Mosul Dreaming: An Australian Psychologist in Iraq

In 2017 Diane Hanna was offered a role to provide psychological services to international surgical team, 15km from the front line during the last battle of Mosul, Iraq. The mission had provided her with a restored sense of meaning and purpose, which compelled her to return and continue working in the largest humanitarian crisis since the second world war.

In temperatures above 48 degrees celsius, she forged ahead, recruiting members of her mental health team from the camps of those displaced during the conflict. She established programs and activities, for thousands of women and children who were wounded and traumatised by ISIS. On her day off, she often sat in bed and painted those whom she met from Mosul, whilst unable to leave the guesthouse due to the ongoing dangers outside.

When funding to her mission was cut suddenly, Diane made the decision to stay in Iraq which would change her life forever. Alone, and with a life-threatening condition she was now facing a corrupt medical system, and an increasingly volatile environment. Trapped in one of them most hostile countries in the world, she would need to muster all her strength, knowledge and skills, to negotiate her way out.

Her story will astonish and inspire you. It will make you reassess what it means to serve as a humanitarian worker, and remind you that whatever happens, you must keep fighting and never give up.

More Than Music

This is the third part of a joint autobiographical trilogy based on the letters and diaries of two professional singers Christopher Davies and Barbara Kendall-Davies. It also relates to their young son, Giles and his blossoming career as a singer.

There is a good deal of music, of course but also many unexpected and divergent paths as well, including a major Hollywood movie. 

More Memoirs of a Midwife

Carol Duncombe worked as a midwife for a long time, mostly in the community but had hospital experience too. She delivered over 2000 babies throughout her time as a midwife. This is her second book. The stories here are true and show the variety of families that a midwife may meet during her career.

More in Hope Than Glory

Football is a game that is loved throughout the world at every level. It’s a game that is all-encompassing whether it be the enjoyment of a kick about in the local park or the magnificent spectacle of a World Cup final. Well, this is a football story that lies somewhere between those two extremes, and to be honest more towards the bottom end of the spectrum.

This is a light-hearted true story of a young lad who used to walk four miles to the ground of the team he loved for every home game, and then grew up to become its chairman. It tells of the many highs and even more lows of running a lower league football club. It recounts the hopes and aspirations of every football supporter, followed by the inevitable kick-in-the-stomach feeling when it all falls down. It’s about love and passion for football in a proud northern town.

More in Hope Than Glory is the story of how what was once regarded as one of the most unsuccessful league football teams suddenly and dramatically became a little less unsuccessful.

Moonlight and Roses

The year is 1934 and Albert, a singer, meets Dorothy, a pianist, because another pianist has broken his thumb. As children they had grown up during the First World War and had known the Depression, but they were young and life was full of music. They married in 1936 and their daughter, Barbara, was born in 1937. Life looked good but Albert was an Army reservist and was called up at the outbreak of the Second World War. His letters to Dorothy from France form the basis of this book. Fortunately, he survived Dunkirk and was posted to Stars in Battledress, entertaining the troops for the duration of the war.

The book shows the privations on the Home Front and the morale of the British people despite the dangers and hardships of war. Life was no easier after the war, but with the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and the New Look, colour came back into everyone's life. The Festival of Britain in 1951 was the icing on the cake. And with the National Health Service being created and new homes being built, the dark days were past and life could only get better.

Monster in My Mind

Prepare to be captivated by Monster in My Mind, an enthralling journey into the world of a tormented child. Alison’s harrowing truth unfolds within the pages, exposing the depths of her troubled upbringing. Step into her shoes as she navigates a harsh reality, locked away within her own mind. Through resilience and determination, she eventually finds the strength to break free from her confines and soar to new heights. This poignant tale will leave you spellbound, shedding light on the indomitable spirit that can emerge from even the darkest of circumstances.

Mongrels versus Pedigrees

There is no such thing as endings—only new beginnings. Life is all about perspective: the positive, the negative and how we respond to the challenges that life throws at us. Being diagnosed with cancer can really change your perspective on things! Cancer is a test of your patience, your strength, your courage and your faith.

This book is one woman’s reflections on her own diagnosis and her own personal outlook on her fight against cancer. From diagnosis, through to treatment with chemotherapy and targeted therapies, to the possibility of surgery, this book is an honest account of the experiences of an individual determined to fight and survive, and the positive changes that her diagnosis brought.

What could have been the beginning of the end, was actually the start of a new beginning.

Modern Age Slavery

Modern Age Slavery is a marvellous opportunity for people to find out some of the most hidden, uncensored truths about a seaman’s life on board cruise ships. This poignant memoir will open a sensational perspective about the cruel operational standards of cruise line companies globally. It is an excellent chance to sneak “behind the curtain” and taste the actual bitterness of the seaman’s life, understand the big picture, and realise what the cruise liners are hiding under those glorious, sensational sailing lights. This inspiring book will also help you overcome your most significant life obstacles personally; it will motivate you to become more resilient and search deeper for your inner strengths and undiscovered potentials. After reading some eye-opening chapters, you will be motivated to keep pushing your limits in life to the next level, regardless of any difficult circumstances or adversity. Modern Age Slavery breaks the silence about many irregularities in the cruise ship industry. Behind those glorious and shiny lights of the guest area at the cruise ship, a dark part of the slavery regime still goes unnoticed and is kept away from the public. This book will give you an opportunity to discover the deviant daily life at sea.

Mob Island

“Some things are not what they look and feel like.” — “Louie the Tailor” RosanovaLou was right. Who would have believed that Savannah, Georgia, specifically the Savannah Inn and Country Club, played a significant role in mobster relations? Leading figures in the Mob during the seventies came together for important meetings at the Inn. And there were good reasons why they chose Savannah for these meetings (and the ultimate burial site of Jimmy Hoffa). More importantly, who would believe that the friendship between a brilliant young southern lawyer and a powerful member of the Chicago Outfit would evolve into one of the most effective defence teams combating social and legal injustices in South Georgia at the time? For the first time, Bubba Haupt explains how the Outfit and the Teamsters were instrumental in funding the successful defence of indigent clients facing the death penalty. Without the help of Rosanova, innocent individuals would have been electrocuted or spent their entire lives in prison. Rosanova is a complicated person and his residence in Savannah is a largely unknown but fascinating part of Mob history.As Haupt says, “In every lawyer’s trial experience, some events loom so large that others are completely overshadowed. Some are humorous while others are extremely sad.” Haupt shares details of his cases, experiences, thoughts, and feelings surrounding events that changed his life and many of his clients’ lives forever.No longer under Omertà (the vow of silence), Bubba Haupt’s riveting story will leave you breathless.

Missionaries, Mercenaries and Madmen

“We’ll have to leave. This country has had it.” My husband made the decision and I followed along feeling like my heart was being ripped from my chest. Robert Mugabe switched the trigger that changed our lives. He announced that University in Zimbabwe would be for black people only. We were white Africans and so needed to find a place where our children would have educational options. Australia was the obvious choice. This memoir takes the reader on a journey to places most Australians have no idea exists in their own country. The isolated, remote locations where Aboriginal people live, not as their ancestors had done but propped up by government welfare. Wild places where hunting and gathering had become recreational rather than a way of life and where western culture, knowledge and values were imposed on ancient knowledge and ways of being. The confused, bastardised culture emerging felt like stepping into hell. The dregs of white society had gravitated north; economic refugees, criminals, drunks and druggies and God botherers all trying to survive in a melee of heat, dust, flies, mosquitoes, and topical downpours. We were not welcomed. This is where my story began.

Mimi’s Memoirs

Having been inundated with fan-mail and questions for nearly three decades, actress and director Sue Hodge decided it was time for everyone to know the truth behind the making of the internationally known hit comedy series ’Allo ’Allo!

Told with heart and honesty through the eyes of that madcap, pocket dynamo character Mimi Labonq, Sue gives a hilarious and no-holds-barred insight into things you would only know about if you’d been there. How did she fly across a cornfield as the flying nun? (Or maybe she didn’t.) Did she really get inside a grandfather clock? What was her true relationship with René? What did he really do to her when he was pushing her along as a baby in the pram?

To find out the answers to these questions plus much much more, read Mimi’s Memoirs, and you will understand why ’Allo ’Allo! became one of the biggest BBC smash-hits of all time.

Military Wife

Military Wife is a powerful, honest and true autobiography of an incredibly strong, independent and family-orientated woman.

The catalogue of emotions of love, loss and endurance of adulthood embrace relatable situations, some familiar and some alien.

Her brutal honesty and humour captures you in the web of family values whilst fighting her own war in her internal family.

A fantastic read from an original perspective, Elise Spencer-Hughes has opened up the door to what life is really like on the other side of the battleground. Be embraced by a mother, sister, friend and an ex-army wife that fought for her own self-worth.