From Rehab to Life

Whether in or out of trouble, please say this serenity prayer on a daily basis: "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference." Thy will be done.

A Piece of the Action

What is it like to spend a lifetime doing research in a wide variety of fields in the physical sciences? Studying distant planets, binary stars, neutron stars, stellar mass black holes and active galaxies using optical and near-infrared ground-based telescopes. Designing and constructing equipment as a member of international teams studying the high-energy X-ray emissions from many of these objects. Flying these detectors on short duration sounding rocket flights, utilising huge balloons to carry experiments to high altitude, or installing them on long duration satellite missions. Being a scientist engaged in fieldwork studying the physical properties of the world’s oceans, or the sea ice and glaciers around the coastline of Antarctica. This lifetime involved living in the UK and Australia for many years, with a four-year interlude in the USA, as well as working in or visiting many other countries. How lucky can you get? This book describes numerous projects in an unusually diverse range of research areas – the fun and adventure of STEM activities – without getting into excessive technical or specialist detail.

My Brother John

The book is a collection of memories of childhood and adolescence, of growing up as one of a family of seven in a small South Staffordshire mining village in the 1940s and 1950s. The family home had no electricity and relied on an open fire for all cooking and heating. The book looks at different aspects of life, such as earliest memories, starting school, wartime experiences, chores and scavenging for fuel, Christmas and leisure activities, immersing the reader in a time, which, though still within living memory is a world away from the 21st century. It is very much a personal account of how a less fortunate family coped in these difficult times and is very different from the usual memoirs of these times. Its final two chapters deal with the death of the parents, when the writer and his brother become the legal guardians of their five younger siblings and can now be considered as finally out of childhood and adolescence.

Royal Engineer

As compelling as it is a delight to read, Royal Engineer is a military memoir that is truly a breath of fresh air and a ‘must’ read for anyone who has an interest in either the military or modern history, and for those who quite simply enjoy a good read.

Fascinating, honest, gripping, hard-hitting and never shying away from the truth, the author’s passion for chronicling his and others’ past events and experiences becomes abundantly clear from the very beginning. The unique style of writing and the way in which detailed narratives are brilliantly incorporated make Royal Engineer a powerful and moving memoir. Emotions, opinions, positives, and negatives are freely shared with the reader to ensure that there is no sugar-coating on subjects and matters that are of a sensitive and topical nature in today’s world.

Be prepared for a reading experience like no other because Royal Engineer is filled with comprehensive and engaging narratives that will have the reader mesmerised from the very first page, and it is also a remarkable piece of writing because of the honest approach and evocative language the author adopts throughout.

The Colours of Love

The Colours of Love is a real-life testimony on how a life should be lived and how it should not. It recounts my love for my parents, love for a woman that I loved more than my life, love for my daughter, friends, love for the countries where I lived. Love, crime and science-fiction-like experience, triggered by delusions and hallucinations, are interwoven in this narrative of life.

I wrote this book when I was 55 years old, as a culmination of my life. It recounts my utmost remorse for the things that I did, but I should not have done, and for things that I did not do, but I should have done. The consequences of my decisions resulted in extraordinary loss of property, physical and intellectual. I lost my share in five houses and one apartment; I lost my profession, my wife, my daughter, my social status and freedom. None of this was my desire. Why did this happen to me? I had all prerequisites to live a successful and wealthy life. My father was a medical doctor, my mother was a piano teacher; I was a medical doctor; my wife was a medical doctor. I had permanent residency permits in two countries, Sweden and Australia. However, I ended up in prison with almost nothing.

The book is written for adolescents who are just about to face challenges of their lives. It is also aimed at adults, as a mirror of how good or bad their lives are compared to a non-standard life.

The Last of the Lucky Childhoods

This is the story of my childhood recollections while growing up in Glasgow. The streets were still for kids and we knew how to make our own fun, though some of the mischiefs we got up to may not be classed as fun nowadays.

If we were poor, we didn’t realise it; if we were ill-treated, we thought of it as normal. Kids didn’t complain in those days (or they got a ‘slap across the lug’). Kids knew their place, we just got on with life and enjoyed it to the fullest.

As Billy Connolly would say: “What I’m about to tell you is true…well mostly.”

If any of my old pals, relatives, or friends recognise themselves on these pages, you’re most likely right…but I have changed the names (in some instances) to protect the guilty!

To Cry No More

Can you remember the last time you cried?

Life can take many directions. Each path leads to a different result. Which one you choose is determined by the previous path. 

How do we decide which path to take?

Linda’s paths could have been determined from her birth, her upbringing or the tears that flowed from her falls and tumbles or the joys and jubilations.

This is the true story about Mazie, who demonstrates that no matter what life throws at you, there is always another door to walk through, another path to follow. She shows that strength and willpower can turn any bad experience around and that no matter how hard, sometimes it’s just best to walk away.

Linda’s successes were through pure fight and determination. Her courage allowed her to see through her horrific childhood, her traumatic motherhood and her final moments with her true love.

Follow Linda’s paths entwined with pure emotion. Which path would you have taken? How many tears would you have shed?

Not Abandoned Nor Forgotten

Have you ever wondered if God exists?Has your faith been tested to the limit?Is your life in a dark place despite having faith?Are you waiting for answers to prayers?Are you feeling hopeless, still waiting for breakthrough?Lynn Attwood engages readers through vivid descriptions of rejection, health issues, torment and despair, thwarted opportunities and a life which, essentially, was a ‘wilderness experience’ in which she felt separated from God and isolated from others. Quotations from Scripture illustrate God’s promises and intentions and how these were evident in her life during specific time periods and critical events.Having faith, Lynn persevered in prayer, holding fast to God’s promises. Eventually her life changed. Hope is stirred as Lynn’s experiences unfold to reveal the heart of God.If you want your life to change, draw inspiration from how God turned Lynn’s life around.Through her own story, Lynn illustrates the truth of God’s word in her life – His love, faithfulness, goodness and mercy.

Passive Conflict

Born on the serene island of Jersey, Irene Camus Smith’s life took an unexpected turn as the shadows of war descended upon her homeland. The Channel Islands, Britain’s oldest possessions, faced the threat of Hitler’s invasion during World War II. When the islands were demilitarized and left defenceless, German forces swiftly occupied them for five arduous years, marking Hitler’s triumph of setting foot on British soil after centuries.

The Channel Islanders endured unimaginable hardships under occupation, particularly during the siege that followed the Allied invasion of Normandy. Facing starvation and struggling to survive, their resilience was tested to the core. Among the countless stories of struggle, Irene’s family narrative unfolds, capturing the essence of the islanders’ collective experience.

Through their journey, we witness the strength of the human spirit amid adversity, as bonds are tested, and sacrifices made. In this poignant tale of survival and hope, Irene Camus Smith’s remarkable story stands as a testament to the unwavering resilience of the Channel Islanders during one of history’s darkest chapters.

Revelations From Spirit: Over-coming Grief

Who hasn’t wondered if there is life after death? Margaret discovers there is, following the sudden unexplained death of her 22-year-old son Marcus, who died in his sleep.

Margaret couldn’t accept there was no medical explanation and went searching for an answer. Her quest ultimately leads her to spiritual contact Mediumship. Then, not only does she discover why her son died, but also received amazing revelations about his life in the spirit realms.

Revelations from Spirit: Over-coming Grief provides insight, solace, and hope to those affected by grief and sorrow that death invariably leaves behind. It is a heartfelt story of loss and discovery, revealing death is not the end, but a new beginning.

Solo in Oz

My travelling adventure started after my son, Stefan, and his friend, Rob, set off to the California Coast in America for a few weeks staying in hotels and backpacking across America to Las Vegas. I decided on my trip to Australia and it set a travel bug off inside me to do a two-month adventure of a lifetime backpacking and staying in hotels and travelling 12,000 miles across Australia by train.

The Strength Within

December 1979, Annie was three months pregnant with her second child and in excruciating pain. She couldn't walk, couldn't stand, couldn't sleep. In just a year, Annie had gone from being an active young woman to almost entirely incapacitated. Going from one doctor to another, after 18 months, Annie finally had a diagnosis - it was a malignant Ewing's tumour the size of a tennis ball on her knee. Cancer. Almost in the same breath, Annie was told she would have to have her leg amputated above the knee and then told the baby wouldn't survive the surgery…they both defied the odds. She was 26 years old and 26 weeks pregnant. Annie has demonstrated amazing courage sharing her story and overcoming adversity, further setbacks and living life to the full, encouraging the reader to believe there is light at the end of the tunnel, even when you can't see it.