Lost in the Woods of School

“The unexamined life is not worth living,” said Socrates (400 BC).

Zak Towlson tells a personal story through a collection of anecdotes in a vibrant language. The book is funny and poignant at times as the subject of adolescence warrants. It shows first-hand, how difficult the coming of age can be in the 21^st century and how important it is for any young person to understand and address their mental health in a constructive way.

Lord of the Dead

In an age where the story of murder is told of perpetrators who are generally behind bars, by the families of the victims of crime, or by the authorities who have prosecuted killers, here is a story told from a different perspective. This is the story of Nicolas Claux, a self-confessed Vampire and Cannibal who, having been convicted of murder in the 1990’s in France, and has since been subsequently released from prison. This is the story of his life, from his own words and detailed recollections, told in a manner unlike any other. This is an insight into the life and mind of a killer.

Long Way From Home

Jawid Danish is an Afghan who had to leave his country in 2015. He is a student now in Finland, a lover of history and politics, a writer and public speaker, an activist. This is his first book, written so he could tell the story of his journey from his home in Baghlan to his new life in Helsinki. He has also spent a lot of time in Greece and is a fan of swimming in the Aegean and playing chess for hours in his favorite cafés. He is planning on a career that includes a focus on social justice and human rights.

London Firefighter

Dave and I crept up the stairs, the floor had burned through in places as had the floor above, the roof was gone so there was a bit of dull light. The floor was covered in rubble; tiles from the roof, burnt timber, cork and all sorts. Dave took the nozzle and we pushed forward along the floor. The smoke was tolerable, the heat was a different matter. As I breathed in it was searing my lungs, a bit like trying to breathe in over a boiling kettle, I was lying on the floor in a puddle of steaming water trying to find some cooler air.

As Dave opened the nozzle we were engulfed in steam as the water cooled the superheated atmosphere above us. I buried my head a little lower and held on for dear life as Dave worked the jet around the large hallway, extinguishing the burning contents.

We pushed further and tried making our way into a room on the right. I was suffering a bit now, and as if reading my mind, Dave pulled back and I pushed up to the nozzle. I opened it and aimed in the direction of the fire. I got some relief by breathing in the cool clean air that was being forced out of the nozzle with the water. Soon we had pushed a good way forward but we were taking a real beating. I could feel my skin scalding as the wet fire tunic steamed in the heat…

Living in Interesting Times: Curse or Chance?

These are the memoirs and reflections on the most acute issues of the contemporary world by a boy from the Estonian countryside who, through accident and pure ambition, ended up as a professor at Moscow University and adviser to President Gorbachev on matters of international law. After a stint as head of Estonian diplomacy at crucial moments in the restoration of its independence, he later became a centennial professor at the LSE and chair of international law at King’s College London. This is not a traditional autobiography. Besides reflecting on issues he dealt with while advising Soviet leaders, such as Yakovlev in his speech on the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact or the status of the Kuril Islands, and their repercussions in today’s world, the book analyses the roots of the crisis within liberal democracy, the upsurge of populism, the rise of China and the re-emergence of Russia as a great power. A Marco Polo fellow at Jiaotong University in China and recently awarded the highest Russian Order for foreigners – the Friendship Order by President Putin, Professor Müllerson, who lives in London, feels equally at home discussing the renewal of great-power competition, the problems of the European Union including Brexit, the conflict in Ukraine, as well as the negative impacts of political correctness both in the former USSR and today’s West. Having lived equal thirds of his life in three different worlds and worked in and visited many countries as a UN diplomat, he is a man who understands small country mentality, though being ‘spoilt’ by great-power mindset. 

Lives of the Luberon

Stanislas Yassukovich is an investment banker who spent some 20 years visiting and living with his family in the Luberon, the region of France made famous by the late Peter Mayle's seminal work, A Year in Provence. In his new book, Yassukovich chronicles his experiences, impressions and adventures in this unique corner of La Belle France, together with reminiscences of the fascinating and cosmopolitan characters who reside there permanently or part time. His anecdotal evocation of the great variety of elements that make this region one of the most sought after, in a country rich in holiday destinations, will entertain both those who know the area and those who don't yet. Malika Moine is a Provençal artist who has published several books of her water colours in Marseille. Her illustrations of the villages of the Luberon make the book, and the region, even more irresistible.

Little Bundle of Sorrow

Birth is made out to be the happiest time of your life. But what happens if you have a difficult pregnancy, a traumatic birth, your baby is fussy, or just won’t go to sleep? Are you meant to bond with your baby straight away?

Sometimes, the experience of being a new mum sucks. You’ve been sleep-deprived for weeks or months, and post-natal depression can creep up and take over. If you’ve found yourself struggling to cope, you’re not the only one. Other women have had similar thoughts and feelings to you, no matter how extreme they seem.

The women in this book have experienced postnatal depression and have come out the other side. Their stories will give you hope that there is a way out of the dark hole you are in.

You are not alone.

Lines from New Zealand

On a dull Tuesday morning in early October 2008, I lost my battle to save our business and property—a French provincial styled restaurant and homestead on a vineyard estate—and with it my job, my reputation, my balance, my clout, my life’s savings, my mind—my life as I knew it. Afterwards, I began writing like a madwoman, and in time a book took shape describing a myriad of experiences and the long journey back to just being me.

After our epic loss, we lived for a year in one of the highest houses in Christchurch with an unparalleled view of the Pacific Ocean and the curved coastline. That house of Up Above Down Under and those mercurial skies saved my life. We now live in The House of Cluck-Cluck where I still spend endless hours in our rambling country garden as I dig in the soil tenaciously for answers about my life.

Lighthouse Stories

Lighthouses remain a fascination to most people. The light beam still flashes a warning to all shipping and acts as a guide to safe harbour in rough weather, but unfortunately the lighthouse keepers are now a thing of the past. Modern technology has meant that satellite navigation where signals can be bounced off satellites to turn engines on and off and fog signals can be operated from ashore without the trusty keepers. The lights still twinkle and backup systems ensure ships still have guidance to safety. No keepers, alas: they have all been made redundant. The way of life of the lighthouse keeper is now well past.
The reader of my stories should gain an insight into what being a keeper was all about. The working details provide a fair look at what makes a lighthouse function. The short stories cover a wide variety of different locations including the Channel Islands. Characters within the service are as varied as the lighthouse but there is always a story to tell given the nature of the work and the importance of safety at sea for shipping. As always, it’s the sea that is the master in everything that happens but humour keeps rearing its head to remind us of the simple things in life; it constantly raises a smile.
Although lighthouses are now unmanned, the public is still curious about their history and what a keeper's life was all about. This book and its stories perhaps can give an insight into a time when keepers were essential to safe passage.

Life, Death, Tai Chi and Me

Picture this: you wake in a hospital bed. Searing pain courses through your body from your toes to your head. On your head, there is a hole where they’ve placed a drain to counter the effects of the terrible subarachnoid haemorrhage you’ve suffered. You open your eyes, and the botched blood still remains in the right eye, as does the appalling double vision. You struggle to pull yourself a little more upright and reach over to the table with trembling hand to get the eye-patch to cover the now weeping eye.There’s the hustle and bustle of the Intensive Care Unit beyond, and a TV plays in an adjacent bed. Every sound is muffled and distorted, like profound, dismal cathedral bells. This is hell. You struggle to sit up some more, pushing against the paralyzed right foot that slips helplessly against the sheets. You lean over again to hit the button for the bell that summons the nurse; more morphine is needed for the exhausting pain. Tonight, you will suffer a near-fatal catastrophic seizure brought on by blood seeping into the brain.Life, Death, Tai Chi and Me - My Brain Injury Journey is the incredible true story of an epic struggle to defy the odds and survive the most profound physical and mental trauma.If you've had a brain injury or know someone who has, if you've ever wondered what a near-death experience is actually like, if you've been intrigued by the power that martial arts can have on one's mental and physical resolve, if you question your own mortality and your place in the universe, or if you want to know what it's like to come back from the dead, then this book is for you.

Life's Too Short to Wear Dull Shirts

Graham Badrock was born in 1954 in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. That indeed made him a baby boomer. Growing up in the 1950s and 1960s, life was uncomplicated and easy. He recalled asking his father, “Are we middle class, Dad?”

The family didn’t seem to go without, and it wasn’t until he was older that he had time to reflect on his good fortune. As he grew older, his leisure time was spent trying to find a girlfriend. When found, they embarked on a wonderful adventure, indulging in things that today might be off limits to their children.

They moved to Balnarring on the Mornington Peninsula several years after being married. Had the ‘Don’s Party’ times in their spa, much to the delight of the neighbourhood.

Tried to learn to sail and almost drowned, conquered rock climbing with a degree of terror at Mt Buffalo.

Grew up finally and moved to the Victorian town of Bright. Ran a bed and breakfast for over 19 years until the novelty of being nice every day took its toll. Finished signwriting after 45 years as technology caught up with him, thank God.

Travelled all over the place, Norfolk Island where they almost crashed and escaped Lord Howe Island.

They say, “Everyone has a story.” This is ‘his’ so far.

Life's Golden Thread

This is an account of the life of a Jewish psychiatrist growing up in Melbourne, Australia in the 1940s and 1950s as a child of a traumatised immigrant mother who had a limited capacity for love. The consequence of this was poor self-esteem as well as an inability to become emotionally separate and realise his potential for love and relationships. Another result was a difficult first marriage, the psychological manifestations of which are discussed in the context of growing psychological self-awareness and eventual emotional re-birth that also contributed to a deeper understanding of psychotherapy. Dr Rose discusses his medical student days culminating in his decision to study and enter into a career in psychiatry that was varied and rich in nature. He subsequently had successful careers in the fields of psychotherapy, treatment of sexual difficulties and forensic psychiatry. Dr Rose gives considerable detail with rich anecdotes of his life in each of these fields including de-identified case descriptions. He describes his experiences of working in the mental hospitals of Victoria. He also describes his experiences in the 1970s and early 1980s in the field of sexology at a time in which many of the experts led colourful lives, as well as his rich experience in civil and criminal forensic psychiatry. Finally, Dr Rose writes about his surprising encounter with Christian religion and how this together with his second marriage led to the sense of fulfilment he has today. A golden thread has indeed been woven through his life.