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Chapters in the Mind of a Schizophrenic
The essence of my book
I lost my mind
And got it back with time
My mind is a complex thing
Only I know what it is like within
Concealed in my skull
It’s anything but dull
I tried to keep it sane
But it has its own brain
I lost control and got it back
But it’s that trust I lack
Not knowing what comes next
I converted my thoughts to text
To try and understand
Before I’m buried in the sand
I kind of know how you tick
But to society I am sick
Labelled as mentally ill
But I have a strong will
To conquer my brain
And learn how to maintain
A level of sanity
Enough to have clarity
And function within the norm
Without causing a storm
I lost you twice
As I rolled the dice
Gambling with my mind
Because I didn’t know what kind
Of illness I was dealing with
Now I know schizophrenia it is
I try to make my peace
With a mind that is never at ease
Now I wrote this book
And that much suffering it took
To describe my mind
But I think now it is perfectly timed
To share this book
With all the pain and sweat it took
I hope to spark a conversation
That puts us on track to that far destination
Where acceptance is key
And we can all live free
By YM Mehanni
£8.99 -
Chain Breakers – From Darkness to Light
This book is a story of abuse, love, hate, relationships, and forgiveness. Fay’s life was full of heartache, pain, and sorrow but on reading it you meet a strong girl who won’t be crushed, who will touch your heart, who will make you laugh and cry at the same time, you’ll be angry for her, you’ll want to protect her. She is a fighter there’s no doubt but she was damaged by the very ones who were supposed to protect and love her. The relationship she has with her brothers is strong, protective, and funny and the love she has for her sister is like that of a parent. You will learn how she overcame physical, mental, and sexual abuse. Read and see how hate turns to love, fear turns to trust and anger and rage to peace and joy inside these pages. God moved, hard to believe you may say, but you won’t know unless you read it.
£11.99 -
Carnival
Starting in Ushuaia, at the southern tip of the South American continent, this adventure goes through the windswept plains of Patagonia and past settlements whose immigrants from Wales brought their language and customs with them. The Patagonian plains give way to pampas before reaching the major urban centre of Buenos Aires for some culture and relaxation.
A journey of 1,200 kilometres northwards reaches the magnificent thundering Iguazú Falls on the border of Argentina and Brazil and then crosses into Brazil. There is a lot to explore in the Pantanal area of wetlands to see piranhas and capybaras, a giant member of the rat family, before heading to Rio de Janeiro for the extravaganza and colour of the carnival, the biggest party on earth where everyone is invited. Have you ever wondered what it is like to be in a city where everybody is partying for a week? But Brazil is a big country and what else is there to see? And that is before traversing the three Guyanas and a space port to reach the Caribbean coast of South America.
£9.99 -
Caring for Cancer, the Real Journey
I was married to my best friend for 12 years before he was given the diagnosis of stage 4 gastroesophageal cancer in 2018. He passed away in 2019 after a life-changing journey.
This is my uncensored real-life journey of caring for someone with cancer and how I coped with the emotions and expectations surrounding bereavement and grief.
It is written using real thoughts and feelings and based on factual events. It provides a raw insight into the pure emotions experienced on a day-to-day basis and how, ultimately, I used those experiences to forge my way through bereavement and onto an inspirational journey of finding hope, encouragement and a renewed lust for life.
In my journey, I sadly lost the love of my life but I also gained a new outlook on my future by finding a way to create a ‘new normal’ despite my life changing. If you are going through a similar situation, I hope this book will show you that you are not alone and that the thoughts and feelings you go through are very real. I also hope it shows that despite the darkest of days, it is possible to remember the ones we lose with courage and a determination to turn something so difficult into a life of purpose and hope.
This book offers a real-life insight into the cancer experience from the carer’s perspective. However you read this book, whether you be a carer yourself, a family member, a friend or a medical professional, it can offer a profoundly inspiring and unique insight.
£8.99 -
Car Boot Diamond
This book is about a true story of heartache. Betrayal in the worst possible way. A young girl to an adult woman’s disrespect for her mother because of being put in care. Lessons that had to be learnt the hard way. Of true love for her mum which came through more heartache, her mum losing her life savings, family and health, more than anyone could deal with.
The author and her family did deal with it and discovered true love before it was too late. Only then did they discover a diamond after having it in her possession for over 32 years, bought for only £10 and sold for over £540,000. A 26.27-carat diamond. A diamond that went on to sell at Sotheby’s top lot. A real-life Only Fools and Horses story. A true fairytale gift of fate and karma, but most of all, love.
£7.99 -
Captured by Childhood Memories
I always wondered what kind of people specialised in psychology and neurology. I was very curious to know how a psychiatrist lived. Why did it first occur to him to study this field even though he knew well how difficult it is to deal with mental patients? One could even be physically and verbally attacked by them and be subject to abuse.
To begin with, I was interested in knowing about all the stages of Dr Pashmi’s life. However, his childhood was more appealing to me, as I knew that childhood experiences of joy and sorrow influence the sensitive soul of the child and make him respond to them at a later time. Negative aspects hurt and the hidden anger inside surfaces severely. Newton’s Third Law states: “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” Similarly, the child throws back all anger, events and suppressions done to him in life to the society.
Upon retirement, Dr Pashmi’s patients numbered 22118. It was a question to me to know where he got the energy from and what his incentive was to devote all his time to treating his patients. In addition, what was the reason for his becoming one of the famous specialists of Hamburg, Germany? How did he manage to overcome all his life problems while studying and improve himself?
£18.99 -
Can't Hear Yourself Think
Graham Dalby’s book opens inside Windsor Castle at the ‘Ball of The Century’ in 2000, when he drops so many names it’s hard to keep up. He then takes us through his precariously dangerous childhood from Nigeria, Singapore, and Hong Kong, where he served for a short time as a Police Inspector. The remainder of the book is Dalby’s fast-paced life of Classical Music and Jazz and Swing and is a case-book study on how to manage to quaff Champagne belonging to the rich and famous.
The style is old school Wodehouse/Waugh but the historical interpolations keep the reader in the realms of reality and fact. An incredible story of great anecdotes, laughter, and some tears – but mostly Music, Champagne and Laughter.
£8.99 -
Campaigning for Socialism: Memoirs of Max and Margaret Morris
Equality of educational provision became one of the objectives of the Labour Party exactly a century ago. Vigorous campaigning by the teachers’ trade unions and the Socialist Educational Association led to a period of progress in the 1960s to the early-1980s, but this was later undermined. Today the economic conditions and educational plight of British working class children are a disgrace and class divisions are greater than ever. For many years Max was a key figure in these battles and his memoirs provide a clear picture of events and the political forces involved. Readers must judge whether they provide an explanation for the lack of progress or could serve as a guide for the future.
Both Max and Margaret were active in wider socialist campaigning. Max was a party loyalist whereas Margaret only stayed within a party while in agreement with its key policies. She was a Labour Party activist and Council candidate in the 1950s but left over the failure to support CND. Re-joining later, she left over the war in Iraq. She had come to realise that First Past the Post undermines democracy.
The main targets of Margaret’s campaigning were housing problems and widening access to Higher Education. Max and Margaret shared objectives and actively assisted each other in their campaigns but did not always agree about the route forward. So their memoirs provide two perspectives on past events.
£13.99 -
Camino – From Slavery to Freedom
A book for all those who want to put the heavy burdens of the past behind them.
This book helps you in difficult moments. Even the hardest ones. It gives hope, strength, faith in life, and the meaning of perseverance.
This book has been a work in progress for at least 13, maybe even 24 years, but it finally found its way out after the Camino; after the journey that echoes my personal transition from slavery to freedom; after the liberation from childhood trauma I had been fighting for.
I was prepared to travel to the end of the world to get out, to rid myself of the shackles that had been getting heavier and heavier, and that is exactly what I did. I travelled to the end of the world, to Fisterra, in search of lightness and freedom.
Bestseller in Slovenia! More than 8,000 copies sold in a country of only two million people.
£11.99 -
Called to Serve and Protect
How does a farm boy brought up on an isolated farm with no electricity, or running water supply, leaving school at fifteen with no academic qualifications, have a successful career in the police force and become an overseas police adviser? John describes his motivation to serve and protect, and takes you through his police career, including when he climbed the headstock of a disused colliery to talk down a disturbed teenager, had a convicted killer hold a knife to his throat, and took a loaded shotgun out of the hands of an aggressive teenager. He enumerates his progression through the ranks and describes an occasion when he refused to obey an order from his Chief Constable, which probably cost him a promotion.
Post-retirement, he worked for a private security company involved in the escorting of prisoners to courts and prisons and describes having to spend three days in the witness box at an inquest into the death of a prisoner in transit to prison. As an overseas police adviser sitting in a restaurant in Addis Ababa with his wife, a colleague and his wife, John saw a hand grenade come to a standstill just inches away from his legs and he expected to die, but miraculously survived.
Flown back to the UK for treatment he had his moments of fame, appearing on TV news and on the Big Breakfast show on Channel 4. Attending a presentation function at the Café Royal, he sat next to Lois Maxwell, the original Miss Moneypenny and the lady on whom her character was based.
£13.99 -
C'est Possible
Marrying intellect with romance and spiritual wisdom, it’s not merely a romantic tale but a philosophical odyssey that commands attention. Enriched with profound passages exploring the spiritual realm, it unveils astonishing experiences and unexpected revelations, boasting an exceptional narrative. With eloquent prose, the book unfolds enthralling adventures and insights, spotlighting two individuals whose disparate lives converge into a journey of transformation, evoking admiration from others. This novel is not only a testament to the power of love and understanding but also a voyage into life’s deeper meanings, inviting readers to traverse alongside its characters through a realm of intellectual and spiritual exploration.
£12.99 -
Butterflies in My Soup
With most of her friends married, Sylvia at 23 can find no good reason for turning down her boyfriend’s proposal of marriage. In her heart, though, she knows that she longs to be free to see more of the world before settling down to what she feels would be a humdrum life of a domestic city in the early 1960s. Having been dissuaded from accepting a teaching job in the USA, she continues her quest for an overseas posting until one day, she finds exactly what she's been looking for. A boarding school in Lushoto, a township in the Usambara Mountains, Tanganyika (Tanzania) needs a teacher.
With scant information about her destination, other than that African violets grow wild in the Usambara, Sylvia flies off to East Africa leaving her anxious family and a fiancé whose determination to wait for two years for her will be severely tested.
Nothing could prepare Sylvia for the amazing life that she was to lead, with experiences, friendships, and challenges that she could never have imagined, and with memories that she would cherish and try to recapture on a return visit many years later.
£9.99