Julie Walters has been delighting audiences on screen and on stage for more than 25 years, and has been described as Britain's most popular actress and comedienne. Now she tells us her own story, in her own words. She was born in 1950s Birmingham, daughter of an austere Irish Catholic mother, and was sent to school in a convent. She wanted to be an actress from a young age, but to appease her mother she first went into nursing--that didn't last for long, and she soon joined Liverpool's Everyman Theatre. West End success followed, and she quickly replicated her success on film, earning an Academy Award nomination for her role in "Educating Rita." Julie's collaborations with her close friend Victoria Wood have given audiences many unforgettable characters, and she's recently charmed a new generation of fans playing Mrs. Weasley in the Harry Potter films, alongside Meryl Streep in "Mamma Mia ," co-starring with Helen Mirren in "Calendar Girls," and co-starring in "Billy Elliot." A natural writer with an instinctive sense of timing, Julie's memoir is warm, moving, painfully felt, fiercely intelligent--and totally entertaining.

Oscar-nominated star of Educating Rita and Billy Elliot's darkly funny debut novel. Cissie is a stand-up comedienne and national darling. Helena is the toast of Broadway. Maggie is an extremely beautiful but troubled actress - and she's cracking up fast, in fact she's 'out of her tree'. When Cissie takes Maggie to see Helena in New York, it leads to trouble straight away: Maggie disappears into the freezing February night, no one knows where. As the search for their friend continues, alarming divisions occur in the lifelong friendships of Cissie, Helena and her stoic husband Luke. And then Cissie disappears too. So, two of the closest of friends are lost separately somewhere in snowbound Manhattan. Julie Walter's dark and very funny first novel is as assured as her celebrated work for stage, television and the cinema. It is a brilliant debut.

Advent is the perfect season to begin praying as a family! Its wealth of traditions, such as the Advent wreath, the Advent calendar, and the Jesse tree, can be the perfect focal point for prayer. Advent: A Family Celebration will delight both children and adults with its ability to relate Scripture and prayer to real life events. Each day's meditation, designed to be said after the lighting of the Advent wreath, features a Scripture passage based on the Mass readings. A reflection and prayer then relates the Bible passage to a story or event. Two sets of meditations are written -- one for very young children and another for older ones. Prayers for all three Sunday cycles are also included. In addition, the book includes special Scripture passages and prayers to say each day while decorating the Jesse tree.