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Comrade Sao
‘Thursday 17 April 1975 is the day that I will never forget until the day I die. That was the day the Khmer Rouge took over Phnom Penh and overthrew the government of General Lon Nol and his Republican Party…’
Thus begins Firos Iseu’s gripping memoir of his experiences during the Khmer Rouge’s brutal regime in Cambodia between April 1975 and January 1979. At the tender age of 12, Iseu – whose ‘revolutionary name’, Comrade Sao, provides the book with its title – faced the horrors of the regime’s first wave of killings, which at a stroke deprived him of his parents and elder siblings. Bearing a diverse heritage of Indian, Laotian, and Vietnamese roots, he was branded a ‘17 April’ or ‘new’ person, marking him as an outsider and second-class citizen.
Comrade Sao stands as a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, showcasing the author’s remarkable courage and resourcefulness in the face of terrifying adversity. This harrowing, unflinching and above all honest narrative sheds a necessary light on one of the darkest chapters of humanity of the past 50 years.£8.99 -
A Battle of Wits!
A Battle of Wits! is what it means. It was a battle getting help for myself. Finally, I was listened to and the rest is history. Juggling a new medication into my daily life, getting used to a new regime and the result that ensued. My mental health improved, my confidence grew and I began to get used to a new way of living. Before the change in meds, I was living like a zombie with no real direction. My hobbies and interests had slipped away and I didn’t want to socialize. Now I’ve got it all back and will strive to get others off that medication if they so wish. I describe what it felt like to be sedated. I explain the process that took place as I got used to a new medication. I was able to think about voluntary work for the first time in many years.
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Pandemic in Paradise
Pandemic in Paradise tells my story of pregnancy during a global pandemic. From the challenges of lockdown to the raising of my first child, I share the ups and downs of my pregnancy journey under those strange, difficult, and unique circumstances. Despite the obstacles which COVID-19 and the lockdowns presented, it is also about celebrating the gift of my son.
£5.99 -
Marathon des Sables – A Type 1 Diabetes Adventure
After being entranced by the exotic allure of life in the Middle East during a five-year stint in Saudi Arabia, an irresistible opportunity for an extreme adventure in the Moroccan Sahara presents itself. Coupled with the unexpected eruption of a volcano in Iceland, the stage is set for a non-stop, exhilarating journey from beginning to end. What was meant to be a leisurely plane ride back to the tranquil Lake District in England transforms into an unforgettable cross-country odyssey through the captivating landscapes of Morocco and Spain. From planes to trains and overnight ferries, this tale of adventure is so extraordinary, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was fiction.
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The Four Ships
In this poignant and compelling true story, Tanya Mullins opens the door to her heart, sharing a journey marked by unimaginable loss, unyielding strength, and the enduring pursuit of survival. As she grapples with the devastating death of one of her children, Tanya faces the harsh reality of poverty and mounting bills, her world shrouded in shadows.
Amidst the trials of life, Tanya discovers an inner strength that propels her forward. Just when it seems that life has granted her the gift of true love, tragedy strikes once again, plunging her into a vortex of grief, loss, and the profound challenges of mental health. Yet, against the tempest of despair, Tanya’s resilience shines through.
Reluctantly compelled to engage with life’s relentless lessons, Tanya confronts her deepest fears and inner demons, seeking redemption in the face of adversity. Her story is a testament to the human spirit’s capacity to endure, learn, and emerge stronger. Through the darkness and into the light, Tanya’s journey is a beacon of hope and inspiration for anyone grappling with the complexities of life, loss, and the arduous path to healing.
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Waiting in the Wings
At the age of fifteen, William Hicks joined the 1st Battalion of the 27th Regiment of Foot (the Inniskillings) as a drummer in 1798. Throughout the Napoleonic Wars, they were often in the shadows, waiting for their moment of glory. Their roles varied from holding the fort against the French to acting as a decoy for Wellington in the Peninsula, participating in skirmishes and minor battles.
However, these experiences were leading up to one final triumph. Through William’s story, we gain insight into the everyday life of a foot soldier during this era: his adventures, challenges, and lessons learned as he travels through diverse lands. Each new destination offers a different climate, culture, and scenery to discover.
Join William on his journey to Egypt, Malta, Sicily, Spain, and North America, culminating in their ultimate destination: Waterloo.
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Mosul Dreaming: An Australian Psychologist in Iraq
In 2017 Diane Hanna was offered a role to provide psychological services to international surgical team, 15km from the front line during the last battle of Mosul, Iraq. The mission had provided her with a restored sense of meaning and purpose, which compelled her to return and continue working in the largest humanitarian crisis since the second world war.
In temperatures above 48 degrees celsius, she forged ahead, recruiting members of her mental health team from the camps of those displaced during the conflict. She established programs and activities, for thousands of women and children who were wounded and traumatised by ISIS. On her day off, she often sat in bed and painted those whom she met from Mosul, whilst unable to leave the guesthouse due to the ongoing dangers outside.
When funding to her mission was cut suddenly, Diane made the decision to stay in Iraq which would change her life forever. Alone, and with a life-threatening condition she was now facing a corrupt medical system, and an increasingly volatile environment. Trapped in one of them most hostile countries in the world, she would need to muster all her strength, knowledge and skills, to negotiate her way out.
Her story will astonish and inspire you. It will make you reassess what it means to serve as a humanitarian worker, and remind you that whatever happens, you must keep fighting and never give up.
£10.99 -
Raising Seven
How would you feel if a complete stranger approached you and revealed a secret only you knew? And then said, “You need to get moving on it.” After this encounter in 2009, I knew I had to start writing my memoir and Raising Seven was born.
Our five sons came first and then there were the years of longing and praying for those evasive daughters. I did hear from God during those years that He would fulfil my heart’s desire. He just did not tell me when.
My husband, Al, passed away during the writing of our story. The memoir covers our first meeting in 1966 at the beach town in Lavallette, New Jersey, to the present.
Having seven children was not popular then, or even now. For Al and I thought, this was a blessing not a curse. With the help of scripture, faith in God, the encouragement of family and friends, those years for us became years of joy. The happiness, adventures, pitfalls and struggles of our rambunctious family of seven is the heartbeat of this book.
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Reflections On El Camino
‘El Camino’ is the pilgrim’s route across northern Spain to reach the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela. This was built on the site where the body of the disciple St James was buried after he was martyred in Jerusalem in 44AD. His remains lay unmarked and unknown for eight centuries until a miraculous light led a shepherd to discover the bones in a cave. A cathedral was built over the spot where the bones were found and it became one of the prime destinations for pilgrims in the medieval era. But the way to Santiago de Compostela was fraught with danger for those pilgrims, with the notoriously bad weather in the Pyrenees, warring kingdoms in the north, civil war and the ever-present danger of invasion from the Muslim Moors who controlled the southern half of the Iberian Peninsula.
This book is a long-distance trek through the countryside, culture and history of the area: from St Jean Pied de Port on the French side of the Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela, then onwards to the Atlantic coast of Spain, and finally to Finisterre – or ‘the end of the world’, as it was known in the times of the Roman Empire. It is a journey of over 900 kilometres. But what is the route like today for the modern pilgrim?
£9.99 -
Two Old Ladies and a Hedge
This small book tells the story of a big adventure. Two old ladies seeking a challenge in life as it shortens, set out to walk the South West Coast Path from start to finish. Against convention, they planned to sleep out under the stars for the most part of the journey instead of the usual tent or bed and breakfast accommodation.
They used bivvy bags, umbrellas and a tarpaulin for shelter from the elements. Stumbling along, carrying huge rucksacks, they had many experiences including sleeping with slugs, enduring gales and downpours, seeing shooting stars and meeting tramps, hippies and celebrities.
Join them on their journey and see what can be achieved as you approach your dotage!
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Where's Me Teeth
From the mystery of the missing teeth to the urine sample for a goldfish. From the hapless gardener who mows through a power cable, to the debate over fresh or frozen ice to be used in a drink. Why can’t you send an octopus through the post, yet you can take your parrot for a walk?
The frustration caused by the jobsworths of this world and automatic/robotic telephone answering machines.
A humorous and tongue-in-cheek observation of daily life and society. You could not make this up. Life is really stranger and funnier than fiction.
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All at Sea in Arctic Waters
This book is experiences of the author aboard a destroyer on the Murmansk Arctic convoys of WWII. In spite of it being related to war, the content of the book is really to show what life was like for the ordinary ratings and their tasks, not the fighting. Many of the happenings are strangely amusing, depending on how they are read. Most of the occurrences were just everyday duties or chores that somehow went wrong or were the result of naivety of the crew, most of whom had never reached the age of 20 years and were thrown into doing things they had never contemplated before. So this book is really short yarns, mostly of amusing instances of life aboard a ship at war. These yarns are short, but the book as a whole is unique in as much as it is history as far as life was concerned on small RN ships in WWII, much of which few people have ever looked into or even heard about. The author’s work dealt with intercepting messages from and locating German submarines by shortwave radio direction finding. This was specialised, little of which has ever been reported, although closely related to the work at Bletchley Park. Here it is dealt with extensively.
£8.99