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Forced Circumstances
Forced Circumstances tells the story of a young 22-year old British woman living in 1960s Iran, bringing together a fragmented family amidst the turmoil of the Shah’s rule.Married to an Iranian man with two children from a previous marriage, our bold protagonist takes on the complex role of stepmother to kids unaccustomed to affection or stability. Navigating traditions requiring full body coverings and forbidding women to venture out alone, she faces intense challenges as a conspicuous foreigner subject to contempt and harassment.Did she quietly harbour regrets over tying her fate to such complications instead of a more comfortable English life? Would the eruption of Ayatollah Khomeini and Iran’s Islamic Revolution provide the leverage needed to hold their Jewish family together? Or drive them further toward resentment and dysfunction in a now-perilous homeland?Relating this family’s ambitions, sacrifices, and conflicts across clashing societal upheavals, the memoir serves up lessons in perseverance and perspective. It illuminates the timeless experiences that unfold when different cultures combine under a single roof - and what it truly takes to transform that awkward juxtaposition into a nurturing sense of home.
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Dad’s Book
If you want to know how to live beyond the age of 99 with joy in your heart, then read this book. Share in the wisdom, stories, and adventures of a man living through the 20th century, who fought the Nazis first in Africa and then in Europe, never being able to return home in three years.Born shortly after the First World War when peace was thought to be guaranteed, his exploits throughout his life rival any of today’s adventurers. This is also a story of a romance told in letters, the trials of a working-class family, and how friendships support us through the ups and downs of life. It’s a story of a seemingly ordinary man, the writer’s father, who did amazing things throughout his life.His history is all of our history. Why? Because the 20th Century with both its fantastic achievements and terrible destructive forces has shaped our today. How do we look back to the past to help us prepare for our unpredictable tomorrow? Answering that question is vital to us all. What can we learn from the past and his life to help our futures?
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The Journey of Duty: From Africa to Europe
Early life experiences of the author in the northern province of Zambia in Africa, and training in healthcare with subsequent employment in the mining industry healthcare owned jointly by the Anglo-American Corporation and the Government of the Republic of Zambia, mark the beginning of the journey of duty. After working for eight years from 1990 to 1998, this initial part of the journey of duty becomes full of challenging encounters and adventure stories associated with copper mining operations. Moving to Britain as a migrant worker marks the second part of the long journey of duty. Over the next 22 years, the author is immersed in the busy National Health Service (NHS), an umbrella organisation for thousands of hospitals and allied institutions. Experiencing the British way of life becomes fascinating but then part of this way of life is about how politics influence the way healthcare is delivered by the NHS which takes the centre stage throughout the rest of this book. The NHS tales about itsorigins, evolution, inspiring radical transformation in the 21st century, traffic light targets, and the dark times of scandals with red tape are quite revealing especially for people intending to work, train or are working as healthcare professionals. In the thick of it are some of the shining stars with rare qualities of fixing the broken parts of the healthcare systems that end this book.
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Finding Balance – Confessions of a Bipolar
In a life filled with the elation, exhilaration and animated exultation located at a paradise called mania… to the dejection, despair, and desolation of the hopelessness of depression … but in the end mostly spent in the aftermath of normality and having to deal with reality… I remain always steadily cautious, for with great unannounced swiftness, I may be called upon to answer the torment and anguish of every emotion you can conjure betwixt up and down. The unfortunate and shattered relationships now crippled in the wake of my experiences are too many to count. Regrets I have many! But I know I am not alone in my tribulations. In these purposeful, selected retellings of a journey to finding balance, it is my hope that you find similarities to compliment or maybe enhance your experiences, and help you make sense of your own journey. It will also, in stages, fittingly break to take you inside the complex mind of a bipolar. But, an early cautionary heed, it can be playfully whimsical at stages, bold and brightly humoured at others, to profoundly philosophical, then savagely scary and even scaringly depressive in episodic peaks. No matter how this is externally viewed, in those interludes, the feelings and experiences are very real to me. I humbly prostrate my story before you in the desire that it may provide some guidance in making sense of the eccentricities of a bipolar life, or perhaps as we are all woven from the same ancient cloth, simply, life!
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Methadone and a Mobile Phone
In Methadone and a Mobile Phone, delve into the turbulent world of Melissa Jane, a woman ensnared by choices that lead her astray. As life’s winding path becomes a treacherous terrain, Melissa grapples with the weight of addiction, an affliction that touches countless souls globally.While many bear the scars of this battle, the decision to heal and rise is deeply personal. Melissa, tethered to methadone’s deceptive solace, overlooks the commitment needed to truly reclaim herself, descending further into the abyss of her own making.A poignant reflection on the fragility of human spirit, choices, and the battles we wage within, this narrative is a heart-wrenching reminder of the cost of surrendering to one’s demons.
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The Survival Guide of Losing Your Home to a Vulture Fund
This book delves into the poignant themes of loss and grief, transcending its setting of a bank. It’s a narrative about the relentless pursuit of a debt collector, a story of harassment and vulnerability. A family is abruptly given 72 hours to vacate their home, forced to abandon everything familiar to them. This tale unveils the harsh reality of covert repossession, reflecting the struggles faced by many in today’s world.There is no silver lining so don’t pick up this book if you are with a vulture fund. You will lose your home and you will suffer. Your children will never be the same and you will cry for at least a year.I want to make it sound better but this book is composed of pure honesty and I want people to know the truth. My therapist called this book my container of what happened to me. That I could write it and keep it here.It hurts.
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Self-Portrait of a Painter, a Triptych Memoirs
In Self-Portrait of a Painter, a Triptych Memoirs, journey through the fascinating life of a remarkable woman, born to an Irish mother and Jewish father in the vibrant, working-class neighbourhood of The Rocks in Sydney. From her roots in a Socialist household committed to social justice, she defies convention to become a celebrated portrait artist. This compelling biography traces her life’s arc, from her formative years to her education at Art School, from marriage and motherhood to the realization of her artistic ambitions.She paints the faces of diverse subjects – some at odds with her own ideals – yet each becomes a fascinating character study etched onto canvas. As she finds love a second time, her world expands further through international travels, taking her to the esteemed art galleries of Europe.Immerse yourself in a story rich in art, social activism, and personal growth, a tribute to a woman who never wavers in her values while capturing the essence of others. Self-Portrait of a Painter, a Triptych Memoirs is not just an interesting read; it is an exploration of a life passionately lived.
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Sweet Loretta Modern
After suffering a workplace injury, Loretta Jones faced the harsh realities of a workers’ compensation system that provided a mere £120 a week for her and her young son, a situation that led them into homelessness. But her hardships didn’t stop there. Loretta found herself ensnared in a web of surveillance abuse that landed her in the hospital multiple times, stripping away her freedom and peace of mind. Amidst the unseen torment inflicted by clandestine technologies and unwarranted animosity, it was her unyielding resolve that kept her afloat amidst the storm of adversity. Now, with the backing of various supportive agencies, Loretta has reclaimed her life, rising above the harassment that once threatened to engulf her. Through every challenge, her indomitable spirit shines as a beacon of resilience.
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Many Rivers to Cross
This is the story of Sheku Gibril Kamara from his childhood days in Sierra Leone. It deals first with his parents in the capital, Freetown, and then with his aunt’s family in the rural countryside. Educated in Freetown, he gained employment as an accounting assistant in the colonial Daily Mail Newspaper in his home town and later at the iron ore mining company in nearby Lunsar, a job he relinquished to pursue his dreams of higher studies in Britain. With great finesse, Sheku provides intimate details about life as a private student in London and the political wrangling among fellow Sierra Leonean students. This culminated in the temporary seizure of the country’s high commission at Portland Place in London in 1972 after a mass demonstration. Sheku and his colleagues were sent to the Old Bailey on a charge of treason but were instead found guilty of trespass. On appeal, the House of Lords reached the landmark judgment in British law: a case for trespass cannot hold where the national of a country occupies his country’s diplomatic mission since that territory is, after all, deemed to be his home ground. Defended by Sir Dinglefoot, the students were bound to peace for six months…Upon the establishment of Sierra Leone’s state-owned insurance company, Sheku was encouraged to return home to help develop the nation’s market. When he became the Company’s first indigenous chief executive, Sheku was to traverse the gruelling events that accompanied his role in top management. In what follows, the reader will join him in enjoying the exciting experiences with his supervising authorities…
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Wild Imaginings: A Brontë Childhood
This book will take you into the lives of the six Brontë children who were raised in Haworth Parsonage on the edge of the West Yorkshire Moors. Discover the world of a Victorian childhood and how the children dealt with isolation, the harsh education system and death. Read about how the children used the graveyard surrounding their garden as a playground and how they found solace in making up stories of imaginary islands, kingdoms and people. Reality and imagination mingled and spread so that they lived in a fantasy world of ghosts, horror, religion, disease, war, scientific discovery, love and humor; here anything could happen. Learn about the background to the childhood of those who were to become such remarkable authors. This book is as accurate in its factual content as it is fascinating in its fantasy.
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Who Cares Who Wins
Adventures start at some point!The author was born just after the end of World War Two.He used to leave home at 4am at eight years of age on the horse and carts and in the evenings would go chimney sweeping.When he was older he spent a few years in the military. Multiple migrations, including the ‘Ten Pound Poms’ program then followed.After this came over 30 years of global ‘itchy foot syndrome’ full of exciting ever-changing lifestyles ranging from: rich, skint, happy, and sad.In the following 30 years, there came numerous diagnoses: anxiety, depression, Parkinson’s, mental health issues, strokes, various dementia and divorce.Then along came Mike’s saviours: grandchildren, hiding and losing his disabilities within their love and warm hugs.Every day’s an adventure.
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We Were Tourists
Jim Toomey was already a successful drummer when he became a part of a new group, The Tourists, in the late seventies. He formed the group with Annie Lennox, Dave Stewart, Peet Coombes and Eddie Chin.From their early beginnings in London, finding their sound and their voice, through their success, their recordings, TV appearances, and their tours across the world, this is the story of The Tourists, told by the man sitting behind the drums.In a series of anecdotes and tales of the band's journey, we gain insight into the inner workings of a successful band; the fun and success, but also the work, the creativity, the pressures of seemingly endless tours, the good and the bad sides of the business, and the all too familiar trajectory of a band which sowed the seeds of music which endure 40 years later.
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