck Inside Out, writer and blogger Danielle Bertoli delivers lessons on cultivating daily inspiration, overcoming heartbreak, and loving yourself unconditionally. This moving companion offers reminders that no matter what you’re going through, you can handle it. Through reflections in poetry and prose, Danielle shares her story of overcoming obstacles to transform self-doubt into self-love.

The Heart's Truth should be listened to at every nursing school in the country. It offers a powerful and moving portrait of what it means to be a nurse. In writing that is of the highest quality, the listener is swept up in the drama of nursing and the compassion with which it is perfused.

The handsome Texas sailor who offers dinner to a runaway in Central Park. The Midwestern college girl who stops a cop in Times Square for restaurant advice. The Brooklyn man on a midnight subway who helps a weary tourist find her way to Chinatown. The Columbia University graduate student who encounters an unexpected object of beauty at the Metropolitan Museum of Art....

In this remarkable audiobook of days, John Hildebrand charts the overlapping rings - home, town, countryside - of life in the Midwest. Like E. B. White, Hildebrand locates the humor and drama in ordinary life. In these wry, sharply observed essays, the Midwest isn’t "The Land Time Forgot", but a more complicated (and vastly more interesting) place where the good life awaits once we figure exactly out what it means.

A remarkable insight into the birth of a writer and the moving discovery of family secrets. When Hanif Kureishi discovers an abandoned manuscript of his father's, his understanding of the family history is transformed. So begins a journey which takes Kureishi through his father's privileged childhood by the sea in Bombay, to the trauma of partition and to his adult life hidden away in the suburbs of Bromley - his days spent as a minor functionary in the Pakistan embassy in London, his nights writing prose, hopeful of one day receiving literary recognition.

Provocative, thoughtful, beautiful, these essays have a directness and humanity that connects with our era.

In the car she’d had since high school—with the boyfriend she’d had just as long riding shotgun—Minda Honey made the cross-country drive to sunny Southern California. By the end of 2008, Obama would be president, she’d be single, and change would be upon us all.

What if the shortest book in the Old Testament held the loudest warning for our modern hearts? Enemies of the Heart brings the ancient words of the prophet Obadiah into urgent focus for today’s world. In just 21 verses, Obadiah unmasks the deadly effects of pride, silence, misplaced trust, and gloating over others’ pain. But he also reveals a stunning hope: God sees everything, and justice is not delayed forever.

Embrace mindfulness to truly connect with the ones you love. If you are looking for a more enriching and empathetic way to raise your children, Five-Minute Mindfulness: Parenting is the perfect companion. The enlightening essays and simple exercises in this book will help you to communicate more effectively, make your relationships more harmonious, and ensure that the time you spend with your family is rewarding for you, your partner, and your children.

James Allen. Selected Works brings together two of the most influential and enduring classics of personal development: As a Man Thinketh and Out from the Heart. These short, thoughtful essays explore the power of thought, the formation of character, the nature of habit, and the quiet strength of self-mastery. First published over a century ago, these works continue to resonate with readers seeking clarity, purpose, and peace of mind. Allen's style is calm, concise, and deeply reflective—free from hype, but rich in insight. There are no quick fixes here. No twelve-step programs.

This essay comes from the NPR series This I Believe, which features brief personal reflections from both famous and unknown Americans. The pieces that make up the series compel listeners to rethink not only what and how they have arrived at their beliefs, but also the extent to which they share them with others.