Religious Biographies

Since she was young, Elisabeth Elliot had been intrigued by missionaries who gave up so much to tell others about God s love. With a passion to translate the Bible into new languages, she followed God's call to work among tribes in Ecuador, including the Waorani (Auca), who had killed her husband and four others. Elisabeth kept a detailed journal of her life and missionary service. She returned to the United States after many years in South America, becoming one of the most influential Christian women of our time.

Best selling author Amir Aczel ( God's Equation) delves into the riddle of infinity, religion and science with "mad" mathematician Georg Cantor, in what Booklist calls "an indispensable book for anyone interested in the darker side of intellectual progress."

On a hot July afternoon, Joni Eareckson Tada's life was dramatically altered in a split second. A reckless dive into shallow water took an athletic young woman from health and success to life as a quadriplegic in a wheelchair. In the 45 years since the release of this book - which has more than five million copies in print in over 40 languages - Joni's earnest struggle to find hope has resonated with millions of listeners around the world.

Through vivid storytelling, this historical account reveals the disturbing influences and grim motives that possessed Alessandro Serenelli, St. Maria Goretti’s murderer. Yet it is much more than a chilling tale; this true narrative is a testament of transformation and redemption — God’s mercy shining forth through the most seemingly hopeless of situations. Just as great literature and spiritual writing have the power to transform the soul and spur it on to heroic deeds, the force of immoral prose can corrupt and even drive the soul to unspeakable deeds.

This book is an autobiography of my life growing up in a fundamentalist Mormon cult. The story details a life of living polygamy with three wives with struggles, triumphs, and family drama. After forty-five years I found my way out of the cult mentality and peace in a new life experience.

In 1955, a recent immigrant to Canada embarked on a journey to India that would ultimately revolutionize the interpretation of yoga in the West. Her pilgrimage is vividly captured in Radha: Diary of a Woman's Search, an account of Swami Sivananda Radha's journey of personal transformation. From the banks of the Ganges and the streets of Rishikesh, this engaging pilgrimage will take you inside the heart and mind of one of the foremost yoginis of our times. Intimately illustrates the challenges and victories of taking the first steps on the spiritual path.

"Victoria" grew up in Pakistan as a Christian. As a minority in a Muslim country, she was called "paleed", "despicable", by the other children. Twice she almost died for her faith. But this is not a story of anger and hate, but love and forgiveness. How could a person who experienced persecution come to forgive and love her persecutors? God is able to use the most unpretentious, unassuming human being to make his love known. "Victoria" is proof of that. There is a Study Guide for The Despicable Missionary, a six session guide focused on forgiving when forgiveness is hard.

A teacher nicknamed him Stupid for an entire school year.... Job-placement counselors told him to steer clear of college due to his academic ineptitude.... Friends shied away from him because of his love for the arts.... Even those closest to him were mystified by his early passion for the Bible and his lack of interest in sports.

John Wesley was one of the most important figures behind the founding of modern evangelicalism. From his crucial role in the Great Awakening to his inspiring a renewal movement within the Church of England, Wesley’s historical significance is undeniable and his legacy still challenges us today, regardless of our denominational affiliation or theological perspective.

Sean was a seventh-grade drop-out, a dishwasher then a construction worker to help his mother and sister scrape by, and a self-described "nobody with a sad story behind him." Yet he cannot deny the glimmers of life's goodness even amid its rough edges. Such goodness becomes even harder to deny when Sean meets the love of his life at a fried chicken church potluck, and harder still when his lifelong love of storytelling leads him to stages across the southeast, where he is known and loved as "Sean of the South."

For five centuries, Martin Luther has been lionized as an outspoken and fearless icon of change who ended the Middle Ages and heralded the beginning of the modern world. In Rebel in the Ranks, Brad Gregory, renowned professor of European history at Notre Dame, recasts this long-accepted portrait. Luther did not intend to start a revolution that would divide the Catholic Church and forever change Western civilization. Yet his actions would profoundly shape our world in ways he could never have imagined.

Moved by his mother's death and his Irish Catholic family's complicated history with the church, Timothy Egan decided to follow in the footsteps of centuries of seekers to force a reckoning with his own beliefs. He embarked on a thousand-mile pilgrimage through the theological cradle of Christianity, exploring one of the biggest stories of our time: the collapse of religion in the world that it created. The goal: walking to St. Peter's Square, in hopes of meeting the galvanizing pope who is struggling to hold together the church through the worst crisis in half a millennium.

Douglas Campbell has made a name for himself as one of Paul’s most insightful and provocative interpreters. In this short and spirited book, Campbell introduces listeners to the apostle he has studied in depth over his scholarly career. Enter with Campbell into Paul’s world, relive the story of Paul’s action-packed ministry, and follow the development of Paul’s thought throughout both his physical and his spiritual travels.

I Am Restored tells the untold story of how Lecrae's past nearly ruined his future—until he learned that the wounds we carry can have the potential to be unlikely guides to healing and freedom for ourselves and others. He documents the shattering yet hopeful story of how he faced the scars of his past—sexual abuse, physical trauma, addiction, and depression—and emerged more human than ever. This is a hopeful, inspiring charge to start your journey to healing today. No matter what your past has held, God is near you, he hears you, and he's not done writing your story.

Acclaimed best-selling author Francine Prose offers a listen of Guggenheim's life that will enthrall enthusiasts of 21st-century art as well as anyone interested in American and European culture and the interrelationships between them. The lively and insightful narrative follows Guggenheim through virtually every aspect of her extraordinary life, from her unique collecting habits and paradigm-changing discoveries to her celebrity friendships, failed marriages, and scandalous affairs.

It is said that when Joan of Arc was born on January 6 in 1412, the roosters in her village all crowed, even though it was midnight. When Joan was 13 years old, something happened to change her life. She was working in the garden when she thought she saw a bright light coming from the church, and heard someone speaking French in a sweet, low, beautiful voice.

This audiobook contains the strange, raw, and epiphany-filled stories that led to Read’s dramatic nine-month conversion from atheism to Catholicism. Focusing not only on Read’s life but also on the lives of others who, knowingly or unknowingly, encountered the Virgin, this literary memoir is a testimony of how a Mother patiently brought one child home to her Son—and slowly revealed her own heart.

Warrior: A Spiritual Odyssey consists of the life stories of a modern day mystic. Rev. Bill McDonald takes the listener on a journey with these told-from-the-heart life experiences. This is his autobiography and follows his life before going off to war in Vietnam - in Vietnam and afterwards. The combination of the author's supernatural and mystical stories and powerful reading give the listener a truly spiritual listening experience.

God's Immeasurable grace. It's the most important ingredient for the perfect love story. Tragic circumstances often stretch relationships to their breaking point. But God's grace is always more than enough. For Ken and Joni Eareckson Tada, enduring quadriplegia, chronic pain, cancer, and depression only made their love more vibrant through 30 years of marriage. Discover a bond that has seen the worst and claimed the best. Listen about Joni and Ken’s challenges firsthand. Discover God's immeasurable grace along the way, as their story inspires and enriches your own relationships.

Autobiography of a Yogi is at once a beautifully written account of an exceptional life and a profound introduction to the ancient science of yoga and its time-honored tradition of meditation. The author clearly explains the subtle but definite laws behind both the ordinary events of everyday life and the extraordinary events commonly termed miracles. His absorbing life story thus becomes the background for a penetrating and unforgettable look at the ultimate mysteries of human existence.