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Generation Lockdown Writes: A collection of winning entries from the 'Generation Lockdown Writes' competition
by Amy LangdownApril 2020: the country is deep in the first lockdown as a result of coronavirus. Young people are left rootless, without school or friends and isolated at home. In this enforced alienation a creative writing competition, ‘Generation Lockdown Writes’, was launched for young people from the ages of seven to 17. The only rule was that submissions to the competition had to provide an insight into what life was like for them in lockdown – to open up windows of homes and experiences across the UK. Some of Britain’s finest authors for young people stepped in to judge the ten individual categories, and the entries flooded in. ‘Generation Lockdown Writes’ is the stunning final collection of the winning entries, chosen from over six thousand entries. The beautiful and varied pieces provide a unique insight into what life was really like for young people during this historical moment across Britain. We enter many different worlds, and are given a remarkable insight into the range of emotions that young people felt. From moments of fear to joy, this is a collection of writing that will linger in the memory for a long time.Profits from the sale of this book will be donated to BookTrust.
The Flying Child - A Cautionary Fairy Tale for Adults: Finding a purposeful life after child sexual abuse through compassionate and creative therapy
by Patricia Walsh Sophie Olson'And then came the session where I felt I would give up. I felt frustrated as I'd worked so hard on trying to speak but the most important words; the worst ones, had simply not come out. I implied I would not necessarily come back the following week and as I got up to leave the room, Pat said, 'Try detaching from it entirely. Try writing it as a fairy story. Start with the words, once upon a time there was a little girl'. That evening, I tried. I sat on my bed and typed on the note's app of my phone Once Upon A Time … and finally, four decades after the abuse began, the words started to flow.' This book documents the therapeutic journey undertaken by Sophie and her therapist, Pat. It includes all chapters of the fairy tale and the drawings Sophie created to help her make sense of her experiences and to reconnect with herself. It also contains the many in-between session conversations Pat and Sophie had by email, WhatsApp, and texts, with important insights into how to work safely with trauma. Essential reading for all therapists, counsellors, health professionals, educators, and social workers, interested in understanding or working with survivors of child sexual abuse, and for those who are survivors of sexual abuse, The Flying Child – A Cautionary Fairy Tale for Adults- Finding a purposeful life after Child Sexual Abuse through compassionate and creative therapy – is a must- have for your bookshelf. Today, Sophie is a survivor activist, writer, founder and managing director of The Flying Child: a non-profit, National Lottery Community Funded organisation improving the awareness of child sexual abuse and the consequences of trauma. The core aim of The Flying Child is to normalise speaking about CSA. The Flying Child Project brings lived experience into the heart of professional settings, providing training in Education, Social Work and Healthcare. Pat Walsh is an experiential and intuitive counsellor with over forty years' experience of working in trauma. Her background in nursing and occupational therapy taught her that to heal properly, wounds must be deeply cleansed, and purpose and meaning must be established to build any long -lasting recovery. She brings these learnings into her therapeutic work with survivors of sexual violence and childhood sexual abuse.
A Gambler's Tale
by Stevie ThomasA Gambler's Tale consists of a collection of memories from the incredible gambling life of Stevie Thomas. From casinos to poker and everything in between, this book is a fascinating insight into the radical existence of a gambling family complete with some extraordinary tales. This book details stories from all over the world, well known names and faces, as well as providing a brief history of the gambling scene in London.
The Life And Times Of Harry Morris
by Daniel GardnerThe life of Harry Morris was a classic 'rags to riches' tale: an East End Jewish barrow boy who became a feted nightclub operator in Knightsbridge and Mayfair. But there was a price to pay - his drive to transcend humble roots and a devastating early illness came at the cost of much myth-making and a family schism. Now, in 1963, as Harry makes a swansong cruise around the world with his mistress on a 'millionaire's yacht', the Caronia, his mask starts to slip. Each port of call brings back fresh memories and challenging revelations. Taking advantage of the crumbling of Harry's facade, Daniel Gardner tries to separate fact from fiction and understand why his glamorous but enigmatic grandfather disowned his heritage. It becomes a journey that will take him all the way back to the ancestral village in Poland and a universal story of emigration and reinvention. And in the process will he be able to help put the splintered ends of the family tree back together again?
Shores Beyond Shores - from Holocaust to Hope, My True Story: A Bergen-Belsen Survivor's story of Hope over Adversity
by Irene Butter John D. Bidwell Kris HollowayNATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARD FINALIST - Irene Butter’s memoir of her experiences before, during and after the Holocaust is not a recounting of misery and tragedy; rather it is the genuine story of a girl coming to terms with a terrible event and choosing to view herself as a survivor instead of a victim. When the Dutch police knock on their door, Irene and her family are forced to leave their home and board trains meant for cattle. They are taken to Nazi-controlled prison camps and finally to Bergen-Belsen, where Irene is a fellow prisoner with Anne Frank. With limited access to food, shelter, and warm clothing, Irene’s family needs nothing short of a miracle to survive. Irene’s memoir tells the story of her experiences as a young girl before, during, and after the Holocaust, highlighting how her family was part of the Jewish exchange and came to terms with the catastrophe and how she, over time, came to view herself as a survivor rather than a victim. Throughout the book, her first-person account celebrates the love and empathy that can persist even in the most inhumane conditions. Irene’s words send a poignant message against hate at a time when anti-Semitic, fascist and xenophobic movements around the globe are experiencing a resurgence. Irene, through her book, reminds us of the impact one person can have in choosing to follow the mantra, ‘never a bystander’ — a phrase she adopted only 33 years ago, after her own voice was silenced by her cousins in the years after the Holocaust. Now, Irene Hasenberg Butter is a well-known inspirational speaker on her experiences during World War II.
Pelham Grenville Wodehouse: Volume 1: "This is jolly old Fame"
by Paul Kent“Whether you’re an absolute beginner or an aficionado, Paul Kent has captured the essence of what made Wodehouse tick without spoiling all the fun; and makes a compelling case for why we owe it to our collective sanity to keep on reading him.” (Wooster Sauce) P.G. Wodehouse, 1881-1975, Humourist, Novelist, Lyricist, Playwright. So reads the simple inscription on the memorial stone unveiled in London’s Westminster Abbey in September 2019, honouring the greatest comic writer of the 20th century. Kent offers the reader a guided tour of Wodehouse's imagination, for the first time ever uniting the master's novels, stories, song lyrics, poems, plays and journalism in a single work. Vol 1 explores the origins of PGW's comedic vision. Kent was granted unprecedented access to the Wodehouse family archive, as well as the writer's private library. It takes a steady hand and a steely nerve to insist that sweetness and light can prevail in a world that seems hell-bent on proving the opposite, and over 40 years after his death, Wodehouse is not just surviving but thriving all over the world. Young Indian professionals can’t get enough of him; he’s hugely popular in Japan; his books have been translated into more than 30 languages, from Azerbaijani to Ukrainian via Hebrew, Italian, Swedish and Chinese; and there are established Wodehouse societies in the UK, the USA, Belgium, Holland and Russia. His books are demonstrating the staying power of true classics, and are all currently in print, making him as relevant – and funny - as he ever was.
Our Daily War: The Powerful, Deeply Personal Sequel To Diary Of An Invasion
by Andrey Kurkov"A vivid, moving and sometimes funny account of the reality of life during Russia's invasion," Marc Bennetts, The Times "Uplifting and utterly defiant," Matt Nixson, Daily Express "No-one with the slightest interest in this war, or the nation on which it is being waged, should fail to read Andrey Kurkov," Dominic Lawson, Daily Mail "For centuries, attempts have been made to force Ukrainians to forget their native language, to stop singing Ukrainian songs and to abandon their history. For almost 400 years, Russia has been fighting against Ukrainian identity." Ten years on from the annexation of Crimea, two years on from Russia's all-out invasion of Ukraine, the Ukrainian people continue to fight back. In the second volume of his war diaries, Andrey Kurkov gives a fresh perspective on a people for whom resistance and solidarity have become a matter of survival. Our Daily War is a chronological record of the heterogeneous mix that comprises Ukrainian life and thought in the teeth of Russian aggression, from the constant stress of air raids, the deportation of citizens from the occupied regions and the whispers of governmental corruption to Christmas celebrations, crowdfunding and the recipe for a "trench candle". Kurkov's human's-eye view on the war in Ukraine is by turns bitingly satirical, tragic, humorous and heartfelt. It is also, in the manner of Pepys, an invaluable insight into the history, politics and culture of Ukraine. Our Daily War is the ideal primer for anyone who would like to know what life is like in that country today. "Andrey Kurkov [is] one of the most articulate ambassadors to the West for the situation in his homeland," Sam Leith, Spectator "Immediate and important … From the grim incredulity at Russians massing on the border to the displacement of millions of people, this is an insider's account of how an ordinary life became extraordinary. It is also about survival, hope and humanity," Helen Davies, The Times "Ukraine's greatest novelist is fighting for his country," Giles Harvey, New York Times "The author's on-the-ground account is packed with surprising details about the human effects of the Russian assault ... His voice is genial but also impassioned, never more so than when deploring Putin's efforts to erase Ukrainian culture and history. Ukraine, he says, "will either be free, independent and European, or it will not exist at all". That's why the war has to be fought, with no concession of territory. And he remains quietly hopeful that it will be won," Blake Morrison, Guardian
Varhaug, Sonne and Elektra: The Rudolf Hess Flight Book
by John Harris Richard WilbournMay 11th 1941 - Berchtesgaden. The day after Rudolf Hess took off from Augsburg and hadn't yet returned or sent any signal, Adolf Hitler had to say something to justify Hess' so far unexplained disappearance. Not least for the benefit of the German nation and his then trading ally, Soviet Russia. Consequently he authorised a statement saying that Hess was suffering from a mental derangement and had succeeded in obtaining an aeroplane against the strict orders of the Fuhrer. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth, but an explanation had at least been proffered before British propaganda commenced. The unlikely explanation has however proven durable, some still believing it to be true 80 years later. In this, their eighth book on the affair, Harris and Wilbourn demonstrate that far from being a random act, the flight had been meticulously planned, using state of the art German radio technology. Using contemporary equipment, maps and charts they demonstrate the true nature and character of the flight and explain what went wrong, leading to the sensational and very public arrival of Rudolf Hess in Scotland at 23.09hrs on May 10th 1941.
Shirley: The Life of a Botanical Adventurer
by Shirley SherwoodShirley, The Life of a Botanical Adventurer is the remarkable story of Dr Shirley Sherwood, scientist, author, travel writer, gardener as well as mother and grandmother. Following the tragic death of her brilliant scientist husband, Michael Cross, in a freak air crash in 1964, she was left as a 30-year-old widow with two young boys aged four and three. For the next twelve years she worked as a key member of the Nobel Prize-winning team which developed Tagamet, the first block-buster drug (sales of over $1 billion a year). After her marriage to Jim Sherwood in 1977, she left science to concentrate full-time on the huge task of restoring the fabled Orient-Express train, probably the most luxurious and exotic form of travel ever devised. The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, running between London and Venice, was relaunched in 1982, ninety-nine years after its first journey. Sherwood's history of the project sold more than 400,000 copies. The Orient-Express train was just the beginning. The Sherwoods went on to create the five-star Orient-Express Hotels company (now Belmond), which owned some of the finest hotels in the world, including the Cipriani in Venice, the Mount Nelson in Cape Town and the Copacabana Palace in Rio. They pioneered new train routes across the Alps, started the Eastern & Oriental Express running between Singapore and Bangkok- crossing over the Bridge on the River Kwai- opened up tourism in Myanmar with the first cruise ship to operate on the Irrawaddy, and took over the railways of Peru, which run all the way to Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca. Her most lasting achievement, the one of which she is proudest, is the Shirley Sherwood Collection of contemporary botanical art, which she started in 1990 and now includes over 1,000 paintings and drawings representing the work of more than 300 contemporary botanical artists from 36 countries. She has mounted exhibitions in many prestigious locations including the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, Kirstenbosch in Cape Town and the Real Jardin Botanico, Madrid. The Shirley Sherwood Gallery in Kew Gardens is the first museum to be dedicated to modern botanical art and her books, which often accompanied her exhibitions, have been largely responsible for re-establishing botanical art in its rightful place as an important art form. These are just some of the many achievements in a long and rich life, vividly described in this book.
R.M.S. Titanic Lifeboat No 6: The Story of Julia Cavendish who Survived
by William CavendishTyrell and Julia booked to travel on the Titanic with their two sons to introduce them to their American grandfather, but the children were too ill to travel. Julia persisted in going without them. The fatal and tragic decision not only led to the unnecessary loss of her husband, it was to haunt her for the next fifty years. Why was she so determined to go? In a letter written to her sons, as her death approached, she claimed the purpose of the visit was 'to gain her wealthy father's support for his son-in-law's ambition to stand as a Member of Parliament.' Yet Tyrell had shown no enthusiasm for making the journey, as Julia had already made the trip alone, the previous year quite safely. From the Carpathia Julia cabled her father, Henry Siegel, to have clothes from his department stores ready for the Titanic's survivors. In 1992 and 2002 her son and grandson learnt from chance encounters with New Yorkers of Julia's father's shocking fall from grace, the grandfather who owned a famous department store with a 'soda fountain meeting place'. Now can be revealed the true reason for her mission.
Woman Who Brings the Rain: A Memoir of Hokkaido, Japan
by Eluned GramichWinner of the 2015 New Welsh Writing Awards: WWF Cymru Prize for Writing on Nature and the Environment Shortlisted for the 2016 Wales Book of the Year: The Open University in Wales Creative Non-Fiction Award 'Eluned Gramich has written the perfect essay - a minutely detailed yet nuanced evocation of place and personalities that is full of ecologically precise imagery and is as attentive to the Japanese language as it is to Hokkaidan landscape.' – Mark Cocker As precise and nuanced as Japanese calligraphy, this memoir of the author's stay on the remote Hokkaido island in the far north of Japan, has at its heart the mountain, Yotei-san, the region's iconic equivalent to Mount Fuji. As much about learning a language (with connotations of 'reading' a wild landscape) as it is about nature, this dignified and nuanced work evokes what is cultured and cultivated, and yet also honours the wild; the untranslatable. With its themes of seasonal transformation, the peripheral, folklore, loneliness and learning to belong, this work takes a personal philosophical stance in relation to the centre and the periphery. '"Eluned Gramich" is a name to hear time and again in the future. [This writing] is as good as we the jurors have ever read... short but perfectly formed... absolutely perfect.' – Justin Albert 'Quite beautiful. [The author encounters a culture that is completely alien] and she does it with a poet's eye... precisely and vitally. She reads this unfamiliarity with all her imaginative nerve-endings open: the effect is quite remarkable...' – Tony Brown 'Most rewarding is the philosophical approach... [Gramich's] embracing of... cultural multiplicity, fluidity and adaptability... suits perfectly the changing boundaries of our modern world.' – Wales Arts Review
Birdsplaining: A Natural History
by Jasmine DonahayeWinner of the 2021 New Welsh Writing Awards: Rheidol Prize for Prose with a Welsh Theme or Setting 'Vivid, quick and iridescent, Birdsplaining is an absolute kingfisher of a book' – Mike Parker A wren in the house foretells a death, while a tech-loving parrot aids a woman's recovery. Crows' misbehaviour suggests how the 'natural' order, ranked by men, may be challenged. A blur of bunting above an unassuming bog raises questions about how nature reserves were chosen. Should the oriole be named 'green' or golden? The flaws of field guides across decades prove that this is a feminist issue. A buzzard, scavenging a severed ewe's leg, teaches taboos about curiosity. Whose poo is the mammal scat uncovered in the attic, and should the swallows make their home inside yours? The nightjar's churring brings on unease at racism and privilege dividing nature lovers, past and present. The skin of a Palestine sunbird provokes concern at the colonial origins of ornithology. And when a sparrowhawk makes a move on a murmuration, the starlings show how threat – in the shape of flood, climate change or illness – may be faced down. Jasmine Donahaye is in pursuit of feeling 'sharply alive', understanding things on her own terms and undoing old lessons about how to behave. Here, she finally confronts fear: of violence and of the body's betrayals, daring at last, to 'get things wrong'. Roaming across Wales, Scotland and California, she is unapologetically focused on the uniqueness of women's experience of nature and the constraints placed upon it. Sometimes bristling, always ethical, Birdsplaining upends familiar ways of seeing the natural world. 'Unusual, vivid… remarkably easy-to-read & enjoyable. Doesn't shy away from taking on difficult subjects… A means for personal reflection.' – BTO News [British Trust for Ornithology] 'An erudite, bold, questing and valid collection of beautifully written essays. Whilst one eye stays focused on the injustices and cruelties of the world, the other gulps in its jewels and preciousness. Moving, stirring, and vital.' – Niall Griffiths 'Superb… by turns moving, funny, illuminating… and… thought-provoking' – Katherine Stansfield 'Upends familiar ways of seeing the natural world ― and in doing so, creates its own ecological niche' – Karen Lloyd, Caught by the River 'A curiosity and passion so unapologetically alive that her words form wings' – Lotte Williams, Nation.Cymru 'Neither human-centred nor its opposite. Although she explores human grief, violence and recovery, Donahaye also has a beautifully conveyed passion for the unromantic aspects of the environment… She bridges the very gap [in nature writing] that she identifies.' – Saskia McCracken, The Welsh Agenda 'Whilst birds might not provide the answer to the meaning of life for Donahaye, they do have a part to play in finding meaning IN life, whether that be through personal symbolism and anecdotal encounters, or in larger questions about power and responsibility.' – Gwales.com 'A fresh way of looking at nature writing, a deeply personal account that embraces its own subjectivity' – Zoe Kramer, Wales Arts Review 'This is a beautiful collection where the nonhuman appears as a close neighbour… [and which] searches for hope and resilience in times of risk.' – Yvonne Reddick, New Welsh Reader
The Great Run: Conquering The Sleeping Dragon Within: Life's Lessons On The Run
by Braam MalherbeEveryone said it couldn't be done; even internationally renowned sports scientists such as Dr. Tim Noakes. Certainly no-one had done it before, though many had tried: to run the Great Wall of China, end to end, non-stop. The journey would start in the Gobi Desert, cross the jagged Taihang Shan range, and end at the Bo Sea. It would involve blood boiling heat and mummifying sandstorms, soul-numbing mountain nights, incidents with bandits and draconian officials, pig's-hean soup and witnessing large-scale environmental devastation. But on-one had counted on teh tenacity of South African nature-lover Braam Malherbe. In runningthe main intact section of the Grat Wall, 4 500 kilometres end to end, Braam and his running partner David Grier set a world first. But Braam would have to call on reserves far deeper - physically and emotionally - than even he realised he had. China was never going to let him off lightly; then again, it would not leave a worthy traveller unmoved or unchanged. What began as a running-away, from long-buried childhood trauma, family suffering and loss, as well as hurt felf for the state of the planet, would eventually become a journey towards inner peace and understanding. The book concludes with the writer running into a new vision of healing the planet, step by small step, one person at a time.
Drug Muled: Sixteen Years in a Thai Prison
by Joanne Joseph Larissa FockeIt's 1994 and South Africa is on the brink of freedom. On the verge of a big break in modeling, Miss South Africa finalist, 21-year-old Vanessa Goosen is caught up in every traveler's nightmare. Duped into carrying books with 1.7 kilograms of heroin hidden in them, she is arrested and tried on drug trafficking charges. Deaf to her pleas of innocence, the Thai courts sentence her to death. On appeal her sentence is commuted to life, to be served in Bangkok's notorious Lard Yao prison. Pregnant, terrified, and desperately alone, Goosen begins a harrowing 16-year journey behind bars. Forced to part with her beloved daughter three years later, Goosen's story traces the joy and hurt of motherhood behind bars, the depression that comes with long-term incarceration and separation, and her return to a hugely changed South Africa in 2010.
I Don't Want to Die Unknown: We Need To Listen To Our Inner Voice
by Dan MoyaneDan Moyane was 10 years old when he lay on his back on a patch of grass at his parents’ home in White City Jabavu, Soweto, looking at the moon and thinking, ‘I don’t want to die unknown.’ The year was 1969, and Neil Armstrong and his team had recently achieved immortality by completing the first moon landing.It was the knowledge that the astronauts would be remembered as long as the world turned that made Dan realise that he, too, would like to be remembered by people outside of his immediate community, just as he would like to find out more about what lay beyond his horizon.Dan’s insatiable curiosity and love of learning have ensured that his name has, indeed, become known throughout South Africa. This is the story of how he achieved his goal – from his days as a student at the apex of South Africa’s political turmoil, to his years in exile in Mozambique and his first job in media, and the trajectory of a career that would see him become one of South Africa’s most highly regarded and influential broadcasters. It is a career that led Dan to interview prominent leaders in Mozambique and South Africa and become acquainted with the likes of Nelson Mandela and Graça Machel, and saw him cover the country’s birth into democracy, and help shape South Africans’ understanding of the changed world around them.I Don’t Want to Die Unknown delves into these experiences, giving a glimpse into the inquisitiveness and desire to know more, do more and be more that has driven Dan Moyane. It offers a rare insight into the man behind the microphone – his ambitions, trials, and motivations.Part memoir, part legacy, this book bears testimony to the fact that far from dying unknown, Dan is one of South Africa’s most important, high profile media players and his story provides the framework for his next significant question: How best to use his public profile to benefit his countrymen.
Push Past Impossible
by Ryan Stramrood“It’s simply not human!” a passenger proclaims loudly, aghast as to what she is witnessing.Ryan Stramrood stands at the top of the gangway stairs that are lowered down the side of an ocean liner in one of the coldest, most hostile places on Earth – Antarctica. He wears only a small Speedo costume, goggles and a swim cap. Over a hundred passengers, wearing thick layers of insulation to protect from the bitter cold, are leaning over the ship’s railing on the upper decks, cheering and desperate to get a glimpse, in morbid fascination, of what is about to happen. What Ryan is about to attempt could potentially push boundaries beyond what humans can survive.The water temperature a deadly -1 degrees Celsius, the distance to swim an impossible one mile.Only a few years earlier, Ryan was a self-proclaimed couch potato. A 30-year-old salesman and father, navigating life quite successfully, albeit neatly confined in his comfort zone. Today he is a multiple Guinness World Record holder, rated globally as one of the top 50 extreme swimming athletes in the world, and a sought-after international inspirational speaker.This fascinating story tells the incredible tales of Ryan’s journey and spirit. The inspiration and learnings each and every one of us will take from this highly relatable book are simply invaluable. We can all learn to Push Past Impossible.“The way Ryan has chosen to live this one precious life is nothing short of inspirational.” - LEWIS PUGH
Out of Shape: Debunking Myths About Fashion And Fit
by Mel CampbellFrom corsets to skinny jeans, we have always fretted about our body shapes and why it’s so damn difficult to find a good fit. In this bold and entertaining book, Mel Campbell examines the tensions between our cultural ideals and our own bodies. Combining lively interviews and personal experiences with visits to museums, galleries and vintage fairs, Mel explores why we are still so critical of our various shapes and restricted by old-fashioned values. Out of Shape reveals how, when it comes to clothes and sizing, the past and present are cut from the same cloth.
Changing Gears: A Pedal-powered Detour From The Rat Race
by Greg FoysterGreg Foyster quits his job in advertising and decides to live more simply. Looking for inspiration, he and his partner Sophie cycle from Melbourne to Far North Queensland (via Tasmania, naturally) scouting out ideas. Preposterously underprepared, they are propelled by the inspiring and eccentric characters they meet along the way - from a forest activist living up a tree to an 18th-century woodsman and a monk walking barefoot through Queensland. Featuring eye-opening encounters with DIY downshifters and leading figures in sustainability,Changing Gears is a jaunty adventure that explores an important question for the future: can we be happier with less?
Beneath the Fig Leaves: A Memoir Food And Family
by Olympia PanagiotopoulosIn 1955, in a village in Greece that was marred by war and poverty, Giannoula and Fotios Panagiotopoulos dreamed of providing a better life for their children. Australia, it was rumoured, was a land of opportunity where hard work brought reward. Leaving behind family and friends, they set off to make a new home on the other side of the world. Half a lifetime later, under the shade of a fig tree and in the dappled Melbourne sunlight, Giannoula regales her youngest daughter, Olympia, with stories of her homeland and journey. An evocative exploration of the ties that bind, Beneath the Fig Leaves weaves an irresistible tapestry of family, food and history to stir the heart and senses.
How to Be Australian: An Outsider's View On Life And Love Down Under
by Ashley Kalagian BluntWhen Ashley persuades her new husband Steve to leave snowy Canada and join her for a year Down Under, she looks forward to an easy transition. After all, Australia’s just Canada with more sunshine and strange animals, right? But they soon discover things aren’t so simple. Steve struggles to settle and Ashley fears he will come to regret both the move and the marriage – especially after she loses her wedding rings on Bondi Beach. Baffled, homesick and increasingly anxious (in a land renowned for ‘no worries’), she is preparing to return to Canada when Steve shockingly announces that he wants to stay in Australia. Forever. For the sake of her marriage and her happiness, Ashley must find an Australia she can belong to: she decides to travel the country, learn its history, decode its cultural quirks and connect with as many residents as she can meet. How to Be Australian is a remarkable memoir, at once familiar and faraway, that shines a fresh, funny and fascinating light onto the country we think we know.
Unseen: The Secret World Of Chronic Illness
by Jacinta ParsonsBroadcaster Jacinta Parsons was in her 20s when she first began to feel unwell - the kind of unwell that didn’t go away. Doctors couldn’t explain why, and Jacinta wondered if it might be in her head. She could barely function, was frequently unable to eat or get out of bed for days and gradually turned into a shadow of herself. Eventually she got a diagnosis: Crohn’s disease. But knowing this wouldn’t stop her life from spiralling into a big mess of doctors, hospitals and medical disasters. What’s most extraordinary about Jacinta’s story is how common it is. Nearly half of Australians live with a chronic illness, but most of these conditions are not obvious, often endured in secrecy and little understood. They are unseen. With compelling candour, Jacinta trains a microscope on the unique challenges of living with an invisible condition. She lays bare the struggles with shame, loss of identity, the threat of mortality and the profoundly complex relationships between the chronically ill and their own bodies, as well as with those around them. It’s a story of trying to fix an unfixable illness, getting beaten down then clawing back up and how that experience can shape a life.
A Father's Plea: The Heartbreaking Story Of One Man's Ongoing Fight To Free His Daughter And Grandchildren From An Islamic State Nightmare
by Kamalle Dabboussy Mic LoobyWhen Mariam married her childhood sweetheart in a fairytale Sydney wedding, her father Kamalle dreamed of a beautiful future for his family. When the young couple and their baby daughter went on an overseas holiday, he couldn't have been happier. But a dark secret was lurking on the horizon. They would not be coming home.Mariam disappeared. Months later, Kamalle was informed by the Australian government that his daughter had been coerced into Syria. He later learnt that she had been forced at gunpoint, by her husband, across the border into Syria and into the clutches of ISIS. When her husband was killed, Mariam was forced to marry another ISIS fighter, with whom she had another child. When he was killed she was forced to marry again; she was trapped. But since the defeat of ISIS, instead of being brought home, Mariam and her three young children have been demonised as 'foreign fighters', forced to languish in refugee camps while their home country refuses to repatriate them.Kamalle has been working with international agency Save the Children for over two years trying to bring home his daughter and grandkids, who have been abandoned amongst the 20 Australian adults and 47 children. Interacting with law enforcement and government agencies in Australia, he was told that keeping quiet would be in their best interests. That has achieved nothing. Now he tells his story
Full Credit to the Boys
by Mel HoffmanAll rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior permission of the publisher.