SHORTLISTED FOR TWO IRISH BOOK AWARDS 2021 'Something they don't tell you about getting older is that you fall. Oh, you hear about it in passing, of course, "She had a fall, poor thing". Falling is not something you ever think about as a younger woman. You think about falling in love . . .' At 20 Londoner Ann Ingle fell madly in love with an Irish fellow she met on holiday in Cornwall. At the church to arrange their shotgun wedding she discovered that he hadn't even told her his real name. Sixty-odd years later Ann looks back on that first glorious fall and in a series of essays considers what she has learned from the life that followed - bringing eight children into the world, their father's years of mental illness and tragic death at 40, being a cash-strapped single mother in 1980s Dublin, coming into her own in her middle years - going to college, working and writing, and continuing to evolve and learn into her ninth decade, even as she accepts the realities of being 'old'. Candid about everything that matters - love, sex, heartbreak, money, class, religion, mental health, rearing children (and letting them go), reading and writing, ageing - Openhearted is a compelling story about living life in a spirit of curiosity and delight and with a willingness to look for good in others. ___________________ 'By some distance the most courageous, most poignant, most life-affirming memoir I've read in the last twenty years and more' Paul Howard 'Genuinely inspirational. I LOVE ANN INGLE' Marian Keyes 'What a beautiful openhearted, at times broken-hearted memoir ... honest, funny, searingly direct, a wonderful voice ... remarkable' Joe Duffy 'Really beautiful. Searingly honest, astonishingly frank and very, very funny' Maia Dunphy

On August 1, 1983, Laurel Greshel's world changed forever after a phone call from her doctor. After receiving word that her unborn baby had serious health issues, Laurel was overwhelmed. As she and her husband, Ted, struggled to accept the diagnosis that their daughter, Amanda, would be born with spina bifida, they had to slowly learn to say goodbye to "normal" and embrace each of their tiny newborn's accomplishments.

Without any instruction book on how to raise a child with spina bifida, Laurel and Ted must learn to survive countless medical issues and several near-death scares with Amanda by leaning on their faith in God. As Laurel candidly shares experiences-both good and bad-that she has with doctors, nurses, teachers, family members, and friends, she offers a heartfelt glimpse into her painful struggles as she gives entirely of herself to help Amanda grow to her full potential. With the help of God's steady hand, Laurel manages to raise two other daughters, nurture her marriage, and cope with all the ups and downs of caring for a medically challenged child.

In this poignant memoir, one mother describes her unforgettable journey through her daughter's difficulties, revealing the important message that God creates all of us just the way He wants us- perfectly made.

There was once an elderly woman who called Time & Temperature every day, just to hear the sound of another human voice. Did she know it was an automated recording? Maybe, but it didn't matter-so long as there was something there to lessen her loneliness. Situations like this are not new, especially in nursing homes, where people seemingly go to be forgotten-by family, by friends, and by society. What if you could do something about their loneliness? What if you could make them feel useful, loved, and respected? Frank Pawlak, a pastor and evangelist, did just that. He spent fifty years ministering to senior citizens, notably through music and the word of God. His stories are many-as are his hilarious anecdotes-but what Frank took away from his ministry was more than just entertainment. Frank Pawlak came to realize that just when you think you're blessing someone else, you turn out to be the one who is blessed. The nursing home occupants he visited taught him more than he could ever teach them; they showed him more love than he could have given. His amazing journey is chronicled in I Hear the Music-I Have to Go, as Frank lives out the adage, "If you're looking for something to do with your life, help someone in need!"

More than a horse book, this work maintains that the old ways of looking at the world, at our lives, at how to train horses, and even about looking at God, do not work. We might get the job done - but not in a way that we as gentle humans walking softly on the earth wish for ourselves.

How do you find hope and even joy in a world that is racist, sexist and facing climate crisis? How do you prepare your children for it, but also fill them with all the boundlessness and eccentricity that they deserve and that life has to offer?

In Brown Baby, Nikesh Shukla explores themes of racism, feminism, parenting and our shifting ideas of home. This memoir, by turns heartwrenching, hilariously funny and intensely relatable, is dedicated to the author’s two young daughters, and serves as an act of remembrance to the grandmother they never had a chance to meet. Through love, grief, food and fatherhood, Shukla shows how it’s possible to believe in hope.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE IRISH BOOK AWARDS 2021 SHORTLISTED FOR THE KATE O'BRIEN AWARD 2022 'A stunning debut from this new Irish talent' STELLAR A young woman comes of age in the shadow of her family's tragic past When Beth Crowe starts university, she is shadowed by the ghost of her potential as a competitive swimmer. Free to create a fresh identity for herself, she finds herself among people who adore the poetry of her grandfather, Benjamin Crowe, who died tragically before she was born. She embarks on a secret relationship - and on a quest to discover the truth about Benjamin and his widow, her beloved grandmother Lydia. The quest brings her into an archive that no scholar has ever seen, and to a person who knows things about her family that nobody else knows. Holding Her Breath is a razor-sharp, moving and seriously entertaining novel about complicated love stories, ambition and grief - and a young woman coming fully into her powers. __________ 'A beautiful coming-of-age story told with impressive skill and lightness of touch . . . I absolutely loved it' LOUISE O'NEILL 'Whip smart observations and addictive prose' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 'Precise, sure, engaging, and a joy to read' RODDY DOYLE 'A moving debut with a satisfying conclusion' IRISH INDEPENDENT 'Brilliant, vivid - I enjoyed this book ENORMOUSLY' MARIAN KEYES 'Enthralling' IMAGE 'A nimble account of student life with a darkly enjoyable undercurrent of secrecy and emotional turmoil' SARA BAUME 'A truly compelling read, and one I wholeheartedly recommend' BUZZ 'Through the dark sky of our times, Eimear Ryan arrives like a comet, a bright talent scorching through every page' DOIREANN NI GHRIOFA, author of A Ghost in the Throat 'Brilliantly realised, gripping, and moving . . . This is absolutely the real thing' KEVIN POWER 'Written with a wonderful clarity and insight, Holding Her Breath lingers in the imagination. Beth's unravelling and re-ravelling is drawn with great skill and empathy. A brilliant debut' DONAL RYAN

In Grandma's On the Camino, author Mary O'Hara Wyman, a 72 year old grandmother from San Francisco, relates her 2010 adventures walking 500 miles alone as a pilgrim on the Camino Frances. Her journey takes her from St. Jean Pied de Port in France, across the Pyrenees to Spain, then westward to the ancient spiritual destination of Santiago de Compostela. Through back-home reflections based on journal entries and postcards sent to her grand daughter, Mary describes engaging encounters with pilgrims of all ages and motivations, close-range observations of numerous animals on the trails, and the daily tasks of finding food and a bed each evening. Readers will gain keen insight into the physical day to day rigors facing a walking pilgrim, as Mary endured several falls on the trails, a serious foot injury, copious rain, mud and unseasonal cold and hot weather. Grandma's On the Camino will inspire pilgrims and armchair readers of any age with Mary's adventures and coping mechanisms, calmness under pressure, humorous outlook on life and truly spiritual approach to walking the Camino Frances to Santiago de Compostela. You will walk as a pilgrim with Mary through every word in the book.

On June 11, 2004 Michael, a perfectly healthy looking young teenager, participates in a walk for the American Cancer Society with his mother, Laura. Hours later he is fighting for his life in an emergency room as doctors try to stop the bleeding from a brain hemorrhage that could kill him. "Michael's Journey" is the compelling true story of cancer survival based on the journal kept by his mother, Laura. Laura candidly shares the pain and perseverance she and her family experience during this difficult time. Michael's inspirational story focuses on the emotional reality of childhood cancer and his courage and will to survive.

Give Grandpa the perfect gift this Father's Day: the gift of his story.

Grandfather, I Want to Hear Your Story is more than a journal―it's a heartfelt invitation. A space for your grandfather to look back, reflect, and pass down the moments that made him who he is. From the playful mischief of boyhood to the hard-won wisdom of later years, each page captures a piece of the man your family knows and loves.

With over 300 carefully crafted prompts by bestselling author Jeffrey Mason, this newly expanded edition makes it easy―and meaningful―for him to share his story in his own words. Whether it's a favorite memory, a quiet lesson, or a laugh-out-loud moment, every entry adds to a legacy your family can treasure forever.

Here's why Grandpa (and you!) will love it:

People worked hard, back then, to promote themselves as they believed they should be. Norman Rockwell, then Ozzie and Harriet, depicted Godlike behaviors and values that we continue to admire. However the hurt and loneliness endured by the fat girl, the oddball, the foreigner or the village idiot was largely ignored. Hopefully, they didn't live on our block. Few of us can attain Rockwellian Ideals. We're born with powerful and indelible compulsions. The flesh is weak and failure to achieve the ideal can result in the worst kinds of hypocracy. Pretending to be something we aren't causes damage to ourselves and to others as well. We've all heard stories about explosive consequences of passion denied. This book is about one man's fight to be kind to others, true to himself, yet achieve normalcy in a world with little tolerance for those who are, somehow, "queer."

This is a story of a medical intern in post apartheid South Africa. It is a novel about the imperfections of society.It follows the trials of a young muslim adult in a difficult world as he comes to grips with religion, work and family.As the title suggests we are all teething when it comes to life experiences.

Blessed:Therapy is the long awaited masterpiece, by new author, Jennifer 'Je' Wilford. It is a true story, based on the trials and tribulations that surrounded the sudden death of both of her parents. She tells us how those tragic events, have caused her to walk away from an 18yr alternative lifestyle, that her mother often encouraged her to change. Je' is a true survivor of circumstances that would damage the lives of some and threaten the lives of most. Blessed:Therapy will have you laughing, crying and praying from the very beginning. Journey with her, through her eyes, as she takes you on the most difficult path that she has ever had to face in life. You will laugh, you will cry and you will be Blessed.

A heart-warming, fresh and original story about family and friendship from brand-new picture book author, writer and performer Jordan Stephens. Sunny loves jigsaw puzzles - the bigger the better. When she completes one, she gets a warm, happy honeybee buzz. One day, her Gran gives her a ONE-THOUSAND-PIECE puzzle. Piece after piece, all by herself, she puts together the picture, until ... DISASTER! The final piece is missing. Sunny may be small, but she is very determined - so she sets off to find it. As the day whizzes by in a whirl of new places and friends, Sunny discovers that looking for something is every bit as fun as finding it, and that perhaps the missing piece was there all along ...

"Love, Pray, Listen offers empathy and grounded biblical wisdom to help parents thrive, no matter what path their adult kids take."--PASTOR STEVE STROOPE Wisdom and Hope for Parents of Grown-Ups As a parent, your role changes drastically after your kids grow up. You fear heartache and strained relationships when your children choose difficult--even seemingly wrong--paths. Love, Pray, Listen is the gracious, practical resource you need for navigating the rocky terrain of parenting grown-ups. In this book, mom and author Mary DeMuth answers questions like: * What do I do when my kids make choices that don't align with my values? * How do I keep communication lines open with my grown children? * When do I speak, and when do I listen? * Is it possible to hold on to my joy when parenting is so hard? * How do I avoid the temptation of meddling in my kids' lives? Love, Pray, Listen offers a robust theology for long-term parenting gleaned from the discipleship model Jesus exemplified, one that carefully and thoughtfully applies his way of expressing love. This is your invitation for spiritual growth and a path toward fulfilling relationships with your adult children.

'Charming, touching and very very funny' Jenny Colgan 'Simply too good' Daily Mail From the author of the Times bestselling A Chip Shop in Poznan ONE HOUSE. TWO HOUSEMATES. THREE REASONS TO WORRY: WINNIE AND BEN ARE SEPARATED BY 50 YEARS, A GULF IN CLASS, AND MAJOR DIFFERENCES OF OPINION. When hunting for a room in London, Ben Aitken came across one for a great price in a lovely part of town. There had to be a catch. And there was. The catch was Winnie: an 85-year-old widow who doesn't suffer fools. Full of warmth, wit and candour, The Marmalade Diaries tells the story of an unlikely friendship during an unlikely time. Imagine an intergenerational version of Big Brother, but with only two contestants. One of the pair a grieving and inflexible former aristocrat in her mid-eighties. The other a working-class millennial snowflake. What could possibly go wrong? What could possibly go right? Out of the most inauspicious of soils - and from the author of The Gran Tour - comes a book about grief, family, friendship, loneliness, life, love, lockdown and marmalade.

Every wondered if other parents have the same thoughts? Remember the time your child painted the family dog? Ever wondered how other's feel about losing a loved one? Well so have I. It's a Buddy's World is based on real life events, both personal and the tales of others. The book actually started with articles I published in magazines and news papers. My readers commented on wanting more, and some actually thanked me for making them feel better. I have tried to include a broad selection of topics which I hope you will enjoy and, in some cases, take to heart. Curl up and relax, and let me warm your heart and stimulate the " Hmmm, I wonder...," side of you. I promise at least some will bring a knowing smile to your face, while others will bring forth feelings of empathy. As that old saying goes: "Keep smiling, it makes people wonder what you have been up to." I hope I can help you smile, at least for a while.

"Love Won't Let Me Be Silent" is a collection of writings, short stories, and poems, exploring the experiences and trials of parenthood from an African-American gay male perspective and sensitively chronicles Mason's search for love and self-hood. These masterfully creative writings express candidly the views of countless gay African-Americans who are vibrant with the faith and energy of America's Black Church yet bristling with the pain and anger of America's racial and homophobic injustice. While many still speculate over whether Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., would have supported gay rights, Mason boldly points out that it is absolutely inconceivable that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., would endorse anything that smacks of discrimination and bigotry against any group since it is opposed to everything he believed in as a humanitarian and Civil Rights leader.

Mason is an extraordinary poet who eloquently expands and redefines the traditional idea of the love poem in creative and ingenious ways. Each poem, story, and article is suffused with restoration, history, love, and ferocious courage He also gives us an honest glimpse into the life of a young "Angel Mason" who experienced the pangs of growing up in a not-so-tolerant world as an African-American gay teen.

America has barely smoothed its feathers, ruffled badly last year by the California Supreme Court's initial decision to lift the ban on gay marriage, followed by a divisive election that reversed the decision and placed the matter again before the California Supreme Court for repeal. These chilling events led to an epiphany that compelled him to write "Love Won't Let Me Be Silent." These electrifying writings are destined to make him one of the foremost voices of the African-American gay experience. We have no doubt that the artistry and enduring vision that Mason demonstrates in this inspiring book will cause a revolutionary awakening in America and continue to influence our culture, reshape our thinking, and touch our hearts and lives for decades.

To honour a promise to her dying father, Jane takes her ageing incontinent mother to Italy. What could possibly go wrong? Jane Christmas had always had a difficult relationship with her mother, but thought that a mother and daughter trip to Italy could be the start of a whole new friendship. In this hilarious but poignant memoir, she discovers that it will not be that easy. Describing her mother as a cross between 'Queen Victoria and Hyacinth Bucket', Jane struggles to build bridges to a woman she has always found a puzzle, while also trying to cope with her mother's failing health and physical needs.