Daris Howard Libri

When Rachel married, her life became a nightmare filled with abuse from her husband and a struggle to take care of her children. Now divorced, her exhusband still haunts her life with threats and demands for the little money she has. But when a stranger stands up for her against the abuse, her life begins to change in ways she could only dream of as she finds new courage, strength, and different, deeper challenges at the same time. The Last Gift is a book of clean romance, a journey of understanding and forgiveness, and a story that, at times, might bite painfully into the reader's own memories of missed opportunities and foolish decisions, while at the same time giving hope from the depths of what life is all about.

Tom Johnson is in college. He has struggled in his dating, partly because he is shy and partly because he is not a good dancer. A girl convinces him to sign up for a dance class, telling him it is first-semester dance and she will help him. But in the first class, they learn it is fourth-semester competitive dance, that there are 54 girls and 8 boys, and Tom wreaks havoc in his attempt at dancing. They decide to sign out of the class, but the teacher won’t sign Tom’s card. That is when a kind girl and her friends start to work with Tom to compete in the International Ballroom Competition.This is a fun story filled with struggles of dating and feeling socially unaccepted. It is also one of determination, hard work, and friendship.

Fifty-two humorous and inspirational short stories from year twelve of Life's Outtakes, a nationally syndicated column by Daris Howard. From the inspiration of a high school councilor's love for his students in Looking on the Heart to the humor of a Halloween prank in A Halloween Cat Attack, this book is a fun look at family and community life.