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Book SynopsisFrom one addiction to the next, Rahul Verma's life is on a downward spiral and he believes his only option is to drink himself to death. But there are always choices. Is Rahul ready to discard his fears, choosing instead a future of joy? Find out in this inspiring and honest revelation of beating addiction and turning spirits into spirituality.

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Book Synopsis'When I was born in 1935 I grew up, despite depression and World War II, with a primitive sense of being fortunate . . . The Utopian strain was very strong . . . if we weren't to be a better society, if we were simply serfs designed to support a system of privilege, what was the bloody point?'Tom Keneally has been observing, reflecting on and writing about Australia and the human condition for well over fifty years. In this deeply personal, passionately drawn and richly tuned collection he draws on a lifetime of engagement with the great issues of our recent history and his own moments of discovery and understanding.He writes with unbounded joy of being a grandparent, and with intimacy and insight about the prospect of death and the meaning of faith. He is outraged about the treatment of Indigenous Australians and refugees, and argues fiercely against market economics and the cowardice of climate change deniers. And, he introduces us to some of the people, both great and small, who have dappled his life.Beautifully written, erudite and at times slyly funny, A Bloody Good Rant is an invitation to share the deep humanity of truly great Australian.

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Book SynopsisCassoulet Confessions is an enthralling memoir by award-winning food and travel writer Sylvie Bigar that reveals how a simple journalistic assignment sparked a culinary obsession and transcended into a quest for identity. Set in the stunning southern French countryside, this honest and poignant memoir conveys hunger for authentic food and a universal hunger for home. In Cassoulet Confessions, Sylvie travels across the Atlantic from her home in New York to the origin of cassoulet – the Occitanie region of Southern France. There she immerses herself in all things cassoulet: the quintessential historic meat and bean stew. From her first spoonful, she is transported back to her dramatic childhood in Geneva, Switzerland, and finds herself journeying through an unexpected rabbit hole of memories. Not only does she discover the deeper meanings of her ancestral French cuisine, but she is ultimately transformed by having to face her unsettling, complex family history. Sylvie’s simple but poetic prose immerses us in her story: we smell the simmering aromas of French kitchens, empathise with her family dilemmas, and experience her internal struggle to understand and ultimately accept herself.Trade Review‘Sylvie tripped my trigger. I loved the journey she takes us on!’ – Andrew Zimmern, chef and author ‘A surprising gift of a book. A great read. You will never think of a cassoulet in the same way.’ – Bill Buford, bestselling author of Heat and Dirt ‘Sylvie is an eloquent writer who fervently weaves her culinary adventures with tasty moments of her life.’ – Daniel Boulud, chef and restaurateur ‘Sylvie's book feeds the mind, spirit and stomach.’ – Dominique Ansel, chef/owner, Dominique Ansel Bakery ‘Like its eponymous dish, Cassoulet Confessions is a delicious slow-simmered concoction.’ – Ann Mah, bestselling author of The Lost Vintage and Mastering the Art of French Eating ‘a wonderful read’ – The Sydney Morning Herald ‘an unexpected emotional reliving of an exotic and disturbing childhood’ – The Australian Women’s Weekly ‘Sylvie Bigar's literary ode to a single dish is a beguiling food memoir’ – The Canberra Times ‘In Cassoulet Confessions, food writer Sylvie Bigar discovers the secrets of the French stew. Her odyssey leads her on a journey to a meeting of minds, and palates’ – Gourmet Traveller

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Book SynopsisFalling madly in love, even when you know that by loving you risk all you have...it could happen to anyone. The Au Pair bravely goes where no other book has gone, and tells the story which so many women have experienced, with complete honesty. There is no other lesbian account that addresses the issues faced in the title as directly, and as openly. Furthermore, it is a tale that everyone who has encountered similar circumstances will be able to identify with, and benefit from. Whether it is a mother, whose daughter reveals herself to be gay, or a young woman, trying to come to terms with her sexuality. The Au Pair is a true story of a British wife and mother of three whose life is turned upside down when she meets and falls in love with her pretty and much younger Afrikaans au pair. In essence this is an unconventional love story, a candid memoir of how two women found each other at an inopportune time of their lives. How they overcame and faced reactions of their relationship from their families and friends; and ultimately dealing with their own guilt. Written as it happened, one can feel the urgency and passion woven intricately through the pages of this jaw-dropping and at times humorous memoir.

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Book SynopsisBird-Bent Grass chronicles an extraordinary mother-daughter relationship that spans distance, time, and, eventually, debilitating illness. Personal, familial, and political narratives unfold through the letters that Geeske Venema-de Jong and her daughter Kathleen exchanged during the late 1980s and through their weekly conversations, which started after Geeske was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease twenty years later. In 1986, Kathleen accepted a three-year teaching assignment in Uganda, after a devastating civil war, and Geeske promised to be her daughter's most faithful correspondent. The two women exchanged more than two hundred letters that reflected their lively interest in literature, theology, and politics, and explored ideas about identity, belonging, and home in the context of cross-cultural challenges. Two decades later, with Geeske increasingly beset by Alzheimer's disease, Kathleen returned to the letters, where she rediscovered the evocative image of a tiny, bright meadow bird perched precariously on a blade of elephant grass. That image - of simultaneous tension, fragility, power, and resilience - sustained her over the years that she used the letters as memory prompts in a larger strategy to keep her intellectually gifted mother alive.Deftly woven of excerpts from their correspondence, conversations, journal entries, and email updates, Bird-Bent Grass is a complex and moving exploration of memory, illness, and immigration; friendship, conflict, resilience, and forgiveness; cross-cultural communication, the ethics of international development, and letter-writing as a technology of intimacy. Throughout, it reflects on the imperative and fleeting business of being alive and loving others while they're ours to hold.Trade ReviewAn extraordinary and deftly written memoir, Bird-Bent Grass: A Memoir, in Pieces is an inherently compelling read from beginning to end. Complex, candid, and offering an intrinsically fascinating account that will prove to be an enduringly valued addition to both community and academic library Contemporary Biography collections. -- Margaret Lane -- Midwest Book Review, 20180622"Bird-Bent Grass is a rich contribution to memoir and epistolary literature. As in the letters of Paul in the Bible and Aphra Behn's Love-Letters Between a Nobleman and His Sister, for example, Venema explores the rich literary potential of changing and interweaving perspectives as well as the intrigue of letters gone astray. "This book contains lush language on global themes of conflict, abuse, estrangement and death, and reminds us of the significance of what a letter once was. I want to clap a glass case on it; letters have become museum artifacts, and this project shows what has been lost since the first emails were sent seven years after these first letters were written in 1987. Venema has done a marvellous job of examining the significance of letter-writing in cementing bonds across mother-daughter, African-North American and historic-past-present relationships." - Faith Eidse, co-editor of Unrooted Childhoods: Memoirs of Growing Up Global and author of Healing Falls (forthcoming)Readers who are walking the journey of Alzheimer's with a loved one should find a sense of rapport with this story. Venema describes the progress of the disease in an honest and straightforward way, tinged with sadness, but always spiced with laughter. -- Barb Draper -- Canadian Mennonite, 20181101It's a deeply beautiful, thoughtful, celebratory book ... important and elegant. -- Charlene Diehl, Director, Winnipeg International Writers Festival"I felt [...] both moved and enlightened by the documenting of two such curious and articulate and inclusive intellects--by the conversations that move through this memoir, and link its disparate parts--by wise and profound detailing of this auto-ethnography. The image of "bird-bent grass" from the title evokes for me both a close observation of affect and a contemplation of impermanence, and I was invited to experience both of these states inside a lively, articulate, and sensitive account." Karen Hofmann, Prairie FireBird-Bent Grass is a compelling memoir that offers a thoughtful and evocative engagement with questions of identity, memory, and the relationships that help to shape and define a person. -- Canadian Literature (web), 20181114[Bird-Bent Grass] demonstrates that, and how, a substantial, complex memoir can be fashioned out of domestic life writing (personal correspondence, diaries, and recorded conversations and reminiscences). Such an achievement is especially welcome at a time when the family archive is endangered by the broad shift to electronic communication and social media. -- G. Thomas Couser -- BiographyTable of Contents you come home. we need to talk 1 perfect correspondence 2 crosswords 3 post secret 4 new meadow 5 holy shipwreck postscript: waiting for you here notes acknowledgements

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Book SynopsisWhen Ann Hansen was arrested in 1983 along with the four other members of the radical anarchist group known as the Squamish Five, her long-time commitment to prison abolition suddenly became much more personal. Now, she could see firsthand the brutal effects of imprisonment on real women?s lives.During more than thirty years in prison and on parole, the bonds and experiences Hansen shared with other imprisoned women only strengthened her resolve to fight the prison industrial complex. In Taking the Rap, she shares gripping stories of women caught in a system that treats them as disposable & poor women, racialized women, and Indigenous women, whose stories are both heartbreaking and enraging. Often serving time for minor offences due to mental health issues, abuse, and poverty, women prisoners are offered up as scapegoats by a society keen to find someone to punish for the problems we all have created.

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Book SynopsisOn a motorcycle trip from Manitoba to southern Chile, Cameron Dueck seeks out isolated enclaves of Mennonites—and himself. “An engrossing account of an unusual adventure, beautifully written and full of much insight about the nature of identity in our ever-changing world, but also the constants that hold us together."—Adam Shoalts, national best-seller author of Beyond the Trees: A Journey Alone Across Canada's Arctic and A History of Canada in 10 Maps Across Latin America, from the plains of Mexico to the jungles of Paraguay, live a cloistered Germanic people. For nearly a century, they have kept their doors and their minds closed, separating their communities from a secular world they view as sinful. The story of their search for religious and social independence began generations ago in Europe and led them, in the late 1800s, to Canada, where they enjoyed the freedoms they sought under the protection of a nascent government. Yet in the 1920s, when the country many still consider their motherland began to take shape as a nation and their separatism came under scrutiny, groups of Mennonites left for the promises of Latin America: unbroken land and new guarantees of freedom to create autonomous, ethnically pure colonies. There they live as if time stands still—an isolation with dark consequences. In this memoir of an eight-month, 45,000 kilometre motorcycle journey across the Americas, Mennonite writer Cameron Dueck searches for common ground within his cultural diaspora. From skirmishes with secular neighbours over water rights in Mexico, to a mass-rape scandal in Bolivia, to the Green Hell of Paraguay and the wheat fields of Argentina, Dueck follows his ancestors south, finding reasons to both love and loathe his culture—and, in the process, finding himself.Trade ReviewPRAISE FOR MENNO MOTO “An engrossing account of an unusual adventure, beautifully written and full of much insight about the nature of identity in our ever-changing world, but also the constants that hold us together."—Adam Shoalts, national best-seller author of Beyond the Trees: A Journey Alone Across Canada's Arctic and A History of Canada in 10 Maps PRAISE FOR CAMERON DUECK “The New Northwest Passage nicely captures the joys and pitfalls of an Arctic journey.”—Kenza Moller, Canadian Geographic “In the hands of a good writer like Dueck, the story of the trip is engaging and hard to put down.”—Jim Blanchard, The Winnipeg Free Press “Dueck presents an important portrait of a people and place in flux.”—David Leonard, Quill & Quire "Lots of people dream of quitting the rat-race, buying a boat and sailing away to the Caribbean or the South Pacific. But few do the first two and then embark on a voyage through the Northwest Passage. Hats off to Cameron Dueck: he acted, made good, and now he's written a compelling book about it."—Ken McGoogan, author of The Fatal Passage Quartet "The book is an engrossing string of vignettes about life in the real Arctic, not the Arctic of tourism brochures and adventurers' tales. Dueck has a faithful and sympathetic ear for the people of the Arctic and how their lives are changing."—Clive Tesar, World Wildlife Fund "Cameron Dueck's account of this journey makes a wonderful read—exciting, amusing, and above all, interesting."—E.C. Pielou, author of A Naturalist's Guide to the Arctic

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Book SynopsisFINALIST FOR THE 2020 HILARY WESTON WRITERS’ TRUST PRIZE FOR NONFICTION • A New York Times New & Noteworthy Book • A CBC Best Nonfiction Book of 2020 • A Globe and Mail Top 100 Book for 2020 “Combining his poetic sensibilities and storytelling skills with a documentarian’s eye, [Heighton] has created a wrenching narrative.”—2020 Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction Jury In the fall of 2015, Steven Heighton made an overnight decision to travel to the frontlines of the Syrian refugee crisis in Greece and enlist as a volunteer. He arrived on the isle of Lesvos with a duffel bag and a dubious grasp of Greek, his mother's native tongue, and worked on the landing beaches and in OXY-—a jerrybuilt, ad hoc transit camp providing simple meals, dry clothes, and a brief rest to refugees after their crossing from Turkey. In a town deserted by the tourists that had been its lifeblood, Heighton-—alongside the exhausted locals and under-equipped international aid workers—-found himself thrown into emergency roles for which he was woefully unqualified. From the brief reprieves of volunteer-refugee soccer matches to the riots of Camp Moria, Reaching Mithymna is a firsthand account of the crisis and an engaged exploration of the borders that divide us and the ties that bind.Trade ReviewPraise for Reaching Mithymna “The key to the book’s force is Heighton’s imperative to humanize and individualize everyone he encounters, from the volunteers—a ragtag gallery, constantly shifting as people move from one facility or camp to another—to the refugees themselves. There are few, if any, background figures; wherever possible, Heighton provides backstories and close observations of behaviour. These are not statistics but people, each sensitively depicted, captured in moments of extreme stress ... Reaching Mithymna is a stunning book, by turns heartbreaking and affirming, fundamentally human in its depth and scope. That it ends on a note balancing hope with loss, optimism with pain, is characteristic of its grace and power.”—Quill & Quire (starred review) “We know Steven Heighton as an award-winning poet and novelist. With Reaching Mithymna, he emerges as an indelible nonfiction writer. Combining his poetic sensibilities and storytelling skills with a documentarian’s eye, he has created a wrenching narrative from the front lines of the Syrian refugee crisis. In 2015, Heighton travelled to Greece, his mother’s homeland, equipped with a duffel bag, a notebook, and a conscience. Reaching Mithymna is a heart-rending story of humanity and sacrifice by a writer who put his own life on hold in a desperate and often futile attempt to help shipwrecked strangers find a safe and secure future for themselves and their children.”—2020 Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction jury (Helen Knott, Sandra Martin, and Ronald Wright) “Through his example in Reaching Mithymna, Steven Heighton offers us an alternative to armchair activism and outrage. Yes, with guts and compassion, we can step out of our safe, comfortable rooms and make a contribution to the alleviation of suffering. There is a way—regardless of our age, language, status, or abilities—to enter global conflicts responsibly. Heighton relays the horrors of the Syrian refugee crisis with the insight of first-hand experience and the ethics of a conscientious witness. His unforgettable portraits of volunteers and refugees remind us that politics are inextricable from human lives.”—Ian Williams, Scotiabank Giller Prize-winning author of Reproduction “Deeply personal and tender, Steven Heighton’s Reaching Mithymna never shies away from the self-critique that comes with being a witness to unfathomable human tragedy. There’s a uniquely fragile quality to Heighton’s beautiful narrative prose, one that only comes from an understanding of loss, uprootedness and exile, of what it means to reach out to that which remains elusive. Heighton gives voice to a multitude of colourful yet tragic characters faced with impossible dilemmas and their own shortcomings.”—Yara El-Ghadban, author of I Am Ariel Sharon “Steven Heighton’s extraordinary book is driven by two inseparable desires: to learn, and to help. First is the writerly needing to know exactly how people manage in a particular time and place. Best go there and find out. Being there you may help. Learning, you will help better. And writing about it later, about the whole mix of those suffering and those seeking to alleviate that suffering, continues the learning because making sentences is a continued thinking, a trying to make sense. What this book teaches in its writing and in its publication is that mutual aid is the condition of our survival.”—David Constantine, author of In Another Country “Heighton’s searing memoir of embedding among the volunteers … is far more than a traveler’s tale … This is the kind of book you won’t forget.”—Kirkus “Reaching Mithymna, is an eloquent depiction of refugees, volunteers and a seemingly endless crisis.” —Maclean's "A meticulous assemblage of vignettes and character sketches in the hands of a masterful storyteller who wears his values on his page."—Broken Pencil "Heighton’s harrowing and moving book about his time in Greece, with its rich array of characters and finely expressed understanding of the pain of exile, wrenches our gaze back to the refugees and refuses to let go."—Brian Bethune "As Heighton, by his impromptu arrival, experiences a world crisis unfolding far from his protected home life, so do we through his refreshing style and humble tone."—The Longest Chapter Praise for Steven Heighton “[A] brilliant storyteller … [His] exquisite, powerful meditations on who we are place Heighton among the great Canadian writers … His focus is contemporary, but he is a practitioner of the old school, a writer for those who love to read widely and deeply.”—Donna Bailey Nurse, Literary Review of Canada “In scintillating prose and with masterly control of his plot and characters, poet and novelist Heighton (Afterlands) weaves a spellbinding tale of love, loyalty, and betrayal. This timely (press reports indicate that reunification talks between Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders are advancing) novel is highly recommended to all readers.”—Edward B. Cone, Library Journal (starred review) “As this fascinating ... well-plotted novel draws to a tense conclusion, Heighton skillfully knits together the difficult history and politics of the region, military machinations, and the nuanced inner lives and relationships of Elias and the villagers.”—Publishers Weekly “[An] elegantly crafted tale of a young poet and boxer who fights his way out of the backwoods of Canada, drunk on Kerouac and the unbounded promise of his future. Heighton chronicles [his characters'] growth with impressive restraint and sensitivity… [and] ably captures the emotional costs of a young man's dream.”—Washington Post “Vivid and powerfully drawn ... The Shadow Boxer is an energetic, fluent and interesting novel by a writer who has already shown himself to be gifted, capable of exploring and experimenting with language.” —Times Literary Supplement

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Book Synopsis'A story of grit and determination from a woman who writes the way she lives - fiercely, with passion and in full colour.' - Michele A'Court 'There are times, admittedly rare, when a book comes along that needs only one word to evaluate it. In the case of Bloody Minded, that word is WOW... Unquestionably it must be a hot contender to top its category in the next book of the year awards.' - Jill Nicholas, NZME'A gripping, page-turning memoir, both due to Ferguson's incredible career, but also due to her grasp of what makes a compelling story: drama, a touch of humour, and a theme to tie it all together. In this case, it's how the bodies of women are as much a battlefield as an actual war zone...' - Claire Williamson, KeteEarly in her radio career Susie Ferguson became a war correspondent. The only woman among hundreds of soldiers, in a helmet and flak jacket she was one of the boys. None of them knew she was taking fifteen painkillers a day and relying on opioids to stem the burning and

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Book SynopsisWhen civil war broke out in his home country in 2011, Hassan Al Kontar was a young Syrian living and working in the UAE. He refused to return to Syria for compulsory military service and lived illegally before being deported to Malaysia in November 2017. Four months later, unable to obtain a visa for any other country, he became trapped in the arrivals zone at Kuala Lumpur Airport. Exiled by war and a victim of geopolitics, Al Kontar used social media and humour to tell his story to the world, becoming an international celebrity and ultimately finding refuge in Canada. Man at the Airport explores what it means to be a Syrian, an "illegal" and a refugee. More broadly, it examines the power of social media to amplify individual voices and facilitate political dissent.Table of ContentsForeword by Nuseir (Nas) Yassin Introduction PART ONE: MAN Chapter One: The Olive Farm Chapter Two: Leaving Syria Chapter Three: Two Faces Chapter Four: Between the Camel and the Range Rover Chapter Five: River of Madness Chapter Six: A Normal Person PART TWO: @THE_AIRPORT Chapter Seven: @kontar81 Chapter Eight: What Is It with the Media! Chapter Nine: Heroes Chapter Ten: You’re a Celebrity Now Chapter Eleven: The Airport Prisoner Chapter Twelve: Endgame PART THREE: .CA Chapter Thirteen: O Canada Postscript

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Book Synopsis"A startling debut... This book will make you want to hold everyone you love close, reminding you that life may be fleeting but the people in it never are." PICKED FOR ESQUIRE MAGAZINE'S BEST BOOKS OF 2022Best Books of 2022 - Picked by Readers - FINANCIAL TIMES When Freddy was 21 years old, his dad, a larger-than-life, successful TV producer, was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a particularly aggressive type of brain cancer. In vivid snapshots, Freddy recalls the ups and downs of an impossible time - from the entertaining antics of a wine-gum tossing competition in a hospital ward, to the comi-tragedy of trying to decipher his father's muddled riddles as his speech disintegrates, to painful moments of regret and self-loathing as he squanders precious time.Don't Put Yourself on Toast is a bittersweet coming-of-age memoir which shows how the power of humour and laughter can provide, even in our darkest moments, sustenance, comfort and hope.Trade Review'A book close to my heart. A tragicomic triumph told with love and humour, revealing how out of darkness comes so much light.' -- TOM DALEY'A startling debut... This book will make you want to hold everyone you love close, reminding you that life may be fleeting but the people in it never are.' -- Olivia Ovenden * Esquire magazine *'It takes quite a talent to make a reader smile and cry at the same time. This is exactly what Freddy Taylor manages to do in Don't Put Yourself on Toast. This book is light and deep, funny and sad, but, essentially, full of love.' -- Sonia Delesalle-Stolper, chief foreign editor * Libération *'An utterly fresh, unconventional memoir about realising what is important in life - and seizing it while it is still there.' -- Iona McLaren * The Telegraph *Life-affirming... Don't Put Yourself on Toast faces mortality head-on - and teaches us how to live... I read [the last] lines in tears, then found myself humming along and laughing. -- Helen Brown * Telegraph Review *'[Taylor] intersperses humorous anecdotes that he jotted down at the time, with more sobering medical notes taken by his stepmother. His writing is fresh, never sugar-coated, and full of hope, and the love and comfort of family shines through the fear and desperation.' * The Tablet *'Comedy and tragedy exist side by side and, in this snappy memoir, Freddy Taylor conveys both the utter awfulness of his father's two-year descent from diagnosis to death, and the moments of hilarity the family had on the way.' -- Ysenda Maxtone Graham * Daily Mail *'Powerful snapshots of love and grief... Always sad, often uplifting, this will stay with you.' -- Phoebe Luckhurst * Evening Standard *'[The book] reads like a Beckettian tragi-comedy, dark and light in equal measure, paired with a coming-of-age spirit, all the while peering through a grim foreboding.' -- Kate Demolder * The Irish Independent *'Deeply moving and, surprisingly, very funny' -- JACK WHITEHALL'It is so engaging that I challenge anyone to read the book in more than one sitting.... Taylor is funny because he observes the absurdity of human behaviour so accurately. But there are also moments of profound tear-jerking sadness.' -- Olenka Hamilton * Catholic Herald *

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Book Synopsis'The final step to equality has to be turning the menopause into a topic we can happily discuss, and even celebrate. In these pages, Christa D'Souza puts us firmly on that path.' - MARIELLA FROSTRUP'Been there... survived that... but how I wish I'd had this menopause tour guide to get me through. Brilliant and beautifully written.' - CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR 'Warm, witty and wise. No woman - or man, come to that - should be without this book.' - CRESSIDA CONNOLLYThere has never been a better time to be a menopausal woman. Technology is such that 60 really is the new 40 (or even 35). But, for Christa D'Souza, some nagging questions remain... What is the point of us now that we are officially biologically irrelevant? Are hormones safe, even if you've had cancer? Is there a cut-off point for plaits? In this fabulously confessional romp through the menopause, D'Souza tells us what it was like for her, and what it will be like for you. She meets a bunch of menopausal nuns in San Francisco, goes hunter-gathering with the Hadza tribe in Tanzania, interviews experts around the world to get the latest science... and discovers along the way some surprising silver linings to this key milestone of maturity. Menopause: The True Story is a treat of a book - liberating, empowering and unexpectedly moving in its truth-telling.*Menopause: The True Story is an updated edition of The Hot Topic, first published in 2016*Trade Review'Menopause is something none of us want to talk about, it s a club that no one yearns to belong to. So I am on my knees, weeping with gratitude to Christa D'Souza for writing about menopause in a way that doesn't make me want to run screaming for the hills. Finally, a cool look at hot flushes... Men, if you want anything more than the most shallow relationship with a woman over 40, man up and read this book.' * Kate Reardon, author and ex-editor of Tatler magazine *'Christa D'Souza is warm, witty and wise. No woman - or man, come to that - should be without this book.' * Cressida Connolly, author of The After Party *At last a no-nonsense, myth debunking and even amusing look at the M word. The final step to equality has to be turning the menopause from its current secret, shameful status into a topic we can happily discuss, learn to best negotiate and celebrate. In these pages Christa D'Souza puts us firmly on that path.' * Mariella Frostrup, author of Cracking the Menopause *'With this book, Christa has branded the over-40s as the cool kids. Who else could make a book on the menopause a rip-roaring, witty but intelligent read? I laughed and laughed and learnt.' * Anya Hindmarch *'Been there... survived that... but how I wish I'd had this menopause tour guide to get me through. Brilliant and beautifully written.' * Christine Amanpour, CNN chief international correspondent *

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Book SynopsisTHE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERA Times, Sunday Times and Telegraph Book of the Year______________________________________________'A triumph ... a masterclass in the bottling of its subject’s seductive essence. His presence in this book is so strong that it’s hard to believe he has really left the building'MOJO'Handsomely presented, visually sumptuous'THE TIMES______________________________________________From Prince himself comes the brilliant coming-of-age-and-into-superstardom story of one of the greatest artists of all time—featuring never-before-seen photos, original scrapbooks and lyric sheets, and the exquisite memoir he began writing before his tragic death. Prince was a musical genius, one of the most talented, beloved, accomplished, popular, and acclaimed musicians in pop history. But he wasn't only a musician—he was also a startlingly original visionary with an imagination deep enough to whip up whole worlds, from the sexy, gritty funk paradise of his early records to the mythical landscape of Purple Rain to the psychedelia of Paisley Park. But his greatest creative act was turning Prince Rogers Nelson, born in Minnesota, into Prince, the greatest pop star of his era. The Beautiful Ones is the story of how Prince became Prince—a first-person account of a kid absorbing the world around him and then creating a persona, an artistic vision, and a life, before the hits and fame that would come to define him. The book is told in four parts. The first is composed of the memoir he was writing before his tragic death, pages that brings us into Prince's childhood world through his own lyrical prose. The second part takes us into Prince's early years as a musician, before his first album released, through a scrapbook of Prince's writing and photos. The third section shows us Prince's evolution through candid images that take us up to the cusp of his greatest achievement, which we see in the book's fourth section: his original handwritten treatment for Purple Rain—the final stage in Prince's self-creation, as he retells the autobiography we've seen in the first three parts as a heroic journey. The book is framed by editor Dan Piepenbring’s riveting and moving introduction about his short but profound collaboration with Prince in his final days—a time when Prince was thinking deeply about how to reveal more of himself and his ideas to the world, while retaining the mystery and mystique he’d so carefully cultivated—and annotations that provide context to each of the book’s images. This work is not just a tribute to Prince, but an original and energizing literary work, full of Prince’s ideas and vision, his voice and image, his undying gift to the world.______________________________________________‘Prince’s voice comes through loud and clear; his personality, joie de vivre and single-mindedness jumping off the page throughout.’CLASSIC POP MAGAZINE'The Beautiful Ones is for everyone. It's not a read, but an experience, an immersion inside the mind of a musical genius. You are steeped in Prince's images, his words, his essence… The book can be a starting point for a Prince fascination, or a continuation of long-standing admiration. Either way, it will deepen the connection of any reader with the musical icon.”USA TODAY ‘The Beautiful Ones remains a jewel-like fragment, Piepenbring’s sensitive introduction providing a snapshot of the Purple One’s last months at Paisley Park and during the Piano and Microphone tour’ Q MAGAZINE 'An affirmation of Prince’s Blackness and humanity… Prince writes about his childhood with clarity and poetic flair, effortlessly combining humorous anecdotes with deep self-reflection and musical analysis… Prince is one of us — he just worked to manifest dreams that took him from the North Side of Minneapolis to the Super Bowl.'HUFFPOST‘A compelling curiosity that finds its author orbiting around a few touchingly intimate encounters with his sphinx-like subject … with passages, lyric sheets and photographs from the Purple One himself’TELEGRAPH, Books of the Year 'A memoir that is written by Prince, literally. Handwritten pages he had shared with Piepenbring make up Part 1, taking us from his first memory — his mother's eyes — through the early days of his career... The Beautiful Ones doesn't paint a perfect picture. It's not definitive. It can't be, it shouldn't be and, thankfully, it doesn't try to be. We'll never know what it might have been if Prince had lived. But it's a good start. Now, it's up to us to take what's there and make something out of it for ourselves, creating, just as Prince wanted.'NPR 'Both a pleasure and a surprise ... Prince took the project very seriously, and it shows in the work he delivered. ... It shines an intimate and revealing light on the least-known period of his life'VARIETY‘The Beautiful Ones is a book in pieces, fragments of the ground-breaking autobiography Prince had planned. Pieced together after his death in 2016, it collects his handwritten childhood memoires, superb personal photographs and his chosen co-writer Dan Piepenbring’s vivid account of their brief collaboration. Yet remarkably despite the central absence, it still catches something of Prince between the gaps - a trace of perfume, a glance to camera, a first kiss’ SUNDAY TIMES, Book of the Year‘This is a beautiful book and a must-have for Prince completists’DAILY EXPRESS ‘A ghostly memoir of a pop legend’THE iTrade ReviewA triumph…The Beautiful Ones rivals the Beastie Boys Book – or even your favourite Prince song – as a masterclass in the bottling of its subject’s seductive essence… his presence in this book is so strong that it’s hard to believe he has really left the building. ***** * Mojo *Handsomely presented, visually sumptuous... These tantalising pages will only enhance the enigmatic pop star’s mystique. Fluidly written, intimate and warm… it offers glimpses, partial and alluring. * The Times *Prince remains as enigmatic as ever. And yet, it is in the very fragmentary structure of the book that the essence of the man comes alive…In a world of identikit pop stars terrified of upsetting the apple cart, this is a book that reminds us that Prince truly was one of a kind. * Irish Independent *The Beautiful Ones is a splendidly produced book… and if we are only to have fragments, then these are the very best ones to have: childhood, his complex relationship with his handsome father… and his beautiful complicated mother Mattie… this book is a fun glance, a tiny bolt from what now feels like a very distant past, and will leave you feeling nothing but huge affection for little, brilliant Skipper. * The Spectator *A compelling curiosity that finds its author orbiting around a few touchingly intimate encounters with his sphinx-like subject… with passages, lyric sheets and photographs from the Purple One himself. * Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisIn 'An Island Christmas - Nollaig Oileánach', celebrated Irish author Micheál Ó Conghaile takes readers on a heartfelt journey through his childhood memories of Christmas on the now-abandoned island of Connemara's Inis Treabhair. 'An Island Christmas - Nollaig Oileánach' transcends the holiday season, weaving together tales of the simple joys of Christmas on the island with the broader tapestry of childhood memories, friendships, and the cherished personalities of the island community. Ó Conghaile reminisces about the unique traditions and customs of his island upbringing in the 1960s and 70s in this captivating memoir. Delving into the island's social history he paints a vivid picture of family life in an intimate portrait of island culture and a pre-electric era that will captivate readers of all ages. Though the island is no longer inhabited, Ó Conghaile's recollections serve as a poignant reminder of the enduring importance of family, community, and the magic of childhood. Whether you are a fan of Ó Conghaile's previous works or new to his writing, 'An Island Christmas - Nollaig Oileánach', offers a heartfelt and enchanting glimpse into a bygone era, making it a delightful read for any time of the year. An inspiring insight into the life of a passionate artist and powerhouse behind the resurgence of Irish language writing and publishing, witness Ó Conghaile's journey from an eager young boy tapping away on a typewriter to the founder of renowned publishing house Cló Iar-Chonnacht. Translated from the Irish by Mícheál Ó hAodha.

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Book SynopsisWhen 20-year-old student J. S. Margot took a tutoring job in 1987, little did she know it would open up an entire world. In the family's Orthodox Jewish household she would encounter endless rules - 'never come on a Friday, never shake hands with a man' - and quirks she had not seen before: tiny tubes on the doorposts, separate fridges for meat and dairy products. Her initial response was puzzlement and occasionally anger, but as she taught the children and fiercely debated with the family, she also began to learn from them. Full of funny misunderstandings and unexpected connections, Mazel Tov is a heartwarming, provocative and disarmingly honest memoir of clashing cultures and unusual friendships - and of how, where adults build walls, sometimes only children can dissolve them.Trade Review"A gentle chronicle of empathy and understanding." - Guardian "Margot's is an exceptional voice, illuminating a section of society rarely seen in a refreshingly frank manner. Mazel Tov is a book about finding familiarity in the strange, but also the stranger in ourselves, in which courage and humour save us from the usual romanticising. Any reader interested in the central questions of our time will find enlightenment here." - Deborah Feldman, author of the New York Times bestseller Unorthodox "A brave and important contribution to our understanding of memory." - Daniel Okrent, author of The Guarded Gate"So much more than a good read... What makes Mazel Tov especially attractive is that the author effortlessly succeeds in depicting real-life characters." - Cutting Edge"A book that touched me deeply. Wow!" - Queen Mathilde of Belgium"A must-read for everyone." - De Standaard "A compelling and confronting story... beautifully written." - De Sleutel"the unvarnished account of how two clashing cultures led to lasting friendship… Mazel Tov is a fascinating story about what is possible when pretenses are dropped and true bonds are allowed to form.” - Foreward Reviews

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Book Synopsis'A wonderful book' - Dr. Rangan Chatterjee'Highly convincing' - Daily Express'Pioneering' - The Telegraph'The strength of the book lies in its description of how community life can have a transformative effect on individuals' - British Journal of General PracticeAcross the country, general hospital admissions are on the rise. But in a small town in rural England, thanks to the simple introduction of kindness and compassion, that trend has been reversed. And what this town achieved, we can all adopt in our own lives to powerful effect. Through daily mindful acts of care we are capable of changing things for the better, both inside ourselves and for the world around us. Frome in Somerset isn't special. It could be any town; it could be your town. And yet the people who live there have a story to tell about the simple, ground-shaking power of compassion. If it came in tablet form, it would be hailed as a wonder of modern medicine. By contrast, it's entirely free but offers heartening evidence that when human beings make time for each other, the beneficial effects go far beyond the reach of naïve optimism.'A culture in which compassion is a prevailing value allows individuals to flourish and bring their talents and gifts to the communities in which they live. Unanticipated possibilities emerge, presenting fresh ways of addressing what previously appeared to be insoluble problems. Hearts are lifted. The case for hope is more strongly made. And as the people who work in this way begin to change the world immediately around them, so too, the wider world beyond begins to change.' Dr Julian Abel & Lindsay Clarke

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Book SynopsisThis is the story of how and why a talented writer came to take his own life. When Diana Athill met the man she calls Didi, an Egyptian in exile, she fell in love instantly and out of love just as fast. Didi moved into her flat, they shared housework and holidays, and a life of easy intimacy seemed to beckon. But Didi's sweetness and intelligence soon revealed a darker side - he was a gambler, a drinker and a womanizer, impossible to live with but impossible to ignore. With painful honesty, Athill explores the three years they spent together, a period that culminated in Didi's suicide - in her home - an event he described in the journals he left for her to read as 'the one authentic act of my life'.Trade ReviewOnly a few totally honest accounts of a human life exist. To see the truth of your own life you must have gotten beyong all illusions about yourself, and probably about the world, as well. Few of us do. Diana Athill is one of the few. * Washington Post *A book which gives a new dimension to honesty, a new comprehension to love * Vogue *Anyone who believes that human relationships are important cannot fail to be moved by this book * Daily Telegraph *An extraordinary memoir * Good Homes *

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Book SynopsisThe poet - a man of the world in the widest sense - reflects and in reflection relives the intense experiences that shaped him and that have shaped our modern world. Salvage at Twilight ends with 'Deposition', a harrowing elegy in five parts: the beloved endures 'her Nile of pain'; the lover attends as she is treated, the last scene postponed until the two selves are quite differently refined. His editor has written, 'Dan Burt's poetry, like his prose, explores themes unusual in contemporary literature, using a language that is precise, nuanced and mordant. And he risks traditional forms, his sonnets and quatrains mastered and masterful.'Trade Review'His language is terse to the point of brutality; the verbs ferocious, often monosyllabic; his core conviction, formed by the history of the twentieth century and a lifetime in a non-literary world, is of 'the curtain falling on the Enlightenment'.' - Elaine Feinstein; 'Full of hard-won wisdom and beautiful lines, it's testament to the transforming power of poetry.' - Suzy Feay, The Independent; 'The writing can hover and dance. It has genuine grace.' - George Szirtes

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Book SynopsisBy the will of fate I came to play a part in not letting Hitler achieve his final goal of disappearing and turning into a myth... I managed to prevent Stalin's dark and murky ambition from taking root-his desire to hide from the world that we had found Hitler's corpse' - Elena Rzhevskaya "A telling reminder of the jealousy and rivalries that split the Allies even in their hour of victory, and foreshadowed the Cold War"- Tom Parfitt, The Guardian On May 2,1945, Red Army soldiers broke into Hitler's bunker. Rzhevskaya, a young military interpreter, was with them. Almost accidentally the Soviet military found the charred remains of Hitler and Eva Braun. They also found key documents: Bormann's notes, the diaries of Goebbels and letters of Magda Goebbels. Rzhevskaya was entrusted with the proof of the Hitler's death: his teeth wrenched from his corpse by a pathologist hours earlier. The teeth were given to Rzhevskaya because they believed male agents were more likely to get drunk on Victory Day, blurt out the secret and lose the evidence. She interrogated Hitler's dentist's assistant who confirmed the teeth were his. Elena's role as an interpreter allowed her to forge a link between the Soviet troops and the Germans. She also witnessed the civilian tragedy perpetrated by the Soviets. The book includes her diary material and later additions, including conversations with Zhukov, letters of pathologist Shkaravsky, who led the autopsy, and a new Preface written by Rzhevskaya for the English language edition. Rzhevskaya writes about the key historical events and everyday life in her own inimitable style. She talks in depth of human suffering, of bittersweet victory, of an author's responsibility, of strange laws of memory and unresolved feeling of guilt.

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Book SynopsisReturning to his old unit, the grenade launcher, in May 1944, he experienced the heavy defensive battles in Romania as a platoon commander and from August 1944 in East Prussia and Lithuania. After being transferred by ship from Memel to Konigsberg in late 1944, he took part in the battles for Ostprussen in the winter of 1944/1945. Constantly exposed to the attacks of Russian bombers and fighter planes and severely wounded by shrapnel on the leg, he manages, with the help of a Russian volunteer and a horse-drawn vehicle from Balga to Rosenberg, from there by ship transport via Pillau to ?winouj?cie and by train to Schwerin. Fleeing the impending Russian imprisonment to the west, he falls into American captivity on 3 May 1945 and is released in July 1945 in the home. Memories of a corporal and platoon commander in the grenade launcher 1943-1945

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Book SynopsisThis is the true story of a young Red Army soldier during the Second World War, told in his own words. Recruited into the army aged just seventeen, Sergei Drobyazko's introduction to battle is a violent one: forced to retreat from his home city of Krasnodar after it is set ablaze by German forces. Later, Drobyazko is captured by the Germans and placed in a concentration camp, where prisoners are reduced to eating scavenged rubbish and bathing battle wounds in urine. After a daring escape from the camp, he enters service once more, rising to the rank of sergeant in an infantry regiment. During this time, he witnesses the execution of deserters and the routine ill-treatment of German prisoners of war by vengeful Soviet troops. After surviving an attack that decimates his detachment, Drobyazko is almost court-martialled. Seriously wounded in 1944, he retrains as a radio operator, but he never returns to the war front. In this gripping memoir, Drobyazko sets down his experience of the war as it unfolded around him. He claims to have consulted no historical sources and to have simply relied on his own memory, making this a deeply personal account. Translated into English for the first time, this unique account will be enjoyed by readers with an interest in military history.

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Book SynopsisBook of the Week: The IdlerIt Gets Worse is the second instalment of Nicholas Lezard’s rueful, dissolute life. Beginning where his first volume, Bitter Experience Has Taught Me, ended, Nick’s fortunes have not improved. At home in the Hovel, his bachelor existence makes a further descent into chaos, yet the misadventures are faced with sardonic wit, pathos and something like dissident wisdom.Trade ReviewThis is a hugely entertaining book. Lezard is, as anyone who has enjoyed his writing as a critic knows, a perceptive chronicler of human strengths and weakness, and so he is with himself. His compassionate decency shines through – as he writes, “other people’s troubles start bothering you almost as much as your own” – and buying this for a Christmas present is undoubtedly the most joyful act of charity that you can perform this year. -- Alexander Larman * Observer *Lezard is a magnet for misfortune — his finances, love life and domestic skills are equally disaster-prone, and he shares his book-infested lodgings with a variety of uninvited wildlife. Rueful and funny, this is a book to relish in the comfort of a tidy living room. -- Jane Shilling * Daily Mail *Lezard unashamedly takes his cue from Orwell’s essay “Confessions of a Book Reviewer” with its comfortless picture of an ill-paid hack in the mid-1940s, scratching a living “in a moth-eaten dressing gown” surrounded by “cigarette ends and half-empty cups of tea”. Regular readers will be used to dispatches from the Hovel, and encounters with the Beloved, and the Estranged Wife (one hopes that they are sufficiently anonymized). They will also know that Lezard frequently has “too much month at the end of his money”, plus the hypochondriac twinges that borderline poverty and a sedentary lifestyle inevitably lead to. “Last night I dreamed that I got paid again. Say it in the cadences of the opening line of Rebecca. It’s a nice dream, one of my favourites, but sometimes I wonder is it better to have a horrible dream which you are relieved, on waking, to discover was only a dream; or a pleasant one to which reality is an insulting and uncouth rebuke?” This is the true Lezard: not just wallowing in misery, but examining it with the ascetic curiosity of a stylite. -- Brian Morton * TLS *

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Book Synopsis'A beautiful and clever book about being human' Russell BrandCOMEDY. TRAGEDY. THERAPY. Simon Amstell did his first stand-up gig at the age of thirteen. His parents had just divorced and puberty was confusing. Trying to be funny solved everything. HELP is the hilarious and heartbreaking account of Simon’s ongoing compulsion to reveal his entire self on stage. To tell the truth so it can’t hurt him any more. Loneliness, anxiety, depression – this book has it all. And more. From a complicated childhood in Essex to an Ayahuasca-led epiphany in the Amazon rainforest, this story will make you laugh, cry and then feel happier than you’ve ever been.Trade ReviewA beautiful and clever book about being human. All the warmth of his comedy without the inconvenience of his face * Russell Brand *Hard to imagine anyone not loving this... go Simon Amstell! * Stephen Fry *Disarmingly, almost alarmingly, honest. I laughed out loud 57 times * Martin Freeman *No one makes loneliness and anxiety as funny as Simon Amstell. Every sentence in this book is simultaneously heartbreaking and hilarious * Hadley Freeman *Enrapturing. Touching, funny and sweet * Alain de Botton *

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Book SynopsisLonglisted for the Polari First Book Prize 2020Life's a drag... Why not be a queen?'Stories like the one where you shagged a 79-year-old builder and knocked over his sister's ashes while feeding him a Viagra. Or the time you crashed your car because you were giving a hand job in barely moving traffic and took your eye off the car in front. That's the kind of dinner-party ice-breaker I'm talking about.'Northern, working-class and shagging men three times her age, Crystal writes candidly about her search for 'the one'; sleeping with a VIP in an attempt to become a world famous journalist; getting hired and fired by a well-known fashion magazine; being torn between losing weight and gorging on KFC; and her need for constant sexual satisfaction (and where that takes her).Charting her day-to-day adventures over the course of a year, we encounter tucks, twists and sucks, heinous overspending and endless nights spent sprinting from problem to problem in a full face of make-up. This is a place where the previously unspeakable becomes the commendable - a unique portrayal of the queer experience.(c) 2019, Crystal Rasmussen (P) 2019 Penguin AudioTrade ReviewA riotous portrayal of the contemporary queer experience * Dazed *Truthful, revealing and obscenely hilarious […] Strident and unapologetic but really sweet, too. * Attitude *A proud voice for the non-binary community * Gay Times *This book honestly changed my life. Tom’s honesty, vulnerability and fearlessness jumps out of every page and every word. It is the queer bible I’ve always needed and I don’t remember life BT (before Tom) * Sam Smith *Diary of a Drag Queen is a heartfelt memoir of queerness and non-conformity * Vogue *

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Book SynopsisIn this gripping memoir, Eamonn Mallie takes us on an extraordinary journey through his life as a journalist in Northern Ireland. From the frontlines of the Troubles to the corridors of power, Mallie? s fearless reporting and unrelenting pursuit of the truth have made him a legendary figure in Irish journalism.Having gained unparalleled access to key players, Mallie shares his reflections on his groundbreaking interviews with John Hume, Gerry Adams, Margaret Thatcher, Ian Paisley, Bill Clinton, Tony Blair and a host of other influential figures involved in the peace process.From adrenaline-fuelled moments on the ground to frank conversations with political heavyweights, Eyewitness to War and Peace is a captivating read that sheds new light on the challenges and triumphs of navigating the world of journalism in a divided society. An unflinching testament to the power of investigative reporting and the enduring pursuit of peace, this is a must-read for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of Northern Ireland? s troubled past and its hopeful future.

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Book SynopsisPaul Darrow's career has encompassed theatre, television and film. Famed for his portrayal of Kerr Avon, a ruthless and calculating computer expert, in Terry Nation's science fiction series Blake's 7, Darrow has also appeared in Coronation Street, Emergency Ward 10 and many other productions - including two guest appearances in Doctor Who. Populated by familiar names and productions, You're Him, Aren't You? is Paul's own story of his life and career. It tells of his association with Blake's 7 - how he was cast, his experiences of making the show, what has happened since and his memories of Terry Nation, the cast and the crew. It also tells of his childhood, his time playing Elvis Presley and his near miss with James Bond. An extended audio reading, with new chapters written by Paul since the publication of the original book. Paul Darrow returned to the role of Kerr Avon in Blake's 7 for two series of new full-cast audios with Big Finish Productions. CAST: Paul Darrow (reader).

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Book SynopsisFor me it begins in such an ordinary way ... with a gorilla, a blonde,and a gun ...Mid- 20th century Hollywood; 'RaymondChandler's LA before Pilates and cell phones'. Clancy Sigal (who would later bethe inspiration for Doris Lessing's 'Saul Green') is just back fromfighting in the Second World War and an abortive solo attempt to assassinate HermannGoering at the Nurenburg trials. Charming his way into a job as anagent with the Sam Jaffe agency, Sigal plunges into a chaotic Hollywood peopled by fastwomen, washed-up screenwriters, wily directors, and starstruck FBI agentstrailing 'subversives'. He parties with the likes of Humphrey Bogart, Barbara Stanwyck, TonyCurtis and an anxious Peter Lorre, who becomes a drinking buddy.But this is the era of the Hollywood Blacklistand Sigal, like many of his contemporaries, is subpoenaed to testify before theHUAC. Will he give up the list of nine names, burning a hole in his pocket, tosave his own skin? Hilarious, touching, intimate and revealing: Sigal'smemoir reads like a forgotten hardboiled detective novel and has all the makings of aninstant classic.Trade ReviewBuzzes with gossip and scandal....This is one of the best Hollywood memoirs ever. -- The Jewish ChronicleSuperblyevokes the Cold War fears of communist subversion, the hidden FBImicrophones, subpoenas, and the naming of names ... What stands revealedis a hypocritical culture and society ... Sigal'sprose style is that of the secret agent in the macho gun-toting sense,with a side-of-the-mouth, shoulder-holster private-eye delivery out ofRaymond Chandler or Dashiell Hammett. -- Mail on SundayThe beauty of Black Sunset, for most readers, will be found in the details, lovingly or painfully described, page after page ... Sigal brings the innocent and guilty back, once more, at close range, and proves himself the liveliest of literary nonagenarians in the process. -- LA Review of BooksSigal stumbles into Hollywood [...] lands the most reviled job in the biz - talent agent - and this milieu is where most of Black Sunset takes place, haunted by the Wink and by a conspiracy of accidents.Black Sunset moves with the express swagger of a Hawks or Wellman picture, although it feels like an Ozu once it's all over and the characters linger in silhouette as if they were a fixture of the freeway system at night. -- CounterpunchGripping ... a great tale of survival. [Sigal is] a terrific writer. -- Literary ReviewHis scapegrace adventures are described with so much vitality and scabrous wit you feel as charmed as one of his serial conquests...[a] marvellous book. -- The SpectatorThis true story of life as a theatrical agent is as good as any Chandler novel, full of intrigue, betrayal and incredible stories of the hard-boiled and hard-drinking seediness behind the glamour. A fantastic read -- Virginia Ironside, author of No Thanks! I'm Quite Happy Standing

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Book Synopsis** Includes foreword from Susie Green, CEO of charity Mermaids ** Mama, something went wrong in your tummy. And it made me come out as a boy instead of a girl. When Marlo Mack's three year old says these words, she's not surprised - but she's completely unprepared. Marlo gave birth to a beautiful baby boy - M - and brushed his pleas for pink clothes and dresses aside as a young child's playful experimentation with gender. But when her son begs to be put back in her tummy because he came out wrong, she knows she must listen more closely.How to Be a Girl is a raw and unflinching memoir of a mother grappling with her child's transition. Always wanting to support M, Marlo - whose podcast of the same name has over 1.3 million downloads - finds her liberal values surprisingly challenged, and as she learns more about gender and its varied expressions, she questions what being a girl - or a boy, or something else entirely - really means.Trade ReviewThis beautifully written book is about parental love, pure and simple. And I don't mean just the rhetorical "love" claimed by all parents when things are going easy, but the unconditional "LOVE" required when faced with something in your child that makes them-and you-potential pariahs. There is so much to learn here from Marlo and her gorgeous daughter M. -- Christine Burns MBE, author and transgender activistI'm so grateful to Marlo and her daughter for sharing their story. As a dad who is trans, I'm excited to read it with my own child one day - to have this among the diversity of experiences we can explore and reflect on. Despite the obstacles all kinds of trans families face, resources like this make me feel lucky to be trans and to be a parent at this moment in time. -- Freddy McConnellThis book is powerful because of its honesty and openness. -- Fox Fisher, artist, film-maker and campaignerMarlo Mack's How to Be a Girl is an extraordinary mother-daughter story and also a wondrously ordinary one, not just about a mother's unconditional love but also about listening to one another, learning together, following your mama-gut as well as your mama-heart, and leaping into the unknown with a child - your child - as your guide. -- Laurie Frankel , New York Times-bestselling author of This Is How It Always Is and One Two ThreeHow to Be a Girl exemplifies the true meaning of unconditional love ... -- Jazz JenningsA stunning story. . . . Smart, honest, and deeply personal, this illuminating work should be required reading. * Publishers Weekly *Transgender children are in the news. Bobbing in the sea of headlines is a growing number of memoirs written by parents of transgender kids. . . . The latest is among the best-Marlo Mack's How to Be a Girl. . . Mack's prose is accessible and smart, by turns witty and searching. Her storytelling is sprinkled with the kind of helpful explanations one might find in a parenting advice book. . . . [Yet] Mack's touch is light, like a friend making a wholehearted suggestion over coffee. * Women's Review of Books *

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Book Synopsis''Generous, moving and alive. A gift'' - Tim Dee, author of Greenery''Intelligent, thought-provoking and always, always interesting'' - Cal Flyn, author of Islands of Abandonment''Smyth writes with warmth and engaging perception about our relationship and understanding of the natural world on our doorsteps'' - Jon Dunn, author of The Glitter in the Green''Fresh and tender and playful'' - Patrick Galbraith, author of In Search of One Last SongWeren''t they richer, rock pools, wasn''t the seashore busier, when I was a kid?Richard Smyth had always been drawn to the natural world, but when he became a father he found a new joy and a new urgency in showing his kids the everyday wild things around them. As he and his children explore rockpools in Whitley Bay, or the woods and moors near his Yorkshire home, he imagines the world they might inhabit as they grow up. Through different objects discovered on their wanderings - a beech leaf, a jay feather, a limpetshell - Smyth examines his own pa

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Book SynopsisIn the days before mobile phones, the internet and 24-hour news channels, the easiest way for a British foreign correspondent to find out what was going on in the world was to phone the local office of Reuters news agency and ask: 'Is anything happening?'That's how the award-winning BBC reporter and presenter Robin Lustig started out in journalism, working for Reuters as an agency man. During a distinguished career spanning more than forty years, he watched the world of news change beyond recognition, as he reported on terror attacks, wars and political coups.In this witty and illuminating memoir, Lustig looks back on his life as a newsman, from coming under fire in Pakistan to reporting on the fall of the Berlin Wall; from meeting Nelson Mandela to covering Princess Diana's sudden death.Back in the studio, Lustig lets us in through the BBC's back door for a candid, behind-the-scenes look at some of his triumphs and disasters working for the nation's favourite broadcaster.He writes of his childhood as the son of refugees from Nazi Germany and, drawing on thirty years of reporting about the Middle East, he comes to a startling conclusion about the establishment of the state of Israel. Astute, incisive and frequently hilarious, Is Anything Happening? is both an irresistible personal memoir and an insightful reflection on world events over the past forty-five years.Trade Review"This memoir is everything you would expect from its author: intelligent, shrewd, witty, civilised and great company. He lifts the lid on life within BBC newsrooms and captures the fun of touring the world's trouble spots as an eyewitness to great events and interviewing the lead characters. Along the way, he remindsus why serious journalism still matters." Richard Sambrook, Professor of Journalism, Cardiff University, and former Director, BBC news; "Robin Lustig's memoir is an engaging mix of anecdote, reportage, reflection and the odd bit of gossip - as good a late-night companion as his voice on Radio 4's The World Tonight." Lindsey Hilsum, International Editor, Channel 4 News; "This is a wonderfully evocative and sympathetic memoir. Robin Lustig, a prince of BBC journalism as reporter and presenter for more than twenty years, tells his stories with a range of brilliant and often witty anecdotes, sharp observation and an unstinting generosity of spirit. He has been everywhere and seen much - but there is no cynicism. The humanity of the man shines through." Mark Damazer, Master, St Peter's College, Oxford, and former Controller, BBC Radio 4

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