Memoirs Books

Book SynopsisLessons in life from Caught in Providence's viral sensation Judge Frank Caprio, known as the ';Nicest Judge in the World' whose courtroom became a worldwide beacon of compassionate justiceand an unforgettable watch for millions of fansFrank Caprio is ';that judge'the one you love on social media or TV, whose videos you and your friends and family talk about and share with each other. Now, Judge Caprio brings to the page the same wisdom and spirit of decency that viewers around the world have come to treasure. From 1985, when he first took the bench, to when he stepped down in 2023, Judge Caprio dispensed true compassion to a continuous flow of regular people in his municipal traffic court in Providence, Rhode Island. As showcased in the four-time Emmy nominated show Caught in Providence, his courtroom is a place where defendants are treated with dignity, and where the deserving are given a breaknot a pass or get-out-of-jail-free card, but the chance to right their lives and care for their families. In Compassion in the Court, Judge Caprio shares transformative stories and lessons from his life and courtroom, including: Wisdom he gained from his immigrant parents Stories shared by individuals of all ages who appeared in court How he developed the ability to tell when someone is not telling the truth The power of growing up with someone who believed in himand how he's tried to provide the same for everyone who appears before him How a person's worth isn't measured by the mistakes they make, but by their ability to learn from those mistakes Caprio's memories will challenge readers to become somebodyto value their past and their family, to confront their realities, and to believe that, through respect, compassion, and understanding, they can succeed. This book will touch your heart, uplift your spirit, and renew your faith in others, and in yourself.

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Book Synopsis'Warm, funny, touching, uplifting' CLARE BALDINGOLIVE & MABEL: two of the internet's favourite dogs!ANDREW COTTER: one of our best-loved commentators.In a year like no other, the antics of two beautiful Labradors, Olive and Mabel - along with hilarious commentaries by Andrew Cotter - lightened the darkest days of lockdown. With nearly 90 million views on social media, Olive and Mabel's videos have resonated with dog lovers around the world.Now, OLIVE, MABEL & ME tells the heart-warming story of Andrew's two famous Labradors. Olive - sensible, measured but always keen to roll in something she shouldn't. Mabel - endearing, slightly scatty but game for any adventure. Their star quality has taken the internet by storm and continues to give us all a much-needed treat in tough times.Beautifully written, touching and laugh-out-loud funny, this is not only the story of Olive and Mabel but also the story of the love we have for our dogs and the boundless joy they bring us each and every day.Trade ReviewBeautifully written... as funny as you would hope. * The Times *

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Book SynopsisFrom his humble beginnings in a quaint Welsh mining village to the dazzling lights of Hollywood, much-loved star, Luke Evans takes us on a poignant and inspiring journey that spans from the heart of Wales to behind the scenes of the global stage. Growing up in a small village in the Rhymney Valley, south Wales, Luke Evans'' early life was shaped by his Jehovah's Witness upbringing. While most children of his age spent their Saturday mornings watching Going Live on television, young Luke would dress in a suit and tie and join his parents to knock on doors to spread the word of his religion. From an early age, he felt different. This feeling of displacement was not limited to his faith; as he came to terms with his own sexuality, he also faced a difficult and uncertain path. In his poignant, tender and often humorous account, Luke shares his bold decision to leave home and the religion at seventeen to move to London, where the vibrant Soho scene captured his heart, invigorated his cr

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Book SynopsisDiscover the healing power of nature through the stories of these characterful birds, whose song is never far away . . .LONGLISTED FOR THE 2022 WAINWRIGHT PRIZE''A lyrical and life-affirming book that teaches us as much about birds as it does ourselves - a balm for the soul'' Raynor Winn, author of The Salt Path''Totally absorbing and completely engaging on so many levels . . . Charlie has opened my eyes to the constant joy of the sights and sounds of the birds that surround us. It is a book that really will save lives'' Dr Richard Shepherd, author of Unnatural Causes_________After the tragic loss of his mother, Charlie Corbett felt trapped by his pain. Having lost all hope and perspective he took to the countryside in search of solace. There, he heard the soaring, cascading song of the skylark - a sound that pulled him from the depths of despair and into the calm of the natural world.Weaving his jTrade ReviewA lyrical and life-affirming book that teaches us as much about birds as it does ourselves - a balm for the soul * Raynor Winn, author of The Salt Path *Totally absorbing and completely engaging on so many levels... Charlie has opened my eyes to the constant joy of the sights and sounds of the birds that surround us. It is a book that really will save lives * Dr Richard Shepherd, author of Unnatural Causes *An enchanting book. I knew at once this was something special * Lady Glenconner *This is no ordinary ornithology, but one that portrays the very essence of each bird through a very human lens and shows us that both solace and joy can be ours by merely observing with an open eye and an open heart * John Wright, author of The Forager's Calendar *A wonderful blend of the lyrical and practical. Charlie shows us that our relationship with birds and the natural world is not only healing, but an important part of our cultural heritage worth protecting * Adam Henson *From dawn choruses to the first chiffchaff calls of spring, Charlie Corbett shows how the changing seasons can bring happy natural rhythms to times of hardship * National Geographic Traveller *This is no misery memoir . . . The story moves apace to its uplifting conclusion, that Nature is the best medicine * Country Life *There is much to be admired * Countryfile *An important book, woven with the countryside and catharsis. Also instructive into which birds to look for and how to recognise their calls and song. Written by a true countryman and loving son * The Field *Honest, uplifting and written from the heart, this is a rediscovery of life inspired by a re-discovery of birds -- Tim BirkheadOne of those charming nuggets you sometimes chance across in the bookshop, pulling together themes of nature, grief, mental health and healing * Salisbury Journal *

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Book Synopsis''Harpy is a tonic; a tongue-in-cheek manual for dealing with Spanish Inquisition-style questioning about saying pass to procreation and building an enriching life beyond the nuclear family'' VOGUE''Harpy made me nod in recognition, and shake my head with sorrow, and then it made me laugh out loud'' EMILIE PINE, author of NOTES TO SELF and RUTH & PEN''Defiant, funny and inspiring'' SEÁN HEWITT, author of ALL DOWN DARKNESS WIDEEach generation has more childfree women than the one before. For many, it is an active decision made for a wide range of reasons. Despite this growing trend, we continue to live in a society where women are often judged for deciding to remain childfree - for not conforming to narrow expectations. For being a Harpy.In this timely and thoughtful book, Caroline Magennis looks beyond the often-divisive conversation around women who choose to be childfree and offers an alternative message of hope and celebration. With humour and intelligence, she explores why motherhood isn''t right for everybody and how any woman - whether a parent or childfree - can live a full life, while also reminding the reader that your freedoms and the right to autonomy should never be taken for granted.

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Book SynopsisHarperCollins is proud to present its range of best-loved, essential classics.

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Book SynopsisTake a trip down memory lane and read about the life of Britain''s most beloved vet, who charmed us all with his bestselling tales of veterinary life in Yorkshire.''A wonderful, glorious insight into the life of the man behind the books'' 5***** Reader Review''Moving . . . A book I shall treasure and read several times'' 5***** Reader Review______ After qualifying as a vet in 1939, Alf Wight, aka James Herriot, moved to a veterinary practice in Thirsk, Yorkshire. It wasn''t until he was over fifty when his first book of stories about life as a Yorkshire vet, If Only They Could Talk, was published, giving birth to some of Yorkshire''s most famous and much-loved literary characters, and later becoming the popular BBC television series All Creatures Great and Small.Not only did his books have great success, but they also inspired many to take up the profession, in what was known as the ''Herriot effect''. A

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Book SynopsisAN EXTRAORDINARILY MOVING AND ORIGINAL MEMOIR OF GROWING UP GAY AND DISABLED IN 1980s LONDONSHORTLISTED FOR THE SLIGHTLY FOXED BEST BIOGRAPHY PRIZE 2023 When Emmett de Monterey is eighteen months old, a doctor diagnoses him with cerebral palsy. Words too heavy for his twenty-five-year-old artist parents and their happy, smiling baby.Growing up in south-east London in the 1980s, Emmett is spat at on the street and prayed over at church. At his mainstream school, teachers refuse to schedule his classes on the ground floor, and he loses a stone from the effort of getting up the stairs. At his sixth form college for disabled students, he''s told he will be expelled if the rumours are true, if he''s gay.And then Emmett is chosen for a first-of-its-kind surgery in America which he hopes will ''cure'' him, enable him to walk unaided. He hopes for a miracle: to walk, to dance, to be able to leave the house when it rains. To have a body that''s eTrade ReviewVivid, engaging... this insightful memoir sheds light on the author's life as a disabled gay man who is often rendered invisible -- Andrew McMillan * Guardian *A frank and intimate memoir written with an incredible clear-eyed intensity * Claire Fuller *The magic of Emmett De Monterey's book is its disarming accessibility. Compulsive reading, unique, this beautifully crafted work is suffused with depth, affection, and remarkable observations. De Monterey is a profoundly gifted writer. * Charlotte Fox Weber *Exploring the reality of growing up gay and disabled in 1980s London, this beautiful memoir is as uplifting as it is devastating, and as funny and wise as it is profound. * iNews *Astonishing, illuminating and enriching. * Matt Cain *

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Book SynopsisA captivating, beautifully illustrated memoir of a life in nature, and a testament to the mutual rewards and delights of keeping chickens, by the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Flower Yard''I am a toddler the first time I meet a chicken, and we are equal in size and height. The hen has tiny eyelashes, a strawberry-jam face and a voice of purring clucks. I sense a happy spirit of inquisitiveness and smile in fascination. From that moment on, I will always love the company of chickens. I have found my tribe''Most of us want a dog, or a cat, or a pony when we are young - for Arthur Parkinson, it was always hens. Growing up in an ex-mining town in Nottinghamshire, the other kids in the playground called him ''Chicken Boy''. But the quiet fulfilment of keeping hens became his sanctuary, a tonic for mental and physical health, a connection with his family and the natural world. From the local allotments and his nan''s back garden, to Chatsworth and an unlikely friendship with the late Duchess of Devonshire, a famous hen-keeper, Chicken Boy tells the story of the love and satisfaction to be found in caring for living things.Illustrated with Arthur''s own characterful watercolours and photographs of his ''girls'', and laden with practical hen-keeping tips, gardening advice and introductions to common, rare and pure breeds, Chicken Boy is a one-of-a-kind memoir of a life in nature.

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Book Synopsis'We all need this book' Jameela JamilA razor sharp manifesto by one of Britain's most vital voices' Yomi Adegoke'Exceptional' British Vogue A groundbreaking memoir about what it means to be a disabled woman in Britain today from the acclaimed journalist and author, including insights and personal stories from over 50 contributors'No one really talks about it. No one really talks about what it is to be a disabled woman, especially a young one. To go a bit mad. To experience pain or exhaustion or feel 92. To navigate all the standard parts of life - exams, careers, dating - but with a body that is different than everyone else's.'Part memoir, part manifesto, and full of Frances Ryan's trademark warmth, humour and honesty (as well as hard-hitting statistics), Who Wants Normal? explores six facets of life: education, careers, body image, health, relationships and representation, as well as how to survive life's bumps in the road. It draws on Frances's own experience, as well as from highly personal interviews with over 50 of Britain's best known women and non-binary people with mental and physical health conditions, including Jameela Jamil, Ruth Madeley, Sophie Morgan, Rosie Jones, Fearne Cotton, Emma Barnett, Tanni Grey-Thompson, Marsha de Cordova MP, Ellie Goldstein and Katie Piper. Who Wants Normal? lifts the lid off a subject that is too often shrouded in stereotypes and silence. It offers support, inspiration and a sense of solidarity to the 1 in 4 women with long-term health conditions and will open the eyes of anyone wanting to better understand what life is really like with a disability. 'Beautiful, vital and important. I loved it' Jack Thorne'I've never related to a book more. Disabled or not, you MUST read this' Rosie Jones'Supercharged relevance [full of] robust analysis and wry humour readers will find here stories to inspire, enrage and encourage' Observer

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Book SynopsisLONGLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZE 2025LONGLISTED FOR THE JHALAK PRIZE 2025Richly imaginative and powerfully empathetic, an intimate portrait of five remarkable Black men, and a meditation on race, estrangement and the search for home.''Thrilling and ingenious, propulsive and genre-defying: The Strangers is an outstanding book'' Bernardine Evaristo''Luminous and extraordinary... This book will be referenced for years to come'' Lemn SissayIn the western imagination, a Black man is always a stranger. Outsider, foreigner, intruder, alien. One who remains associated with their origins irrespective of how far they have travelled from them. One who is not an individual in their own right but the representative of a type.What kind of performance is required for a person to survive this condition? And what happens beneath the mask?In answer, Ekow Eshun conjures the voices of five very different men. Ira Aldridge: nineteenth century actor and playwright. Matthew Henson: polar explorer. Frantz Fanon: psychiatrist and political philosopher. Malcolm X: activist leader. Justin Fashanu: million-pound footballer. Each a trailblazer in his field. Each haunted by a sense of isolation and exile. Each reaching for a better future.Ekow Eshun tells their stories with breathtaking lyricism and empathy, capturing both the hostility and the beauty they experienced in the world. And he locates them within a wider landscape of Black art, culture, history and politics which stretches from Africa to Europe to North America and the Caribbean. As he moves through this landscape, he maps its thematic contours and fault lines, uncovering traces of the monstrous and the fantastic, of exile and escape, of conflict and vulnerability, and of the totemic central figure of the stranger.

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Book SynopsisA nostalgic look back at what it was like to grow up during the 1960s.Trade ReviewIf you grew up in the Swinging Sixties, you’ll love Paul Feeney’s A 1960s ChildhoodThe author captures the atmosphere and 'furniture' of the Sixties to perfection, even recreating a typical family Christmas of the time. Whether you were a child or an adult in that most eventful decade, this excellent book, with charming black and white illustrations, will throw up lots of talking points.

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Book SynopsisBoth deeply moving and highly comic, Carl Gorham's memoir tells the story of his unique relationship with his magical Norfolk garden and how it guided him through bereavement and recovery to ultimate triumph.

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Book SynopsisWALKING DISASTER is a riveting story of excess lived in the limelight, told with candour, humility and a thoughtful introspection rarely found in rock memoirs. An unlikely rock and roll success story, Derek is an unassuming, intelligent, sensitive and insightful creative who is most at home in Sum 41's ecosystem, bringing their high-energy shows to crowds around the globe on marathon tours that typically last a year or more. He isn't the fame-seeking type, but he has had to contend with an unexpected degree of tabloid and paparazzi attention throughout his career due to two high profile relationships, one with Paris Hilton and the other, his four-year marriage to pop singer Avril Lavigne. His life prior to the band is just as compelling. Raised in a single parent household under difficult circumstances, Whibley found solace and an avenue for his musical gifts in punk rock. Deryck's father abandoned him and his mother just after he was born, after which his mother remarried. His stepfather, who worked in construction and dealt drugs, was violent and abusive. When Deryck's mother eventually fled with her son and filed for divorce, they were forced to live at a campsite in Western Canada for a year, hiding from his stepfather who had vowed to kill them both. Introspective and revealing, in WALKING DISASTER Derek discusses the evolution of his music, fame, his own story cheating death, as well as the radical societal changes that have taken place since he began his career - culminating in a phenomenal rock and roll story and artfully capturing the nineties and noughties era.

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Book Synopsis''Vivid and compelling and so moving... Kit''s depiction of her parents'' dynamic is both painful and comforting to read'' Marian KeyesAS BROADCAST ON BBC RADIO 4From the award-winning author of MY NAME IS LEON comes a childhood memoir set to become a classic: stinging, warm-hearted, and true.Kit de Waal grew up in a household of opposites and extremes. Her haphazard mother rarely cooked, forbade Christmas and birthdays, worked as a cleaner, nurse and childminder sometimes all at once and believed the world would end in 1975. Meanwhile, her father stuffed barrels full of goodies for his relatives in the Caribbean, cooked elaborate meals on a whim and splurged money they didn''t have on cars, suits and shoes fit for a prince. Both of her parents were waiting for paradise. It never came.Caught between three worlds, Irish, Caribbean and British in 1960s Birmingham, Kit and her brothers and sisters knew all the words to the best songs, caught sticklebTrade ReviewExtraordinary . . . De Waal has a gift for the deft detail that will bring a story or character alive . . . A moving, heart-warming account of a girl who grows up in a house with no books except the Bible, gets in with a bad crowd and nearly goes under. In the end, and after she has left home, she is saved by books. When she can't sleep she reads the classics. Now she may even have written one * Sunday Times *An astonishingly good evocation of the dream and reality of migration to postwar Birmingham * Observer *A terrific evocation of her family life in 1960s Birmingham * Financial Times *In the end, this is a survivor's story. It doesn't pull any punches, but it ends with a girl determined to live, to "turn the page and keep reading" * Telegraph *Intelligent, angry and sometimes very funny * Scotsman *Dynamic and immersive, Kit de Waal's effervescent memoir documents a fraught childhood of opposites and conflicting identities with wit, humanity and an uncanny power for bringing the figures of her youth to vibrant life. -- Maggie O'FarrellA delightful and harrowing book. I can't think of another since Edmund Gosse's Father and Son that gives such a well-written child's-eye view of an upbringing in a suffocating Christian sect . . . I highly recommend * Irish Times *This is a sometimes bleak, often funny tale of finding a way to live through reading, which is all the more amazing given the only book in Kit's house was the Bible * Radio Times, Book of the Week *Kit's writing is beautiful - vivid and compelling, and so moving. Families are such a mix of joy and pain and Kit's depiction of her parents' dynamic was both painful and comforting to read. There's so much love, warmth and hope. I wanted to keep reading this book for ever -- Marian KeyesI knew Kit de Waal was special the moment I met her. And now I know why -- Lemn SissayWarm, honest, perceptive and moving, and the very best kind of memoir, because not only does it tell you about someone else's life, it tells you about your own -- Joanna CannonI loved it and couldn't put it down. Both joyous and heartbreaking, it captures an era and is also a beautiful tribute to sibling love, and a completely compelling story of how one girl became a reader -- Cathy RentzenbrinkA window into an extraordinary childhood, told with blistering wit, pathos and joy, I could not have loved this more. Kit takes you on a thrilling ride traversing her past filled with humour, faith, joy and dysfunction. I defy you not to lake it into your heart -- Abi MorganI couldn't put this book down. Beautifully written and searingly honest. Eye-opening, funny and moving - the words fly off the page. I didn't want this book to end Kit de Waal is a natural born storyteller -- Paul McVeighI adored this book. The beauty of its prose, the poetry of its imagery. It's open-hearted, frank, funny, and wise. Unflinching but unpitying. I've returned to most sections twice and several a few more than that. It's a memoir filled with warmth, joy and heartbreak, written with the immediacy of a thriller and the poignancy of a love letter. It is a love letter - to a brave, curious, funny girl I now feel like I've known all my life -- Séamas O'ReillyTouching and authentic - I loved this memoir -- Clare MackintoshA beautifully written and unsentimental account of growing up Black and Irish in Birmingham at a time when neither were particularly welcome. Inspiring, unflinching and courageous -- Liz Nugent

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Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER & BEST GARDENING BOOKS OF 2020 - Sunday Times''Every page a joy'' NIGEL SLATER''From a very early age I loved the countryside as much as any garden and was fascinated by the life that I saw all around me from trees, wildflowers, birds, insects and mammals. In a sense this book has been over sixty years in gestation. I have kept notebooks and journals ever since I could write and I have drawn upon these as well as the events of the past year.''Spend a year with Monty Don. My Garden World is a celebration of every living creature and the natural world that we all share. Recent times have given us the enforced opportunity to learn more about the fascinating natural world around us. Whether you live in the countryside or the town, Monty''s observations and insights are relevant to each and every one of us. My Garden World is Monty Don''s personal journey Trade ReviewAs familiar as a cup of tea and similarly as heartening, Monty Don is something of a gardening legend... this is a very timely and relevant celebration of the world immediately around us - at a time when we really need it. * Cotswold Life *Full of warmth and affection * Edinburgh Evening News **Best Christmas Releases* -- While some gardeners appear bent on suppressing nature, Monty Don loves and works with it. His new book is a celebration of the living world, through which he walks us, following the calendar year, pausing to observe everything from hares to hawthorn. His world is one big garden of delights. * Saga *Both informative and personal * Argus (Brighton) *His world is one big garden of delights. * Saga *Both informative and personal. * Greenock Telegraph *Really rather wonderful. Not only is it a celebration of all that grows in his garden, but of everything else living there too... Every page a joy. * Nigel Slater **Best gardening books of 2020*. This is a gentle and soulful read, full of little "a-ha" moments, that takes us through a calendar year of garden wildlife observations. * The Times {Saturday Review} *Written in Don's typically accessible but engaging prose, My Garden World is our protagonist's latest celebration of his favourite subject. * Irish News *And what better way to celebrate the natural world than with everyone's favourite gardener. Monty Don observes with detail the animals, birds and wildlife that come and go throughout the year, encouraging us to help and preserve the world around us. * Woman *

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Book Synopsis'Human and curious . . . an admirable family memoir of migration' (Guardian) from Sunday Times journalist Jonathan Dean.Trade ReviewJonathan Dean's remarkable family saga would make the producers of Who Do You Think You Are? weak at the knees. -- Tarquin Hall * SUNDAY TIMES *Humane and curious... an admirable family memoir. -- Steven Poole * GUARDIAN *Against the shocking news stories of the last couple of years, Jonathan Dean's very human take on the journey of a refugee has fresh resonance. Examining the lives caught in the crossfire as Europe twice fragmented in world war makes this a must read now. -- Emily Phillips * GRAZIA *Get a copy for your Brexit-voting uncle. -- Clare Pennington * GRAZIA *He explores complex subjects accessibly, and his book is all the more powerful for it. -- Max Liu * I PAPER *

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Book Synopsis''I''m not past my prime. And neither are you!''Engaging and wise, A Work in Progress will resonate with every middle-aged woman who feels newly invisible, silenced, underestimated or diminished. From knowing our worth, looking ahead with excitement and possibility, and realising that we still have so much to give and enjoy, this is a book that will change lives.Sue Cleaver shares her experiences and life stories, reflects on how they made her feel and what she learned, and offers advice and tips for others who find themselves in similar situations. Are you a chronic overthinker, do you have anxiety, or suffer from self-doubt? Sue has been there, done that, and is still learning from it. Training as a therapist was only the start of her journey of self-discovery and at sixty she feels more empowered to live life to the full than ever before.''I''ve spent a lifetime feeling that I''m not enough or I don''t belong. It''s only now that I''m beginning to find my voice. I''m also aware that there is plenty for me to learn. I''m still a work in progress, but for the first time in my life, I have reached a point where I''m no longer hiding, and that feels good.''

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Book SynopsisCelebrating Fifty Years of Picador BooksYou think adoption is a story which has an end. But the point about it is that it has no end. It keeps changing its ending.From the moment when, as a little girl, she realizes that her skin is a different colour from that of her beloved mum and dad, to the tracing and finding of her birth parents, her Highland mother and Nigerian father, Jackie Kay’s journey in Red Dust Road is one of unexpected twists, turns and deep emotions. In a book remarkable for its warmth and candour, Kay discovers that inheritance is about much more than genes: that we are shaped by songs as much as by cells, and that what triumphs, ultimately, is love.Taking the reader from Glasgow to Lagos and beyond, Red Dust Road is a heart-stopping story of parents and siblings, friends and strangers, belonging and beliefs, biology and destiny.‘Like the best memoirs, this one is written with novelistic and poetic flair. Red Dust Road is a fantastic, probing and heart-warming read’ – IndependentPart of the Picador Collection, a series showcasing the best of modern literature.Trade ReviewA clear-eyed, witty and unsentimental account of the push and pull between nature and nurture. Happiness shines through * Sunday Times *Wonderful, humane . . . This is a book with resolution, determination and honesty * Scotland on Sunday *It is Kay’s abundant wit that makes Red Dust Road such a moving, spirited work. This is a terrifically easy, evocative, and often amusing read . . . A remarkable, soul-searching journey * Sunday Herald *

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Book SynopsisReflections on love, mortality and humanity.

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Book Synopsis'Remarkable' GUARDIAN'Mesmerising' TELEGRAPH'A voice that must be heard' PATTI SMITHAn exhilarating, immersive journey into the Exclusion Zone of Chornobyl with the disaffected adventurers who illegally stalk its ruinsAmidst the toxic desolation of the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, a subculture has sprung up. They call themselves 'stalkers': wild adventurers who sneak past border controls to get lost in this apocalyptic environment of dense swampland and rusted ruins. Markiyan Kamysh is one, and here he takes us on a hallucinatory journey into an alien world. With reckless energy, Kamysh tells of escapes from the police, hedonistic nights in bombed-out buildings and the spectral beauty that got him hooked on returning to the Zone. Brash, immersive and ecstatic, this is a singular document of a dystopian reality.

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Book SynopsisFrom the No.1 bestselling author of Do No Harm, an entrancing and uplifting meditation on the gift of life.‘A book to treasure and reread’ Gavin Francis, author of Adventures in Human BeingAs a retired brain surgeon, Henry Marsh thought he understood illness, but even he was unprepared for the impact of his diagnosis of advanced cancer.In And Finally, he navigates the bewildering transition from doctor to patient. As the days pass, his mind turns to his career, to the people and places he has known, and to creative projects still to be completed.Yet he is also more entranced than ever by the mysteries of science and nature, by his love for his family, and – most of all – by what it is to be alive.* A Daily Telegraph, The Times and Financial Times Book of the Year *‘Magnificent’ Rachel Clarke‘Vividly wry and honest’ The Times‘I admire this book enormously’ Philip Pullman‘Enthralling’ GuardianTrade ReviewHenry Marsh may have retired from medicine but let's hope he keeps producing books as good as this one, which enthral as well as teach. * Observer *[And Finally] is unexpectedly fun, and the author is pretty much irresistibly likeable... diagnoses and remissions are described with wonderful candour... [and Marsh's] discussion of end-of-life care and assisted dying is the best essay I have read on the subject. * Guardian *[Marsh is] deeply reflective, the result is a bit like sitting in the pub with the smartest person you know. * Spectator *Beautifully written... A thoughtful journey into his experience as a doctor-turned-patient, enlivened with a wonderful black humour and a gimlet eye for comforting nonsense... One couldn't wish for a better guide. -- Steven Poole * Daily Telegraph, 5 stars *His dignified introspection is a joy. -- Clare Chambers, author of SMALL PLEASURES

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Book SynopsisThe instant New York Times Bestseller soon to be a major Apple TV series with Brie Larson.'Reads as if a John le Carré character landed in Eat Pray Love' - New York Times‘Best book of the year’ - Tom Marcus, author of Soldier, SpyDo you have what it takes to stand between us and the enemy?"I’m here to prevent a major and imminent attack. One that will kill children. I’m alone and operational in the country where my colleague was taken and beheaded, and every hour I’m delayed is another hour for something to go wrong - for an informant to disclose my location, for the source I’m meeting to cancel, for the attack to go boom. The fear injects my thoughts with venom."Amaryllis Fox was recruited by the CIA at the age of 21 in the aftermath of 9/11. After an intense training period – where she learns how to master a Glock, get out of flexicuffs while in the trunk of a car, withstand torture, and commit suicide in case of captivity – she is sent undercover to keep nuclear, biological and chemical weapons out of the hands of terror groups. Posing as an art dealer, she is sent on countless dangerous missions around the globe. Each time, the stakes become even higher and the risks more terrifying. Determined to stop the masterminds, Amaryllis’s quest will almost destroy her, until she realises that the only way to actually defeat the enemy is to have the courage to sit across from them… and listen. In this explosive first-hand account – filled with suspense and plot twists to rival Carrie Mathison in Homeland – Life Undercover is an edgy story of an undercover CIA operative, hunting the world’s most dangerous terrorists, using deception and disguises and dead drops in the night in order to protect our streets. Revealed in never-before-seen detail, Amaryllis offers compelling insight that can only come from having fought on the front lines.Trade ReviewThe best book of the year ... Amaryllis is a hero. * Tom Marcus, author of SOLDIER SPY *Reads as if a John le Carré character landed in Eat Pray Love -- The New York TimesReads like a script for Homeland -- The Times MagazineA gripping and poignant memoir -- Ben Hoyle * The Times *Extraordinary... [A] remarkable life...Fox engagingly—and transparently—describes her work as an undercover agent for the CIA -- Kirkus Reviews

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Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLERSHORTLISTED FOR THE PENDERYN MUSIC BOOK PRIZE'Tender, wise and funny' Sunday Express'Beautifully observed, deadly funny' Max PorterBefore becoming an acclaimed musician and writer, Tracey Thorn was a typical teenager: bored and cynical, despairing of her aspirational parents. Her only comfort came from house parties and the female pop icons who hinted at a new kind of living.Returning to the scene of her childhood, Thorn takes us beyond the bus shelters, the pub car parks and the weekly discos, to the parents who wanted so much for their children and the children who wanted none of it. With great wit and insight, Thorn reconsiders the Green Belt post-war dream so many artists have mocked, and yet so many artists have come from.Trade ReviewA beautiful writer . . . Exceptional . . . Made me catch my breath . . . Her language is straightforward, chatty, easy-to-read. Musical. Though Thorn tells us sharp truths, we gobble them up because she delivers them in such a deceptively pretty, poignant way -- Miranda Sawyer * * Financial Times * *Hugely enjoyable, quirky and funny -- BERNARDINE EVARISTOWhen Thorn digs into her adolescence, the book sparks with wit and poignancy, helped by extracts from her teenage diaries that she smartly exploits for comedy and bathos * * Sunday Times * *Tender, wise and funny * * Sunday Express * *I adored this. Wise, tender, beautifully observed, deadly funny. A Green Belt memoir classic -- MAX PORTERReaders of Thorn's two previous memoirs will recognise the tone of this book, with its beautifully clean style, careful self-questioning and pervasive likability * * Guardian * *What a wise and funny book. Nostalgic but unsentimental, Thorn beautifully captures the aspirations, ennui and angst of suburban teenage life. I loved it -- DAVID NICHOLLSTracey Thorn's memoir of growing up in suburbia finds the extraordinary in the ordinary . . . Thorn is a writer who can "give the mundane its beautiful due" . . . [A] delightful, incisive memoir -- Frank Cottrell-Boyce * * New Statesman * *A book that dazzles with a quiet rebellion, resilience and hope -- ELIF SHAFAKAnother Planet is about being a teenager in suburbia in the 1970s, and revisiting one's own youth from middle age. It touches on class, culture, music, plum jam and parenting teens. It's wonderful. You'll read it in one go -- NINA STIBBE

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Book SynopsisTHE #1 IRISH TIMES BESTSELLERFor almost forty years, Paul Williams has chronicled the life and crimes of some of Ireland''s most notorious godfathers, killers and thieves. In Crooks he brings his readers for a ride-along, taking us behind the scenes of his most notorious scoops, describing the run-ins he''s had with unsavoury, dangerous criminals and the high price of his line of work.From pursuing the General to death threats from PJ ''The Psycho'' Judge, exposing the Westies and tracking the Kinahan cartel, Paul''s extraordinary career doubles as an eyewitness account of the evolution of organized crime in Ireland.

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Book SynopsisWalter Murray was a young man tired of living in the city. Early in the 1920s, he persuaded a Sussex farmer to rent him a derelict cottage, which stood alone on a hill, with no running water or electricity. Most of the windows were broken, it was dirty, dark and ran with rats. He bought a brush and pail in the village, forced the rats to retreat, brought in rudimentary furniture. The local postman found him a dog, and with his new companion he began to explore his surroundings. In that year at Copsford he made a living from collecting, drying and selling the herbs he found locally: agrimony, meadow-sweet and yarrow. He became alert to the wildlife and plants around him. His life was hard - he supplemented his income with occasional journalism, but it was here he met his future wife, who he calls The Music Mistress, and with whom he would later found a school. Copsford is an extraordinary book. Bearing comparison to Thoreau's Walden, Murray's intense feeling for his place is evident on every page. It is, though, no simple story of a rural idyll - life at Copsford was hard, and Murray does not shy away from the occasional terrors of a house that had its hauntings. A publishing success when first published in the late 1940s, this new edition has an introduction by Raynor Winn, author of The Salt Path.

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Book Synopsis'Beautiful. Poignant. Phenomenal...I cried and I smiled...Truly a gem.' Goodreads reviewerA moving and heartbreaking journey of a daughter discovering her Palestinian roots and recovering her mother's beloved past. Perfect for fans of The Bookseller of Kabul and The Beekeeper of Aleppo.1948, Jerusalem. Zakia is forced to flee the only home she's ever known as war rips through the leafy streets and the bustling spice-filled souqs. Taking just one suitcase, Zakia thinks she'll be able to return soon. But within weeks, she realises she won't be allowed back to her beloved homeland. 2007, California. Mona grew up with her mother Zakia's memories of Palestine, imagining the muezzin's call for prayer and the medley of church bells her mother so vividly described to her. So, when Mona gets the opportunity to teach conflict resolution in Ramallah, she also embarks on a personal pilgrimage to find her mother's home in militarized and occupied Jerusalem.With cherished letters from her mother who writes to Mona regularly, sharing her story of Jerusalem, Mona dreams of one day being guided by her through the winding cobblestone alleys of the Old City. Yet it is Mona who instead holds her mother's hand as they finally visit Jerusalem together. After fifty-nine years of exile, her mother is returning to the place she once called home - but can a lifetime of loss ever be healed?

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Book SynopsisThe debut home improvement and inspirational interiors guide from Greg Penn, aka Man with a Hammer, who took on one of Britain''s biggest DIY projects.Many of us dream of a renovation project, but few would be brave enough to take on a 8,200-square-foot, 30-room, 5-storey Georgian mansion on only a shoestring budget. But that''s exactly what Greg Penn did, buying the near-derelict Admirals House and embarking on an ambitious restoration plan.In this beautiful book, Greg tells the story of his remarkable home, its rich history and shares his renovation and interiors advice, budget-friendly tools and hacks - readers will journey through Admirals House room-by-room, witnessing how each has been lovingly restored to its former glory.Man with a Hammer is a visual feast and a manifesto on ''having a go'' and tackling the undoable with understated elegance and optimism.

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Book Synopsis'There is no one on earth quite so wonderful' STEPHEN FRY'As outrageously entertaining as you'd expect' Daily ExpressBAFTA-winning actor, voice of everything from Monkey to the Cadbury's Caramel Rabbit, creator of a myriad of unforgettable characters from Lady Whiteadder to Professor Sprout, MIRIAM MARGOLYES, OBE, is the nation's favourite (and naughtiest) treasure. Now, at the age of 80, she has finally decided to tell her extraordinary life story - and it's well worth the wait.Find out how being conceived in an air-raid gave her curly hair; what pranks led to her being known as the naughtiest girl Oxford High School ever had; how she ended up posing nude for Augustus John as a teenager; why Bob Monkhouse was the best (male) kiss she's ever had; and what happened next after Warren Beatty asked 'Do you fuck?' From declaring her love to Vanessa Redgrave to being told to be quiet by the Queen, this book is packed with brilliant, hilarious stories. With a cast list stretching from Scorsese to Streisand, a cross-dressing Leonardo di Caprio to Isaiah Berlin, This Much Is True is as warm and honest, as full of life and surprises, as its inimitable author.Trade ReviewGleefully outspoken and bursting with hilarious anecdotes, gloriously larger than life . . . I pity every person that is not me right now, drinking in the glory of Margolyes at 80 -- Eva Wiseman * Observer *Startling, thrillingly outspoken, provocative, potty-mouthed and exhilarating . . . THIS MUCH IS TRUE is never boring. Her personality is so likeable she can only leave you wanting more -- Lynn Barber * Daily Telegraph *Reads like the Wife of Bath's memoirs -- Simon CallowWickedly honest . . . When I was reading this book on a train, a stranger asked if I was OK because I was crying with laughter -- Hadley Freeman * Guardian *An irreverent, straight-talking, riotous romp through an extraordinary life * Sunday Post *If there is a silver lining to last year's lockdown, it's the fact that Miriam Margolyes finally had time to write her life story . . . invigoratingly outspoken . . . gloriously shocking . . . and captures her force-of-nature personality. Buckle up, you're in for a wild ride -- Charlotte Heathcote * Daily Mirror *Now 80 - and no less outrageous and outspoken, the actress presents vignettes from her life that will induce guffaws as much as gasps * The i *Blisteringly honest and hugely entertaining * Daily Record *Ebullient and bosomy -- Roger Lewis * The Times *Stories galore . . . Miriam Margolyes has a life worth immortalising in print . . . An unapologetic account of a life well lived. As irrepressible as ever, Margolyes's warmth and wit shines through * Radio Times *Blisteringly honest and hugely entertaining * Daily Record *There's so much in the book; each chapter offering a tidbit of information both interesting and hilarious... It's full of life and vigour, as if you're conversing with a friend you've known for a long time * Irish Examiner *Brilliant stories abound in this memoir... which is honest, poignant and wildly indiscreet. * The Guardian *As compelling, forthright and irrepressible as its author * Choice Magazine *Miriam Margolyes' autobiography is crass, brash, rude, crude, funny and sad, and as delightful and surprising as Miriam herself * Good Housekeeping *As outrageously entertaining as you'd expect * Daily Express *Potty-mouthed and thrillingly candid, Margolyes's account of her career from teenage nudemodelling for Augustus John to sexy voiceover work for Ann Summers to playing Harry Potter's Professor Sprout is a riotous joy * Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisOn screen, Danny Trejo is the most recognisable anti-hero in Hollywood. But off screen, he is so much more. The ultimate hard-knock-lifer, and a true man of the world, he has all the stories, and all the scars. Raised in an abusive home, Danny struggled from an early age with heroin addiction, doing time in some of the country's most notorious prisons, before breaking into acting. Starring in modern classics and cult hits alike, including Heat, Breaking Bad, From Dusk Till Dawn and Sons of Anarchy, Danny has worked with silver-screen icons like Robert De Niro and Charles Bronson. Now, Danny recounts how he survived the horrors of jail, rebuilt his life, and drew inspiration from the adrenaline-fueled robbery heists of his past to forge his on-screen legend. Redemptive and raw, Trejo is an unforgettable journey through tragedy, pain, and success. Told with cowboy appeal, gritty rebel wisdom, and total honesty, these are outlaw stories from the frontiers: the frontiers of prison, of Hollywood, and of life.

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Book SynopsisNominated for the National Book Critics Circle AwardIn this long-awaited and candid memoir, Hitchens re-traces the footsteps of his life to date, from his childhood in Portsmouth, with his adoring, tragic mother and reserved Naval officer father; to his life in Washington DC, the base from which from he would launch fierce attacks on tyranny of all kinds. Along the way, he recalls the girls, boys and booze; the friendships and the feuds; the grand struggles and lost causes; and the mistakes and misgivings that have characterised his life.Hitch-22 is, by turns, moving and funny, charming and infuriating, enraging and inspiring. It is an indispensable companion to the life and thought of our pre-eminent political writer.Trade ReviewIf Hitchens didn't exist, we wouldn't be able to invent him. * Ian McEwan *Christopher Hitchens is one of the great conversationalists of our age and his wit, style and erudition are brilliantly deployed in this glittering autobiography. Hitch-22 sparkles with funny stories, treasurable quotations, witty apercus and deft descriptions. * Sunday Times *A pert yet elegantly written memoir. * Sunday Telegraph *A fascinating account of the influences - political, cultural and philosophical - on Hitchens's intellectual development... A funny, sad, incisive, and serious narrative... He is our son and one of our most gifted writers. We should take pride in that and be busting our guts to get him back. * Spectator *Table of Contents1: Yvonne 2: The Commander 3: Fragments from an Education 4: Cambridge 5: The Sixties: Revolution in the Revolution 6: Chris or Christopher? 7: The Fenton Factor 8: Martin 9: Portugal to Poland 10: A Second Identity: On Becoming an (Anglo) American 11: Changing Places 12: Salman 13: Mesopotamia from Both Sides 14: Something of Myself 15: Thinking Thrice about the Jewish Question. 16: Edward Said in Light and Shade (and Saul) 17: Decline, Mutation, or Metamorphosis?

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Book SynopsisI'm going to love my baby and give her lots of attention,' Jade said. I'll show my mum she's wrong.'Jade, 17, is pregnant, homeless and alone when she's brought to live with Cathy. Jade is desperate to keep her baby, but little more than a child herself, she struggles with the responsibilities her daughter brings.Cathy is worried as soon as Jade arrives: she's never looked after a pregnant teenager before, but none of the mother and baby carers is free, and seventeen years old, seven months pregnant and homeless Jade is in a desperate situation.But Jade doesn't want to listen or advice and although her daughter is born safely it isn't long before Jade's in trouble with the police.Cathy knows that Jade loves her daughter with all her heart, but will she be able to get through to Jade in time to make her realise just how much she might lose?

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Book SynopsisSunday Times bestsellerThe mothering manual we all need' Claudia WinklemanCalling all Mums:Are you feeling lonely and confused?Are you panicking that you're getting everything wrong?Do you feel as if your relationship with your teenage daughter has worsened overnight?Don''t worry, you''renot alone.Enter parenting columnist Lorraine Candy, a mum of four (including three teens).Her warm, witty, and wise memoir will gently lead you to a harmonious place.This book is a reassuring survivor''s guide to the highs and lows of parenting adolescents. It willreconnect you to your daughter and help you feel good about your mothering.Trade Review‘The mothering manual we all need’ Claudia Winkleman ‘Parenting is a massive tsunami of inadequacy. This book is a gentle, supportive hand to help us ride that tsunami, both personal and objective. I found it deeply comforting’ Davina McCall 'This book is for all mums of teenage girls who are still standing despite the daily takedowns, the hourly scrutiny of our various failings and the moment-by-moment dissection of our useless boomer existence. It will make you want to run into the street shouting, "See? It's not me – it's HER!"' Jackie Clune

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Book SynopsisThis book is a rare first-hand account by a ruthlessly efficient German sniper of life and death during the bitter conflict that followed the Nazi invasion of Russia. Josef 'Sepp' Allerberger was an Austrian conscript who qualified as a Wehrmacht machine-gunner and was drafted to the Southern sector of the Front in July 1942.After being wounded at Voroshilovsk, he experimented successfully with a captured Russian sniper-rifle whileconvalescing and returned to his unit as his regiment's only sniper specialist. In the gruelling months that followed, as the German Army was forced to withdraw under almost constant pressure from the Russians, Allerberger became the second most successful German sniper and one of the very few private soldiers to be awarded the coveted Knights Cross.This harrowing and graphic memoir provides a vivid insight to the atrocious conditions and brutal cruelty of this campaign. There was, we learn, no place for chivalry and few prisoners survived long after capture. Allerberger relates the cunning, discipline and fieldcraft that not only saw him survive during the near constant action but made him such a relentless assassin.Trade Review"...a very unique story and experience worth telling of an Eastern Front Sniper."--Sniper Central

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Book Synopsis**Featured on BBC Radio 4's A Good Read** 'A profound meditation on language and loss and time, and on how we construct ourselves through stories. And it's painful. And it's beautiful. And I love it.' NATHAN FLIER Samantha Harvey's insomnia arrived, seemingly, from nowhere; for a year she has spent her nights chasing sleep that rarely comes. She's tried everything to appease it. Nothing is helping. What happens when one of the basic human needs goes unmet? For Samantha Harvey, extreme sleep deprivation resulted in a raw clarity about life itself. Original and profound, The Shapeless Unease is a startlingly insightful exploration of memory, writing and influence, death and grief, and the will to survive. 'A delight to read... ineffably rewarding' OBSERVER 'Easily one of the truest and best books I've read about what it's like to be alive now, in this country' MAX PORTER 'How can a book about a sensual deprivation be so sensuous and so full? ... it seemed to give my sleep resonance and poetry. What a beautiful book.' TESSA HADLEYTrade Review[A] remarkable book… [The Shapeless Unease is] an extraordinary journey, but it’s also mesmerising. Harvey writes with hypnotic power and poetic precision about – well, about everything: grief, pain, memory, family, the night sky, a lake at sunset, what it means to dream and what it means to suffer and survive. -- Christina Patterson * Mail on Sunday *A delight to read… suffused with the sense of a timeless fable… ineffably rewarding. -- Colin Grant * Observer *Urgent and wild, but also dazzling in its precision. This is what it must be like to try to keep hold of a brilliant mind that is threatening to unspool… a dark, seductive book about fear and madness and their allure… Reading The Shapeless Unease can feel not unlike dipping into strange, unchartered waters: it is by turns bracing and soothing, with a dark undertow and glimmers of light at the surface, and one emerges from it with an altered perspective, a sense of time having slowed down. -- Sophie McBain * New Statesman *Samantha Harvey's dazzling, dizzying trip through the nightmare world of the sleepless...[is a] wondrous little book... a treasure trove of material… The Shapeless Unease is also one of the best books you will find about swimming. And its wonders. -- Roger Alton * Daily Mail *Intricately intriguing… astonishing… [The Shapeless Unease is] a particular joy. It moves between topics with ease, and yet at its heart it is an emotional book… I haven’t read a book which is quite as clear about being a writer. -- Stuart Kelly * Scotland on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisThe classic, No.1 bestselling and much-loved memoir by Hannah Hauxwell about life in remote Yorkshire in the 1970s.''The world''s favourite Daleswoman'' YORKSHIRE POST''She brings the reader back to the essentials'' MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS''Hannah''s humility, simplicity and strange accent - a mix of Yorkshire and Northumbrian with a Scandinavian lilt - touched many viewers ... Hannah''s attachment to Low Birk Hatt remained with her for life: My heart and soul will always be up on the Dales, ''COUNTRYFILE MAGAZINEHannah Hauxwell first came to the nation''s attention on Yorkshire television''s award-winning documentary TOO LONG A WINTER, when she captured the hearts and imaginations of millions who were captivated by her ability to single-handedly run her family''s farm in an isolated area in Yorkshire. Since the age of 35, following the deaths of her parents and uncle, she lived a self-sufficient life withTrade ReviewThe world's favourite Daleswoman * YORKSHIRE POST *When Hannah Hauxwell speaks, people listen. She possesses a quality which cannot properly be defined * THE JOURNAL *Yorkshire farmer and recluse, Hannah Hauxwell lived a hard life, alone on her small Pennine farm - until she became an unlikely TV star in the 1970s ... Hannah's humility, simplicity and strange accent - a mix of Yorkshire and Northumbrian with a Scandinavian lilt - touched many viewers ... Hannah's attachment to Low Birk Hatt remained with her for life: "My heart and soul will always be up on the Dales," * COUNTRYFILE MAGAZINE *Anyone who watched the amazing documentary will want to read SEASONS OF MY LIFE * LANCASHIRE MAGAZINE *She brings the reader back to the essentials * MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS *[Hauxwell] was living a harsh existence as a hill farmer in the Yorkshire Dales, without electricity or running water, when the 1973 television documentary Too Long a Winter turned her into a national celebrity * GUARDIAN *When Hannah Hauxwell speaks, people listen. She possesses a quality which cannot properly be defined. -- David Whetstone * The Journal (Newcastle) *

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Book SynopsisSunday Times Sports Book of the YearShortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year AwardWinner - Best New Writer category at the British Sports Book AwardsAfter years of watching Kenyan athletes win the world''s biggest long-distance races, Runner''s World contributor Adharanand Finn set out to discover what it was that made them so fast - and to see if he could keep up. Packing up his family, he moved to Iten, Kenya, the running capital of the world, and started investigating. Was it running barefoot to school, the food, the altitude, or something else? At the end of his journey he put his research to the test by running his first marathon, across the Kenyan plains.This edition includes a new chapter covering the 2012 Olympics.

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Book SynopsisA book about finding home amidst the ancient mountains and lakes of northern Greece. A story of people, pelicans, borders and bears. A story of shelter, generosity and welcome. A story of a shared world.

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Book SynopsisWayne Barnes - one of the most-experienced international referees in history and criminal barrister to boot - uniquely lifts the lid on a lifetime of trying to keep the biggest names in the sport on best behaviour.There aren''t many people who can say they''ve been the thirty-first man on the pitch during a World Cup humdinger, Grand Slam decider or Premiership and European Cup final; listened to the sobs of a 20-stone prop as he tries to belt out his national anthem; heard the crunch of bones after some of the mightiest hits known to the game; or been yards away from the greatest players of the last twenty years, doing almost impossible things with a rugby ball - especially when you''re a working-class lad from the Forest of Dean, wondering how you ever got there in the first place.Candid, humble and warmly told, Throwing the Book is a definitive account of what it means to be a rugby referee and a love letter to the sport that has provided Wayne with so much. Covering his childhood days, family life, career highs and lows, side-step into law, as well as what''s next in store for Wayne both on and off the pitch, this book reveals the man behind the referee for the very first time.Serious when it needs to be, but also rich in good humour and humanity, Throwing the Book is a memoir to remember.

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Book SynopsisIn 2009, Rachel Cooke started a monthly column for The Observer on cooking and eating: here are her fifty best.In Kitchen Person, unfussy eater Rachel Cooke chronicles several food upheavals since then: new TV cooks, Brexit, viral recipes, the home delivery phenomenon, and the global pandemic. She journeys from her childhood in Sheffield with Henderson''s relish and Granny''s lamb chops, to a job interviewing top chefs and eating in fancy restaurants, to learning to shop and cook well herself, all the time growing more knowledgeable and opinionated about food.Trade ReviewAt once intimate and no nonsense, Rachel Cooke brims with frank opinions... reading her is like chatting to your most interesting and forthright friend in their kitchen. She reminds me of Laurie Colwin.' -- Olivia Potts * The Spectator *Erudite, insightful, fearless, often hilarious, with needle sharp observation * Jeremy Lee *

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Book SynopsisJust when Casey thinks her foster care duties are done, she's asked to look after Sam, a troubled nine-year-old with a violent streak who drove his previous guardians to release him of their care. It soon unfolds, however, that this is no simple case.Determined to get to the root of Sam's behaviour, Casey is committed to uncover his mysterious past only to find out something far darker than she ever imaginedHaving recently said goodbye to their last foster child, Miller, the Watson family are taking a bit of a break. But it's while Casey is having fun catching up with her friends that she receives a call from her new link worker. Social services are desperately trying to find a settled home for nine-year-old Sam, who has Autism and some serious behavioural problems.Removed from his mother less than a week ago, Sam has been staying with respite carers. But with two young children of their own, they now find themselves unable to hold on to the little boy as he is bullying them relentless

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Book SynopsisA BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEKA luminous, uplifting and deeply moving memoir by a care worker, told through her funny, heartbreaking, sometimes frustrating, and always eye-opening encounters with the often overlooked and marginalised people she cares for. Kate never expected to become a home care worker. But when she left her senior role in the NHS, burnt-out and disheartened, she thought caring for people in their own homes would be a simpler job. Despite being determined not to become too involved with her 'customers', she soon found herself developing firm friendships, forging deep connections and bearing witness to the extraordinary drama to be found in ordinary lives. With energy, compassion and clarity, her memoir gives an astonishing insight into this unsung - and often maligned - profession, and into the hidden lives of the housebound and infirm. From Beryl who screams like a banshee whenever Kate tries to wash her, but collapses in giggles when her toes are tickled, to baw

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Book SynopsisIn 1951 Michael Jenkins, then 14 years old, spent the summer with 'the aunts in Flanders'. His 'aunts' were a group of elderly women whose connection to his family had never been explained but they immediately embraced him and he quickly became entwined in the lives of an extended family of aunts, uncles and cousins. The warmth of their life awakes Michael to the complicated world of relationships as he falls in love for the first time. Michael Jenkins's vivid memoir of a summer that changed his life has become a much-loved classic, with its evocative portraits of his aunts, the raw memories of two world wars that still scar the Flanders plain and Michael's unraveling of the secret at the heart of this family.Trade ReviewArtfully adds up to a portrait of a family, a time and a place... A very charming memoir. -- Penelope Lively * The New York Times *A seminal experience of life so beautifully recorded that the book becomes a small icon to be treasured not only on the shelf of a personal library, but in the mind. -- P.D. JamesA radiant book... A whole spectrum of colours and lights, of delights and elegances, of wistfulness and love. -- Dirk Bogarde * Daily Telegraph *This golden world which seemed to have survived from another century... survive(s) in this enchanting and affectionate book. * Mail on Sunday *

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