Independence to Freedom

This is a story of migration from rural Gujarat to Nairobi, Kenya and the impact of the struggles for independence from British rule on a traditional Hindu Gujarati family, and finally to London in 1949.

Here, the family navigated a life in between two cultures maintaining and imbibing the best of both. Hemkunver lived a life of bhakti – devotion. Manilal, her husband, followed a life of engaging with the world but spiritually grounded in his love for Indian classical music and philosophy. These characteristics were passed on to the main protagonist Viram, who from a very early age fell in love with Indian classical music. His abilities and interests were varied though – so he did not mind playing his sitar with jazz, or playing with Jimmy Page on Led Zeppelin or composing for films, TV and radio, whilst also developing a successful career in business. His desire to create awareness for one of the most sophisticated music systems of the world, led him to become an authority as a performer, advocate and producer of Indian music throughout the UK and Europe, creating around one hundred iconic events per year. He overcame the prejudice he faced from the British arts elite and jealous Indians by embarking on a journey into Vedantic philosophy to find his freedom.

It Will Happen

How many times have you heard the words, “It will happen?”

For Laura and her husband, Scoop, the phrase that once brought comfort, hope and reassurance began to lose all positive meaning.

When they first started trying for a baby, they had no idea what they would be in for. After the heartbreak of each loss, when the world around her frustratingly seemed to carry on like normal, Laura struggled to cope with her inability to do something others seemed to find so easy. In this candid memoir, she shares her isolating experiences and talks openly and honestly about how she and her husband navigated the harsh realities of their rollercoaster journey to parenthood.

It Will Happen covers:

- trying to conceive and the strain on relationships

- miscarriage, ectopic and molar pregnancies

- jealousy and resentment

- treatments and testing

- the anxiety of pregnancy and motherhood after loss

- communicating with people in these situations

Written from the heart of someone with first-hand experiences, It Will Happen gives you tools and information to feel empowered and supported through the difficult times when trying to conceive. Who ever really knows what WILL happen? What’s important is that it CAN happen.

Joe Bloggs Becomes A Christian

“This is a fascinating little book which I am glad to commend. The author is an intelligent and able man. It is an autobiographical account of Michael’s life and tells of his time as a police officer in London facing a number of traumatic experiences, including attacks on his life. These, in turn, lead to a period of illness which brought him back to Devon where he became a devoted Christian.

But the story does not end there; it continues with a description of how Michael returned to London in order to ‘bury the ghosts from his past’; of how he was helped to overcome all his past difficulties … and much more.

I imagine that some of those who read this book will identify with one or other of Michael’s experiences and find help in seeing how he came through them. I particularly enjoyed reading about the ‘93 pence Bible’. This is just one of the adventures recounted here which formed part of Michael’s unusual and exciting spiritual pilgrimage. This is a book which you will find enjoyable and encouraging. It is a book to buy and a book to give.”

                                                              Revd. Cyril Tennant

                                                              St. Philip and St. James Church, Ilfracombe, Devon

Just Around the Next Corner

Route finding along the bottom of a deep gorge, or facing a huge breaking wave, the challenge is to succeed. The adventure, whether it be on a steep 2m wide stream in the Scottish Highlands or the mighty Grand Canyon of the Colorado River, brings with it great rewards, but occasionally close calls. Mike shares an impressive travelogue of paddling adventures, brought to life with reflections and photographs. He introduces us to a light-hearted consideration of scrimblies and deeper notions relating to the motivation and reasoning that has inspired him to seek out new challenges, through paddling white water.  We discover how teamwork, planning and expertise can merge into those few rare euphoric moments of pure content. You will be inspired to go and look around the next corner for your next adventure.

Just Go to the Airport

              This is the story of the stuff of dreams and how they can actually happen in the best way possible. A story of two people living three completely different lifestyles over a four-year Odyssey.

              After a fork in the road presented itself, John and Helen left Sydney Australia for a hemisphere change to live on the Greek Island of Samos. At the time of leaving, they were both at the top of their professions in the IT Industry.

              Life, love, and all manner of emotions came forth to capture the start of their destiny on Samos, where they lived for nine months. From this Greek Island they moved to London and John worked in the IT Industry with Helen working as a PA, a job for which she was overqualified.

             Great success in the UK then led to a second fork in the road and they decided to buy a large sailing yacht and leave England to sail and live in Europe, having the Mediterranean Sea in mind and to return to the Greek Island of Samos, which they considered their spiritual home in Europe.

             To do this they needed to complete a three-month course in sailing and navigation with the Royal Yachting Association (RYA). After this they left England to sail and live in Europe and the last of the three lifestyles.

             It is a story of people, countries and their peoples, adventure, the romance of the sea and life and above all… emotions! To adopt these lifestyles, they needed an abundance of confidence, intelligence, and courage. These qualities they had.

            A similar tale to the TV Series “The Durrells” on a Greek Island. Then onto the TV Series “Emily in Paris” for their city success. The last of course being the return of Odysseus, the Greek hero, who sailed home and returned to the Greek Island of Ithaca after an absence of some years where similarly John and Helen returned, under sail, to the Greek Island of Samos.

Just Sign Here

If you think surgery is only about the drama of an operating theatre, then you should read this book. A delightful collection of anecdotal stories that will take the reader on a journey from boyhood aspiration through surgical training and on to consultant surgical practice that spanned the millennium. All is laid bare as the author describes his joy, anger, frustration, and sadness of life in the clinical environment and beyond.

It embraces a period of transition when clinicians were transformed from self-regulating professionals into paid employees controlled by political diktats from Brussels and Westminster. It is an entertaining account of a period of momentous change and advances in the world of surgical healthcare. A penetratingly candid page turner that will make you laugh, cry and huff with indignation.

Karmic Connections

A Sensational Window of Opportunity awaits you within the confines of these pages...

After a near-fatal accident, the author tells of the experiences that led to her recovery and further enhanced her existing spiritual belief system by pinpointing the issues you face in this life. You are shown how to identify them and ultimately release those blockages. She says: “… we are here not by accident but rather design.” And uses this as a platform to guide you, enhance the quality of your life, to enable you to evolve to a new level of understanding.

She was catapulted into a world of self-discovery; a privileged world which has offered profound experiences which she generously shares with you through her own personal story and that of her coterie of friends. Although she has the gift of clairaudience (to hear), something she denied for many years until she was prompted by her ‘guides’ to begin recording her amazing experiences to pen this manuscript. Ground-breaking information has been given to her courtesy of the Universe which is pure and true and provides a glimpse into the world beyond the linear of time as we consciously know it; one which provides us with the ability to manifest physical healing through a kaleidoscope of visual meditation techniques culminating into a pathway of cellular harmony.

Last Ghost To Kill

Last Ghost to Kill is a powerful book that delves into the often-overlooked pain of parent abandonment. It offers a safe space for those who suffer in silence to share their experiences and begin the healing process from their own traumas. With a compassionate and understanding approach, this book seeks to start an important conversation and provide the tools needed for individuals to overcome their abandonment issues. Whether you are struggling to cope with the emotional aftermath of parental abandonment or seeking to support a loved one who is, Last Ghost to Kill is an essential read that will help you navigate the complex emotions and find a path towards healing and wholeness.

Life Without My Family – Lone Survivor of Eleven Children

Nothing could have prepared me for what I was going to discover during my mother’s funeral. The level of trepidation I felt as I drew closer to my destination was held at bay only by the knowledge that my only surviving sister, Elizabeth, would be there with me, to keep each other company, and to share in the pain of bereavement. We had lost nine of our siblings, some as toddlers, and others as grown women.

My sister met me and walked with me towards the crowd of mourners, crying in each other’s arms as we walked. Our mother, our rock and prayer worrier had gone. We had lost a total of eleven people altogether including our dad. Our mother was put to rest. I returned to England after ten days not knowing that would be the last time I would see my sister. She passed away less than a year after my mum. Out of eleven siblings, I was left alone.

This is the story of my journey through life as a lone survivor. It is the story of how I have embraced my healing and found purpose for living despite my loss.

Little Bundle of Sorrow

Birth is made out to be the happiest time of your life. But what happens if you have a difficult pregnancy, a traumatic birth, your baby is fussy, or just won’t go to sleep? Are you meant to bond with your baby straight away?

Sometimes, the experience of being a new mum sucks. You’ve been sleep-deprived for weeks or months, and post-natal depression can creep up and take over. If you’ve found yourself struggling to cope, you’re not the only one. Other women have had similar thoughts and feelings to you, no matter how extreme they seem.

The women in this book have experienced postnatal depression and have come out the other side. Their stories will give you hope that there is a way out of the dark hole you are in.

You are not alone.

Love Is A Losing Game

Always love yourself first, be cautious of giving love too soon, you should make a conscious effort to make sure that you’re getting loyalty, honesty, respect and dedication from the other person before you give in to the emotion of love. Keep in mind love can’t be turned off like a faucet if the other person becomes problematic. How many times have you heard of someone staying in a toxic relationship they obviously shouldn’t be in and the reason is that they love that person? In my opinion, you don’t have to be in love first for a marriage to work. Make sure the other person is worthy of you loving them first.

Marguerite Hepton Memorial Hospital

Based on the author’s own experiences, Marguerite Hepton Memorial Hospital is the story of a sixteen-year-old girl who left school and entered a world of learning and strict discipline, often headed by girls only months older than herself! There she was using equipment and procedures now long forgotten for diseases such as tuberculosis, osteomyelitis, polio and congenital conditions, all of which are now eradicated or treatable.

Her book will appeal to those connected with Thorpe Arch, the hospital, as well as a wider audience of anyone interested in real life nursing and how, off duty, these young people entertained themselves and their patients.

Good care, support, and camaraderie in the midst of changing attitudes, and fears of society towards illness at a time when the world was recovering from World War Two and trying to embrace new technological ideas or discovering new drugs such as antibiotics and streptomycin.

This book should appeal to many people whose lives have reached a reflective stage and anyone interested in history and nursing or educationalists looking for historical facts.