Dancing in the Rain

It's often said that life is not about sheltering from the storm, but dancing in the rain. And this old adage has certainly been the driving philosophy of how Diana Crevatin has chosen to live her life, even in the face of crippling multiple sclerosis (M.S.), which she was diagnosed with at just twenty-seven. Faced with the worst news of her life, she chose not to let anything hold her back and has continued to live her life to the fullest. Even now, over thirty years later and bound to a wheelchair, she chooses to 'dance in the rain'. Now, for the first time, Diana has chosen to share her story firsthand. Whether you're in a similar predicament yourself or reading out of curiosity, this book will leave you feeling uplifted and inspired.  

Me

Ron Pearson was born in Bramley, Leeds on August 12, 1924. He began writing this book on August 12, 2021, his 97th birthday. After a childhood beset by illness, he left school at 14, and took a job packing parcels in a multiple tailoring factory, not for him. He moved on to packing parcels general muggins at an advertising agency at 50 pence a week, which he loved. His career in advertising was interrupted by a four-and-a-half-year spell in the army on ‘Special Operations’. Returning to civvy street, his career culminated in being appointed Managing Director and then Chairman of one of Yorkshire’s most respected advertising agencies. He was a local actor for almost 50 years including the renowned Bradford Alhambra and Playhouse.There are some sad moments outnumbered by many hilarious ones. Ron’s beloved wife, Pat, died in 2017 after 66 years of happy marriage.The list of ‘celebrities’ he has met is impressive, including Princess Margaret, Prince Charles, Hollywood’s Marlene Dietrich, George Raft, Sir Ralph Richardson, George Best, Jackie Charlton, Harry Worth, Alan Bennett etc.

Stones on the Camino; or, What It Was Like

Lilly, a senior lady, would never have dreamt of doing the Camino de Santiago. Yet, one day, she just took off and started this arduous pilgrimage, walking 800 km all alone through the north of Spain. Lilly’s handicaps, as a result of previous brain surgery, made traveling on her own sometimes hazardous.

On these pages, she draws the reader into the beautiful, peaceful, and happy pilgrim world, relating some of the incredible stories she heard. She listens to Stuart when he talks about the agonizing search for his younger brother at Ground Zero, and to Alexander from Peru, who had twenty siblings, all by the same mother. We hear about the lady who was struggling to get away from an abusive, narcissistic partner.

At an almost hidden level, this story lifts a few veils off Lilly’s own marriage. We also get to know David, who saved Lilly’s life during a night of thunderstorms, which was, by the way, not the first time her life was in danger. David returns in quite an unexpected manner in the last few pages of these Camino tales, adding more magic to an exceptional journey.

Finding Yourself Through Loss

I’ve come to understand that loss, while taking much, can also give. It can offer hope, strength, and most importantly, love. Such is the boundless love of God, who loved us so deeply that He gave His one and only Son to die for all of us—yes, all of us, including you—no matter what you have done (John 3:16). Sometimes, His love arrives shrouded in the darkness of loss, but even then, His promise remains unchanged: He came so that you and I may have life, and have it in abundance (John 10:10). So, beloved, as loss has taken from you, I ask: what has it given in return? Remember, perception is everything.

Endometriosis – We are all Warriors

This book will take you on an emotional journey about living with Endometriosis – it is a true story that has been written to raise much needed awareness about the condition, and to also reach out to others who think they might have Endometriosis or those who may have already had a diagnosis.

It is a journey of hope, courage, and honesty, giving a sincere and heartfelt inside view of everything that can happen and has happened along this Endometriosis Warriors Journey.

It addresses the subject of the long waits for diagnosis and appointments, the effects of Endometriosis on physical and mental health, as well as giving the reader some helpful advice, tips on things that can help, and where to get more information and support.

Walking Without Shoelaces

In the months leading up to her nervous breakdown and subsequent admission to a French psychiatric facility, Céline often flippantly remarked, ‘This job is going to kill me.’ Some nearby would agree, ‘You might be right,’ but the universe responded definitively, ‘You are absolutely right.’

Céline no longer wants to be praised for how well she took life’s punches or how quickly she got back up. She no longer seeks applause for her strength, nor does she wish to display her bruises like medals, getting up again and again. Now, she craves a place where she can be fragile, vulnerable, and seen – where simply being is enough. She knows she is enough, and she is done with taking punches and smiling through them.

Walking Without Shoelaces, the first book in ‘The Walking Trilogy’, is a candid account of how to rebuild a life after a major mental breakdown. Céline invites you to journey alongside her, and perhaps, you too have walked a similar path.

Transition

This book traces the journey of a young man who has had the good fortune to achieve his two boyhood dreams – to be a soldier, and to build bridges.

Dan spent 20 years as a soldier, made up of 14 years in the Regular Army and then 6 years in the Reserve, completing service as a Lieutenant Colonel. Dan experienced 12 months active service in the Vietnam War as a troop commander, followed by two years in Papua New Guinea building a road to Kokoda.

He achieved his second aim of bridge building by being involved in the construction of two major bridges across the Brisbane River – the Merivale Rail Bridge and the Gateway Bridge. Between those two, Dan commenced his own business as a contractor building bridges, but the enterprise was not financially successful.

The book concludes with details of varying experiences as a professional engineer, culminating in the successful completion of a road in Samoa, by solving technical and managerial problems, and surviving the horrendous Cyclone Val in December 1971.

Hurricane Heaney

Hurricane Heaney is a fish-out-of-water memoir of a gay Indonesian man, Ben, who finds himself marrying into a salt-of-the-earth Irish family. Unlike many stories involving LGBTQ+ protagonists, this is not a tragic tale about a traumatic coming out, nor even about the novelty of living in a gay marriage in Ireland’s catholic bible belt.

It’s about how landing in the loving arms of a large yet close family acts as an emotional mirror to Ben’s early life in Indonesia, giving him, in fact, a safe space to process what drove him out of one family in Indonesia, and into the encircling airs of another in Ireland. Invoking the specific situation of a gay man crossing the world seeking – and finding – redemption through love, it presents a unique and uplifting ideal of what gay strength looks like.

Through tears, songs, rants and a lot of laughter, the book explores, in a humorous way, universal truths about family values, rituals, obligations, and their core foundation, love.

Engagement

Engagement is a biography/novel spanning two generations of a family bound by a shared commitment to improving the lives and livelihoods of poor families and communities in developing countries, though their paths differed greatly. The story opens with the meeting of Joan, an English artist and teacher, and Ion, an Irish magistrate and judge, at an official reception held in Kingston by the colonial Governor-General of Jamaica to celebrate the coronation of King George VI in 1937.

This introduction is followed by accounts of their lives and work in Jamaica, as well as the international commitments and complexities of their sons’ careers: one, a multicultural secular architect, scholar, and policy adviser; the other, a devoted evangelist and educational entrepreneur working with poor children in marginalized urban communities.

Painting the Mosque for Christmas?

This is the story of one person. An errand boy, junior artist, car washer, cub, scout, choirboy, glass runner, wine waiter, postman, tomato plant and faggot stripper, potato picker, life guard, scout leader, canoe instructor, teacher, cattle rancher, polo player, forest and sawmill manager, head of English, logger, general manager, managing director, importer, exporter, businessman, outdoor pursuits instructor, fund raiser, headmaster, principal, CEO, school founder, advisor and appraiser, mentor, model, poet, playwright, writer and actor in the UK and many countries of Central, Southern and Western Africa through good times and bad.

The author deals sympathetically with the nostalgia of a post-war childhood in Bristol, detailing with many of the joys and problems of childhood before leaping into adulthood with entertaining narrative and dialogue.

Africa takes hold with many incidents and observations backed by humour and acute observations of post-colonial developments. Life was never dull and he has sat on crocodiles and slept with lions as well as experiencing coups and unrest where some humour can still be found. He has met royalty and personalities from a wide mixture of society and has also been a friend of presidents and heads of state – herein lies a tantalising mix of European and African life in a kaleidoscopic presentation of humour, pathos, seriousness and shrewd observation.

Second-Best Luck

Fancy retirement right across the globe? Learning to speak a foreign language (Australian)? Too easy; don’t be a wuss, mite! Herein, you will find travel, exploration, how not to buy a house, how to build a harpsichord; how to cope with a second hysterectomy, coronary bypass, two different and simultaneous serious cancers. No worries; she’ll be right, mite! Consider Orshtraya on differing scales; the conurbation that is Canberra; the 90-mile straight which is just a blip in the landscape driving across the Great Australian Bite, Mite; the deeply soothing silence of the outback.

Seriously, sport: this sometimes humorous volume is travelogue, retirement manual, and medical aid, all in one. It has a sporting chance of really helping anyone terrified with recent news of cancer or other really serious illness. We all need help.

Secret Son of a Legend

I have only known since 2012, but I am the illegitimate child of Bobby Moore, the captain of the 1966 World Cup winning football team. I went from living an exceptionally happy and privileged childhood to one of detachment, hurt, and misery. My world was completely turned upside down and I deeply missed my former life and my family. I made the most of my life by focusing energy and attention on my education and the sports in which I participated, which helped me relieve the tension. I enjoyed my freedoms as I grew older and made a life for myself. I have never really wanted anything, but I now feel, after six decades, the need for recognition, acknowledgement, and closure in my life.