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Books > Biography > General
A hundred years ago, on the night of 3 October 1922, a
thirty-two-year-old clerk named Percy Thompson was stabbed to death
as he walked home to his suburban villa in Ilford. With him was his
wife, twenty-eight-year-old Edith. His killer was Edith's lover:
Frederick Bywaters, a merchant seaman aged twenty. Bywaters was
hanged for murder on 9 January 1923. So too was Edith Thompson.
There was no evidence, of any kind, that she was involved with the
killing. What condemned Edith were the letters that she had written
to her lover, which were interpreted by the law as incitement to
murder. These letters are remarkable documents. Charged with the
vitality of Edith's voice, they are moving, perplexing, maddening,
banal, spectacularly sensual, infused with a
stream-of-consciousness immediacy. And they have never been
collected in print, until now. In Au Revoir Now Darlint, Laura
Thompson - author of the CWA Gold Dagger-shortlisted Rex vs Edith
Thompson - gathers the letters together alongside illuminating
commentary to tell the story of an ordinary life and an
extraordinary imagination that ultimately led to appalling tragedy.
Norman Lewis arrives in war-torn Naples as an intelligence officer
in 1944. The starving population has devoured all the tropical fish
in the aquarium, respectable women have been driven to prostitution
and the black market is king. Lewis finds little to admire in his
fellow soldiers, but gains sustenance from the extraordinary
vivacity of the Italians. There is the lawyer who earns his living
bringing a touch of Roman class to funerals, the gynaecologist who
"specializes in the restoration of lost virginity" and the widowed
housewife who times her British lover against the clock. "Were I
given the chance to be born again," writes Lewis, "Italy would be
the country of my choice."
'Essential reading, not just for anyone struggling with mental
illness, but for anyone who knows someone who needs support. That's
all of us' Daisy Buchanan, author of How to Be a Grown-Up'An
essential, wondrous WOW of a book' Sarah Knight, New York Times
bestselling author of The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F**k
It doesn't matter that you've lived in the shadows, that you've
slept through years of your life, that you've done things you're
shamed to admit even to yourself. It doesn't matter that you're an
anxious mess with a shouty monster brain that keeps you from
conforming to society's definition of normal. How to Come Alive
Again is a relatable, honest, joyous and above all practical guide
for anyone who has a mental illness - or anyone who knows and loves
someone who does. Beth McColl shares what's worked for her and what
hasn't, and what she wishes she'd known from the start: from advice
on how get through a bad day to the truth about medication and what
to expect from a partner. Here are the basics for mending your
life, accepting yourself, and learning to live again.
This timely memoir-cum-guide includes the insights of black women at various stages of their career as they navigate the pitfalls of the corporate world.
A performance review of the working world introduced to the young women reveals issues such as racism, sexism, ethnic chauvinism, ageism, and sexual harassment that many encounter with naivety.
When technical expertise and hard work are not the issue, how do black women make the most of their efforts and support each other to success?
’n Baie lang brief aan my dogter is Marita van der Vyver, een
van Afrikaans se mees geliefde skrywers, se ontroerende
jeugmemoir. Dit is 'n speurtog deur die skrywer se beginjare,
maar dit is ook ’n liefdesbrief aan ’n dogter en ’n taal en ’n land. En
bowenal is dit ’n ma se poging om sin te maak van hierdie onverskillige
en wrede wêreld waarin sy haar nou begewe.
The True Story Behind the Powerful Film ALL SAINTS
Newly ordained, Michael Spurlock's first assignment is to pastor All Saints, a struggling church with twenty-five devoted members and a mortgage well beyond its means. The best option may be to close the church rather than watch it wither any further. But when All Saints hesitantly risks welcoming a community of Karen refugees from Burma--former farmers scrambling for a fresh start in America--Michael feels they may be called to an improbable new mission.
Michael must choose between closing the church and selling the property--or listening to a still, small voice challenging the people of All Saints to risk it all and provide much-needed hope to their new community. Together, they risk everything to plant seeds for a future that might just save them all.
Discover the true story that inspired the film while also diving deeper into the background of the Karen people, the church, and how a community of believers rally to reach out to those in need, yet receive far more than they dared imagine.
The Reverend Michael Spurlock served All Saints Episcopal Church in Smyrna, Tennessee, for three years. He is currently on the clergy staff at Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue in New York City. Michael, his wife, Aimee, and their two children live in New York City..
Between the Mountain and the Sky shows us the goodness that is
possible when a single person--regardless of age--takes action to
help another and, in the process, changes the lives of hundreds.
Maggie's story begins in suburban New Jersey, in a comfortable
middle-class family that supports her decision to travel the world
during a gap year before starting college. During her travels, the
trajectory of her life alters when she has a surprise encounter
with a Nepali girl breaking rocks in a quarry. Maggie decides to
invest her life savings of five thousand dollars to buy a piece of
land and open a children's home in Nepal. That home becomes Kopila
Valley Children's Home, and eventually, the nonprofit Maggie
launches, the BlinkNow Foundation, also starts the Kopila Valley
School, which provides tuition-free education for more than four
hundred students. Maggie and BlinkNow's work have been recognized
around the world for their innovative, sustainable work. However,
this book isn't a how-to for fledging philanthropists or nonprofit
founders--it's a coming-of-age story about a young woman suspended
between two worlds, as well as the love, loss, healing, and hope
she experiences along the way. And Maggie's inspiring, intimate
tale shows readers an important truth: the power to change the
world exists within all of us.
Ses jaar ná die verskyning van Bloedvreemd vertel Juliana Coetzer wat
hét geword van haar dogter, Anneke. In Bloedvreemd vertel die skrywer
hoe Anneke op sewejarige ouderdom ’n virus opgedoen wat haar brein
aangetas het, en geleidelik het sy verstandelik begin agteruitgaan. Die
werklikheid het egter nie stilgestaan nie. Ses jaar ná die boek vra
mense steeds – wat het geword van julle? Is Anneke oukei? Hoe maak ’n
mens met die voortdurende verlies, die agteruitgang?
Juliana Coetzer is ook ’n terapeut. Met 'n skreiend eerlike stem wat
voortdurend selfondersoek doen, skryf Juliana oor die verdere reis met
Anneke, nou al in haar vroeg dertigs. Sy kan al hoe minder praat, al
hoe minder verstaan, en steeds probeer sy haar onafhanklikheid behou.
Sover Juliana en haar eggenoot, Fanus, daartoe in staat is, probeer
hulle haar omhul in ’n wêreld met embarming en begrip. Maar elke dag
(en nag) bring sy eie, eindelose uitdagings.
Die kind se naam is Anneke is aangrypende leesstof vir enigiemand wat
al pyn/verlies ervaar het. Of jy ’n kind het of nie. En of jy
Bloedvreemd gelees het al dan nie.
'The most magical book about the African bush since Born Free' -
Daily Mail
'A beautiful love story between humans and the majestic elephants' Jo
Malone, Daily Express
Françoise Malby-Anthony never expected to find herself responsible for
a herd of elephants with a troubled past. A chic Parisienne, her life
changed forever when she fell in love with South African
conservationist Lawrence Anthony. Together they founded a game reserve
but after Lawrence’s death, Françoise faced the daunting responsibility
of running Thula Thula without him. Poachers attacked their rhinos,
their security team wouldn’t take orders from a woman and the
authorities were threatening to cull their beloved elephant family. On
top of that, the herd’s feisty new matriarch Frankie didn’t like her.
In this heart-warming and moving book, Françoise describes how she
fought to protect the herd and to make her dream of building a wildlife
rescue centre a reality. She found herself caring for a lost baby
elephant who turned up at her house, and offering refuge to traumatized
orphaned rhinos, and a hippo called Charlie who was scared of water. As
she learned to trust herself, she discovered she’d had Frankie wrong
all along . . .
Filled with extraordinary animals and the humans who dedicate their
lives to saving them, An Elephant in My Kitchen by Françoise
Malby-Anthony is a captivating and gripping read.
'A beautiful love letter to the diaspora, Haramacy is an essential
collection of essays that push the conversation forward on issues
to do with visibility, mental health, race and class' Nikesh Shukla
'A superbly crafted collection of essays. Often elegant, often
visceral, always essential' Musa Okwonga Journalism in the UK is 94
per cent white and 55 per cent male, while only 0.4 per cent of
journalists are Muslim and 0.2 per cent are Black. The publishing
industry's statistics are equally dire. Many publications will use
British Black, Indigenous People of Colour when it's convenient;
typically, when the region the writer represents is topical and
newsworthy. Otherwise, their voices are left muted. Haramacy
amplifies under-represented voices. Tackling topics previously left
unspoken, this anthology offers a space for writers to explore
ideas that mainstream organisations overlook. Focusing on the
experiences of twelve Middle Eastern and South Asian writers, the
essays explore visibility, invisibility, love, strength and race,
painting a picture of what it means to feel fractured - both in the
UK and back home. Appreciating both heritage and adopted home, the
anthology highlights the various shades that make up our society.
The title, Haramacy, is an amalgamation of the Arabic word 'haram',
meaning indecent or forbidden, and the English word 'pharmacy',
implying a safe, trustworthy space that prescribes the antidote to
ailments caused by intersectional, social issues. The book features
contributions by novelists, journalists, and artists including Aina
J. Khan, Ammar Kalia, Cyrine Sinti, Joe Zadeh, Kieran Yates, Nasri
Atallah, Nouf Alhimiary, Saleem Haddad and Sanjana Varghese, as
well as essays by editors Dhruva Balram, Tara Joshi and Zahed
Sultan.
In 1982, at the age of just twenty-three and halfway through her
architecture studies, Elspeth Beard left her family and friends in
London and set off on a 35,000-mile solo adventure around the world
on her 1974 BMW R60/6. Reeling from a recent breakup and with only
limited savings from her pub job, a tent, a few clothes and some
tools, all packed on the back of her bike, she was determined to
prove herself. She had ridden bikes since her teens and was well
travelled. But nothing could prepare her for what lay ahead. When
she returned to London nearly two and a half years later she was
stones lighter and decades wiser. She'd ridden through unforgiving
landscapes and countries ravaged by war, witnessed civil uprisings
that forced her to fake documents, and fended off sexual attacks,
biker gangs and corrupt police convinced she was trafficking drugs.
She'd survived life-threatening illnesses, personal loss and brutal
accidents that had left permanent scars and a black hole in her
memory. And she'd fallen in love with two very different men. In an
age before email, the internet, mobile phones, satnavs and, in some
parts of the world, readily available and reliable maps, Elspeth
achieved something that would still seem remarkable today. Told
with honesty and wit, this is the extraordinary and moving story of
a unique and life-changing adventure.
Paris Nights: My Year at the Moulin Rouge opens with a bored
twenty-seven-year old Cliff Simon staring out at the ocean from his
beachfront house, wishing he was somewhere else. Gavin Mills
telephones him from Paris inviting him to join him at the iconic
Moulin Rouge. Cliff sells everything he owns, leaving Johannesburg,
South Africa for the City of Lights. He learns that his spot at the
Moulin is not guaranteed and is forced to audition. Making the
grade, he is put into can can school before he is allowed into the
company. His adrenaline is pumping from excitement and fear, both
of which he has faced before. Taking a look back, we see
twelve-year-old Cliff helming a racing dinghy in the midst of a
thunderstorm on the Vaal River. His father yells at him not to be a
sissy, and he brings the boat back to shore alone. We then travel
to London with his family escaping the tumult of Apartheid. He
trains for the Olympics, but drops out, enrolling in the South
African military where he subjected to harsh treatment and name
calling Fokken Jood. After a honorable discharge, he works in
cabaret at seaside resorts and is recruited as a gymnast in a
cabaret, where he realizes that the stage is his destiny. The
memoir fast forwards to Cliffs meteoric rise at the Moulin from
swing dancer to principal in Formidable. Off stage he gets into
fights with street thugs, hangs out with diamond smugglers, and has
his pick of gorgeous women. With a year at the Moulin to his
credit, doors open for him internationally and back in South
Africa. He earns a starring role in Egoli: Place of Gold, and
marries his long-time girlfriend, Colette. On their honeymoon to
Paris, Cliff says, Merci Paris for the best year of my life.
Aan die hand van eietydse dokumentasie het Karel Schoeman in
hierdie titel die lewe herkonstrueer van sy Suid-Afrikaanse
stamvader, die Duitser Hendrik Schoeman uit Sleeswyk-Holstein, wat
in 1724 as matroos in diens van die VOC die Kaap bereik het, 'n
prekere bestaan gemaak het as veeboer in die binneland van
Suid-Afrika, en in 1765 in armoede in die huidige Klein-Karoo
oorlede is. Soos Schoeman opmerk, is hierdie man in verskeie
opsigte geskik om as "tipiese" stamvader uit die Kompanjiestyd
beskou te word.
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