Memoirs Books
Yale University Press Inadvertent
Book SynopsisAn accessible and personal “confession” of the creative process of the award-winning Norwegian novelist Karl Ove Knausgaard
£10.24
Hachette Books I Wouldnt Do That If I Were Me
Book SynopsisNew York Times bestselling author Jason Gay takes a humorous and insightful look at life in the face of a seemingly overwhelming series of ongoing societal change and phenomena that we never anticipated, exploring the effects on parenthood, marriage, friendship, work, play, and all aspects of the strange lives we find ourselves living.
£18.75
Hachette Books Modern Madness
Book SynopsisWith suicide rates exploding and the rates of mental health diagnoses increasing, there has never been a greater need to grapple with the complexities of the troubled mind.Terri Cheney knows this first hand. In her bestselling memoir, Manic, Cheney offered a gripping, no-holds-barred account of her bipolar disorder that nearly killed her. Now, in Modern Madness, she brings her narrative gifts to a book that is rich with practical insight. Structured like an owner''s manual (e.g., Instructions for Use, Troubleshooting, Maintenance, Warranties), Cheney portrays the experience of mental illness from the inside out, drawing on her own struggle and recovery to illuminate a world that often seems forbidding or frightening. Using narrative as a springboard, Cheney explores broader issues common to all diagnoses, like stigma, coping skills, relationship dilemmas, and the vicissitudes of treatment. With a clear focus on the need for acceptance, both personal and public,
£19.80
Hachette Books Matters of Vital Interest
Book SynopsisA memoir of the author''s decades-long friendship and spiritual journey with the late singer, songwriter, novelist, and poet Leonard Cohen Leonard Cohen passed away in late 2016, leaving behind many who cared for and admired him, but perhaps few knew him better than longtime friend Eric Lerner. Lerner, a screenwriter and novelist, first met Cohen at a Zen retreat forty years earlier. Their friendship helped guide each other through life''s myriad obstacles, a journey told from a new perspective for the first time. Funny, revealing, self-aware, and deeply moving, Matters of Vital Interest is an insightful memoir about Lerner''s relationship with his friend, whose idiosyncratic style and dignified life was deeply informed by his spiritual practices. Lerner invites readers to step into the room with them and listen in on a lifetime''s ongoing dialogue, considerations of matters of vital interest, spiritual, mundane, and profane. In telling their story, Lerner depicts Leonard Cohen as a captivating persona, the likes of which we may never see again.
£20.00
Hachette Books Dont Forget Us Here Lost and Found at Guantanamo
Book SynopsisAt the age of 18, Mansoor Adayfi left his home in Yemen for a cultural mission to Afghanistan. He never returned. Kidnapped by warlords and then sold to the US after 9/11, he was disappeared to Gauntánamo Bay, where he spent the next 15 years as Detainee #441.In the vein of Ishmael Beah''s A Long Way Gone, Don''t Forget Us Here tells two coming-of-age stories in parallel: a makeshift island outpost becoming the world''s most notorious prison and an innocent young man emerging from its darkness. Arriving as a stubborn teenager, Mansoor survived the camp''s infamous interrogation program and became a feared and hardened resistance fighter leading prison riots and hunger strikes. With time though, he grew into the man prisoners nicknamed Smiley Troublemaker: a student, writer, historian, and dedicated pop culture fan. With unexpected warmth and empathy, he unwinds a narrative of fighting for hope and survival in unimaginable circumstances, illuminating the limitle
£22.50
Hachette Books Still Alive A Wild Life of Rediscovery
Book SynopsisVery few individuals can truthfully say that their work impacts every person on earth. Forrest Galante is one of them. As a wildlife biologist and conservationist, Galante devotes his life to studying, rediscovering, and protecting our planet''s amazing lifeforms. Part memoir, part biological adventure, Still Alive celebrates the beauty and determined resiliency of our world, as well as the brave conservationists fighting to save it. In his debut book, Galante takes readers on an exhilarating journey to the most remote and dangerous corners of the world. He recounts miraculous rediscoveries of species that were thought to be extinct and invites readers into his wild life: from his upbringing amidst civil unrest in Zimbabwe to his many globetrotting adventures, including suspenseful run-ins with drug cartels, witch doctors, and vengeful government officials. He shares all of the life-threatening bites, fights, falls, and jungle illnesses. He also investigates the con
£13.49
Zondervan Ghosted
Book Synopsis
£17.00
Little, Brown & Company And Now We Have Everything
Book SynopsisOperating Instructions for the Millennial set: a fiercely honest account of becoming a mother before you''re ready.If you feel totally alienated by the cutesy, sanctimonious tone of the motherhood industrial complex, this is the book for you.After getting accidentally pregnant in her twenties, Meaghan O''Connell realized that brutally honest, agenda-less resources on the emotional and existential impact of motherhood were nowhere to be found. In And Now We Have Everything, she offers a brave new perspective on the transition into motherhood. With her dark humor and a hair-trigger B.S. detector, Meaghan addresses the pervasive imposter syndrome that comes with unplanned pregnancy, the second adolescence of a changing postpartum body, the myth that giving birth is a magical experience, the problem of sex post-baby, the strange push to make ''mom friends'', and the fascinating weirdness of stepping into a new, not-yet-comfortable identity.
£18.70
Little, Brown & Company Shuttle Houston
Book Synopsis From the longest-serving Flight Director in NASA''s history comes a revealing account of high-stakes Mission Control work and the Space Shuttle program that has redefined our relationship with the universe. A compelling look inside the Space Shuttle missions that helped lay the groundwork for the Space Age, Shuttle, Houston explores the determined personalities, technological miracles, and eleventh-hour saves that have given us human spaceflight. Relaying stories of missions (and their grueling training) in vivid detail, Paul Dye, NASA''s longest-serving Flight Director, examines the split-second decisions that the directors and astronauts were forced to make in a field where mistakes are unthinkable, and where errors led to the loss of national resources -- and more importantly one''s crew. Dye''s stories from the heart of Mission Control explain the mysteries of flying the Shuttle -- from the powerful fiery ascent to the majesty of on-orbit operations to the high-speed and critical re-entry and landing of a hundred-ton glider. The Space Shuttles flew 135 missions. Astronauts conducted space walks, captured satellites, and docked with the Mir Space Station, bringing space into our everyday life, from GPS to satellite TV. Shuttle, Houston puts readers in his own seat at Mission Control, the hub that made humanity''s leap into a new frontier possible.
£20.90
Little, Brown & Company Do I Know You
Book SynopsisAn award-winning science writer discovers she has prosopagnosia (face blindness) and aphantasia (the inability to visualize) and investigates the neuroscience of sight, memory, and imagination—while solving some long-running mysteries about her own life. Science writer Sadie Dingfelder has always known that she’s a little quirky. But while she’s made some strange mistakes over the years, it’s not until she accosts a stranger in a grocery store (whom she thinks is her husband) that she realizes something is amiss. With a mixture of curiosity and dread, Dingfelder starts contacting neuroscientists and lands herself in scores of studies. In the course of her nerdy midlife crisis, she discovers that she is emphatically not neurotypical. She has prosopagnosia (faceblindness), stereoblindness, aphantasia (an inability to create mental imagery), and a condition called severely deficient autobiographical memory. As Dingfelder begins to see herself more clearly, she discovers a vast well of hidden neurodiversity in the world at large. There are so many different flavors of human consciousness, and most of us just assume that ours is the norm. Can you visualize? Do you have an inner monologue? Are you always 100 percent sure whether you know someone or not? If you can perform any of these mental feats, you may be surprised to learn that many people—including Dingfelder—can’t. A lively blend of personal narrative and popular science, Do I Know You? is the story of one unusual mind’s attempt to understand itself—and a fascinating exploration of the remarkable breadth of human experience.
£25.20
Pan Macmillan Passage To Juneau
Book SynopsisAn entrancing travelogue from celebrated writer Jonathan Raban.First published in 1999, Passage to Juneau is an account of Raban's personal journey from Seattle to the Alaskan Capital by boat through the meandering sea route, the Inside Passage, told in parallel to the same voyage taken by Captain George Vancouver in the late eighteenth century.Described by Ian McEwan as 'Raban at his best', this is extraordinary travel writing, told from two very different perspectives. A book about the idea of loss, Raban is home but still, he is very much still at sea.
£11.69
Pan Macmillan The Music Room
Book Synopsis‘Fiennes has exceptional gifts, and he has written a small masterpiece, a tribute to the power of place, family and memory’ Sunday Telegraph William Fiennes’ childhood was one of imagination and curiosity, bounded only by the horizon he saw from the roof-tiles of his ancient family home. His older brother Richard, known for his towering presence, his inventiveness, his great passion for Leeds United, and his suffering due to severe epilepsy, was an adored and charismatic figure in his life. Years later, eager to understand his brother’s mind as fully as the ancient trees and secret haunts of his own journey towards adulthood, William Fiennes has written a profoundly moving account of his home, his family’s care, and above all, of Richard. The Music Room is a luminous testament to the miracle of consciousness and to the permanence of love. ‘On putting the book down I felt as if I had been hypnotised. It held me
£9.49
Pan Macmillan The Circuit
Book SynopsisAfter nearly twenty years of SAS operations, including a never before published role in the infamous Bravo Two Zero patrol, Bob Shepherd retired from the military to work as an advisor on the international commercial security circuit. Certain his most dangerous days were behind him, Bob settled into a sedate life looking after VIPs. Then 9/11 happened . . . Bob found himself back in war zones on assignments far more perilous than anything he had encountered in the SAS: from ferrying journalists across firing lines in The West Bank and Gaza to travelling to the heart of Osama bin Laden’s Afghan lair. As part of a two-man team, Bob searched for ITN Correspondent Terry Lloyd’s missing crew in Basra, Iraq, while in Afghanistan he was forced to spend the night as the only Westerner in Khost - with a $25,000 bounty on his head. As the War on Terror escalated, Bob contended with increasingly sophisticated insurgents. But the most disturbing
£10.44
Pan Macmillan A Turn in the South
Book SynopsisV. S. Naipaul was born in Trinidad in 1932. He came to England on a scholarship in 1950. He spent four years at University College, Oxford, and began to write, in London, in 1954. He pursued no other profession.His novels include A House for Mr Biswas, The Mimic Men, Guerrillas, A Bend in the River, and The Enigma of Arrival. In 1971 he was awarded the Booker Prize for In a Free State. His works of nonfiction, equally acclaimed, include Among the Believers, Beyond Belief, The Masque of Africa, and a trio of books about India: An Area of Darkness, India: A Wounded Civilization and India: A Million Mutinies Now.In 1990, V. S. Naipaul received a knighthood for services to literature; in 1993, he was the first recipient of the David Cohen British Literature Prize. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2001. He lived with his wife Nadira and cat Augustus in Wiltshire, and died in 20Trade ReviewNaipaul’s writing is supple and fluid, meticulously crafted, adventurous and quick to surprise. And, as usual, there’s the freshness and originality of his way of looking at things. * Sunday Times *Naipaul writes as if a modern oracle has chosen to speak through him. It is a tissue of brilliantly recorded hearsay, of intense listening by a man with a remarkable ear. * New York Times Review of Books *This is a journey below the Mason–Dixon line into a society riven by too many defeats; the broken cause of the old Confederacy, and the frustrated anger of Southern blacks whose power is circumscribed . . . It is the best thing outside fiction that I have read on the Old South pregnant with the new since W. J. Cash’s The Mind of the South published over fifty years ago. * Sunday Telegraph *
£10.79
Pan Macmillan Shit My Dad Says
Book Synopsis''At 28 years old, I found myself living at home, with my 73-year-old father. As a child, my father never minced words, and when I screwed up, he had a way of cutting right through the bullshit and pointing out exactly why I was being an idiot. When I moved back in I was still, for the most part, an idiot. But this time, I was smart enough to write down all the things he said to me...'' Meet Justin Halpern and his dad. Almost 1.5 million people follow Mr Halpern''s philosophical musings every day on Twitter, and in this book, his son weaves a brilliantly funny, touching coming-of-age memoir around the best of his sayings. What emerges is a chaotic, hilarious, true portrait of a father and son relationship from a major new comic voice. As Justin says at one point, his dad is ''like Socrates, but angrier, and with worse hair''; and this is the sort of shit he says... ''You know, sometimes it''s nice having you around. But now ain''t one of those times. Now gimmie
£8.99
Hodder & Stoughton Urban Grimshaw and The Shed Crew
Book SynopsisAn eye-opening, jaw-dropping account of Britain's dispossessed youth and inner city wastelands by an insider, as funny and inspiring as it is heartbreaking. 'Another CITY OF GOD, this time for Britain rather than Brazil.' ObserverTrade ReviewA dark and bitterly funny window on to a part of British life that most would rather sweep under the carpet . . . both inspiring and uplifting. * Daily Telegraph *A compelling piece of ethnography, but it is also a deeply personal memoir . . . Moving but never sanctimonious, it is another City of God, this time for Britain rather than Brazil. * Observer *A damnation of British society that is both violently shocking and laugh-out-loud funny, reading somewhere between a pre-teen Trainspotting and a northern-English equivalent of Larry Clark's Kids . . . a memoir with attitude * Big Issue *Hare writes with laconic self-deprecation, black humour and a humane, ever present sense of railing against the system that failed Urban and his gang . . . exceptional * Metro *An extraordinary account of the parallel world of missing children who live under our noses in every inner city, but officially don't exist. * Sunday Times *A cross between a grim fairytale and a reflective, brazen anecdote . . . a marvellous read. * Alexander Masters, Daily Mail *This is writing from the edge. Bernie Hare is a truly original voice. He deserves to be big - really big! * Fergal Keane *'Don't miss Bernard Hare's astonishing account of his relationship with Urban Grimshaw and the Shed Crew' * Anne Fine, Books of the Year, Sunday Herald *'As a record of contemporary Britain, it is searing...Hare is never sensationalist, sentimental, judgemental or self-regarding' * Sheena Joughin, Times Literary Supplement *'It reads like a novel - a gripping, vivid, deeply affecting piece of work' * Decca Aitkenhead, New Statesman *Unexpectedly powerful. * Time Out Books of the Year *
£9.99
Hodder & Stoughton Not On My Patch Lad
Book SynopsisMike Pannett used to work the beat in Central London - tackling drugs and knife crime - so when he moved back to Yorkshire he was hoping for a quieter life. But it seems the moors and villages of his native county aren''t as sleepy as he once thought...A casual remark about a barn with blacked-out windows leads him to an isolated farmhouse and a young girl is attacked at a local theme park. Meanwhile, Mike is still trying to identify and bring to justice the ''Sunset Gang'' who are systematically targeting isolated warehouses and shops on his patch.On the home front, Ann has moved into Keeper''s Cottage and taken a Sergeant''s post in York - and people are asking Mike what it''s like to be a kept man.Trade ReviewPannett, the James Herriot of policing, tiptoes his way through domestic issues, stag nights, and sword-wielding madmen bent on decapitation and tells his tales with warmth and humour. * Daily Express on You're Coming With Me Lad *Move over James Herriot and Gervase Phinn - there is a new name on the North Yorkshire literary block. * York Press *Think 21st-century Heartbeat meets James Herriot with the occasional white-knuckle ride of The Sweeney throw in. All delivered with a Yorkshire twang. * The Telegraph *After years in the Metropolitan Police, on the beat in central London, Mike Pannett is hoping for a quieter life when he moves back to his home county, Yorkshire. But crime lurks amid the hills and dales, moors, villages and towns and he finds some of the policing tactics he's learned in London come in very useful. More tales from this Yorkshire bobby, who is building a loyal collection of fans with his engaging books. * Choice Magazine *'NEVER mind ebooks, here is an eby-gum book, the third in the series of real-life police stories from an excopper with a huge affection for all things Yorkshire'. * Scarborough Evening News *
£10.44
Hodder & Stoughton Shame Travels
Book SynopsisWhen she was a little girl, Jasvinder Sanghera''s father told her about the village he came from, Kang Sabhu in rural Punjab. One day, he promised to take her there so she could meet her half-sister, Bachanu, who had stayed behind. But at the age of sixteen - as she so vividly related in her bestseller Shame - Jasvinder ran away from home to escape a forced marriage. Her parents disowned her. ''Shame travels...'' her father told her. Although her mother took all her other daughters to meet the extended family in the Punjab, Jasvinder was never allowed to go. With her own daughter about to marry, Jasvinder decides to challenge thirty years of rejection by going to India herself. She wants to explore her roots and to see for herself the place her parents called home until the day they died. What Jasvinder finds in India and what she learns changes the way she sees the world, and has important lessons for all of us. SHAME TRAVELS is not only a grippingTrade ReviewAcclaim for SHAME: 'She tells her story with the pace and vivid turn of phrase of a true writer . . . SHAME is an inspiring book, not least because of its honesty.' * Sunday Times *'A vivid, honest and deeply moving narrative of despair, courage and hope.' * Lord Lester speaking in Parliamentary debate *'Unbeaten and eloquent' * Evening Standard *'Heart-wrenching' * Daily Mail *One of the most powerful things I have read. * David Cameron *
£10.44
Hodder & Stoughton Rifling Through My Drawers
Book SynopsisWith her inimitable wit and outspoken views, Clarissa Dickson Wright opens her diary and takes us on a journey around Britain with this unrivalled collection of stories and anecdotes from her ever-eventful life. As celebrated cook and champion of the countryside, Clarissa''s year includes being propositioned by a burly greyhound courser, meeting the Chairman of the Sandringham branch of the WI, a fishing terrier called Kipper and taking on the Health & Safety officials at a rain-drenched County Show. Criss-crossing the country she introduces us to long-forgotten traditions and colourful local festivals as she meets up with extraordinary characters and friends old and new. Entertaining, poignant, but never politically correct, RIFLING THROUGH MY DRAWERS is a breath of fresh air and proves once again why Clarissa is one of the nation''s true treasures.Trade ReviewA wealth of hilarious anecdotes and observations * Unite Magazine *Delightfully outrageous * Scotsman *The lady speaks her mind, whether it be on how literary festivals exploit authors or the idiocy of the Iraq war. The book is thus guaranteed to annoy everybody. And yet she gets away with it. The reasons are her honesty, courage and also the respect accorded to the Great British Eccentric, especially when posh. She will probably end up classified by the National Trust. * The Sunday Age *informative, entertaining and forthright * Manchester Evening News *It is amusingly unruly, with so many digressions and diversions that all the reader can do is go along for the ride and hope that by the end it all makes sense. Which it does, in a haphazard kind of way. * Sydney Morning Herald *Larger than life and bubbling with caustic wit, Clarissa Dickson Wright is just the person to break through the recessionary gloom and make you chuckle. * Good Book Guide *
£11.69
Vintage Canada Before My Time
Book Synopsis
£12.59
Little, Brown Book Group Saving Safa
Book SynopsisWaris Dirie, the Somalia nomad who became a supermodel, and an anti-FGM activist, first came to the world''s attention with the publication of her autobiography, Desert Flower. The book was subsequently made into a film and little Safa Nour, from one of the slums of Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, was chosen to play the young Waris. The book and the film record many extraordinary things - from facing down a tiger, to being discovered by a famous photographer in London - but it also tells the grim story of female circumcision, an ordeal that the young Waris had to endure. Saving Safa opens with a letter from Safa, now aged seven, who explains that she is worried that she will undergo FGM in spite of the contract her parents have signed with Dirie''s Desert Flower Foundation stating that they will never have their daughter cut. Waris drops everything and flies to Djibouti where she meets Safa''s father and mother who thinks her daughter should be cut Trade ReviewIt is Safa, with her wide-eyed excitement at the world, who brings this well-written book alive . . . What Saving Safa does so successfully is humanise the tragedy of FGM -- Rosamund Urwin * Evening Standard *Dirie's writing is fluid and honest; we can sense her commitment and that of her foundation, Desert Flower, to protecting Safa * Guardian *
£11.39
Little, Brown Book Group Only in Naples Lessons in Food and Famiglia
Book SynopsisA Radio 4 Book of the Week''See Naples and die'', said Goethe. But Katherine Wilson saw Naples and started to live. Katherine is fresh out of college when she arrives in Naples to intern at the US Consulate. There she meets handsome, studious Salvatore, and finds herself enveloped by his family - in particular by his elegant mother, Raffaella, who begins her real education: never eat the crust of a pizza first, always stand up and fight for yourself and your loved ones, and remember that mealtimes are sacred. Immersed in Neapolitan culture, tradition and cooking, slowly and unexpectedly falling for Salvatore, and basking in Raffaella''s company and guidance, Katherine discovers how to prepare meals that sing, from rich ragù to pasta al forno, with bacon, béchamel and four kinds of cheese. Through courtship, culture clashes, Sunday Mass, marriage and motherhood, Katherine slowly comes to appreciate carnale, the quintessentially NeapTrade ReviewA glorious memoir celebrating the holy trinity of Italian life: love, food and family. Her keen eye and sense of humor takes you through the winding streets of Naples at a clip, on a ride you hope will never end. If you love Italy, or the idea of it, you will love this book. And, if you ever plan to visit Naples, tuck this in your suitcase, it's the best primer I've ever read as a guide to this bustling, vibrant southern Italian port city -- Adriana Trigiani, New York Times bestselling author of The Shoemaker's Wife Deliciously entertaining Sunday Mirror You won't be able to put down this book that's chock block full of titbits from Neapolitan culture, tradition and cuisine.Read if you enjoyed: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert Hello This warm, witty biography made me yearn for (and eat) quite a lot of pasta Red
£10.44
Little, Brown Book Group A Seat at the Table
Book Synopsis''Fascinating and illuminating'' STYLIST''Perceptive and candid'' IRISH TIMES''Wide-ranging, deep-dive, soul-baring interviews, full of candid, intimate, spiky meditations on inspiration, artistry, sexuality, race, love, self-doubt, abuse, defiance and everything in between'' OBSERVER''Variously optimistic, troubling, joyful, illuminating, fierce and thoughtful'' GUARDIANINTERVIEWS WITH WOMEN ON THE FRONTLINE OF MUSICWriter and critic Amy Raphael has interviewed some of the world''s most iconic musicians, including Courtney Love, Patti Smith, Björk, Kurt Cobain and Elton John. In 1995 she wrote the critically-acclaimed Never Mind the Bollocks: Women Rewrite Rock, which included a foreword by Debbie Harry. More than two decades on, the music business has changed, but the way women are regarded has not. In this new book, A Seat at the Table, Raphael interviews eighteen women who worTrade ReviewIn 1995, the journalist published Never Mind The Bollocks: Women Rewrite Rock, a series of interviews with artists including Courtney Love, Bjork, and Justine Frischmann. This kind-of-sequel updates what's changed - and what hasn't - for female musicians, with Christine And The Queens, Mitski and Kate Tempest among those participating. The most urgent interview is with Chvrches' Lauren Mayberry, who offers a powerful account of the negative drag caused by online trolls and the effects of speaking out. Reasons to be cheerful - and angry * Q Magazine *Kate Tempest, Clara Amfo, Ibeyi, Georgia, Tracey Thorn . . . Journalist Amy Raphael talks to 18 incredible women about their experiences as musicians and the music industry with fascinating and illuminating results * Stylist *A perceptive and candid collection of new interviews with 18 women that discuss everything from #MeToo and queer politics to the impact of social media on their lives and the subtleties of routine misogyny * Irish Times *Raphael has collated a stunning collection of interviews, then removed herself entirely, presenting each as a narrative as if the subject is talking straight to you, the reader. It breaks an added barrier in really being invited in to understand each interviewee, unfiltered. It's a fascinating, brilliant book, full of joy, rage, a love of music, and a battle to show that it can be done even when culture might push back. A celebration of some of the best and most exciting faces in music today, and a must read * The Skinny *A series of wide-ranging, deep-dive, soul-baring interviews, full of candid, intimate, spiky meditations on inspiration, artistry, sexuality, race, love, self-doubt, abuse, defiance, and everything in between . . . Raphael had carved a vital space for female artists to 'womanspread', as it were, and speak freely -- Barbara Ellen * Observer *Variously optimistic, troubling, joyful, illuminating, fierce and thoughtful. It is often all these things at once -- Fiona Sturges * Guardian *Many women interviewed for this collection - including the eloquent Kate Tempest, gender activist Chris (AKA Heloise Letissier from Christine and the Queens), a feisty Alison Moyet and wise woman Natalie Merchant - argue that it's not just about whether you 'get your tits out', but whether you get respect and recognition for your work. 'I've been in this industry for 35 years . . . I've never felt the need to conform to one shape. No one has ever really claimed me,' says Moyet. 'I've never been cosseted, nor have I been someone's muse. And [that] really saved me.' Moving words indeed -- Lucy O'Brien * Mojo *
£10.44
Little, Brown Book Group Easy Beauty
Book Synopsis''GORGEOUS, VIVIDLY ALIVE'' NEW YORK TIMES''BOLD, HONEST AND SUPERBLY WELL-WRITTEN'' ANDRÉ ACIMAN, AUTHOR OF CALL ME BY YOUR NAME''GRACEFUL AND SOUL-BARING'' MELANIE REID, THE TIMES''WHAT A GIFT . . . HAS THE RIGOR AND PRECISION OF JOAN DIDION AND MAGGIE NELSON AND A FORTHRIGHT HUMOR AND NAKED TRUTH ALL OF ITS OWN.'' SARAH RUHL, AUTHOR OF SMILEI am in a bar in Brooklyn listening to two men, my friends, discuss whether or not my life was worth living.So begins Chloé Cooper Jones''s bold account of moving through the world in a body that looks different than most. Born with a rare congenital condition called sacral agenesis, she must contend not only with her own physical pain, but the emotional discomfort of others.It is only when she unexpectedly becomes a mother that she confronts the demand to live life fully, propelling her on a journey acrossTrade ReviewEasy Beauty is bold, honest, and superbly well-written. Chloé Cooper Jones is ruthless in probing our weakest and darkest areas, and does so with grace, humor, and ultimately, with something one seldom finds: kindness and humanity. * André Aciman, author of Call Me By Your Name *Graceful, soul-baring * Melanie Reid, The Times *Gorgeous, vividly alive... In rejecting the dismissive gaze of others, Jones stands in the light of her own extremely able self -- Books of the Year * New York Times *What a gift of a book ... Easy Beauty has the rigor and precision of Joan Didion and Maggie Nelson and a forthright humor and naked truth all its own. * Sarah Ruhl, author of Smile *Perceptive, stylish, and darkly funny, Easy Beauty is an act of grace, and a reckoning. Chloé Cooper Jones is a remarkable writer - I would follow her mind anywhere. * Anna Wiener, author of Uncanny Valley *Chloé Cooper Jones is a writer whose work I don't read, but enter: she weaves her brainy, crackling interior into the sinews of a reality that is forever reminding its participants of the difficulty of living inside a body. Easy Beauty is the most humane book I have read in a long time: in her insistence that we bear witness to each other, Jones calls forth a better, and indeed more beautiful world. I loved this book. * Kristen Radtke, author of Seek You: A Journey Through American Loneliness *I recommend Easy Beauty to anyone who has wanted beauty badly, even without knowing quite what it is, but who could never seem to access it. At least, I'm that sort of anyone, and I could feel and recognize parts of myself in every moment of this book. Chloé Cooper Jones' writing pierces right through and lets a light in. * Mitski, singer-songwriter *In this ambitious and elegant book about seeing and being seen, Chloé Cooper Jones invokes thorny, theoretical material about identity, the social order, and how we measure human value, but her clarity and compassion invite all readers in. She has created a forceful and fresh point of view from which to anatomize power, access, and perception in her precise, unsparing prose. A necessary, relentlessly honest book that feels both of the moment and timeless. * Whiting Foundation Judges citation *Jones is a magnificent guide, fiercely sharp and fiercely human. This book is for anyone who wants to immerse into a world of beauty, who wants to get real about the roots of their desire, and who can't quite kick the habit of admiring the structures-and humans-who harm them. The questions she raises will resound in your head for a long time to come. * Lulu Fisher, author of Why Fish Don't Exist and host of Radiolab *This book is utterly remarkable. I was spellbound by the style, the ideas, the vulnerability, the talent. * Lydia Kiesling, author of The Golden State *Dazzling . . . Chloe Cooper Jones challenges society's rules of attraction with razor-sharp wit and intellect . . .[and) makes a brilliant case for the beauty of complexity * Starred Publishers Weekly *Exquisite. Here Pulitzer finalist Jones reflects on our standards of beauty from the perspective of a disabled woman whose rare congenital condition affects her stature and gait, and leaves her in constant pain. But it's ultimately motherhood that liberates her, and prompts her to re-examine the limitations she has accepted as givens. * O Magazine *Jones challenges the unspoken social taboos about the disabled body, unpacking myths of beauty and our complicity in upholding those myths. Blending journalism, philosophy, and memoir, it's a book that everyone will be talking about. * Lit Hub *A memoir full of insight as the author tries to wrestle understanding and ownership of herself from a world still eager to assert its sovereignty over the female body. * Jarred McGinnis, author of The Coward *A soul-stretching, breathtaking existential memoir chronicles her reclaiming of body, mind, and self . . . Superlative writing, rendering complex emotion and unparalleled insight in skilfully precise language. Her debut is a game-changing gift to readers. * Booklist, starred review *Despite doctors' dire predictions that she wouldn't live, walk or have children, she has done these things and more. Here, she probes the ways a culture determines a person's value and embarks on a journey to understand the myth of beauty and her own unintentional complicity in it. * Washington Post *The multiple depths that Jones plumbs in Easy Beauty results in a memoir that can't easily be classified. The same can be said for the book's author. Jones is a Pulitzer Prize finalist, a philosophy professor and a writer, who delves into her journey as a daughter, mother, wife and her search for a new way of seeing the world. In other words, her story is about the complexity of the human experience and the questions of identity and belonging that plague us all. * People Magazine *Inspired in part by the shift Jones saw in others' perceptions of her during her pregnancy, Easy Beauty challenges deep-seated assumptions about who gets to be capable, trustworthy, and desirable. * Bustle Magazine *Candid and truth-seeking, this memoir charts the act of refocusing and realigning the ways we view and interpret ourselves * NB Magazine *Achingly felt, Jones's writing is a revelation * Publishers Weekly, Best Books of 2022 *Easy Beauty is an exquisite exploration of disability, identity, and the human capacity to do (and be) more than we've ever dreamed * Time *Touching and often humorous... explores life from the perspective of those who don't conform to conventional beauty standards -- Charlotte Heathcote * Daily Record *Genius... Shifted my understanding of a world I've only experienced while able-bodied -- Best Memoirs of 2022 * Vulture *Moving, incisive... Jones resists sentimentality and is as unsparing of herself as she is of other people, and yet she writes with such graciousness. A wonderful debut -- Tomi Obaro * Buzzfeed News *Gorgeous, concise and often very funny... a gripping memoir about parenting, disabilities and figuring out what to do next... a philosophical masterpiece, written in the tradition of those who see philosophy not as a dry academic subject but as a way of life * Coachella Review *A masterpiece ... Cooper Jones uses the particulars of her own experience to formulate ideas that are at once universally applicable and genuinely profound * Irish Times *
£15.29
Little, Brown Book Group Mean Baby
Book Synopsis**THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER **''Funny and frank, a chance to spend time with a brave and big-hearted woman who''s grown up to be not so mean, after all'' JENNIFER LARUE, WASHINGTON POST''Grabs you by the collar and says listen to all that I have to say: about love, pain, motherhood, illness, celebrity and the tidal ferocity that pours through all our lives. Read it and be caught in the voice of one of our luminous stars'' ESMÉ WEIJUN WANGThe first story Selma Blair Beitner ever heard about herself is that she was a mean, mean baby. Although Selma went on to become a celebrated Hollywood actress and model, she could never quite shake the periods of darkness that overtook her, the certainty that there was a great mystery at the heart of her life. Over the course of this beautiful and, at times, shocking memoir, Selma lays bare her addiction to alcohol, her devotion to her brilliant and complicaTrade ReviewA fascinating exploration about the power of prophecy, of labels, and of one woman's determination to defy them all. Blair is a rebel, an artist, and it turns out: a writer. * Glennon Doyle, author of the #1 New York Times best-seller Untamed *Mean Baby, Selma Blair's brilliant book, demands attention. It grabs you by the collar and says listen to all that I have to say: about love, pain, motherhood, illness, celebrity, and the tidal ferocity that pours through all our lives. Read it and be caught in the voice of one of our luminous stars. * Esmé Weijun Wang, best-selling author of The Collected Schizophrenias *She writes with a ribald irreverence as darkly funny as anything I've ever read; urging on each page: 'Go ahead and laugh. I am.' . . . The benediction she arrives at is her own, as earned as her luminous passages. If you've ever felt broken or lost you'll find yourself on the pages of this book . . . The rejects and outsiders have spoken Selma, and we've elected you Queen. * Mary Louise Parker, best-selling author of Dear Mr. You *Straight-up terrific - bold, intimate, sassy, profound - and a vital reminder that the hectic glitter of the exterior rarely reflects the hard-earned wonder of the interior. So, while you might reach for Mean Baby because of the author's celebrity, you'll read into the night for her candor, eye for detail, and stunning prose. In an embarrassment of riches, Selma Blair is as talented a writer as she is an actress * Adrienne Brodeur, best-selling author of Wild Game *If you thought you knew Selma Blair, think again. * Marie Claire *Jaw-flooring -- Helen Brown * Telegraph *Written in vignettes and sharply observed, the sometimes harrowing subject matter never weighs Mean Baby down. At times, you feel like you shouldn't be having quite as much fun as you are but Blair has a self-awareness, wit and charm that makes her sound like a competition winner despite the difficulties she's faced. Dressing up in Princess Leia costumes with Carrie Fisher. Acne advice from Claire Danes. Rehab with Britney Spears. This is not a misery memoir - I laughed out loud more than I cried -- Frances Doyle * Guardian *
£10.44
Little, Brown Book Group Birth Notes
Book Synopsis''When a woman gives birth, she may, unwittingly, remember violent things. Ugly things. Unspoken things.''After her twins were born, Jessica Cornwell stopped feeling. Plagued by memories of a traumatic birth, wrestling with ongoing physical pain and the brutal demands of caring for two tiny babies, she struggled to experience joy and love. Instead, she was consumed by fear and haunted by recurrent thoughts of blood and danger. It was only when she received a diagnosis of post-partum PTSD and began therapy that Jessica was able to confront the secrets in her past. As she began to understand how her experience of birth had triggered her traumatic memories of sexual assault, she was finally able to integrate those memories into her identity as a mother and a survivor - and begin to heal. ''A redemptive tale of the power and wisdom of women''s bodies'' Leah Hazard''This book undid me... and filled me with hope'' Elinor Cleghorn Trade ReviewA hauntingly beautiful and unflinching, yet graciously shared experience of birth and mother hood. I savoured every word from the very first page, and half way through, was calling my best friends and asking them to pick this up and read! * Abi Daré, author of The Girl with the Louding Voice *An unflinchingly honest exploration of birth trauma, and ultimately a redemptive tale of the power and wisdom of women's bodies * Leah Hazard, author of Hard Pushed *This is a magnificent book which is an odd thing to say about the work of such acute sorrow. It is also a work of truth, understanding, scholarship and hope. A major contribution to women's experience. * Susie Orbach, author of In Therapy *An astonishing memoir. It is about the intersection between birth trauma and sexual trauma, medical misogyny, and trying to find a way to be a mother while dealing with something unspeakable. It is hugely important, courageous, and beautifully written. A rallying cry. * Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett, author of The Tyranny of Lost Things *A feat of strength. Jessica Cornwell doesn't shy away from the conflicting forces at work on women's bodies. She is open about the struggles faced during pregnancy and in early motherhood; has searched for answers to explain a legacy of undisclosed trauma in maternity care; and shows the jagged, uncomfortable journey towards recovery that PTSD survivors undertake if they are to live in the present, fully themselves. Her story is impossible to ignore. So many women will feel less alone after reading this book. * Katie Ward, author of Girl Reading *Cornwell puts words to experiences that are often rendered beyond words because they are of traumas that are minimised, shamed or shunned. Her prose is presented with with arresting beauty and I know her book speaks for countless others. I'm so glad she wrote it. * Julia Bueno, author of The Brink of Being *Birth Notes is a riveting and deeply moving examination of birth trauma and post traumatic stress in a world where new mothers and their needs are too often ignored or dangerously minimized. The misogyny laden origins of psychiatry and the medical profession are also explored, vignettes and historical information interspersed throughout a memoir as skilfully and beautifully written as I have read. * Michelle Bowdler, author of Is Rape a Crime? A Memoir, an Investigation and a Manifesto. *A luminous, visceral reel of life after birth and trauma. At once devastating, validating, tender and raw, Cornwell guides us through the foundations of the hardest moments of her life with honesty and invitation. Despite its sensitive contents, I often found it impossible to put down, her words endlessly comforting in their openness. I'll be taking her words forward with me, as a talisman for what may be waiting around the corner for many of us. Anyone interested in personal histories of birth, trauma and embodiment should read this vital book for its company and consolation. * Caitriona Morton, author of How We Survive *While reading this stunning book, a sentence from Virgina Woolf's Room of one's own came into my mind, for Birth Notes "lights a torch in that vast chamber where nobody has yet been". Jessica Cornwell explores a chamber unspoken of, cornered with spiders and nightmarish visions, where blood and milk blend, where mothers are denied words and care. This book will change lives, for it is a quest, a fight, a light, casting away hundred-years-old shadows. It is a book of love. * Adélaïde Bon, author of The Little Girl on the Ice Floe *Vivid, beautiful and brave, this book undid me - and filled me with hope. * Dr Elinor Cleghorn, author of Unwell Women *
£11.69
Little, Brown Book Group Where Are You From No Where Are You Really From
Book SynopsisA story of migration, identity and belonging, drawing on the stories of people from Audrey Osler''s mixed-heritage family, over three centuries. Whether or not we trace our families from beyond the shores of Britain, we British people deserve a better understanding of our shared past, and opportunities to explore and recognise the complexities and contractions of empire. Careless or wilful amnesia has allowed the British migration narrative to begin in the mid-twentieth century, with migrants from India, Pakistan and the Caribbean forming the foundation of present-day multicultural Britain. A racist fixation means that some twenty-first-century Britons fantasise that people of colour arrived after World War Two, without any link to the country, to exploit the British welfare state and British hospitality.For people of colour the questions, Where are you from? No, where are you really from? often imply more than simple curiosity. They are political questions of identity, since the assumption (naive or aggressive) is that to be British and to belong you must be white. Says Audrey Osler: ''The British Empire frames and shapes my family''s history. Whether born in Britain, like me or my father, or in some other distant British territory, like my mother, we all continue to experience the legacy of this same empire and the impact of its ambitions, politics, and economics. My family story, back to the eighteenth century, across every generation, is one of migration in different directions, over four centuries, journeys prompted by war, study, a global economic crisis, a fresh start, love, and even child abduction. The stories I tell here reveal as much about Britain as they do about the countries of the British Empire. This is not just my history, it elucidates the largely untold history of a nation and of its citizens, both people of colour and white.''
£11.69
Little, Brown Book Group The Unfamiliar
Book SynopsisAn unconventional, unexpectedly funny, brutally honest memoir about infertility, pregnancy and motherhood''You and your partner want a baby. But your two bodies can''t make a baby together.'' If you want a baby but your body says otherwise - If you don''t know the polite way to say thank you for the sperm - If you''re waiting for the sound of a brand-new heartbeat - If you know it takes a village to raise a baby but have no idea who should be doing what -If you''re lurching between bliss and bewilderment - If you don''t fit the shape of what you''ve been told a mother should be - Reach for The Unfamiliar and don''t let go. Moving and immersive, and written with wisdom, disarming humour and raw honesty, The Unfamiliar casts a fresh eye on motherhood and challenges our assumptions about pregnancy, gender roles, queer identity and what it means to be a parent.''Cold, hard, raw writing that someTrade ReviewSearingly honest. There is something inherently strange about nurturing a person inside your body and then giving birth to it ... Logan does an excellent job of portraying the reality - the beauty and the horror of it -- Lotte Jeffs * Guardian *When pregnancy grabs hold of a body it uses it to tell a very old story, but The Unfamiliar insists on a telling that is vibrantly new. The result is a book of desire, of bewilderment, of joy, of grief, and of love. Kirsty Logan writes with bright wit and wonder - I read this book in awe * Doireann Ní Ghríofa, author of A Ghost in the Throat *What a book this is, probing gender roles and expectation, identity and desire. Luminous writing captures the uncertainty, the fear, the sheer physicality of love. It is wonderful * Marianne Levy, author of Don't Forget to Scream *Cold, hard, raw writing that somehow sets your heart on fire. I could not put it down * Laura Dockrill, author of What Have I Done? *Such a fierce, honest, beautifully written account of love, and queer motherhood. I found it very moving. Logan manages to bring the tiniest detail in kaleidoscopic detail for the reader, but in such precise poetic prose. A marvel * Pragya Agarwal, author of (M)otherhood *I loved The Unfamiliar - a courageous and sharply written account of a meandering journey to motherhood and all the emotional and physical struggles it entails. Funny and intensely moving, with the most vivid description of birth I've ever read * Kate Maxwell, author of Hush *
£15.29
Little, Brown Book Group Black Watch
Book SynopsisAs a 19-year old Black Watch conscript Tom Renouf''s war began with some of the most vicious fighting of the conflict - against Himmler''s fanatical ''Hitler Youth'' SS Division. It ended with the capture of Himmler himself and Tom taking a trophy he still treasures - the Gestapo commander''s watch.Seriously wounded and later decorated with a Military Medal for gallantry, Tom Renouf witnessed the death and maiming of countless of his teenage comrades and saw the survivors transformed into grizzled veterans. Tom Renouf draws on his own personal experiences - as well as his unique archive of interviews with veterans amassed over twenty years as secretary of the 51st Highland Division Veterans'' Association - to paint a vivid picture of the Battle of Normandy, the liberation of Holland, the Battle of the Bulge and many more memorable WW2 events.
£10.44
Little, Brown Book Group The Uptown Local
Book SynopsisA brilliant debut memoir about a young writer-struggling with depression, family issues, and addiction-and his life-changing decade working for Joan Didion
£18.70
Little, Brown Book Group Is There Still Sex in the City
Book Synopsis''Funny and honest dispatches from the world of modern dating'' Vogue''Bushnell''s voice is as knowing and sharp as ever'' Washington Post''Bittersweet, amusing and well observed'' Viv Groskop, Guardian''Fuelled by chilled rosé, Sex and the City scribe Candace Bushnell is masterfully decoding a new era of single life'' USA TodayCandace Bushnell gets personal in her new memoir - an investigation into what happens when a woman of a certain age (okay, let''s call it ''middle'') finds herself not-so-young, free and single in the city.MILFs, cougars, love, sex, divorce - Candace''s brilliantly funny and honest first-person account lays bare the truth behind middle-aged romance. This is a pull-no-punches social commentary and an indispensable companion to one of the most revolutionary dating books of the twentieth century.Trade ReviewHer funny and honest dispatches from the world of modern dating reveal what love, sex and friendship look like for the middle-aged woman * Vogue *Bittersweet, amusing and well observed . . . This is a book about whether we can accept who we are when things don't turn out how we wanted them to * Guardian *Fans of Sex and the City will enjoy Candace Bushnell's typically candid, semi-fictionalised, anecdote-rich memoir... Funny, witty and bittersweet * The Lady *Bushnell's voice is as knowing and sharp as ever * Washington Post *Fuelled by chilled rosé, Sex and the City scribe Candace Bushnell is masterfully decoding a new era of single life * USA Today *Bushnell's portrayals of the women in her circle somehow feel both forgiving and clinical, with an anthropologist's matter-of-factness... Bushnell wrestles smartly with the theme of aging, with how being a 'fiftysomething' woman is different from being a 'thirtysomething' woman -- Katy Waldman * New Yorker *As she did in her bestselling Sex and the City, Bushnell examines her own and her friends' experiences with dry wit, delivering sharp social observations about the trials and piquant pleasures of looking for love at a certain age * People *Sometimes it can be fun to wonder what became of our fictional heroines... That you-gotta-laugh-or-you-cry place is where Candace Bushnell, with her usual sparkling candor, begins Is There Still Sex in the City? * New York Times *Is there still sex in the city? Obviously. But you don't want any dummy telling you about it. Candace Bushnell only. The original! * Elle *Much like in the original SATC, Bushnell and her friends experience every romantic possibility so we don't have to... Bushnell also touches on poignant aspects of what she calls 'middle-aged madness': the death of a parent, the isolation of divorce, the ache of realizing that even the most gorgeous among us will eventually become invisible * Time *Is There Still Sex in the City? delivers a new set of hilarious and heartbreaking truths to its audience - this time about divorce and dating after fifty in a Tinder-hindered world * Greenwich Magazine *For legions of fans still under Carrie Bradshaw's spell, the release of Candace Bushnell's latest book is worthy of celebration... The jury may be out on whether there is still sex in the city, but this much is true: Bushnell's literary penchant for what keeps us intrigued never disappoints * Hamptons Magazine *You know the title. You watched the show. Maybe you even saw the movies. Candace Bushnell is back doing what she knows best: chronicling the lives of women and how they find love. This time, she turns her lens on middle-aged men and women, and the result is pure magic. At turns wistful and sad, thoughtful and funny, Is There Still Sex In The City? is even better than the original * PopSugar *A collection of commentaries and recounted hijinks (and lojinks)... Sometimes funny, sometimes silly, sometimes quite sad-i.e., an accurate portrait of life in one's 50s * Kirkus *The effervescent Bushnell still has the ability to make readers laugh with her casually dry one-liners * Bookpage *Candace keeps her wits and her wit about her... Bushnell is still plenty edgy, funny, and entertaining * Booklist *
£9.99
Little, Brown Book Group Tales from the Fatherland
Book Synopsis''Necessary and illuminating'' Times Literary Supplement''A writer of genuine accomplishment'' Good Book GuideA story of adoption and queer parenting from the award-winning author of The Spring of Kasper Meier, The Other Hoffmann Sister and An Honest ManI''m calling because we have a little boy, four weeks old, who needs a family.''In 2018, after the introduction of marriage equality in Germany, Ben Fergusson and his German husband Tom became one of the first same-sex married couples to adopt in the country. In Tales from the Fatherland Fergusson reflects on his long journey to fatherhood and the social changes that enabled it. He uses his outsider status as both a gay father and a parent adopting in a foreign country to explore the history and sociology of fatherhood and motherhood around the world, queer parenting and adoption and, ultimately, the meaning of family and love.Trade ReviewNecessary and illuminating...he is a fine comic writer * Times Literary Supplment *
£10.44
Little, Brown Book Group Same Old Girl
Book Synopsis'There's no mistaking the writing of Sylvia Patterson' Sunday Times 'One of the finest writers in the world' David QuantickHow does the big stuff in life truly change us? In late 2019, Sylvia Patterson was a celebrated pop journalist, still merrily writing about the musical greats. But with the diagnosis of a life-threatening disease, a global pandemic and the collapse of her industry, life was about to take a drastic turn. It was a misadventure that would teach her many things. The power of friendship, the shock of mortality and what happens when love is tested. How a walk in the park, a spontaneous dance and a TV hero can save your life. How your perspective can shift on everything, from work, family and music, to what truly makes you happy. And what really happens when your body, never mind your kitchen, falls apart. The follow-up to the Costa-shortlisted I'm Not with the Band
£10.44
WW Norton & Co Wedding Toasts Ill Never Give
Book SynopsisPoignant and witty essays on the beautiful complexity of marriage.Trade Review"... short, sharp and sensitive volume... Her [Ada Calhoun's] witty, enthusiastic, cautionary, emotional and hard-headed reflections ought to be required reading for anyone entering, experiencing, leaving or avoiding marriage." -- The Guardian"Calhoun is at her strongest when she probes into the unrealistic expectations people hold about the institution…" -- Times Literary Supplement"This is a fascinating meditation on monogamy, and when we focus so much on beginnings and endings when we talk about relationships, it's refreshing to read a book that focuses on what many of us are familiar with - just trying to make it work." -- Daisy Buchanan - The Pool"Hopeful, sensible and grounded in reality, it serves as guidance to those in long-term relationships and those embarking on them." -- Sunday Post"Whatever your status or views on the institution, Ada’s book offers invaluable insight into marriage: the good parts, the bad parts, and the ugly parts." -- Refinery29"... a funny and poignant marriage myth-buster, peppered with insights from religious leaders, friends and long-married matriarchs." -- The Telegraph
£12.34
WW Norton & Co Late Admissions
Book Synopsis
£24.69
Little, Brown & Company This Wont Hurt A Bit
Book Synopsis If Atul Gawande were funny--or Jerome Groopman were a working mother--they might sound something like Michelle Au, M.D., author of this hilarious and poignant memoir of a medical residency.Michelle Au started medical school armed only with a surfeit of idealism, a handful of old ER episodes for reference, and some vague notion about 'helping people.'This Won't Hurt a Bit is the story of how she grew up and became a real doctor.It's a no-holds-barred account of what a modern medical education feels like, from the grim to the ridiculous, from the heartwarming to the obscene. Unlike most medical memoirs, however, this one details the author's struggles to maintain a life outside of the hospital, in the small amount of free time she had to live it. And, after she and her husband have a baby early in both their medical residencies, Au explores the demands of being a parent with those of a physician, two all-consuming jobs in which the lives of others are very literally in her hands.Au's stories range from hilarious to heartbreaking and hit every note in between, proving more than anything that the creation of a new doctor (and a new parent) is far messier, far more uncertain, and far more gratifying than one could ever expect.
£25.60
Penguin Putnam Inc The Rumi Prescription How an Ancient Mystic Poet
Book SynopsisA powerful personal journey to find meaning and life lessons in the words of a wildly popular 13th century poet.Rumi's inspiring and deceptively simple poems have been called ecstatic, mystical, and devotional. To writer and activist Melody Moezzi, they became a lifeline. In The Rumi Prescription, we follow her path of discovery as she translates Rumi's works for herself - to gain wisdom and insight in the face of a creative and spiritual roadblock. With the help of her father, who is a lifelong fan of Rumi's poetry, she immerses herself in this rich body of work, and discovers a 13th-century prescription for modern life. Addressing isolation, distraction, depression, fear, and other everyday challenges we face, the book offers a roadmap for living with intention and ease, and embracing love at every turn--despite our deeply divided and chaotic times. Most of all, it presents a vivid reminder that we already have the answers we seek, if we can just slow do
£16.14
Penguin Putnam Inc The Empathy Diaries
Book Synopsis
£21.24
Transworld Publishers Ltd The Infiltrator
Book SynopsisRobert Mazur spent five years undercover infiltrating the criminal hierarchy of Colombia's drug cartels. The dirty bankers and businessmen he befriended knew him as Bob Musella, a wealthy, mob-connected big shot living the good life. Together they partied in expensive hotels, drank the world's finest champagnes, drove Rolls-Royce convertibles and flew in private jets. But under Mazur's designer suits and hidden away in his quality briefcase, recorders whirred quietly, capturing the damning evidence of their crimes. Then, at his own staged wedding, he led a dramatic takedown that shook the underworld. In the end, more than eighty men and women were charged worldwide. Operation C-Chase became one of the most successful undercover operations in the history of US law enforcement, and evidence gathered during the bust proved critical to the conviction of General Manuel Noriega.The Infiltrator is the true story of how Mazur''s undercover work helped bring down tTrade ReviewMesmerizing... Once you've picked up this book, I guarantee you will not put it down. You will be enthralled with this amazing story of one man's career on the front lines against the notorious Medellin drug cartel. -- Steven Emerson, bestselling author of 'American Jihad'Undercover work is a lot more of an art than Hollywood could ever represent on-screen, and The Infiltrator introduces Bob Mazur as one of America's great undercover artists and writers. -- Michael Levin, New York Times bestselling author of 'Deep Cover'Mesmerizing... Once you've picked up this book, I guarantee you will not put it down. You will be enthralled with this amazing story of one man's career on the front lines against the notorious Medellin drug cartel. -- Steven Emerson, bestselling author of 'American Jihad'Undercover work is a lot more of an art than Hollywood could ever represent on-screen, and The Infiltrator introduces Bob Mazur as one of America's great undercover artists and writers. -- Michael Levin, New York Times bestselling author of 'Deep Cover'
£11.69
Transworld Publishers Ltd The Sisters of Battle Road
Book Synopsis''A tale of survival.'' Daily Mail''Survival against the odds ... [an] amazing story.'' The SunIn 1939 Annie Jarman and her six young daughters were evacuated from their south London home and sent to the Sussex countryside to wait out the war. Refusing to be parted, they faced the unknown together, never imagining just how much their lives would change. From the trials and tribulations of leaving London, the destructive horror of the Blitz and terrible family tragedy to dances, romances and the triumph of making a new life in the country, The Sisters of Battle Road is the compelling true story of six ordinary girls in extraordinary wartime circumstances. Today, the six young girls – Mary, Joan, Sheila, Kathleen, Patricia and Ann – are six remarkable women who have lived to tell their tale of sisterhood and its unbreakable bonds in the shadow of World War Two.Trade ReviewThis is a tale of survival - of six girls who faced bombs and prejudice alike, but who rolled up their sleeves and looked after each other. Nobody could accuse the lively Sisters of Battle Road of keeping calm. But by heck, they carried on. * Daily Mail *Survival against the odds... [an] amazing story. * The Sun *An extraordinary story. * The Guardian *This story hits hard with nostalgia for a vanished world where pennies counted, housewifery was taught at school and every one pulled together, untied by a common enemy. * Sussex Life *
£9.49
Transworld Publishers Ltd The Neuroscientist Who Lost Her Mind
Book Synopsis''Completely compelling and powerful, and hard to put down.'' Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, prize-winning author of Inventing Ourselves: The Secret Life of the Teenage Brain- Who are we if our brain fails?- How do we think?- How do we feel?- How do we move, if we move at all? - What happens when we lose our mind?When renowned neuroscientist Barbara Lipska''s melanoma spread to her brain it started to play tricks on her. The expert on mental illness - a specialist in how the brain operates - experienced what it is like to go mad. Analyzing the science of the mind and the biology of the brain alongisde Dr Lipska''s own extraordinary story, this is a fascinating account of what happens when the brain goes awry.''Oliver Sacks-meets-When Breath Becomes Air ... Barbara Lipska''s remarkable story illuminates the many mysteries of our fragile yet resilient brains.'' Lisa Genova, bestselling author of Still Alice and Every Note PlayedTrade ReviewFascinating and irresistibly page-turning, The Neuroscientist Who Lost Her Mind is an Oliver Sacks-meets-When Breath Becomes Air account of insanity caused by over a dozen brain tumors. Barbara Lipska's remarkable story illuminates the many mysteries of our fragile yet resilient brains and through her harrowing journey of recovery, she shows us that nothing is impossible. * Lisa Genova, bestselling author of Still Alice and Every Note Played *In this fascinating book, a neuroscientist describes the terrifying symptoms she suffered as a result of multiple brain tumours. We learn about how the brain can produce bizarre and bewildering symptoms from the point of view of someone who has personal experience of aspects of the mental illness that she spends her life studying... Completely compelling and powerful, and hard to put down. * Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, author of Inventing Ourselves: The Secret Life of the Teenage Brain *A spellbinding investigation into the mysteries of the human brain, led by a scientist whose tenacity is as remarkable as her story. * Amanda Ripley, New York Times bestselling author of The Smartest Kids in the World and The Unthinkable *A superb memoir from a highly respected neuroscientist ... [a] remarkable account of sanity lost and regained. * Dr Frank Vertosick, author of When the Air Hits Your Brain: Tales from Neurosurgery *A riveting science story about how brains go bad, interwoven with the remarkable personal story of one brain going spectacularly bad. A total nail-biter. * Lisa Sanders, New York Times bestselling author of Every Patient Tells a Story *
£9.49
Transworld Publishers Ltd The Girl in the Shadows
Book Synopsis''I was the shadow child no one ever saw...''From the day she was born until she escaped aged 30, Katy Morgan-Davies knew nothing but a life in captivity. Her father was the deluded and cruel leader of a cult based in South London who brainwashed those around him.Her father''s paranoia and his need to completely control others led to Katy being imprisoned indoors and denied any kind of love or friendship. From a young age, Katy''s father subjected her to violence and mental abuse. She was not permitted contact with anyone outside the house and on the rare occasions she did have to go out, she was always chaperoned. Katy never gave up hope of one day breaking free from her father''s cruel clutches and finally found her freedom. This is her true story of endurance and survival.
£10.44
Transworld Publishers Ltd In My Grandfathers Shadow
Book Synopsis''Fascinating ... an extremely courageous work.'' The Lady''Absolutely extraordinary ... Findlay reveals a vast, hidden European story that few nations have ever been brave enough to confront'' Keith Lowe''''Beautifully written, poignant and acutely perceptive'' Sinclair McKay''Moving and powerful'' Julia Samuel......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................In My Grandfather''s Shadow is an unflinching, thought-provoking fusion of memoir and history, and an exploration of the hidden scars left across generations by the conflict and horrors of the Second World War.In a quest to discover the truth about her German grandfather, first a proud Wehrmacht General serving on the Eastern front, then a broken POW on trial for Nazi war crimes, AngeTrade ReviewA remarkable cross-pollination of memoir, psychology and history in which the author comes to grips with being the granddaughter of a Nazi general. * i Paper *Brave ... full of insights and good research. -- Caroline Moorehead * Times Literary Supplement *A compelling journey through guilt and shame that asks fundamental and painful questions about the extent of a family member's participation in one of the biggest crimes of the 20th century. -- Derek Niemann, author of A Nazi in the FamilyIn My Grandfather's Shadow is an extraordinary book. Beautifully written, poignant and acutely perceptive; endlessly thought-provoking and challenging. From the nature of wickedness to the phenomenon of epigenetics, it is also an extremely powerful and different way of seeing the vast and terrible tides of history. -- Sinclair McKay, author of Berlin, Dresden, and The Secret Life of Bletchley ParkSeeking to untangle the complexities of her own life, the author goes in search of a WW2 German general - the grandfather she never knew. The outcome is a powerful and at times painfully honest story that will touch readers at many levels. -- Julia Boyd, author of Travellers in the Third Reich and A Village in the Third Reich
£10.44
Transworld Publishers Ltd You Cant Hide the Sun
Book SynopsisFascinating and timely Jeremy BowenHeld hostage for many years by terrorists in Lebanon, John McCarthy is all too familiar with the pain and injustice of being denied your home. Determined to understand the day-to-day complexities of being a Palestian-Arab in modern-day Israel, he embarks on a deeply personal journey from the shores of the Mediterranean to the desert landscape of the Negev. He discovers the hidden stories of the ordinary people who must live out their lives in the shadow of a brutal conflict, and asks the vital question how does humanity endure under such great oppression?Trade ReviewA powerful account of the Palestinians of Israeli citizenship as told in their own words. Eloquent and moving, this book is essential reading to understand the full complexity of Palestinian-Israeli relations. * Eugene Rogan, Author of The Arabs: A History *John McCarthy takes us on an unforgettable journey through a tumultuous and complex landscape. His passion and humanity are all the more remarkable in the context of his own brutal experience of the dark side of its political context. * Tom Bradby, Political Editor, ITV News *From a man who knows much about human spirit’s refusal to be cowed comes a beautifully written, compassionate and insightful account of Israel’s non-Jewish population. You Can’t Hide The Sun does not just champion a people too long bullied, marginalised and ignored – it drives home that without heeding their voice no long term solution of Israel-Palestine is possible. * Tim Butcher, author of Blood River *John McCarthy’s excellent book focuses in on Palestinian citizens of Israel, who sometimes get ignored as a complexity too far. McCarthy doesn’t hide his sympathy for the human beings who have been battered by Middle East conflict. Perhaps that’s because he was caught up in it too when he was held hostage in Lebanon for more than five years between 1986 and 1991. Like Palestinians, and Jews, he longed for the sanctuary of home. McCarthy made it home. But in his journey through Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories he finds Palestinians who are still waiting, hoping and struggling for their homes more than 60 years after Israel was created. Fascinating and timely, and written with the charm of a man who’s still determined to explore the tempestuous region that for five years was just a dream on the other side of his locked cell door. * Jeremy Bowen *
£11.69
Transworld Publishers Ltd Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking
Book SynopsisBorn in a surreal Moscow communal apartment where eighteen families shared one kitchen, Anya von Bremzen grew up singing odes to Lenin, black-marketeering Juicy Fruit gum at school, and longing for a taste of the mythical West. It was a life by turns absurd, drab, naively joyous, melancholy and, finally, intolerable. In 1974, when Anya was ten, she and her mother fled to the USA, with no winter coats and no right of return. These days, Anya is the doyenne of high-end food writing. And yet, the flavour of Soviet kolbasa, like Proust''s madeleine, transports her back to that vanished Atlantis known as the USSR .In this sweeping, tragicomic memoir, Anya recreates seven decades of the Soviet experience through cooking and food, and reconstructs a moving family history spanning three generations. Her narrative is embedded in a larger historical epic: Lenin''s bloody grain requisitioning, World War II starvation, Stalin''s table manners, Khrushchev''s kitchen debates, GorbaTrade ReviewMoving and darkly comic -- Niki Segnit * The Sunday Times *Heartbreakingly poignant and laugh-out-loud funny. This is an important book, a must read! * Heston Blumenthal *Vastly entertaining... A real treat. * Woman & Home *By turns funny, tragic and nostalgic, this is a wonderful, fascinating volume, which puts a human face on the grim pages of the history books * The Lady *This poignant memoir is an education in the richness of eastern European cuisine, and the story of Soviet communism, through the lens of family experience. * Observer *wry, provocative, genre-busting... * Wall Street Journal *Absorbing... a social history of the Soviet Union cast through the prism of food * Jewish Chronicle *Rollicking and heartrending * Time *You will read few better books about food, family, exile or the Soviet tragedy—and none, I'll bet, which combines all those themes this magically. Funny, angry, ingenious and moving. * AD Miller, author of 'Snowdrops' *The culinary memoir has lately evolved into a genre of its own... But Anya von Bremzen is a better writer than most of the genre's practitioners, as this delectable book, which tells the story of postrevolutionary Russia through the prism of one family's meals, amply demonstrates… von Bremzen moves artfully between historical longshots...and intimate details. The descriptions of meals are delightful... * New York Times *One-of-a-kind … Breathtaking feats of raconteurial skill... Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking is not only a magic tablecloth, it’s a magic carpet that revisits the roads and lanes of the former Soyuz, surveying the tales of hardship and hardwon joys of von Bremzen’s relatives and the Russian people… -- Liesl Schillinger * The Daily Beast *I don't think there's ever been a book quite like this; I couldn't put it down. Warm, smart and completely engaging... this is a book you won't forget -- Ruth Reichl, author of Tender at the Bonea monumental but deeply human book that reads like a great Russian novel, filled with dark humor and nostalgia. It opens up an entire universe, teaching us about the many deep meanings of food: cultural, political, social, historical, personal. It is also an utterly magical journey into a rich, mysterious land of totalitarian tyranny, and a portrait of a courageous, passionate people. * Ferran Adria *von Bremzen has conjured up the Proustian aromas of her Soviet life for her enjoyable ‘foodoir’... perceptive and funny on the subtleties of life under Soviet rule and in exile. -- Charlotte Hobson * Spectator *Through a kaleidoscopic mix of family life, politics, history, and jokes, von Bremzen evokes in her book a whole Soviet-era world of deprivation and delight. * Tablet *
£13.49
Transworld Publishers Ltd The Damage Done
Book Synopsis''For almost all my life, I''ve been the person you crossed the street to avoid...''Peter Woolf''s life of drinking, drug-taking and thieving had begun before most people leave school. Spending most of his adult life in prison made no difference to him: life itself offered him no hope. Today, amazingly, Peter is clean and has not reoffended since a life-changing meeting in 2002 when he came face to face with some of his victims.The Damage Done is a searingly honest and gritty portrayal of a man ensconced in an endless cycle of drugs, violence, prison and depravity who, one Tuesday afternoon in a glass room at Pentonville prison, was forced to confront all that he had destroyed.Trade ReviewHe could surely have out-miseried most of the "misery memoirs" and bagged himself a bestseller ... But he has written a much more interesting book than this. * The Guardian *The power of his story surpasses any behaviour management intervention. * Independent *A powerful and searingly honest read. * Eastern Daily Press *This gripping memoir stands as an indictment of the prison system. * Morning Star *
£15.29
Transworld Publishers Ltd Paperboy
Book SynopsisChristopher Fowler''s memoir captures life in suburban London as it has rarely been seen: through the eyes of a lonely boy who spends his days between the library and the cinema, devouring novels, comics, cereal packets - anything that might reveal a story. Caught between an ever-sensible but exhausted mother and a DIY-obsessed father fighting his own demons, Christopher takes refuge in words. His parents try to understand their son''s peculiar obsessions, but fast lose patience with him - and each other. The war of nerves escalates to include every member of the Fowler family, and something has to give, but does it mean that a boy must always give up his dreams for the tough lessons of real life? Beautifully written, this rich and astute evocation of a time and a place recalls a childhood at once entertainingly eccentric and endearingly ordinary.Trade ReviewOne of the funniest books I've read in a long time. In fact, these pages are packed with so many good lines, even the footnotes are a joy to read. ...Witty and wise, moving but never mawkish, this is the kind of memoir that puts most others to shame * TIME OUT *Entrancing, funny, deeply moving and wonderfully written. Please read it -- ELIZABETH BUCHANFunny and charming...here a voracious young reader makes his great mental escape from the suburban Stalag of south London via the literature that, once he masters its craft, will lead him back to recreate this lovingly detailed past -- Boyd Tonkin * INDEPENDENT 'Books of the Year' *Beautiful, magical and moving * DAILY MAIL *Absolutely charming...beautifully written, with a sort of English Thunderbolt Kid (Bill Bryson) feel. Highly recommended -- Sarah Broadhurst * BOOKSELLER *
£10.44
Faber & Faber Trapped in History
Book SynopsisExcellent.' Evening Standard''Unforgettable.' ObserverMagnificent.' Daily TelegraphA twist of fate meant Nicholas Rankin spent his childhood in colonial Kenya, a white boy growing up in black Africa as British rule was ending. Decades later, he began to question the past. Trapped in History is a search for nuanced truth behind the propaganda, a post-colonial story with a close-up view of the terror and pity of empire.A wholly fascinating and engaging memoir that also functions as a shrewd and brilliant investigation of a still hugely controversial period of Africa's twentieth century history.' William Boyd
£11.69
