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For Kerry Kennedy, who grew up in a devoutly Catholic household coping with great loss, her family’s faith was a constant source of strength and solace. As an adult, she came to question some of the attitudes and teachings of the Catholic Church while remaining an impassioned believer in its role as a defender of the poor and oppressed.

“Generations ago,” says Kennedy, “the search for spirituality came predefined and prepackaged. [The Church] not only gave us all the answers, it even gave us the questions to ask.” Now many of the old certainties are being reexamined. In an attempt to convey this sea change, Kennedy asked thirty-seven American Catholics to speak candidly about their own faith—whether lost, recovered, or deepened—and about their feelings regarding the way the Church hierarchy is moving forward.

The voices included here range from respectful to reproachful and from appreciative to angry. Speaking their minds are businesspeople, actors and entertainers, educators, journalists, politicians, union leaders, nuns, priests—even a cardinal. Some love the Church; some feel intensely that the Church wronged them. All have an illuminating insight or perspective.

Kerry Kennedy herself speaks of the joy of growing up as one of Robert and Ethel Kennedy’s eleven children, of the tragedies that eventually befell her family, and of how religion was deeply woven through good times and bad. Journalist Andrew Sullivan talks about reconciling his devout Catholicism with the Church’s condemnation of his identity as a gay man. TV newswoman Cokie Roberts recalls the nuns who taught her and “took girls seriously when nobody else did.” Comedian Bill Maher declares, “I hate religion. It’s the worst thing in the world”—and goes on to defend his bold assertion. Writer Anna Quindlen depicts a common parental challenge: passing along traditions and values to a younger generation sometimes deaf to spiritual messages.

Through these and many other voices that speak not only to Catholics but to all of us, Being Catholic Now redefines an ancient institution in the most contemporary of terms.

From Being Catholic Now

“When my mom asked if I wanted to be a nun, I said I’d rather be a priest. . . . The nuns were always wonderful, but the power was with the priest.” —Nancy Pelosi

“There are aspects of studying the saints, with the candles, incense, and Latin Masses and some of the pageantry of the Church that, as an American historian, make me feel part of a larger wave of history. That it’s not a newfangled religion, which some people get great solace from. I feel that I’m connected to places.”
—Douglas Brinkley

“Faith isn’t like picking courses off a menu. It’s a journey, and it’s a path. If your path and journey have been within one structure your entire life, then simply leaving isn’t an option.” —Andrew Sullivan

“Why stay Catholic? Because the hierarchy is not the Church. . . .We [the people of God] are the Church. They can’t take that away from us.” —Cokie Roberts

“I was told very early on by the nuns that I had an ‘overabundance of original sin.’ I was a quiet kid, but I was curious. I asked the wrong questions.” —Susan Sarandon

“I don’t believe you can be authentically Catholic without being committed to the social doctrine of the Church. When I was in grammar school, we had these little boxes to help the poor. That was good, but that is half of it. The other half is to find out why there are so many poor people and how we can do something to help them.” —Cardinal Theodore Edgar McCarrick

“I am reconciled to the oblivion that is coming. I see no proof of anything else, if it is a matter of faith. I admire people who have faith in God. It must be a great comfort to them, but I had to get out from under the fear and the guilt.” —Frank McCourt

“I went to church and the door was locked. I was knocking and ringing the bell. I waited and waited and nobody came. [The priest thought] there was an emergency, because of all the banging and ringing. He looked down at me and said, ‘What is it?’ I said, ‘I’m sorry to bother you, Father, but I’ve been away from the Church many, many years and I’d like to come back. I’d like to go to confession.’ He looked at me and something behind his eyes said, ‘You came to the right place.’ He knew that it was an important moment for me; he got it instantly.” —Martin Sheen.
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As a traditional psychotherapist, Dr. Brian Weiss was astonished and skeptical when one of his patients began recalling past-life traumas that seemed to hold the key to her recurring nightmares and anxiety attacks. His skepticism was eroded, however, when she began to channel messages from the "space between lives," which contained remarkable revelations about Dr. Weiss' family and his dead son. Using past-life therapy, he was able to cure the patient and embark on a new, more meaningful phase of his own career..
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“When my mother got her nose job, she wanted me to get one, too. She said I would be happier ”—Dustin Hoffman


“It’s a heritage to be proud of. And then, too, it’s something that you can’t escape because the world won’t let you; so it’s a good thing you can be proud of it.”
—Ruth Bader Ginsburg


“My wife [Kate Capshaw] chose to do a full conversion before we were married in 1991, and she married me as a Jew. I think that, more than anything else, brought me back to Judaism.”—Steven Spielberg


“As someone who was born in Israel, you’re put in a position of defending Israel because you know how much is at stake.”—Natalie Portman


“Jewish introspection and Jewish humor is a way of surviving . . . if you’re not handsome and you’re not athletic and you’re not rich, there’s still one last hope with girls, which is being funny.”—Mike Nichols


“I felt not only this enormous pride at being a Jew; I felt this enormous void at not being a better Jew.”—Ronald O. Perelman


“American Jews, like Americans, have a very consumerist attitude toward their identity: they pick and choose the bits of this and that they like.”—Leon Wieseltier


“I thought if I had straight hair and a perfect nose, my whole career would be different.”—Sarah Jessica Parker


“I’ve always rebelled a little when people say, ‘My Jewish values lead me to really care about the poor.’ I know some Christians who care about the poor, too.”—William Kristol


“There were many times when I kept silent about being Jewish as I got older, when Jewish jokes were told.”—William Shatner


“‘Jew bastard’ was something I heard a lot.”—Leonard Nimoy.


“I always liked shiksas.”—Larry King


“It specifically says in the Torah that you can eat shrimp and bacon in a Chinese restaurant.”—Jason Alexander


“Yom Kippur is something I do alone, with nobody else, because I believe that my relationship with God is mine and mine only.”—Diane von Furstenberg

Sixty-two of the most accomplished Jews in America speak intimately—most for the first time—about how they feel about being Jewish. In unusually candid interviews conducted by former 60 Minutes producer Abigail Pogrebin, celebrities ranging from Sarah Jessica Parker to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, from Larry King to Mike Nichols, reveal how resonant, crucial or incidental being Jewish is in their lives. The connections they have to their Jewish heritage range from hours in synagogue to bagels and lox; but every person speaks to the weight and pride of their Jewish history, the burdens and pleasures of observance, the moments they’ve felt most Jewish (or not). This book of vivid, personal conversations uncovers how being Jewish fits into a public life, and also how the author’s evolving religious identity was changed by what she heard.

· Dustin Hoffman, Steven Spielberg, Gene Wilder, Joan Rivers, and Leonard Nimoy talk about their startling encounters with anti-Semitism.
· Kenneth Cole, Eliot Spitzer, and Ronald Perelman explore the challenges of intermarriage.
· Mike Wallace, Richard Dreyfuss, and Ruth Reichl express attitudes toward Israel that vary from unquestioning loyalty to complicated ambivalence.
· William Kristol scoffs at the notion that Jewish values are incompatible with Conservative politics.
· Alan Dershowitz, raised Orthodox, talks about why he gave up morning prayer.
· Shawn Green describes the pressure that comes with being baseball’s Jewish star.
· Natalie Portman questions the ostentatious bat mitzvahs of her hometown.
· Tony Kushner explains how being Jewish prepared him for being gay.
· Leon Wieseltier throws down the gauntlet to Jews who haven’t taken the trouble to study Judaism.
These are just a few key moments from many poignant, often surprising, conversations with public figures whom most of us thought we already knew.

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Who Says Animals Go To Heaven? This book will show you some of the Ministers who said it! If you ever wondered if animals go to Heaven, this book will answer your question This is a collection of over 60 commentaries from Christian Ministers who share their belief that all animals have eternal life. These Bible experts cross the lines of denominations, and span throughout generations and geographical locations. If you've ever had a Minister tell you that animals don't go to Heaven, you'll really appreciate this book. It expands on all the Scriptures we covered in; There Is Eternal Life For Animals; which proved that all animals go to Heaven, and now you can hear it straight from the Ministers. It is a very exciting and revealing collection of commentaries that has never been compiled in one book before!.
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Applying to Graduate School in Psychology provides prospective graduate students with the insider knowledge needed to bolster their confidence and gain a competitive edge. This comprehensive resource shares personal accounts from both peer and expert perspectives to fully illustrate the ins and outs of applying and preparing for the graduate school experience. As future professionals in psychology, readers will greatly benefit from the straightforward and personal guidance offered by the student and psychologist contributors.

Potential applicants learn the commonalities and differences among diverse student experiences from a variety of academic institutions and programs. This student-to-student format offers familiarity and identification with those who have successfully enrolled in graduate programs across the country. Each chapter presents practical advice, key information, and encouragement, while describing the dos and don'ts of applying. In the psychologist-written essays, renowned professionals share their academic and career development stories and provide meaningful insight into the rewards and challenges of the field. The contributors' infectious passion for psychology will inspire readers to further their education and narrow down their program of choice..
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The famous slogan of one major TV news network, More people get their news ... than from any other source, now applies to the Internet. But where can you find the news you need, how can you gauge its veracity, and how can anyone keep up? The answers are in this unique book by a professor of journalism and a working reporter. Jim Broderick and Darren Miller have written an A to Z guide to the best and worst news and information sites, featuring 100 in-depth, critical reviews and a 4-star rating system. You ll discover dozens of reliable sites that meet your needs, learn what to expect before you log on, and gain a reporter s hardnosed perspective on the motives and bias behind each resource. The supporting Web site is a virtual portal to the world of online news..
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Best of Talkin' Horses features provocative chats with Thoroughbred racing's most prominent names. Adapted from the popular weekly online series of the same name hosted by Bloodhorse.com, this edited collection will provide additional insights by Ron Mitchell..
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Long Island's Gold Coast, more than any other section of the country, has captured the imagination of America. This, in part, is attributable to F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby."

The Spinzias' two-volume comprehensive analysis of the North Shore families documents over 1,500 estate owners in a modified "Who's Who" format. Included are 578 photographs of the estates, biographical data on the estate owners and their families, locations of estates using current street references and village designations, estate names, acreage, architects, architectural styles, dates of construction, landscape architects, subsequent owners, location of archival photographs of the estates, and information as to whether mansions are still extant and, if not, the dates of demolition.

Cross-referenced in the second-section appendices are estate names, village locations of estates, as well as architectural and landscape commissions. The civic activity and occupation appendices document the contribution of Long Islanders, including statesmen, intelligence agents, financiers, writers and inventors. Maiden names, rehabilitive secondary uses of estates including golf courses which were formerly private estates, motion pictures filmed at estate sites, a general bibliography of the "Gilded Age," and a bibliography specific to individual estate owners, with the location of personal papers, have also been included.

AUTHOR BIO: The Spinzias first book, Long Island: A Guide to New York's Suffolk and Nassau Counties (3rd edition due in 2007) is a standard reference book which has been used as a textbook for teaching Long Island history and can still be found in almost all public libraries and schools on Long Island. They write and speak on a variety of Long Island-related subjects including the North and South Shore estates, Tiffany stained-glass windows, and the Vanderbilts of Long Island. On several occasions their lectures have been chosen by the radio state of The New York Times, WQXR, as the cultural event of the day in the New York Metropolitan areas. Additionally, they have been featured on local television and radio programs and in articles published by The New York Times, Newsday, and other regional newspapers.

The Spinzias served as Long Island history consultants for a local cable television channel. They also contributed material to a Japanese television network for a documentary on Louis Comfort Tiffany and to the Arts and Entertainment Network's "Biography" series for its presentation on the Vanderbilt and Tiffany families..
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Personal and Passionate Reflections on the Land and Its People

"The Mediterranean landscape, the exuberance of the Israelis, the way politics is a matter of life and death there-all these things beguiled me."
-Erica Jong, author

"What does Israel mean to me? Courage. The Israelis have more courage in their pinky finger than I have in my whole life."
-Tovah Feldshuh, actress

"It is an unparalleled story of tenacity and determination, of courage and renewal. And it is ultimately a metaphor for the triumph and enduring hope over the temptation of despair."
-David Harris, Executive Director of the American Jewish Committee

"I have no desire to be like everyone else. Something in me wants the entry of the Jewish people into world politics to be judged by the highest conceivable measure. Indeed, that may be what is both so inspiring and confounding about the existence of Israel."
-Rabbi Lawrence Kushner?

"Israel isn't a symbol. Israel is the practical manifestation of hope, freedom, and self-determination."
-Larry King, television host.
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