Shattered

Those boys sometimes ask how I’m doingThen they laugh when I say I’m aliveBut I know that inside they’re swearingThat they really thought I wouldn’t survive…After being sexually assaulted as a teenager, Isabella details her subsequent battle with chronic depression as she fights for a happy ending with partners fated to continue a vicious cycle of abuse and, ultimately, abandonment.A unique insight into the series of events that changed a teenage girl’s life forever and almost caused her to end it; Shattered is a poem-by-poem documentation of young love, grooming, sexual assault, death, heartbreak, psychological abuse and suicidal mindsets that spans five years and may serve to educate those seeking to understand such traumas whilst giving fellow survivors a portal to articulate their feelings and validate their truth.

Shelter from the Storm

So many accounts of the years of the Chinese Cultural Revolution focus on its violence and suffering. In this unusual story, Aili describes a happy early childhood in a community whose way of life, with its beliefs and traditions, had been cultivated through centuries. With equal innocence she is able to carry the reader from the intimacy of bedtime to the spectacle of a public shaming, from the facts of foot binding to the mythology of fishermen. Naïve as she must have been, she has no real understanding of the first irruptions of Mao’s bleak communist philosophy into a stable community, and can only hint at the terror, with its re-education and punishments, which accompanied it.

Life and Death

A young girl can’t stop bleeding, a husband has just found out his wife has terminal cancer.

A twenty-five-year-old has been permanently disfigured by her abusive boyfriend. A young nurse was found hanged in her room, the note she left stating stress from work and bullying.

I and my fellow colleagues have spent years trying to save these lives, and in turn help our colleagues; sometimes we succeed, sometimes God has other plans, or things become so embroiled that we are helpless to help. More so now with the added nightmare of battling the Covid-19 epidemic, things have become unbearable. Watching the young, elderly and fellow nurses and doctors die on a daily basis. Having to wear unbearable PPE for gruelling 14 hr shifts.

This is a story of hope, pain, death, and a twist of fate so unreal that it would change my life forever. I used to think good things and luck only happened to other people, until it happened to me. First I became ill myself, nearly died, survived through the sheer hard work of my colleagues, and had a stroke of luck so freaky that it would change my life forever.

Hope floats and good things do happen if you believe hard enough.

Gropius and the Spirit of TAC

This  study describes how Walter Gropius of former Bauhaus fame transformed himself from the image of the omnipotent “Master-Builder” to the humble “Grope” of later years. Having come as an emigree from his native Germany to the US, he had to cope with quite a different office culture based on teamwork: Not the “single genius” but a collective approach to problem solving was the order of the day, coupled with a conciliatory manner of debate among equals. With that, his legendary firm “The Architects Collaborative” (called TAC for short) in Boston was to become the star of the profession in the USA, over the course of some 50 years. Thanks to the combined  talent and vigorous input of seven younger partners, the firm succeeded in gaining large commissions at home and internationally.

The well-designed school and campus buildings in New England found their equivalent in large university projects such as in Baghdad and Tunisia. Internally, the special aura at TAC was personified by a strong collective spirit of individuals in their own right. In turn, the office attracted a highly motivated staff of apprentices from all around the world. Grope’s personal charm, his humor and encouragement of young people got him life-long affection. Not the least, his pledge for the role of women in the profession left its mark on a whole new generation of architects’ offices to follow.

The author was a member of this team from 1962 to 1964 and kept in touch with Grope until his death in 1969.  An eye-witness account setting straight TAC’s merits to “Mid-Century Modernism”.

Crossing the White Line

In his debut book, Zesh Rehman, achieves the ultimate blend of autobiography and self-help guide. Do you want to learn how to take ownership of your life? Then look no further. Using his personal and professional experiences, across different continents and within an extremely competitive industry, Zesh presents twelve easy to follow guides to help you overcome obstacles, remain focussed, and excel in your chosen discipline.He is also sharing insights into his journey, through candid accounts and extracts from his personal journal. From exploring his own journey and his ‘why’, to overcoming cultural barriers within football and society, to surviving abroad, Zesh uses his learning (and positive behaviours guides), to inspire you to take the next step and commit to overcoming your biggest challenges.Setbacks occur in every walk of life, but it is how you react that makes the difference. Goal setting and journal keeping are just some of the techniques that are explained that you can use to apply to your own circumstances. Clear examples of how to embrace life and deal with the ever-changing situations arising are covered in detail as well learning how to remain positive to go over, around or through obstacles.Practical and easy to follow steps that can be used as a road map to long term achievement. Read it, use it, and win – on and off the field.

Pioneers & Icons of Australian Motorsport

The author has captured in words and lavish illustrations (many of his own that have never been seen before), the stories of over one hundred men and women whose personal motor racing journeys paved the way to establish and explode this sport. They did so both locally and overseas, showing that Aussies were as good as the world’s best when it came to not only skill behind the wheel but also in the design and manufacture of the fastest cars, and in organising events of the highest level and regard.

Most of these names are extremely well known by all Aussie petrol heads-household names admired around any backyard barbecue. Just the mention of their names brings nods of respect. But you will additionally read accounts of some very significant lives and racing achievements you previously knew nothing about-and some are quite simply amazing.

There’s our first woman to race commercially overseas. Just how she got there is incredible. Then you share the exploits of an illegal inter-capital record holder who went to New Zealand to break the land speed record, the farmers whose sons and grandsons became racing dynasties, and the home-grown mechanics and car builders whose designs obliterated all competition.

Strap yourself in and hang on. It’s gonna be a bloody wild ride!

From Soul to Soukous (Via Manchester)

As the title suggests this book is a combination of personal musical memoir, travelogue and recollections of a sometime vinyl record and memorabilia collector, wannabe journalist and photographer. It traces the author’s journey both literally and metaphorically across and through a range of musical genres including those discovered during his extensive international travels. From early exposure to The Beatles through to Soul and Blues and on to the more exotic sounds and experiences from across Africa, Eastern Europe and The Middle East to Central America and beyond. However much of the focus here revolves around the Manchester music scene. Whilst there is much here to please the musical geeks with regard to collecting, it is the author’s stories and anecdotes, many involving luminaries from across the musical spectrum that truly engages the reader.

The book includes recollections from notable gigs and concerts including the infamous Derby Hall / Joy Division riot in Bury shortly before singer Ian Curtis committed suicide. This includes postscripts to that gig that are unique and unreported. But whatever your musical taste, this book contains much more. Allowing the reader to share in the author’s emotional and candid roller-coaster ride through his experiences, musical and otherwise, both near and far. From potentially dangerous encounters with Eastern European heavies, dancing on tables at Middle Eastern weddings to communally drinking ‘shake shake’ home brew in dubious African clubs!

With a vast array of unique photographs to illustrate the work, this is a must-read for any self-respecting music fan.

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.

My Schizophrenia

Khaled was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1998. After spending 25 years in a medicated haze of stupour and depression, he is now determined to transition from illness to recovery. For many years, Khaled’s outlook was dominated by despair, but in 2021, the death of his mother became a pivotal moment in his life. He decided it was time to bring balance and order to his existence.

Though his mother never witnessed his progress, this book stands as a testament to his journey towards wellness. My Schizophrenia serves as a journal chronicling Khaled’s path to recovery, as he uses his writing to deepen his understanding of himself and his illness. Despite being diagnosed for decades, Khaled had never truly engaged with his recovery or well-being until now. This is his first book, offering an intimate look at his past and present, and inviting readers to join him on his transformative life journey.