Memoirs Books

Book Synopsis'If deaths are not investigated, then the authorities cannot be held to account and democracy is threatened. And if deaths are not investigated, we are not a society that values human life.' Inspired from a young age to help the marginalised and voiceless, Leslie Thomas KC has dedicated his career to fighting for the underdog and holding the State to account. This intimate and personal record of some of the most significant, controversial and disturbing legal cases of the last fifty years lays bare the very heart of the law enforcement and judicial process. It's an unforgettable account of an idealistic and outspoken lawyer's coming of age as a Black man in London, and a powerful portrait of the lives of those he has fought for. From the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, to the deaths of Christi and Bobby Shepherd by carbon monoxide poisoning, the Birmingham Pub Bombings and the police shooting of Mark Duggan, Do Right and Fear No OneTrade Review'Leslie has done more for the families of those who die in custody or at the hands of the police than any other single lawyer' -- Louise Christian * of Christian Khan solicitors *

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Book SynopsisThis is a book about holding it together (or not) amidst the chaos. 'We lived through lockdown, had a baby, have experienced autism diagnoses and set up a new safe place for women. I call the last few years The Palm Tree Years - mainly because Wilby is obsessed, but also because we have found our happy place by the sea and we're still growing. We have our teenagers pushing boundaries, our wonderful toddler keeping us on our toes, an 8 year old wanting to be Britain's next top influencer and all the complicated blended family relationship baggage, of course. I'm sharing so much more in this book than I can online - the last few years have been life-changing. So here is my world for you, my patchwork world - all the wows, the oh-dears and everything in between - unfiltered. We are one big, happy, loving, mad, frustrating, heartbreaking, heartwarming, tiring, patchwork family. We are all learning and driving each other up the wall daily. But it'Trade ReviewRefreshing and honest ... this isn't your standard mum memoir * Psychologies Magazine *In a world of social-media gloss, Hambleton has spent the last few years being unusually frank about the mess of life * iNews *

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Book Synopsis''Wild, exhilarating and very funny'' Sunday Times''A must-read for pop culture fans'' The Times''Unflinching'' Observer----------------Chaos and debauchery defined Baxter Dury''s turbulent childhood. Abandoned by his punk rock star dad Ian Dury in the late 80s, Baxter was left in the hands of the Sulphate Strangler: a volatile, six-foot-seven drug dealer who lived up to his name. What could possibly go wrong?In a period that we can now only imagine, a young Baxter ricocheted from one adventure to another, narrowly swerving one disaster only immediately to collide with another. At times, his situation was perilous in the extreme. Chaise Longue is an intimate account of those escapades, evocatively illuminating a bohemian west London populated with feverishly grubby characters. Narrated in Dury''s candid tone, both sad and funny, this moving story will leave an indelible imprint on its readTrade ReviewNumber 10 in Uncut Book of the Year 2021'Beautifully deadpan' * The Times, Books of the Year 2021 *'A must-read for pop culture fans' * Evening Standard Best Non-fiction 2021 *'This unflinching memoir by singer Baxter Dury, son of Ian, recalls his chaotic family life with the 'pot-soaked Fagin' and his bodyguard...[It] is written with linguistic gusto. His father would be made up' * Observer *'A compact book crammed with details about a particular periods of Baxter's life, there is less a whiff on nonsense and more of authenticity' * The i *'Wonderfully wild' * DIY *'A bright, bruising account of growing up in the blast zone of a chaotic parent. Chaise Longue is wild, exhilarating and very funny' * The Sunday Times *'A fascinating and thought-provoking read' * Louder Than War *'Fittingly chaotic and non-linear, but razor sharp and side-splitting throughout, Chaise Longue is one rock autobiography not to miss - a Withnail & I-style cult classic in waiting' * Mojo *'Chaise Longue is a short, amusing, alarming and subtly sad memoir, punctuated by mind-boggling anecdotes related with nuance and zest' * The Daily Telegraph *'Enthralling and moving. It is funny and sad in equal measure' * Quiet Days *'It's an honest account of a difficult and at times slightly insane upbringing, which refreshingly these days was all written by Baxter himself in his own unique voice' * The Malestrom *'Not unlike Ian Dury's nuanced musical portrait of his own father, "My Old Man", Chaise Longue fathoms Baxter Dury's complicated upbringing in the company of his dad and minder Pete Rush, a "six-foot-seven malodorous giant" better known as the Sulphate Strangler. "There was no school, there were no rules about drinking, there was no dinner," Baxter writes. No boots, no clean panties' * Uncut's Best Music Books of 2021 *

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Book SynopsisA memoir of Shalom Auslander's attempt to escape the biblical story he'd been raised on and his struggle to construct a new story for himself and his family.

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Book Synopsis''Searingly honest, funny, self-deprecating, Harding''s narrative seems to rest on the pulse of Ireland'' Irish TimesOne day in the summer of 2016, Michael Harding''s wife brought an unusual gift home from Warsaw. All of a sudden, he found himself falling back into the old religious devotions of an earlier time. The meaning he had found through years of engagement with therapy began to dissolve.Here, in On Tuesdays I''m a Buddhist, Harding examines the search for meaning in life which keeps him fastened to the idea of god.After many therapy sessions focused on an effort to uncover personal truth, and long solitary months on the road with a one man show, Harding is finally led to an artists'' retreat in the shadow of Skellig Michael.Mixing stories from the road with dispatches from his Irish Times columns, On Tuesdays I''m a Buddhist is a spell-binding and powerful book about the human condition, the narratives we Trade ReviewSearingly honest, funny, self-deprecating, Harding's narrative seems to rest on the pulse of Ireland * Irish Times on On Tuesdays I'm a Buddhist *A compelling memoir. Absorbing and graced with a deceptive lightness of touch ... Harding writes like an angel * Sunday Times on Hanging with the Elephant *Hilarious, and tender, and mad, and harrowing, and wistful, and always beautifully written. A wonderful book * Kevin Barry on Staring at Lakes *Wonderful ... Like many people who have achieved a great deal, [Harding] cannot recognise his triumphs. This book, like its predecessor, is one of them * John Boyne on Hanging with the Elephant *A book that champions the kindness (or at least company) of strangers as essential for that elusive state known as happiness * RTE Guide on Talking to Strangers *

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Book Synopsis''Extraordinary. I''ve never met anyone who has read it and doesn''t rank it as one of their favourite books.'' DOLLY ALDERTON''So fierce and brave and visceral and raw - will stay with me forever. I loved it.'' ELIZABETH GILBERT''Full of heart, bravery and adventure.'' AMY LIPTROTSHORTLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZEClover Stroud grew up in rural Wiltshire surrounded by animals and family. When she was just sixteen her adored mother had a horrific riding accident which left her permanently brain-damaged, and suddenly Clover was left to fend for herself. She embarked on an extraordinary journey to heal her broken heart, courting men and danger through two marriages and five children.The Wild Other is a grippingly honest account of love, sex and travelling to the darkest edges of human experience and back again. Powerful and deeply emotional, this is the story of an extraordinTrade ReviewClover Stroud is a born writer: honest, tender, moving and true. A beautiful book. * Cressida Connolly *Horses, family ties, exotic lovers and beautiful writing all saddle up in this thoroughbred ride through love, loss, danger, motherhood and healing. * The Bookseller *A stunning story of courage in the face of fortune's cruelest blows, Clover Stroud's extraordinary memoir charts her journey from child to adult, from daughter to mother, proving that bravery - and love - will triumph even in the darkest situations. * Rosie Boycott *Beautifully written and so moving ... a gritty, passionate, searingly honest meditation on grief, love and motherhood. * Katie Hickman *Beautifully written...I love this book. * India Knight *Heart-wrenching and beautifully written. * Polly Samson *An astonishing piece of work that at times made my heart burst. All of human life is contained in this book. Clover Stroud is a remarkable woman, and an incredible writer. * Bryony Gordon *Fearless, frank and so beautifully told, The Wild Other is a defiant story of love and motherhood in the face of loss. One of those books that makes you resolve to wring every last exhilarating drop from life while you can. * Gaby Hinsliff *So haunting and brave and beautiful. * Polly Williams *A dazzling, searingly honest book. Love. Sex. Grief. The Wild West. I couldn't put it down. * Esther Freud *An extraordinary memoir... Stroud writes with moving, eloquent honesty. * Elizabeth Day, The Pool *Compelling and candid, deftly weaving together past and present... a heart-wrenching story told in haunting, lyrical prose. * Tatler *An uplifting and achingly honest personal story about loss, trauma and grief. * Woman and Home *Shocking and sexy, yet tragic and touching too. * Red magazine *Some events can't be mitigated; they can only be endured with grace and style, something Stroud certainly achieves, to judge from this marvellous book. * The Spectator *There is so much richly evoked life here... beautifully written. -- Cathy Rentzenbrink * The Times *A startling and raw memoir, which has drawn comparisons to Cheryl Strayed's Wild... Brave, beautiful writing, which can't help but inspire us to find our own "wild others". * Red magazine *Enthralling * Country Life *Some books have the power to make you reconsider certainties, to reflect, alter and transform previous assumptions about love, sex, freedom, friendship, courage and death. Clover Stroud's memoir, The Wild Other, is such a book * Telegraph *Stroud writes with considerable power, resonance and brutal honesty. The Wild Other will enthral anyone with wanderlust. * Sunday Express *This heartfelt account begins with a young girl lost in the hinterlands of grief, and ends with a woman coming to terms with the wildness within herself. * Financial Times *A moving account of the tragic consequences of a horse-riding accident on a loving daughter. * Sunday Times *A survivor's tale that is both redemptive and cathartic. * Observer *This redemptive memoir will steal your heart; it will return it bruised but emboldened. * Mail on Sunday *I have huge admiration for the spirit of this memoir, and its author: full of heart, bravery and adventure. A moving, gripping read. * Amy Liptrot, author of The Outrun *I can't recommend Clover Stroud's memoir The Wild Other enough. Stroud is a brilliant writer and has led a fascinating life. * Evening Standard *I loved this beautiful, passionate, troubled book, which gallops courageously over difficult terrain. At once a wrenching account of a tragedy and a love letter to the solace provided by horses, Stroud's clear-eyed look at how wildness and domesticity have entwined in her life is both heartening and inspiring. * Olivia Laing *Life-affirming, whip-smart, gripping, this book crackles with vitality and joy. From tragedy Clover Stroud has conjured sheer brilliance - what a story, what a woman, what a book. * Decca Aitkenhead *An astonishing book about loss, love, darkness, pain, sex and adventure. I adore it. * Dolly Alderton *This story - so fierce and brave and visceral and raw - will stay with me forever. Clover Stroud is a force of nature, and a woman who is fearless in the face of life and death. I loved it. * Elizabeth Gilbert author of Eat Pray Love *

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Book Synopsis''A warts-and-all memoir of an ex-cop from probationer days on. Fascinating'' IAN RANKIN''A humane but unflinching look at the sharp end of contemporary policing'' LUKE JENNINGS''I loved this book. Gritty and gripping, moving and shocking, this brilliant police memoir shows that life on the force really is different for girls'' ERIN KELLY Welcome to London. Population: 8.7 million. And it''s your job to keep them safe. A no-holds-barred account of life on the front line of policing, On the Line follows PC Alice Hearn throughout ten years in the Met, from rookie to constable. As she deals with violent criminals, heart-breaking domestic situations, petty crime, life, death, and everything in between, she builds up a portrait of a living, complex city, and what it means to look after it.''COMPELLING'' Sunday Express ''EXTRAORDINARY'' Mail on Sunday''I''ve never read such an authentTrade ReviewA warts-and-all memoir of an ex-cop from probationer days on. Fascinating * Ian Rankin *A humane but unflinching look at the sharp end of contemporary policing. Vinten has a compassionate eye, and gives a human face to those charged with our safety. * Luke Jennings, creator of KILLING EVE *This compelling memoir ... [is] a portrait of the frontline which will fill you with admiration for those who, like Vinten, daily risk life and limb to keep us safe * Sunday Express *I loved this book. Gritty and gripping, moving and shocking, this brilliant police memoir shows that life on the force really is different for girls -- Erin Kelly, author of HE SAID SHE SAIDAlice Vinten is the real deal - all the thrills of a crime novel, only true. Required reading for anyone interested in what the police really do -- Mel McGrath, author of GIVE ME THE CHILDI've never read such an authentic and interesting account of what it's like to be a female police officer. Should be required reading for anyone wanting to write procedurals or cop dramas! -- Louise Voss, author of THE OLD YOU and The Detective Lennon seriesAlice Vinten's memoir is deeply moving and inspiring, with twists and dramatic real-life scenes that could have been taken straight from a crime thriller. This is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand what it takes to be a female police officer. -- Jane Casey, author of the Maeve Kerrigan seriesAn authentic, engrossing read. * Caroline Mitchell, author of the Amy Winter series *Girl on the Line is heartbreaking, funny, and most of all, honest. Alice Vinten has managed to weave her personal experiences, both good and bad, with the horrors and stresses of modern day policing in the Met. The best thing of all about this superb book is that I know I would have loved to work alongside Alice as an officer -- Lisa Cutts, author of MERCY KILLINGCompelling, honest and moving account of being a woman in the Met -- Laura Wilson, author of THE OTHER WOMANAlice Vinten has written an honest, vivid and compelling account of her experiences as an officer in the Metropolitan Police. Superbly written, with the pace of a novel, it offers an illuminating look at the pressures of everyday encounters with brutal, chaotic and tragic lives. Most importantly, it doesn't shy away from reflecting the emotional toll that such a career takes on a conscientious officer. * Tom Bale, author of Skin and Bones *An intriguing insight into what it's like to be a woman in what still seems to be very much a man's world * Crime Review *Both gripping and thoughtfully written, it provides a vision of the frontline which will fill you with appreciation for those who, like Vinten, risk life and limb to keep us safe * The Bookseller *Absolutely loved it: raw, shocking and exciting, yet very open, personal and thought-provoking too. Write a crime thriller, please! * Chris Merritt, author of BRING HER BACK *Life-on-the-streets, I'll-get-you-a-coppah! realness . . . Powerful * Strong Words *The warts-and-all memoir of a Metropolitan Police officer . . . Vinten reveals how she coped with the challenges of life on the front line of London policing. * Best *

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Book SynopsisWith a foreword by Helen Macdonald, author of the multi-award-winning H IS FOR HAWK.''No hawk can be a pet. There is no sentimentality. In a way, it is the psychiatrist''s art. One is matching one''s mind against another mind with deadly reason and interest. One desires no transference of affection, demands no ignoble homage or gratitude. It is a tonic for the less forthright savagery of the human heart.''First published in 1951, T.H. White''s memoir describes with searing honesty his attempt to train a wild goshawk, a notoriously difficult bird to master. With no previous experience and only a few hopelessly out-of-date books on falconry as a guide, he set about trying to bend the will of his young bird Gos to his own. Suffering setback after setback, the solitary and troubled White nonetheless found himself obsessively attached to the animal he hoped would one day set him free.Trade ReviewNature writing at its very best. * EVENT, Mail on Sunday *Fascinating and moving. * The Times *

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Book SynopsisJennifer Worth''s bestselling memoirs of her time as a midwife have inspired and moved readers of all ages. Now, in In the Midst of Life she documents her experiences as a nurse and ward sister, treating patients who were nearing the end of their lives. Interspersed with these stories from Jennifer''s post-midwife career are the histories of her patients, from the family divided by a decision nobody could bear to make, to the mother who comes to her son''s adopted country and joins his family without being able to speak a word of English.In the Midst of Life also gives moving insights not just into Jennifer''s life and career, but also of a period of time which seems very different to today''s, fast-paced world.Trade ReviewWorth is a vivid writer with a talent for the sting in the tail ... a highly readable book * EVENING STANDARD *Life-enhancing * Matthew Parris, THE TIMES *Worth is indeed a natural storyteller... gripping, moving and convincing from beginning to end... a powerful evocation of a long-gone world * LITERARY REVIEW *Worth's compassion and a burning mission remind us that end-of-life care doesn't have to be complex * THE LADY *

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Book SynopsisWinner - Edward Stanford Travel Memoir of the Year 2019.Shortlisted - Rathbones Folio Prize, Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize, and Somerset Maugham Award 2019.'An extraordinary travelogue, strange and brilliant' - iIn 2013 Guy Stagg walked from Canterbury to Jerusalem. Though a non-believer, he began the pilgrimage after suffering several years of mental illness, hoping the ritual would heal him. For ten months he hiked alone on ancient paths, crossing ten countries and more than 5,500 kilometres. Travelling without support, he had to rely each night on the charity of strangers.The Crossway is an account of Stagg's extraordinary journey. It describes the dangers he faced on the road, captures the people he met and the landscapes he experienced, offers a unique insight into contemporary faith, and – most movingly – lays bare his struggle to escape the past and walk towards recovery. It was a BBC Radio 4 'Book of the Week' on publication.Trade ReviewGolden prose illuminates this moving account of a pilgrimage taken for the good of the author’s mental health . . . compelling . . . moving and thought-provoking -- Peter Stanford * Observer *Having finished this account, I felt dazed. Dazed at the thought of all that I’d learnt from its pages about 2,000 years of Christianity, dazed at how immediate its author had made so many centuries-old stories feel, and dazed at the strangeness and brilliance of this extraordinary travelogue. -- Rebecca Armstrong * i newspaper *The extraordinary story of a pilgrimage to find out the meaning of pilgrimage. Completely absorbing, personal, often funny, and full of fascinating encounters - an enlightening book from an exciting new writer. -- Sarah Bakewell, author of At The Existentialist CaféThe journey is remarkable – a hike of thousands of miles across Europe, undertaken with rare bravery and stamina. But what is really extraordinary about Guy Stagg’s The Crossway is the writing – acutely sensitive, hyper-alert and unflagging in its exploration of the strange depths and by-ways of human belief -- Philip Marsden, author of Rising GroundCompletely absorbing, personal, often funny, and full of fascinating encounters – an enlightening book from an exciting new writer. -- Sarah Bakewell, author of At The Existentialist CaféThe journey as redemptive recovery is a well-worm trope, but there is no glib ending here. I really enjoyed this book -- Sara Wheeler * Spectator *I loved it. Odd that a journey made to find salvation (a kind of 5,500 kilometre Stations of the Cross taking almost a year to walk) should turn out to be such a page turner. The reason is Stagg himself – an engaging, challenging, endlessly interesting companion who just happens to write formidably well. Travel writing has a bright new star. -- Alexander Frater, author of Chasing the MonsoonGuy Stagg makes a pilgrimage across Europe, into history and, most powerfully, the (troubled) interior of his soul. He takes us on a journey full of wonder and woe, poetry and pain; writing in prose that’s as sure-footed as it is unsettling in its honesty. A brave and beautiful account of a man’s search for meaning -- Rhidian Brook, author of The AftermathA formidable achievement . . . This secular pilgrimage is a lively. * Country Life *A sublime, intense, and intimate account of a journey . . . Beautifully written, filled with strange encounters and extraordinary language -- Philip Hoare, author of LeviathanA gorgeous and moving book -- Jamie Quatro, author of Fire SermonA marvellous book. There’s a lovely plainsongish immediacy to the telling that I found hugely beguiling, and (unusually) Stagg is as effective on people as he is on place. It’s also a generous piece of self-reckoning -- William Atkins, author of The Moor‘Such pitch-perfect prose that he has already attracted comparisons with Patrick Leigh Fermor’s celebrated accounts of his youthful travels’ * The Tablet *‘A gripping pilgrimage through faith and doubt . . . A first-rate writer, and a tough-minded one . . . he writes with a sort of rapturous exactitude about the peoples, climates and landscapes he meets’ -- Boyd Tonkin * TheArtsDesk.com *Guy Stagg has bared his soul and soles in this epic account of walking from England through Italy, the Balkans, Istanbul, Cyprus, Lebanon and on to Jerusalem. His fabulously open hearted account easily bears comparison with the great walking and monastery books of Patrick Leigh Fermor, except he goes further in revealing the damage, and how it might be repaired . . . solvitur ambulando indeed! -- Robert Twigger, author of Red Nile and Angry White Pyjamas‘Stagg takes us on a journey full of wonder and woe, poetry and pain; writing in prose that’s as sure-footed as it is unsettling in its honesty. A brave and beautiful account of a man’s search for meaning.’ -- Rhidian Brook, author of The AftermathThe Crossway is moving and unique, with the sense that no one else can write like this about such places as the abbeys of France, the cities of Rome and Istanbul or the daunting landscape of pilgrimage and the often astonishing people whom Guy Stagg meets. At the book’s heart is his own story; troubled, he seeks redemption and hope. Does he find them? He makes his search into a story that is gripping and uplifting -- Max Egremont, author of Forgotten Land: Journeys Among the Ghosts of East PrussiaAfter suffering years of severe mental illness, Stagg embarks on a journey from Canterbury to Jerusalem, hoping that the 5,500km walk along medieval pilgrim paths will heal him. Travelling alone, and relying on shelter provided by churches, monasteries and nunneries en route, he faces down many demons along the way, getting caught up in violent snowstorms, the demonstrations in Istanbul's Taksim Square, and a terrorist attack. A BBC Radio 4 "Book of the Week" at publication, it's one of the most compelling travel books I've read in a long time, as well as a thought-provoking meditation on what it means to have faith in our turbulent contemporary world * Bookseller *‘I loved it. Stagg is an engaging, challenging, endlessly interesting companion who just happens to write formidably well. Travel writing has a bright new star.’ -- Alexander Frater, author of Chasing the MonsoonBehind the cliché of the most important journey in life being the one taken inside oneself lies a timeless and powerful and vital truth: that the goal of such a quest, with all its anguish and revelation and excruciating realisations, is a place of great and lasting calm. This is the core of Guy Stagg’s necessary and beautiful book. -- Niall Griffiths, author of GritsThe Crossway is a gentle, kind, generous-spirited book, rich in detail, encounter and history. But most importantly, this is the story of a young man, from a secular world, who undertakes a pilgrimage to try and mend himself – a courageous inner journey. -- Neil Griffiths, author of As a God Might BeWhat a privilege it's been to read this compelling and moving book, to travel with a writer who records everything he sees and feels with such care and passion. The writing is beautiful and his voice so engaging, so unflinchingly honest, throughout. I finished The Crossway and just wanted the author to keep walking. -- James Macdonald Lockhart, author of Raptor

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Book SynopsisIn 2000–2001, Michael Jackson sat down with his close friend and spiritual guide, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, to record what turned out to be the most intimate and revealing conversations of his life. It was Michael’s wish to bare his soul and unburden himself to a public that he knew was deeply suspicious of him. The resulting thirty hours are the basis of The Soul of Michael Jackson. There has never been, and never will be, anything like them. In these searingly honest conversations, Michael exposes his emotional pain and profound loneliness, his longing to be loved, and the emptiness of his fame. You discover why he was suspicious of women and how only children provided the innocence for which he so desperately longed. In his own words, he takes us into the jarring moments of his childhood and speaks of the measures he took to try and heal. He divulges how he came to be alienated from his strong religious anchor and describes his views on the nature of faith. Michael brings us into his tortured yet loving relationship with his siblings. He opens up about his father and his yearning for a time when they might finally reconcile. He talks about his most personal friendships and shares with us his terror of growing old. Despite his unprecedented fame and recent death, there remain unanswered questions about his life. The answers, presented here in The Soul of Michael Jackson, will both intrigue and move you. You will be surprised, riveted, and troubled as you peer into the soul of a tragic icon whose life is an American morality tale and whose flame was extinguished much too early.

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Book Synopsis'An extraordinary life, depicted with searing honesty ... A colourful journey sprinkled with delicious anecdotes' Daily Express 'Extraordinary ... You'll be ugly-sobbing at the end' Graham Norton ‘It tells not just the story of his life, but also the battle for LGBT equality in the UK’ Guardian 'A memoir to cherish' Ian McKellen 'A book to be savoured' Alan Johnson 'There are so many reasons to love this book' Armistead Maupin ‘A beautifully written, funny memoir’ Jo Brand Growing up in post-war East London, the son of a docker and an office cleaner, young Michael Cashman’s life changed when he was discovered, aged twelve, and transported to the West End stage. Cashman would make history – first as an actor, one half of the first gay kiss broadcast on a British soap, BBC TV’s EastEnders, and then as a campaigner and politician, founding Stonewall with Ian McKellen, and embarking on a fight for gay rights across the world that would lead him and his partner Paul Cottingham from tea in LA with David Hockney to flying the rainbow flag over the Royal Albert Hall with Elton John. One of Them contains as many multitudes as its author: glorious nostalgia, showbiz gossip and a stirring history of a civil rights movement. And above all things, it is a love story – a tender account of a partnership that changed the world. ‘Passionate and true … A great book about love, pain and the whole damn thing’ Simon Callow 'Brutally frank and brave' i 'A brave, good man' Sheila Hancock Trade ReviewBeautifully written, it moves with ease from a tough childhood in the East End of London through the bohemian life of an actor ending up in the world of politics, all knitted together with an unpredictable and moving love story. It made me happy and sad and all points in between -- JO BRANDBrutally frank and brave * i *Tells not just the story of his life, but also the battle for LGBT equality in the UK * GUARDIAN *Poignant reading * OBSERVER *A powerful account of public life, love and loss … Passionate and true, illuminating, bright and breezy … In the league of My Early Years, Charlie Chaplin’s great account of late 19th-century south London – graphic, filled with smells and tastes and strange encounters … A great book about love, pain and the whole damn thing -- Simon Callow * GUARDIAN *There is brilliance in his memoir, One of Them, and darkness, too, enough to raise it far above the normal standard of celebrity biography … Stunning … The lucidity of the writing is breath-taking … He could never be accused … in life or literature, of not doing enough * HERALD *With this memoir Michael Cashman can add "writer" to a CV that already includes "actor", "politician" and "campaigner". Apart from its important contribution to British social history, this is a book to be savoured for its own sake as a wonderful piece of descriptive writing and a rollicking good read -- ALAN JOHNSON, author of the bestselling This BoyMichael Cashman's beautifully crafted memoir left me in tears and grateful that he had the courage to lay out his almost unimaginable life with such impressive honesty ... Above all, however, this is the tenderest of love stories, a proud testament to a decades-long queer romance. There are so many reasons to love this book -- ARMISTEAD MAUPINThis book, unlike any other I’ve read, is a true portrait of a brave actor/politician/Lord. Michael Cashman shares his most private feelings in a memoir to cherish -- IAN McKELLENMichael Cashman describes his journey from a cruel Dickensian childhood to the dignity of the House of Lords with brutal honesty. I was shocked, amused, and deeply moved by this life of a brave, good, man -- SHEILA HANCOCKIn February, Michael Cashman, now Lord Cashman of Limehouse, tells his life story in One Of Them: From Albert Square To Parliament Square … from East End boy and child actor to soap star, Stonewall founder, MEP and now member of the House of Lords * SUNDAY EXPRESS *[A] roller coaster memoir … Peppered with delicious anecdotes of his encounters with celebrities * SCOTSMAN *An extraordinary account of improbable leaps of faith and changes of direction ... An amazing, complicated love story * RADIO TIMES *

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Book SynopsisThe beloved Sunday Times bestseller - a touching, hilarious, often outrageous memoir of home-making and family adventures in the world's furthest outposts 'Hilarious, and utterly beguiling - it’s a complete treat to be in Keenan’s witty and open-hearted company' Esther Freud 'Deliciously effervescent' Sunday Times 'Brigid writes like a dream ... fabulous' Joanna Lumley 'Irresistible' Mail on Sunday When Sunday Times fashion journalist Brigid Keenan married the love of her life in the late Sixties, she had little idea of the rollercoaster journey they would make around the world together. For he was a diplomat - and Brigid found herself the smiling face of the European Union in locales ranging from Kazakhstan to Trinidad, and asking herself questions she never thought she'd have to ask. How do you throw a buffet dinner during a public mourning period in Syria? Where do you track down dog fat in Almaty? And how do you entertain guests in a Nepalese chicken shed? Negotiating diplomatic protocol, difficult teenagers, homesickness, frustrated career aspirations, witch doctors, and giant jumping spiders, Brigid muddles determinedly through - with no shortage of mishaps on the way. 'There are not many books that have actually made me cry from laughing, but this is one of them' Sunday TimesTrade ReviewPerfect ... surprising, astute, brilliantly observed and very human -- Ahdaf Soueif * Guardian *Thirty years of far-flung postings later, she has acquired enough farcical experiences to make this memoir irresistible * Mail on Sunday *A wonderful picaresque take on the travails of expat life, and an absolutely delicious read ... There are not many books that have actually made me cry from laughing, but this is one of them -- Katie Hickman * Sunday Times *Wonderfully funny and mischievous ... It really did make me laugh out loud. Brigid Keenan is quite as hilarious a comic invention as Bridget Jones, only she's REAL -- Julie ChristieLife is what you make of it - you can't just sit there and let it happen to you - you've got to grab opportunities with both hands, or you risk boredom at least, depression and deathbed regrets at worst. Women have not been raised to understand the importance of this. Brigid Keenan rams the message home with hilarity. This is an important book, written by a very funny writer -- Shirley ConranI found myself laughing out loud three or four times a page. Quite unlike anything else I have read: sad, touching, honest and observant -- William DalrympleShe is consistently herself, an observant journalist with a beady eye for local eccentricities ... Life with Brigid Keenan could never be boring * Country Life *With a glorious sense of the ridiculous, she depicts herself as a hyperventilating hysteric, who sobs her doom-ridden fantasies into reality * Spectator *Very few books these days make me laugh out loud - this one provoked loud hoots at the rate of three per page. It's the funniest thing I've read since Jilly Cooper stopped writing properly and turned to sex and four-letter words. If this isn't a runaway best-seller I'll run away myself and live in Kazakhstan -- Mary S Lovell, author of The Mitford GirlsBrigid Keenan vividly evokes both the oddities and loneliness, even today, of being the "other half" of a diplomat. Immediate and intimate, poignant and very funny; it is as if she is talking to the reader. Her eagle-eyed observation of human behaviour and far flung experiences made me laugh out loud -- Josceline DimblebyThe story sparkles, flies, delights. You love Keenan, the weepy, flighty, funny bit of diplomatic baggage but a part of your heart goes out to AW, her partner, who puts up and shuts up. But what makes this book special is how with a light touch Keenan exposes the dark corners, the frustrations, the dilemmas of those who go forth to represent their country. The grand houses and lifestyles hide so much, silence so many. But not Bridget Keenan -- Yasmin Alibhai-BrownVogue loves ... Diplomatic Baggage * Vogue *

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Book SynopsisThe last book from bestselling author and advocate Wendy MitchellThis beautiful book will give hope and courage to many people' Kathryn MannixAn uplifting memoir that reminds us we should relish every moment' Daily MailA really thoughtful and thorough exploration of end-of-life concerns' Professor Celia KizingerAfter her diagnosis of young-onset dementia in 2014, Wendy spoke affectionately about the liberating feeling that came with having open conversations and confronting life's obstacles head on. So, in the years leading up to her death, Wendy set out to have what would be her most important conversation: to explore what options are available and what options are denied at the end of life.Courageous, balanced and wise, One Last Thing lists the practical ways that we can prepare for death, offers the gentle words to raise the topic with our loved ones and consults leading experts to educate us on the topic

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Book SynopsisAn exhilarating and searing memoir about life as a professional female footballer - and a beautiful examination of the joy and pain of serious athleticsWill appeal to readers ready and willing to embrace the deep affinities among the craft and discipline of sport' TLSIn The Striker and the Clock, Georgia Cloepfil tells the story of her life in football: the triumph, the exhilaration, the deep bonds between teammates, and also the years of self-denial, exile and dedication, in which players try in vain to outpace a clock that ticks down toward an indeterminate ending. Threading between floodlit pitches, sparse dorm rooms, and doctor's offices, Cloepfil outlines an obsessive pursuit: one that sees her begin each day by touching the ball a thousand times, running sprints alone on empty fields and practicing near-constant visualization and revisualization of triumph and despair. What emerges is a profound meditation on what it is to have a body, and what it is to have the compulsion to

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Book Synopsis'Brown Baby is a beautifully intimate and soul-searching memoir. It speaks to the heart and the mind and bears witness to our turbulent times.' - Bernardine Evaristo, author of Girl, Woman, OtherHow do you find hope and even joy in a world that is prejudiced, sexist and facing climate crisis? How do you prepare your children for it, but also fill them with all the boundlessness and eccentricity that they deserve and that life has to offer?In Brown Baby, Nikesh Shukla, author of the bestselling The Good Immigrant, explores themes of sexism, feminism, parenting and our shifting ideas of home. This memoir, by turns heartwrenching, hilariously funny and intensely relatable, is dedicated to the author’s two young daughters, and serves as an act of remembrance to the grandmother they never had a chance to meet. Through love, grief, food and fatherhood, Shukla shows how it’s possible to believe in hope.Trade ReviewBrown Baby is a beautifully intimate and soul-searching memoir. It speaks to the heart and the mind and bears witness to our turbulent times. -- Bernardine Evaristo, author of Girl, Woman, OtherBrown Baby is the funniest, saddest, most motivating memoir I have ever read - it's like a clever friend in your ear. A life-changing, heartbreaking, fizz-popping book that fills me with joy and gratitude and communion. * Emma Jane Unsworth *So honest, I found myself, engulfed, consumed. I could feel myself in the room with Nikesh. * Nadiya Hussain *A masterpiece ... Exquisitely written and so empowering, this is the book on fatherhood I have been waiting to read my whole life. I cannot begin to describe the whirlwind of emotions I experienced while reading the elegant vulnerability captured in these tender words ... I know that I will read this love letter of a book often, it has become an old friend that I take with me everywhere. * Nikita Gill *A wise and wonderful book from the hugely talented Nikesh Shukla. Written for his daughters, inspired by his mother whom they never got to meet, this love letter to his brown babies encompasses fatherhood, feminism, racial politics, growing up and being a grown up, with tenderness, depth and humour. * Meera Syal *Brown Baby is fizzing with humanity, life and light. Nikesh Shukla has written page after page of golden prose that made me laugh out loud and weep real tears. Love, family, grief, race and gender are all nurtured carefully with intention and hope in this urgently relevant 21st century memoir. * Deborah Frances-White, The Guilty Feminist *An unforgettable love letter that stretches into both the past and the future, aching with longing and loss, firecracker humour, fury at the wrongs of the world but, above all, great beauty, pride and hope. Heartbreaking and brilliant. * Rachel Edwards *Brown Baby is a heartbreakingly honest exploration of grief, loss, and what it means to belong. Shukla’s vulnerability is deeply moving; this memoir will stay with me for a long time. * Louise O’ Neill *Brown Baby is a gorgeous love letter from a father to his daughter. It is also a raw and necessary reckoning with the forces that shape the way we view ourselves and others. In this way, it is a love letter to us all, by turns hilarious, scathing, searching, and tender. Truly, Brown Baby is a treasure. * Tania James, author of The Tusk That Did The Damage *I’m awestruck by its intimacy and how densely packed with important questions it is. * Anoushka Shankar *[Brown Baby] has wisdom about being an ally I will remember for life, some of the best male writing about eating and emotional pain I have ever come across and is one of the very best examples of a story which is deeply personal feeling truly universal. * Alexandra Heminsley *Funny, moving and utterly relevant to where we’re at right now, do not miss this beautiful book -- Best new non-fiction for 2021, StylistA brave, funny and rather lovely read. -- Best books coming out in 2021, iNewsPart state of the nation tract, part love letter to his family – the personal and political are fused in this masterpiece. -- Nish Kumar

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Book Synopsis'One of the greatest adventure stories in years.' – Chris Patten 'The drama, excitement and colour of a good guts-and-glory thriller.' – Dr. Henry Kissinger The French Foreign Legion – mysterious, romantic, deadly – is filled with men of dubious character, and hardly the place for a proper Englishman just nineteen years of age. Yet in 1960, Simon Murray traveled alone to Paris, Marseilles, and on to Algeria to fulfill the toughest contract of his life: a five-year stint in the Legion. Along the way, he kept a diary.Legionnaire is a compelling, firsthand account of Murray's experience with this legendary band of soldiers. Subjected to brutal sergeants, merciless training methods and barbaric punishments – all in the hostile, sun-baked North African desert – Murray and his fellow men were pushed to breaking point, and beyond.Sixty years on, it remains a remarkable account of one of the most notorious military groups, a tale of true adventure and one man's determination never to surrender.Trade ReviewA pleasure to read and nearly impossible to put down * Army Times *One of the greatest adventure stories in recent years -- Chris PattenA fascinating account of life in the toughest soldiering outfit in the world * Sunday Mail *Embodies an experience that many have enjoyed in fantasy, few in reality * The Washington Post *The drama, excitement, and color of a good guts-and-glory thriller -- Dr Henry KissingerHis book is . . . perhaps the best book I remember reading - not just about the legion but about life -- George Thaw, Daily Mirror

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Book SynopsisWinner at the 2022 Parlimentary Book AwardsBaroness Floella Benjamin is an inspiration, an actress and much-loved children’s television presenter who is a member of the House of Lords. But how did the girl from Trinidad end up lunching with the Queen?In What Are You Doing Here? Floella describes arriving in London as a child, part of the Windrush generation, and the pain caused by the racism she encountered every day. It was offset by the love of her parents, who gave her the pride in her heritage, self-belief and confidence that have carried her through life. From winning a role in groundbreaking musical Hair (while clearly stating she would not take her clothes off) to breaking down barriers on Play School, from refusing to be typecast in roles to speaking out for diversity at the BBC and BAFTA, she has remained true to herself.She also reveals how she met husband Keith, became a mother of two, was befriended by Kenneth Williams, hugged President Obama, and found a purpose that would underpin everything she did – campaigning for the needs of children. Sharing the lessons she has learned, imbued with her joy and positivity, this autobiography is the moving testimony of a remarkable woman.

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Book SynopsisDenise Van Outen, original 90s 'ladette', West End star and primetime TV favourite, reveals for the first time the true story of grit and graft beneath the famous Essex sparkle.In this refreshingly candid memoir, Denise speaks openly and sensitively about her rollercoaster career, her struggles in a past high-profile relationship and the betrayal she suffered at the hands of those once closest to her, with the hope that in doing so, she can help empower others to avoid and overcome any similar difficulties they may face.Denise shot to fame on The Big Breakfast in her early twenties. After a decade grafting through theatre jobs and children's TV shows, she was finally living the dream. However her life soon turned into a nightmare off-screen and behind the headlines as her heart was broken in a very public relationship, whilst her every move was printed in the tabloids thanks to her phone being tapped. After receiving a panning by the critics for her late night TV show aimed at the post-pub crowd, she then auditioned for and accepted an offer to play Roxie Hart in Chicago, which turned out to be a life-changing experience. The role took her to Broadway, where she caught the eye of one Andrew Lloyd Webber, eventually landing a judging role on Any Dream Will Do, which saw her rise back to primetime and the career that she loves, where she has stayed and flourished. Now, in her first memoir, Denise tells her story with disarming candour, unafraid to reveal vulnerabilities beneath the cheerful exterior. Tackling difficult subjects of corrosive self-doubt, betrayal, invasions of privacy and professional struggles, interjected with the familiar humour that we all know and love, A Bit of Me is personal, at times raw, often mischievous and always compelling. Denise has lived the life, learned the lessons, and Basildon to Broadway and back is a hell of a journey.

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Book SynopsisThis is a book about yoga. Or at least, it was.January 2015. High on literary success and familial bliss, Emmanuel Carrère embarks on a rigorous ten-day meditative retreat in rural France in search of clarity and material for his next book, which he thinks will be a subtle, upbeat introduction to yoga.But his trip is cut short, and he is brought down to earth with a thud when he returns to a Paris in turmoil in the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack. From then on, Carrère's life - along with his novel-in-progress - begins to unravel in ever more unexpected ways.'The story of how a life can fray, tighten itself into a noose, unravel... profound and moving' Geoff Dyer'Extraordinarily compelling' Financial TimesTrade ReviewCompletely arresting. He [Carrère] has the talent...of showing us his foibles without demanding that we identify with them. * The Times *An exhilarating new work of autofiction... It's wonderful. It is Carrère's willingness to face his own flaws full in the face that makes his writing so striking, and - dare I say it - relatable. -- Cal Flyn * Literary Review *Yoga is the story of how a life can fray, tighten itself into a noose, unravel and, in the process, be built and braided into lines that make up a profound and moving work of art. -- Geoff DyerA devastating portrait...[Carrère's] singular, ever-expanding work, in which one pain need never obscure another, in which truths and half-truths are held not in opposition but in delicate, precarious balance, is an answer in itself. -- Sam Byers * Guardian *I loved Emmanuel Carrère's Yoga... A useful manual for this era, where nothing seems connected but everything's related. -- Adam Thirlwell * Times Literary Supplement *Books of the Year* *

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Book Synopsis'A rare, highly detailed insider account of a "family" designed to be shut off from the world. And of Morgan, a ferocious young girl who railed hard against it.' Sunday Times'This is an unflinching and courageous memoir, exposing one of the world's most infamous cults. It's an inspiring, if at times upsetting, read.' Daily ExpressMy name is Faith Morgan and I was born into the infamous Children of God cult, or 'The Family' as it came to be known. At age 19 I managed to escape and entered a world in which I had to learn how to live again. Rebel is my story.My teenage diary helps piece the story of my travels in Costa Rica, India, Greece, Mexico, and London together. Of the communes, the 'missions', the friendships and the relationships. And of course, my enduring faith: in Jesus, in the Prophet (cult leader David Berg), and in the inevitability of the coming end times, which I fully believed would arrive.But beyond the brainwashing and mistreatment is the extraordinary story of my family and the adventures of my early life which help me understand what happened and why, so it doesn't happen to others. The spirit of that defiant girl who escaped is still in there somewhere, and through telling my story I wish to look into the eyes of 'evil', with its many faces so I can send it on its way.

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Book SynopsisA TIMES BEST COMEDY BOOK OF 2021 'Phil Wang makes me laugh out loud with every single thing he does and this book is no exception' JAMES ACASTER'An hilarious breath of fresh air' AMY SCHUMER'Phil Wang is as original a writer as he is a comedian. Sidesplitter is predictably hilarious but also quietly moving' SATHNAM SANGHERA'A razor-sharp dissection of cultural connections, divides and differences. And yes, it's side-splittingly funny' ADAM KAY'But where are you REALLY from?' Phil Wang has been asked this question so many times he's finally written a book about it. In this mix of comic memoir and observational essay, one of the UK's most exciting stand-up comedians reflects on his experiences as a Eurasian man in the West and in the East. Phil was born in Stoke-on-Trent, raised in Malaysia, and then came of age in Bath - 'a spa town for people who find Cheltenham too ethnic'. Phil takes an incisive look at what it means to be mixed race, as he explores the contrasts between cultures and delves into Britain and Malaysia's shared histories, bringing his trademark cynicism and wit to topics ranging from family, food, and comedy to race, empire, and colonialism.Trade ReviewA book packed with witty, profound and candid reflections on race and belonging * Woman's Own *Phil Wang makes me laugh out loud with every single thing he does and this book is no exception -- James AcasterSidesplitter is elegantly written and unexpectedly moving * Observer Magazine *Phil Wang is one of my all time favorite comedians, a true original. His comedy and words here are a hilarious breath of fresh air we all need -- Amy SchumerPhil Wang is as original a writer as he is a comedian - Sidesplitter is predictably hilarious, but also quietly moving -- Sathnam SangheraPhil Wang runs headlong towards difficult subjects, firing off jokes as he goes. This brutally funny book will appeal to anyone who's ever felt like an outsider. -- Helen LewisA beautiful book about home, history and family. Told with Phil's trademark sharp wit and deadpan humour it captures the nuances of his experiences perfectly. -- Tom AllenA razor-sharp dissection of cultural connections, divides and differences. And yes, it's side-splitting funny -- Adam KayPeople often ask Phil Wang 'But where are you really from?' I can confirm, after reading Sidesplitter, that the answer is 'Funnyland'. -- David BaddielA terrific writer. I've laughed out loud at least once on every page -- Victoria Coren MitchellFunny and disarmingly moving... Britain's most original and promising young comedian * Times Magazine *A funny and moving look at what it means to be of dual heritage -- Elizabeth DayEloquently laced with laughs and bittersweet observations. * BBC News *

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Book Synopsis'A delightful read' RADIO TIMES'Heartwarming tales' DAILY MAILA celebration of the different creatures - great and small - that this Yorkshire vet has come to know and love.Yorkshire Vet Julian Norton has spent his days as a mixed practice vet treating animals across the bucolic Yorkshire Dales. Julian's voice and humour - well known from his titular role in Channel 5's long-running series The Yorkshire Vet - leap out from every page as stories of drama and excitement unfold.Whether treating dogs, cows or sheep, Julian has come to recognise and appreciate the very particular ways in which healthy and happy animals express their well-being and contentment. Lambs will skip and gambol, cows will ruminate placidly, and the gentle sounds and soft curious facial expression of alpacas or llamas are enough to lift the spirits and warm the coldest of hearts. Here in All Creatures, Julian tells the stories of each of the eight species he has the good fortune to care for every day. He shares the heart-warming and life-affirming characteristics of animal happiness and once again reminds us of the power these creatures have to bring joy to us all.

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Book Synopsis'This is a gripping memoir from one of our country's greatest jury advocates, offering a fascinating, no-holds-barred tour behind the scenes of some of the most famous criminal cases of modern times' The Secret Barrister'Gripping' - The Times'Mixes the excitement of the courtroom and some practical tips on the advocacy with the more mundane life of the working lawyer' - Sunday Times 'Between such serious case studies, his jovial memoir reflects on the challenges and satisfactions of life as a barrister.' - Daily Mail___________ How can you speak up for someone accused of a savage murder? Or sway a jury? Or get a judge to drop a case?In this memoir, murder case lawyer William Clegg revisits his most intriguing trials, from the acquittal of Colin Stagg to the shooting of Jill Dando, to the man given life because of an earprint.All the while he lays bare the secrets of his profession, from the rivalry among barristers to the nervous moments before a verdict comes back, and how our right to a fair trial is now at risk.Under the Wig is for anyone who wants to know the reality of a murder trial. It has been praised as "gripping" by The Times, "riveting" by the Sunday Express and "fascinating" by the Secret Barrister, who described the author as "one of our country's greatest jury advocates."Several prominent barristers, including Matthew Scott and Bob Marshall-Andrews QC, have said Under the Wig is a "must read" for anyone with an interest in the criminal law. Switch off the TV dramas and see real criminal law in action. Well-known cases featured:The Murder of Rachel Nickell on Wimbledon Common The Chillenden Murders (Dr Lin and Megan Russell) The Trial of Private Lee Clegg The Murder of Jill Dando The first Nazi war crimes prosecution in the UK The Murder of Joanna Yeates The Rebekah Brooks Phone Hacking TrialTrade ReviewThis is a gripping memoir from one of our country's greatest jury advocates, offering a fascinating, no-holds-barred tour behind the scenes of some of the most famous criminal cases of modern times. * The Secret Barrister *Countless veteran lawyers have produced page-tuners based in the fictional world of law, but in Under the Wig William Clegg, QC, has distilled his extraordinary life in the criminal courtroom into a yarn equally as gripping. * The Times *Mixes the excitement of the courtroom and some practical tips on the advocacy with the more mundane life of the working lawyer. * Sunday Times *Between such serious case studies, his jovial memoir reflects on the challenges and satisfactions of life as a barrister. * Daily Mail *This breezy account of life as a barrister dealing with some of the most important cases in recent British history is enjoyable and addictive. * New Books magazine *Enjoyable and addictive. * NB magazine *

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Book SynopsisLuke Evans is an actor and singer who began his career on the stage, performing in London's West End in productions of Rent, Miss Saigon and Piaf before making his film debut in 2010. He has starred in the Fast & Furious franchise, J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, Dracula Untold, and as Gaston in Disney's live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast. On television he has starred in TNT's The Alienist and alongside Nicole Kidman in Nine Perfect Strangers for Hulu.As a recording artist, Luke has released two studio albums: At Last and A Song For You which hit the top five in the UK charts in 2022.

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Book SynopsisA collection of honest, emotional and reflective essays on the experience of premature childbirth.

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Book SynopsisThis is the tale of life lived large, a collection of uproarious and often moving stories spanning 60 years, from Geoff's youth as a clothes obsessed Jewish suedehead, hanging out in Tottenham dancehalls, via straight Bowie Boy frequenting London's gay clubs, gender confusion in Manhattan's Studio 54, and on to huge career success as a screenwriter. I have been a fly-pitcher working out of a suitcase, a kitchen porter at Jewish functions, and flogged suits to Nigerians down Brick Lane market. I was the singer in a much-loved culty punk band the Leyton Buzzards, a floppy-haired pop star in Modern Romance, a songwriter, and record producer. I wrote a gay anthem for John Waters drag queen muse Divine, worked as journalist and restaurant critic for style magazines The Face and Arena, before becoming a successful writer and producer of TV comedy. I then wrote a couple of films, one of which, Kinky Boots' became a Tony Award winning Broadway stage show. With a cast ranging from local oddballs to international celebrities, Geoff Deane's unique take on the world is only matched by his extraordinary use of language which combines Cockney rhyming slang with Yiddish and a smattering of PolariTrade Review'London's riposte to Damon Runyan' Tony Parsons. 'The Missing Link between Micky Flannagan and David Sedaris' Kimberley Chambers. 'The Samuel Pepys of East London' Maurice Gran. 'There are worse groups than Modern Romance. But can anyone seriously think of one?' Morrissey

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Back in the mid 20th century, Brian was born. There were probably many Brians born, but this one is still going, still active, still looking for love in places as far afield as The Philippines, Thailand and Crawley. Based on Facebook entries and haphazard emails, this is an attempt to document an unusual life based on wit, wisdom, energy, intelligence and chance. If you get nothing else from perusing this memoir, you might at least acknowledge that there are survival techniques for living a long life that don't involve pensions, mortgages, stable jobs and soul sapping routines - some of the time. The book is presented almost unedited to convey Brian's language, thought processes and gregarious nature. Asking him to edit it was like asking Mount Everest to shift over a couple of centimetres. It's insightful, amusing and unusual. It doesn't claim to be a new Samuel Pepys, but it does convey a rare sense of individuality in a world with systems often designed to mould us against our natures.

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Book SynopsisBe Not Afraid of Love is a stunning collection of interconnected essays and affirmations that follow Mimi Zhu’s journey toward embodying and re-learning love after a violent relationship. In their early twenties, queer Chinese-Australian writer and artist Mimi Zhu was a survivor of intimate-partner abuse. This left them broken, in search of ways to heal and find love again. They found that in words. In sharing their own intimate encounters with oppression, healing, joy and community, Mimi invites readers all over the world to reflect deeply on their own experiences, with the intention of acting as a guide to undoing the hurt or uncertainty within them. This book is a continuation of that re-learning, exploring the intersections of love and fear in self-esteem, friendship, family dynamics and romantic relationships, and extending out to its effects on society and the greater political realm. Mimi's powerful and provocative words will guide and inspire readers to lean into love with softness. Heartrending and revolutionary, Be Not Afraid of Love is a testament to the strength and adaptability all humans possess, and a tribute to love in all its forms. Trade Review'A radical and revolutionary act of love, transcendently written.' – Jonny Sun, New York Times bestselling author of Goodbye, Again 'Tender, insightful and deeply affirming.' – Yrsa Daley-Ward, poet and author of bone, The Terrible, and The How 'Zhu conveys their story with such honesty and clarity that it forges connections to your heart straight through the page.' —Yung Pueblo, New York Times bestselling author of Clarity & Connection'This book will sit close to my heart for a long time. I am so grateful for Zhu's words, mind and existence.' – Fariha Róisín, author of Like a Bird, How to Cure a Ghost, and Who Is Wellness For?

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Book SynopsisIn her collection of autobiographical essays, fashion magazine editor Justine Cullen takes us on a hilariously candid exploration of her life so far - and all the mistakes she's made along the way.Semi-Gloss is an intimate, sharp and witty look at growing up and growing older from the kind of woman who seems like she has it all together - the glamorous job, the perfect family, the killer wardrobe. But, chipping away at that shiny, sparkly surface, Justine reveals the beautiful mess that lies beneath.A wildly entertaining and sometimes bumpy ride through a life well-lived, by one of Australia's most respected female voices.

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Book SynopsisShortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize for Non-Fiction 2023 New York Times Bestseller A poignant love letter to Bloom's husband and a passionate outpouring of grief, In Love reaffirms the power and value of human relationships. In January 2020, Amy Bloom travelled with her husband Brian to Switzerland, where he was helped by Dignitas to end his life while Amy sat with him and held his hand. Brian was terminally ill and for the last year of his life Amy had struggled to find a way to support his wish to take control of his death, to not submerge 'into the darkness of an expiring existence'. Written with piercing insight and wit, In Love is Bloom's intimate, authentic and startling account of losing Brian, first slowly to the disease of Alzheimer's, and then on becoming a widow. It charts the anxiety and pain of the process that led them to Dignitas, while never avoiding the complex ethical problems that are raised by assisted death. 'Poignant, kind, funny and ultimately redemptive' - Alain de Botton, author of The Course of Love 'In Love is a thrillingly beautiful, laser-eyed book about love, life, mortality and, most remarkably, about the ways in which no one of the three can be separated from the others' - Michael Cunningham, author of The Hours and A Home at the End of the WorldTrade ReviewReading this book is, purely and simply, a transcendent experience. In Love is a thrillingly beautiful, laser-eyed book about love, life, mortality and, most remarkably, about the ways in which no one of the three can be separated from the others. Prepare yourself to be heartbroken, expanded, unsettled, and filled with hope. -- Michael Cunningham, author of The Hours and A Home at the End of the WorldI read In Love in one sitting on a long flight and a flight never went by so fast. I am full of admiration for this important memoir. The mastery of this book draws us in, and delivers us, by the last page, changed. -- Amy Tan, author of The Joy Luck ClubIn Love is a buoyant and entrancing memoir about one of the worst things that can happen to a couple. Bloom's unfiltered glimpse into a working marriage is both a touchingly besotted portrait of her husband and a wrenching account of his gradual retreat from her. Their resolute approach to his death yields up a story pulsing with raw life -- Alison BechdelThis is a beautiful necessary book for anyone who loves their partner deeply and wonders and worries what the end might be like: poignant, kind, funny and ultimately redemptive. One cries a lot, in the best of ways -- Alain de BottonA remarkable book from one of the USA's most consistently brilliant writers. The subject is death, so the end is inevitable; but Bloom's story is full of surprises and some of the most heartbreaking, honest and funniest writing you'll ever read -- Roddy DoyleWhat a book this is-full of everything that matters. In Love is gripping, moving, and beautifully told. I'm so glad I read it -- Meg WolitzerA lasting monument to the power of love -- Damian BarrStaggeringly honest * Guardian *[Bloom] can make you laugh and break your heart in the same beat... A sharp observer and an immaculate stylist, Bloom balances a lack of sentimentality with the expression of her love for the man she felt slipping away and then helped to die... a more romantic statement does not exist -- Sarah Ditum * The Times *A lovely, spare, very moving and beautiful book... Wonderful -- Richard Coles[A] courageous howl of a memoir ... It's also consistently funny ... Heartache makes [Bloom] savvy and sarcastic, a tone she pairs with a memorable descriptive shorthand ... This startling book teaches * Observer *Fascinating and moving ... a breath-taking story of dialogue and the search for truth * Irish Times *A remarkably ambitious book that blends art criticism, biography, and memoir... [De Freston's] lyrical prose finds beauty in the dark -- Chloë Ashby * Elephant *Sharply observed, often witty, eminently moving... [Bloom] has written about [her husband] with all the brave-spirited, undaunted love to which the book bears stupendous witness -- Sally Vickers * Guardian *A memoir with a difference, one with an ethical, emotional and philosophical edge on most grief memoirs... Lively, accessible and deeply thoughtful, In Love is a truly important book * Irish Times *Not only riveting, but also practical and funny... [Bloom's] matter-of-fact attention to detail, sharp eye for the absurd and gift for simple, elegant language make her account of her harrowing experiences consistently absorbing... Remarkable -- Wendy Moore * TLS *Evoke[s] the dreamy, almost unreal, nature of the process * Prospect *Moving... She doesn't pull her punches. There is no false rhetoric, no empty sentimentality. She tells it as it was * Jewish Chronicle *Bloom's aching account of loss is brave, tender and ultimately life-affirming... A beautiful account * Daily Mail *

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Book Synopsis*Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award* *Shortlisted for the Costa Biography Award**Shortlisted for the Jhalak Prize**Shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize 2018**A Sunday Times Book of the Year*Xiaolu Guo meets her parents for the first time when she is almost seven. They are strangers to her. When she is born in 1973, her parents hand her over to a childless peasant couple in the mountains. Aged two, and suffering from malnutrition on a diet of yam leaves, they leave Xiaolu with her illiterate grandparents in a fishing village on the East China Sea. Once Upon a Time in the East takes Xiaolu from a run-down shack to film school in a rapidly changing Beijing, navigating the everyday peculiarity of modern China: censorship, underground art, Western boyfriends. In 2002 she leaves Beijing on a scholarship to study in Britain. Now, after a decade in Europe, her tale of East to West resonates with the insight that can only come from someone who is both an outsider and at home.'This generation's Wild Swans' Daily TelegraphTrade ReviewStunning...This book will make your jaw drop, then clench in anger. -- Helen Brown * Telegraph *Guo is rebellious, flamboyant and fundamentally optimistic...fascinating. -- Stuart Kelly * Scotland on Sunday *Riveting...Guo is an angrier, bolder, more ambitious figure than her forebears. * The Times *Utterly compelling... She writes superbly about her struggle to escape the constraints of gender, poverty and state interference. This extraordinary memoir will enhance her burgeoning reputation. -- Ian Critchley * Sunday Times *Aside from the fast-paced plot, this is most interesting for its probing portrayal of Guo’s ambivalent relationship with her homeland… An impressive feature of this moving and often exhilarating book is the brutality of her portrait of her parents. -- Lara Feigel * Financial Times *

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Book SynopsisHow do we find calm in our frantic modern world? Tim Parks – lifelong sceptic of all things spiritual - finds himself on a Buddhist meditation retreat trying to answer this very question. With brutal honesty and dry wit, he recounts his journey from disbelief to something approaching inner peace and tackles one of the great mysteries of our time – how to survive in this modern age.Selected from the book Teach us to Sit Still by Tim ParksVINTAGE MINIS: GREAT MINDS. BIG IDEAS. LITTLE BOOKS.A series of short books by the world’s greatest writers on the experiences that make us humanAlso in the Vintage Minis series:Swimming by Roger DeakinMotherhood by Helen SimpsonWork by Joseph HellerLiberty by Virginia WoolfTrade ReviewTeach us to Sit Still made me laugh; it made me cry; and it made me seriously think about taking up Vispassana meditation -- Will Self * The Times *Imagine our joy when Vintage announced that it is publishing a collection of easily digestible books from the world’s most celebrated writers on the experiences that make us human… They look good and read well. That’s win/win in our book. * Stylist *

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Book SynopsisFrom Boy Scout to assassin – the true confessions of a cartel hitmanAt the age of twelve Martin Corona started dealing drugs. After years in and out of prison, he rose through the ranks to become the leader of an elite killing squad for a notorious Tijuana drug cartel. Now haunted by his past deeds, he lives with the fact that he once pulled the trigger on a pregnant woman in front of her seven-year-old child, and accidentally shot a cardinal while hunting down El Chapo in an airport. Martin Corona has been convicted of multiple murders committed during his time as a cartel career hitman. These killings were brutal and cruelly efficient. Corona's gang would cross into the United States from their luxurious hideout in Mexico, eradicate whoever needed to be killed north of the border, and return home in the afternoon.In this book, Martin’s shocking first-hand confessions illuminate his descent from teenage drug dealer to murderous member of the drug cartel run by the Arellano brothers that dominated the Southern California drug trade - and initiated much violent gang warfare - for decades. Martin's story illuminates how a young boy, who played Little League football and was a Boy Scout, became a vicious criminal. Both shocking and powerful, it asks us how someone can inflict so much evil and whether they can find forgiveness on the other side.

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Book SynopsisUNLOCK THE MAGIC OF THEATRE THIS CHRISTMAS - GO BEHIND THE CURTAIN WITH WEST END LEGEND, MICHAEL BALL IN HIS FIRST MEMOIR 'Love, laughter and tears abound in this warm, entertaining read' Woman and Home 'Glittering' Daily Mail'Wonderful' The SunIn 1989, a young Michael Ball landed the lead role in the musical Aspects of Love. It was a moment that changed his life forever. It was the first time he worked with legends of the stage like Andrew Lloyd Webber and Trevor Nunn; the show featured his smash hit song, Love Changes Everything, which rode high in the charts for 15 weeks; it was then, also, that he first met his long-term partner Cathy McGowan and battled back against the stage fright that had threatened his career. Over three decades later, Michael returned to a new production of the same show where he made his name, and with a lifetime's worth of stories to tell.In Different Aspects, Michael takes us backstage inside the making of a West End hit, while also diving back into his memories to share untold anecdotes and explore a glittering career that has made him a household name - from his first stage experiences in Les Misérables and Phantom of the Opera, to delighting and shocking his audiences in equal measure in Hairspray and Sweeney Todd, as well as his chart-topping musical success (and some howlers too!). Exploring Michael's life, career and relationships alongside the pitfalls and pratfalls of modern theatre, Different Aspects is the story of a life lived on the stage. There will be laughter, tears and an abundance of heart. There's even some Roger Moore, though, famously, not quite enough.Take your seats ladies and gentlemen, the lights are dimming, the performance is about to start.Readers are loving Different Aspects...'A very funny, insightful glimpse of the highs and lows of a musical theatre star''If you love Michael Ball, you'll love this''His story made me smile''Filled with wonderful little stories''Interesting, honest and revealing'Trade Review'This wonderful memoir is an insight into the world of theatre and Michael's life.' * The Sun *'There is much to enjoy about Different Aspects as Ball is such an unaffected, enthusiastic ambassador for musical theatre.' * Daily Mail *'Love, laughter and tears abound in this warm, entertaining read' * Woman and Home *

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Book SynopsisWhether in Yes, Asia, GTR, ABWH, Tomorrow or the Steve Howe Trio and – there's more – Steve Howe has continually proved himself to be one of the world's greatest guitarists. Here, for the first time, he looks back on his five-decade long career. From jamming onstage with Jimi Hendrix to sharing Abbey Road studios with The Beatles, Steve's stories are steeped in rock 'n' roll history. Including a number of unseen photographs and a full discography, All My Yesterdays is a must-read for fans of Yes, one of prog rock's most legendary bands.

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Book SynopsisJohn Quin worked for thirty-three years as a physician for the NHS in both Scotland and England, specialising in endocrinology. Days on the wards were uproariously funny one minute, infinitely tragic the next. Starting with a stern lesson from the president of the British Society of Gastroenterologists that the younger doctor was not 'a f****** comedian', Dr Quin, Medicine Man is packed with vividly told tales of the joy and reward of getting the diagnosis right, the disaster of getting it wrong. Darkly amusing and with a keen eye for the absurd, this sharply observed memoir is not only an acute insight into the farcical frustrations and tensions of working in a chronically underfunded system but also a timely reminder of the humanity of the NHS staff who care for us.

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Book Synopsis"Beautifully written, searingly honest, and deeply affecting ... when the book ended, I only wanted more" - Roxane Gay"Ford is a writer for the ages, and Somebody's Daughter will be a book of the year" - Glennon Doyle, author of Untamed"Truly a classic in the making" - John Green, author of The Fault in Our StarsAn Oprah bookThroughout her adolescence, Ashley Ford doesn't know how to deal with the worries that keep her up at night. If only she could turn to her father for his advice and support. But he's in prison, and she doesn't know what he did to end up there. After being raped by her ex-boyfriend, Ashley desperately searches for her sense of self. Then, her grandmother reveals the truth about her father's incarceration... and Ashley's world is turned upside down.Ashley embarks on a powerful journey to find the connections between who she is and what she was born into, discovering that, however much we might try to untether ourselves from a painful past, the ties that bind families together are the strongest ones of all."Sure to be one of the best memoirs of 2021" - Kirkus Reviews"A heart-wrenching coming-of age story" - Time"Her coming-of-age story gets at how to both acknowledge and break away from what we're born into" - Cosmopolitan"A beautiful, delicate memoir... a journey toward true and powerful selfhood" - ElleTrade Review'Ashley C. Ford's wrenchingly brilliant memoir Somebody's Daughter is truly a classic in the making. Ford's writing is so richly observed and so suffused with love and yearning that I kept forgetting to breathe while reading it.' - John Green, author of The Fault in Our Stars'Somebody's Daughter takes the idea of a coming-of-age story and smashes it on its head. A masterpiece of acceptance and exploration, of growth and forgiveness, and - maybe most importantly of all - learning how not to forgive. This is a story of boundaries and looking back on w hat has happened with a kind but understanding eye. Ashley C. Ford's talent is on full display, as is her heart.' - Isaac Fitzgerald, author of How to Be a Pirate'Ashley C. Ford went deep into the well of herself and her history and came back to the light with the book now in your hands. A piercing interrogation of who we are and who we are to the people laying claim to us, Somebody's Daughter is hard-earned storytelling, yes, but also an opportunity for each of us to illuminate the ties that bind, entangle and connect us to one another.' - Saeed Jones, author of How We Fight for Our Lives'Ashley C. Ford is not just a beautiful writer, she is a brilliant, thoughtful and compassionate writer. The book is an achingly honest account of a complicated childhood. There is heartache and grief but above all Somebody's Daughter is the portrait of someone determined to love deeply and to love well. Someone determined to honor the person they are meant to be. Someone with the cleareyed courage and kindness to tell their story in service of a greater truth. We are so lucky Ashley chooses to share her wisdom with the world. I haven't stopped thinking about this book since I closed it and neither will you.' - Aminatou Sow, coauthor of Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close

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Book SynopsisIn Radical Acts of Love, Janie Brown, oncology nurse of thirty years and counsellor of cancer patients with terminal diagnoses, recounts twenty conversations she has had with the dying; including those personally close to her. Each conversation uncovers a different perspective and experience of death, while at the same time exploring its universalities.As well as offering an extremely sensitive and wise insight into our final moments, Brown offers practical ways to facilitate the shift from feeling helpless about death to feeling hopeful; from fear to acceptance; from feeling disconnected and alone, to becoming part of the wider, collective story of our mortality.Trade ReviewFor a book that concerns itself with so many ways of coming to terms with death, this remarkable book is hugely life-affirming. It makes you think not just of how you might want to approach death, but of how you might want to live. These conversations from the heart of dying are bold, gracious, often witty and full of love. They accompany you in the dark. Then they let the light in -- JACKIE KAYA book about love as much as it is about death . . . This is a glorious book that I would not hesitate to give to anyone facing an unwelcome diagnosis or prognosis of their own or of a loved one. It is kind and practical. . I learned so much and feel glad that it exists and convinced that many people will be helped by Brown's generous sharing of more than 30 years' experience of working with the dying -- CATHY RENTZENBRINK * * The Times * *Brown is a deeply compassionate and sensitive interlocutor and these accounts brim with humanity . . . Insightful, wise and life-affirming, Brown's book teaches us that sharing someone's final weeks is perhaps the most radical act of love we can offer * * Observer * *Janie Brown demonstrates the power of a book to transform, in fact to turn things upside down. She turns death into life, despair into hope, sorrow into joy and pain into love with these twenty astonishing encounters with the dying . . . Unforgettably wise, kind and wonderful -- STEPHEN FRYBrown's writing can be elegant and powerful . . . The book reframes what it means to heal, which we usually associate with recovery and, therefore, the continuation of life * * Guardian * *Compassionate, sensitive and heart-warming tales of the one thing in life that's certain -- PROFESSOR STEPHEN WESTABY * * Sunday Times bestselling author of Fragile Lives * *Remarkable . . . Everyone ought to read this book, because we are all going to die, and this book will help us to do it with grace and courage. More than that: it will help us help our loved ones to die without fear or regret. What greater gift than that can a book bestow on the reader? -- RICHARD HOLLOWAYThere is no one on earth who cannot benefit from reading this book. The insights, perspectives and wisdom in Radical Acts of Love can transform our approach to the end of life from fear to a sense of adventure -- RACHEL NAOMI REMEN * * author of Kitchen Table Wisdom * *The most surprising and beautiful travel guide to a journey we will all have to make. Janie Brown has accompanied many great souls through their final days on Earth, and what she has learned she offers us now in this exquisite book about life -- CHRIS CLEAVEThis book is itself a radical act of love . . . Reading the stories of these humans, compassionate, ordinary and profound, will help you be with the dying, and to be with yourself amidst the dying. Like the best books of every genre, this one is wrought with beauty, great care and attention, and can teach us all how not to look away -- PAM HOUSTON * * author of Deep Creek * *

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Book Synopsis'Orwell was the great moral force of his age' SpectatorYou can live on a shilling a day in Paris if you know how. But it is a complicated business.When he was a struggling writer in his twenties, George Orwell lived as a down-and-out among the poorest members of society. In this early memoir, he recounts shocking experiences working as a penniless dishwasher in Paris, pawning clothes to buy a day's worth of bread and wine, sleeping in bug-infested bunks, trading survival skills and cigarette butts with fellow tramps, and trudging between London's workhouse spikes for a few hours' sleep and tea-and-two-slices. With sensitivity and compassion, Orwell exposed the hardships of poverty and gave readers an unprecedented look at life lived on the fringes of society. His vivid account is an enduring call to support the world's most vulnerable people and exemplifies his belief that 'The greatest of evils and the worst of crimes is poverty.' The Authoritative Text. With a new introduction by Kerry Hudson.*The jacket of this stunning hardback edition features period artwork by Elizabeth Friedlander, one of Europe's pre-eminent 20th-century graphic designers. Look out for complementjary editions of Orwell's essential works Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four.*Trade ReviewAn extraordinary and curious book: beautifully phrased, meticulous, honest and funny. George Orwell’s 1933 memoir, and a study of poverty, is a book both rooted in its era and able to transcend it... a book that has inspired countless people to try to understand the personal and political issues at the heart of homelessness – and continues to do so today. -- Hannah PriceThe white-hot reaction of a sensitive, observant, compassionate young man to poverty'Orwell was the great moral force of his age * Spectator *

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Book SynopsisThe prizewinning author of The Ungrateful Refugee asks who is believed in our society, who is not - and why?'An ambitious and moving exploration of the borders we draw around credible victimhood that will cement Nayeri's position as a master storyteller of the refugee experience' Guardian Dina Nayeri's wide-ranging, groundbreaking new book combines deep reportage with her own life experience to examine what constitutes believability in our society. Intent on exploring ideas of persuasion and performance, Nayeri takes us behind the scenes in emergency rooms, corporate boardrooms, asylum interviews and into her own family, to ask - where lies the difference between being believed and being dismissed? What does this mean for our culture?As personal as it is profound in its reflections on language, history, morality and compassion, Who Gets Believed? investigates the unspoken social codes that determine how we relate to one another.'An important, courageous, brilliant book'Robert Macfarlane, bestselling author of Underland'Dina Nayeri asks an incredibly important question, and the answers she finds are crucial for all of us'Oliver Bullough, bestselling author of Butler to the WorldTrade ReviewAn elegant telling of truth to power... published at a poignant moment * Observer *An important, courageous, brilliant book; an interrogation of "disbelief culture" and the injustice that both fuels it and is fuelled by it, a form-shifting memoir of an already-remarkable life, and a moving, harrowing investigation of love, loss and care. -- Robert Macfarlane, author of UNDERLANDI was hugely moved by this book ... Essential reading, an extraordinary labor of love and hope that is destined to become indispensable in the continuing struggle for justice. -- John Burnside, author of A LIE ABOUT MY FATHERInstantly gripping... an ambitious and moving exploration of the border we draw around credible victimhood, and will cement Nayeri's position as a master story teller of the refugee experience * Guardian *Nayeri's mesmerizing, genre-bending book braids together narratives of asylum seekers, exonerated felons, and religious converts ... Heartbreaking and hopeful. Reading this book will upend your preconceptions about who is worthy of belief, as writing it did for Nayeri herself. -- Amanda Frost, author of YOU ARE NOT AMERICAN: CITIZENSHIP STRIPPING FROM DRED SCOTT TO THE DREAMERSA compelling, generous, and distinctive inquiry into the nature of belief, credibility, and, above all, the deeply unjust and unequal societies in which we live. -- Chitra Ramaswamy, author of HOMELANDS: THE HISTORY OF A FRIENDSHIPA profound, gorgeous, devastating book, exhilarating in both its compassion and its contemplation of pain ... Who Gets Believed? is that rarest of creations, an original work about a condition in which we are all implicated. -- Jeff Sharlet, bestselling author of THE FAMILY and THIS BRILLIANT DARKNESSA truly remarkable book, where universal and deeply personal themes are powerfully interwoven ... A masterclass in storytelling, teasing out the crucial implications of 'who gets believed' for all of us. -- Steve Crawshaw, policy director at Freedom from Torture and author of STREET SPIRIT: THE POWER OF PROTEST AND MISCHIEF

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Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER, from the co-host of the podcast WHAT THE MIDWIFE SAID________________No sleep for twenty hours. No food for ten.And a ward full of soon-to-be mothers...Midwives are there for us at some of the most challenging, empowering and defining moments of our lives. From heart-wrenching grief to the pure joy of a new-born baby, midwife Leah Hazard has seen it all.But life on the NHS front line, working within a system at breaking point, is more extreme than you could ever imagine.Moving and compassionate, funny and unexpected, Leah shares her experiences in this extraordinary love letter to new mothers and fellow midwives everywhere._____________________'The stories in Hard Pushed highlight the bravery of our midwives, and the women they care for.' CHRISTIE WATSON, author of The Language of Kindness'Heart-rending, inspiring and funny, Hard Pushed brings alive the world of midwifery in all its complexity and radiates love and respect for women.' PROFESSOR LESLEY PAGE CBE, former president of the Royal College of Midwives'It is Leah Hazard's capacity to love and give so personally to the many thousands of women she has worked with which imbues this book with its power.' JULIA SAMUEL, author of Grief Works'Not only powerful but well written too . . . a worthwhile addition to a genre fast becoming as crowded as a busy maternity unit.' DAILY EXPRESS'A riveting read: heartwarming and heartbreaking' SHEENA BYROM OBE, midwifery consultant and author of Catching Babies'A beautifully written, intimate portrait of the extraordinary work that midwives carry out each and every day.' CAROLINE ELTON, author of Also Human: The Inner Lives of DoctorsTrade ReviewLeah Hazard describes the challenges and dedication of those working in the NHS. The stories in Hard Pushed highlight the bravery of our midwives, and the women they care for. -- CHRISTIE WATSON, author of THE LANGUAGE OF KINDNESSA ‘love letter’ to midwives everywhere - which brings the maternity ward to life in all its gory, humorous and touching glory. * Telegraph *Heart-rending, inspiring and funny, Hard Pushed brings alive the world of midwifery in all its complexity and radiates love and respect for women, even in the most frantic and anxiety-ridden moments. -- Professor Lesley Page CBE, former president of the Royal College of MidwivesYou will laugh, cry and not quite believe what you read. I loved every word. * Sun *Part hymn to the strength of the pregnant and labouring women and part "warning shot, a battle cry" for a system in crisis... Abundant heart-warming and moving birth stories... Her tone is deeply reassuring... not only powerful but well-written too.' * Daily Express *

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Book SynopsisA New Statesman Book of the Year AS HEARD ON BBC RADIO 4'S BOOK OF THE WEEK 'Hashi Mohamed powerfully exposes the alienating and segregating effect of social immobility in this country.' David Lammy 'A moving, shocking and clear-eyed account of the increasingly rare phenomenon of social mobility. Using his own extraordinary story as a spine [Hashi Mohamed] has written an analysis, how-to-guide and polemic on getting on and up in Britain today.' - Grayson Perry 'Beautifully written and powerfully argued, People Like Us is essential reading' The Secret Barrister What does it take to make it in modern Britain? Ask a politician, and they'll tell you it's hard work. Ask a millionaire, and they'll tell you it's talent. Ask a CEO and they'll tell you it's dedication. But what if none of those things is enough? Raised on benefits and having attended some of the lowest-performing schools in the country, barrister Hashi Mohamed knows something about social mobility. In People Like Us, he shares what he has learned: from the stark statistics that reveal the depth of the problem to the failures of imagination, education and confidence that compound it. We live in a society where the single greatest indicator of what your job will be is the job of your parents. Where power and privilege are concentrated among the 7 per cent of the population who were privately educated. Where, if your name sounds black or Asian, you'll need to send out twice as many job applications as your white neighbour. Wherever you are on the social spectrum, this is an essential investigation into our society's most intractable problem. We have more power than we realise to change things for the better.Trade ReviewHashi Mohamed powerfully exposes the alienating and segregating effect of social immobility in this country. Beautifully written, People Like Us makes a deeply personal case for a world in which anybody can reach success, but doesn't have to leave a part of themselves behind to achieve it. -- David LammyA vital work of courage and hope, by a truly remarkable individual. -- Philippe SandsMohamed's is an impressive tale, but he turns it into something much larger and far more resonant in his finely written memoir ... a rather ambitious and far-ranging attempt to rethink the whole stalled project of social mobility. A careful and affecting study of personal struggle, social mobility and international migration that brings a fresh and well-informed voice to the debate. * Observer *This rags-to-riches tale is related with humility and humour. * The Times *He is an unconventional figure, and a key strength of his book is his refreshing willingness to address controversial issues with candour. * Sunday Times *I found myself nodding in agreement with every word of People Like Us. Hashi Mohamed has written a moving, shocking and clear-eyed account of the increasingly rare phenomenon of social mobility. Using his own extraordinary story as a spine he has written an analysis, how-to-guide and polemic on getting on and up in Britain today. * Grayson Perry *A brilliant book that should be read and celebrated at any time, but especially now -- Elif Shafak * New Statesman *

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Book SynopsisWhen a stressed-out Wolf tells his four-year-old daughter Nina that he can only spend ten more minutes reading her bedtime stories before getting back to work, she wishes that they could have a million minutes together 'on the really good things. Let's go so far away, until we have time,' she says.While Nina is physically disabled, Wolf feels that what really makes her different is her complete freedom of thought, uninhibited by political correctness and unlimited by the restrictions of 'reality'. As Wolf comes to understand the magnitude of his daughter's condition, he starts to reconsider what is most important in life. Despite a huge break-through in a profession he has worked so hard to make his mark on, he decides to step off the career ladder. Colleagues claim he is ruining his life, but Wolf slowly learns that fulfilling Nina's wish is worth much more than professional success. Wolf, his wife Vera, his son Simon and Nina spend a mil

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Book SynopsisA little over ten years ago, Janine Marsh and her husband Mark gave up their city jobs in London to chase the good life in the countryside of northern France. Having overcome the obstacles of starting to renovate her dream home – an ancient, dilapidated barn – and fitting in with the peculiarities of her new neighbours, Janine is now the go-to expat in the area for those seeking to get to grips with a very different way of life.In the Seven Valleys, each season brings new challenges as well as new delights. Freezing weather in February threaten the lives of some of the four-legged locals; snow in March results in a broken arm, which in turn leads to an etiquette lesson at the local hospital; and a dramatic hailstorm in July destroys cars and houses, ultimately bringing the villagers closer together.With warmth and humour, Janine showcases a uniquely French outlook as two eternally ambitious expats drag a neglected farmhouse to life and stumble across the hidden gems of this very special part of the world________________Praise for Janine Marsh’s My Good Life in France:'Warm, uplifting, and effervescent ... Janine's voice and humor bubble right off the page, making you want to pack your bags and visit her fixer-upper home in rural France' – Samantha Verant, author of Seven Letters from Paris'If you've ever dreamed of discovering "the real France", you won't want to miss this delightful book' – Keith Van Sickle, author of One Sip at a Time: Learning to Live in Provence

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Book SynopsisFROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF DEAR LIFE'I am a junior doctor. It is 4 a.m. I have run arrest calls, treated life-threatening bleeding, held the hand of a young woman dying of cancer, scuttled down miles of dim corridors wanting to sob with sheer exhaustion, forgotten to eat, forgotten to drink, drawn on every fibre of strength that I possess to keep my patients safe from harm.'How does it feel to be spat out of medical school into a world of pain, loss and trauma that you feel wholly ill-equipped to handle? To be a medical novice who makes decisions which - if you get them wrong - might forever alter, or end, a person's life?In Your Life in My Hands, television journalist turned junior doctor Rachel Clarke captures the extraordinary realities of life on the NHS frontline. During the historic junior doctor strikes of 2016, Rachel was at the forefront of the campaign against the government's imposed contract upon young doctors. Her heartfelt, deeply personal account of life as a junior doctor in today's NHS is both a powerful polemic on the degradation of Britain's most vital public institution and a love letter of optimism and hope to that same health service.Trade ReviewFrom the very heart of the NHS comes this brilliant insight into the continuing crisis in the health service. Rachel Clarke writes as the accomplished journalist she once was and as the leading junior doctor she now is - writing with humanity and compassion that at times reduced me to tears. -- Jon SnowDr Clarke has written a blockbuster, a page-turner, a tear-jerker. This is a "from-the-heart" front-line account of the human cost of the wanton erosion of a magnificent ideal - healthcare free at the point of need, funded through public taxation, available to all - made real in the UK for near 70 years. It is a love-song for the wonderful National Health Service that has embodied - to an extent equalled nowhere in the world - the principle that healthcare is not a commodity but a great duty of state. -- Prof. Neena Modi, President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child HealthA powerful account of life on the NHS frontline. If only Theresa May and Jeremy Hunt could see the passion behind the people in the NHS, they might stop treating them as the enemy, and understand that without them we don't have an NHS worth the name. -- Alastair CampbellI absolutely loved it this book. Such an elegant, moving and honest account of life on the frontline. This is mandatory reading for anyone who cares about the NHS. I am very often asked what it's like to be a junior doctor, and I can now direct people to this book. It's so refreshing to see someone tell it exactly as it is. -- Joanna Cannon, author of The Trouble With Goats and SheepEloquent and moving... Anybody who wants to understand what is happening to the NHS should read this book. -- Henry Marsh, author of Do No Harm * The Times Magazine *

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Book SynopsisThe Little Book of Love Spells is an introductory guide to enhancing your love life with simple spiritual and magical spells and rituals. Using modern magic to harness your inner power and self-love, these spells aim to infuse passion, cleanse negativity and foster positivity in your love life. Whether you have already whispered a few words of manifestation or never lit a candle in your entire life, this essential handbook offers practical advice, important information and specific instructions needed to weave simple and more complicated spells. Everything you need to know to manifest your perfect partner, connect with new crushes or reconnect with old flames, heal from previous lovers or even spice things up in the bedroom. With the help of a little bit of magic, this little book will help you to fulfil all your romantic desires and successfully navigate your love life.

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