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Baz
This book begins when “Baz” starts his life, growing up with his siblings, growing up through his school, working, and then married life. This shows his life with the highs and lows until just after his retirement.
It is hoped that younger readers will see that they can achieve many things in life, and that many readers will be able to relate their own experiences to the stories narrated in this book.
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Beauty Queens, Frogs and Princes
Growing up in Yorkshire within an idyllic middle-class family, two parents and a younger sister, our life together and adventures, our emigration to Africa and Australia, 10 schools in various regions and countries along the way.
Then came my success, winning the Miss UK contest and runner up to Miss World in 1985, which was aired on ITV, primetime and watched by millions of viewers, that’s when the fun really started.
The press, the public, appearances, TV shows, celebrities, drugs, my move to South Africa, marriage, divorce, modelling, boyfriends, mental abuse, violence, meeting my daughters’ father, the birth of our beautiful baby and the circumstances which changed the course of my life forever, motherhood, affairs, blackmail, private detectives, being a single parent, millionaires, and conmen to mention a few.
The dating scene, kissing many frogs and my eventual happiness, finding love, and settling down after what seemed like a lifetime of searching.
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Before I Forget
Before I Forget is more of a medley than a memoir. It chronicles the affairs of the American University of Beirut during an under studied period comprising and following the Lebanese civil war. In recording his perception of selective periods in his lifetime the author focuses on his AUB experience and documents his text with email exchanges with university officials.
He exposes his personal experience as a student, an administrator and faculty member of AUB during a period that spans over the administration of fourteen presidents (from John Paul Leonard to Fadlo Khuri), several of whom he was closely associated with. During this period, he served in central capacities including: president of the Faculty Association, President of the Worldwide Alumni Association, Assistant Dean and chair of the Senate Steering Committee. In his engaging style the author draws attention to what he considers an association of AUB with US interests.
The book also chronicles the difficulties and strivings the author faced since his family was forced to leave his homeland. It discusses the changes the author experienced moving from Lebanon to the US as a foreign student as well as the lifestyle adjustments he had to undergo when returning to Lebanon after graduation.
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Behind the Lines
The year 2020 marks the 75th anniversary of the German surrender in World War II. The 10th Mountain Division, the army’s first mountaineering unit, led the Allies to victory in Italy in 1945. Their soldiers are often celebrated for their heroism and ingenuity and remembered for their steep losses in the campaign to defeat Nazi Germany. Yet it has been estimated that no more than 14% of troops overseas in World War II ever saw combat.
Behind the Lines is the story of a 10th Mountain Division soldier from the other 86%, someone who toiled to deliver munitions and supplies to troops on the battlefront and who documented his experiences in letters home to his wife in Minnesota. Narrated by the soldier’s daughter who, some 70 years later, finally read the correspondence between her parents and became acquainted with them as they were when she was a baby, the experiences of this soldier and of the wife he left behind reveal the day-to-day challenges of their plight, the tensions but also the unexpected rewards of their situation, and the all-too-common prejudices of a tumultuous era often dubbed ‘heroic’. Behind the Lines mines the correspondence to describe the anguish and the longing of a young couple separated by a war that would change the course of modern civilisation.
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Beyond the Dragon’s Mouth to the Land of Milk and Money
Embark on an extraordinary memoir that chronicles the remarkable odyssey of a man determined to transcend adversity, conquer racial prejudice, and fulfil his dream of becoming a Chartered Engineer. This captivating narrative traces a history that stretches back to the 1840s when his forefathers, descendants of indentured laborers from India, were brought to toil in the sugar cane fields of a British colony after the abolition of slavery. From this rich tapestry of ancestry to the present day in England, the author’s life unfolds as a testament to resilience.
Spanning continents and centuries, this memoir offers a poignant glimpse into the life of a young boy growing up on a British island colony in the mid-twentieth century. It vividly contrasts the stark realities of a tropical upbringing with the challenges of adapting to life in a temperate climate, from fog and snow to relentless drizzling rain. The simple act of donning thick clothing becomes a novel experience, as does huddling by a Valor paraffin stove in a quest for warmth and cocooning beneath scratchy wool blankets.
As the narrative unfolds, you’ll witness the profound transformation of a penniless immigrant who, against all odds, blossoms into a prosperous family man. His journey is a testament to unwavering determination, resilience, and a remarkable integration into British society, providing an intimate and insightful perspective on the trials and triumphs of one man’s quest for excellence.
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Bipolar Rollercoaster
Journey into the tumultuous mind of a mother besieged by psychosis. Tasked with the immense love and responsibility of five children, she is caught in a relentless battle, yearning to shield them, yet grappling with scars from her past that hinder the very connections she desires. In a world clouded by diagnoses – Bipolar Disorder, psychotic illness, and Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) – clarity becomes elusive.
Yet, amidst the chaos, she discovers an oasis in poetry. Each verse becomes a lifeline, a way to navigate the storm and reach out to the world. Her heartfelt compositions aren’t merely an expression; they’re a plea to underscore the importance of understanding and aiding those grappling with mental health challenges.
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Breaking Chains – ‘The Word’
Childhood abuse and trauma has consequences: black holes, where voids are born, mental ill health acquired and self-love diminished. The cause of these voids and the power to heal them lies solely in one force alone, or lack thereof, and this force is love.
Let’s journey together sharing knowledge, vulnerabilities, synchronicities and the word of God, of pure, unconditional Love, through a memoir incorporating science, nurture, toxicity, personality and the true depths of the void. We will analyse, psychologise and be present in our own individual stories, breaking chains that bind us in order to truly heal and be set free, turning black holes into shining stars.
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Broken Object
The contents of this book are dear to me. They represent a part of my life that I have had to live and deal with. We are a broken object. We are all broken in different ways. Some of us in a small piece, some in a big piece, and some in several pieces all over. As the author of this book, I was looking for those pieces I had lost, trying to puzzle over where they belonged and where they should be. It felt like I was picking up pieces of broken glass: it cut me every time I picked up one of the pieces. In the end, though, I found a way to merge them with a little bit of gold.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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