Autobiography: general Books

Book SynopsisFrom the bestselling author of THE BINDING CHAIR, a searing memoir of a four-year affair between the author and her father. ’My father takes my face in his hands. He tips it up and kisses my closed eyes, my throat. I feel his fingers in the hair at the nape of my neck. I feel his hot breath on my eyelids.’ Kathryn Harrison’s parents married aged 17 but were forced apart by disapproving parents within a year. By which time their only child, Kathryn, had been born. She was not to see her father again until she was ten. Instantly, the two were attracted; they even looked alike. By the time Kathryn was twenty the two had fallen into a passionate affair. Her relationship with her mother had never been easy and now there was this added complication, made worse by the obvious love which still existed between her parents for each other. In this beautiful, honest and shocking account of the years of her affair with her father, Kathryn Harrison confirms her growing reputation as one of the most significant literary voices of our times.Trade Review ‘One of the most startling books you are ever likely to read.’ Observer ‘Powerfully written, utterly compelling.’ Mail on Sunday ‘Shocking, terrifyingly honest – and beautifully written.’ Elle ‘Disturbing, provocative and articulate. One of the most talked-about books of the year.’ Cosmopolitan ‘The Kiss is remarkable for its candour, but also for its elegance, its sense of morality, and its generosity of spirit.’ Sunday Telegraph

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Book Synopsis"Against All Hope" is Armando Valladares' account of over twenty years in Fidel Castro's tropical gulag as a result of his philosophical and religious opposition to communism. He gives a picture of the Cuba that he lived in and tells of how his deep Christian faith kept him from abandoning hope during the most evil treatment.

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Book SynopsisIncluding her survival of Japan’s Great Kanto Earthquake, this book is an enthralling account of Dorothy Britton’s life, loves and discoveries in an amazingly varied life and career. Bilingual from birth, she found the immense joy of blending in with peoples of different cultures simply by getting the sound right when speaking their languages to the extent that she herself sounds Japanese. While interviewing Talent Education’s Shinichi Suzuki, she realized his peerless ‘mother tongue method’ for learning the violin was ideal for foreign languages too. While composing music for many documentary films introducing Japan to the world, in Empire Photosound’s beautiful My Garden Japan she used the ancient instruments of the Imperial Court Orchestra. The film was shown daily at Montreal’s EXPO 67 where it garnered a prize. Amusing episodes and stories of fascinating people and relationships abound in the book, as do valuable insights into topics such as the post-war Occupation and its impact on everyday life, the role of women, learning Japanese, marriage customs, food and many other aspects of Japanese culture and society. Appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2010 for her highly regarded contributions to bridging two cultures, this long-awaited memoir will be widely welcomed. Here is the remarkable and remarkably frank story of a life lived to the full by the doyenne of British residents in Japan that has benefited so many and touched the lives of countless others.Table of ContentsPlate section faces page 128 Preface List of Plates 1. Rhythms Are What Divide Us 2. My Mother 3. My Father 4. How Marrying Changes my Father’s Life 5. The Great Kanto Earthquake 6. Hayama 7. Mother Contacts Her First Japanese Friend 8. Royal Friends 9. The Japanese Language 10. Winters in Yokohama 11. Father’s Sudden Death 12. England 13. Bermuda 14. Mills College, 1943-1945 15. London, 1945-1949 16. Innocence and Ignorance 17. Back in Japan – 1949 18. Love and Sex 114 19. Meeting ‘Boy’ 20. Society in Japan 21. Marriage Customs 22. Washoku and O-furo 23. My Royal Neighbours 24. Two Composers 25. London and Paris 26. Harps and Angels 27. Back to Work in Japan 28. Dreaming of Elephants 29. Finding the Britton 30. Sea Shells 31. The ‘Katakana Prison’ and Mr Suzuki 32. Poetry 33. The Island in Between 34. Marrying ‘Boy’ – 1968 35. The Japanese Crane – Bird of Happiness 36. Comfort and Solace with Ted Dorothy Britton’s Published Works Index

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Book SynopsisThis book will ignite your CURIOSITY and IMAGINATION unleashing and motivating your natural ability to evade the menacing threat of DESPERATION & REGRET, in your cramped and insufficient time on earth. Without HOPE your heart will truly die but hope isn't enough to fulfil your DREAMS. 'Motivation from a Tortured Mind' with its unconventional and provocative approach will: inspire your BELIEF, stimulate your DESIRE and undoubtedly agitate and reawaken the dazzling FIGHT that is dormant within every cell of your body. Fascinated by the incredible power and fortitude of the human psyche, throughout the entirety of my life and career, I've studied people in one way or another from the analysis and hypothesis of Human Psychology & Behaviour to the indisputable, tangible lives of real people. I sincerely hope 'Motivation from a Tortured Mind' incites and arouses your spectacular mind and manages to instigate even a miniscule positive change in your perception, attitude and belief, widening your vision and bringing into sharp focus the destination you crave.

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Book Synopsis`It's All in My Head!' is Mick's story. Mick is a normal Dutch guy who hears voices inside his head other people can't hear. Is he crazy, psychotic, or a schizophrenic? Mick's answer to all of these questions is a resounding `NO!' Mick is just a very creative human being! Mick sat down one day and started to illustrate his voices. Taking these illustrations as a starting point, he introduces you to his voices and guides you through the journey he made with these voices. This is a unique and creative story. It is a book of hope for voice hearers, family members, and anyone who is interested in the phenomenon of hearing voices.

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Book SynopsisIn 2017 Susie Kennaway asked her son Guy to kill her.88 years old, with an older and infirm husband, Susie wanted to avoid sliding into infantilised catatonia. The son immediately started taking notes and Time to Go is the result.In turns a manual for those considering the benefits of assisted dying, a portrait of a mother son relationship, and a sympathetic description of old age, this book is a route map through the moral, legal, emotional, intellectual and practical maze that is the biggest issue facing the senior generations today: leaving life on their own terms.During their conversations about when and how to make Susie''s final exit, some of the difficulties of their fractious relationship mellowed and some even melted, as the reality of what they were planning brought them together. Many elderly people, like Susie, have clearly stated that they wish to die in a manner and time of their choosing. But the church, the law, the medical profession and the pharmaceutical industry stand in the way, wagging their fingers. A change is coming for the rights of the elderly, the way it has come for the rights of women and gay people. Time to Go is a rallying call in this fight.Life is too precious not to be lived properly. As with a job, a relationship or a party, you have to know when it''s time to go.

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Book Synopsis

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