Diaries & Memoirs

A self-help book about self-love combined with boundaries - the practical side of self-love. How to reclaim selfishness as a force for good.

How to live a better life. One of the most important books on Western philosophy - a powerful and inspirational guide for the complicated world of today

The renowned Tibetan Buddhist teacher recounts the adventure story of his life and brush with death during his four-year wandering retreat, combined with innovative meditation techniques for a more enlightened and happier life.

One woman¿s journey to overcome grief by delving into nature.After losing her husband of 32 years, Long Litt Woon is utterly bereft. For a time, she is disoriented, aimless, lost. It is only when she wanders deep into the woods and attunes herself to Nature¿s chorus that she learns how the wild might restore us to hope, and to life after death.

The Good Life meets My Family and Other Animals; A timeless, funny and heartwarming memoir of life on a Cornish farm.

From a god-fearing Muslim boy enraptured with their mother, to a vocal, queer drag queen estranged from their family, this is a heart-breaking and hilarious memoir about the author's fight to be true to themself

Feeling anxious? Who isn't! Your most irrational (and sometimes rational) fears are hilarious fodder for this sharp and relatable activity book.

It was 11pm when I checked my email for the last time and turned off my phone for what I hoped would be forever.

This is a place where the previously unspeakable becomes the commendable - a unique portrayal of the queer experience. (c) 2019, Crystal Rasmussen (P) 2019 Penguin Audio

The Hare with Amber Eyes meets The History of the World in 100 Objects: an eloquent history of the language of sewing over centuries and across continents.

An anonymous barrister writes a darkly comic, provocative and moving first-hand account of life in the legal system and how it's failing us all

A memoir by a young woman with a terminal illness, who contends with the terrifying fact that, even for her beloved husband and son, she is not the lynchpin of existence and life will go on.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA BIOGRAPHY PRIZE THE SUNDAY TIMES NO.2 BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE BMA PRESIDENT'S AWARD 2017 An incredible memoir from one of the world's most eminent heart surgeons, recalling some of the most remarkable and poignant cases he's worked on.

"Songwriter [and television personality] Linda Thompson breaks her silence, sharing the ... story of her life, career, and epic romances with two of the most celebrated, yet enigmatic, modern American superstars--Elvis Presley and Bruce Jenner"--Dust jacket flap.

The path to success is rarely easy or direct, and good mentors are hard to find. In Getting There, thirty leaders in diverse fields share their secrets to navigating the rocky road to the top. In an honest, direct, and engaging way, these role models describe the obstacles they faced, the setbacks they endured, and the vital lessons they learned. They dispense not only essential and practical career advice, but also priceless wisdom applicable to life in general. Getting There is for everyonefrom students contemplating their futures to the vast majority of us facing challenges or seeking to reach our potential.

ANNE LISTER IS THE INSPIRATION FOR GENTLEMAN JACK, A NEW BBC/HBO SERIES BY SALLY WAINWRIGHT, STARRING SURANNE JONES.'Engaging, revealing, at times simply astonishing: Anne Lister's diaries are an indispensable read for anyone interested in the history of gender, sexuality, and the intimate lives of women' SARAH WATERS'The Lister diaries are the Dead Sea Scrolls of lesbian history; they changed everything. By resurrecting them and editing them with such loving attention and intelligence, Helena Whitbread has earned the gratitude of a whole generation' EMMA DONOGHUEWhen this volume of Anne Lister's diaries was first published in 1988, it was hailed as a vital piece of lost lesbian history. The editor, Helena Whitbread, had spent years painstakingly researching and transcribing Lister's extensive journals, much of which were written in an elaborate code - what Lister called her 'crypthand', which allowed her to record her life in intimate, and at times, explicit, detail. Until then, Anne Lister's lesbianism had been supressed or hinted at; this was the first time her story had been told. Anne Lister defied the role of nineteenth-century womanhood: she was bold, fiercely independent, a landowner, industrialist, traveller and lesbian - a woman who lived her life on her own terms.'[Anne Lister's] sense of self, and self-awareness, is what makes her modern to us. She was a woman exercising conscious choice. She controlled her cash and her body. At a time when women had to marry, or be looked after by a male relative, and when all their property on marriage passed to their husband, Anne Lister not only dodged the traps of being female, she set up a liaison with another woman that enhanced her own wealth and left both of them free to live as they wished . . . The diaries gave me courage' JEANETTE WINTERSONThese diaries include the years 1816-1824. The second volume, NO PRIEST BUT LOVE, is available in ebook.

The unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of the hugely successful The Fry Chronicles, brilliantly read by Stephen Fry himself. Thirteen years ago, Moab is my Washpot, Stephen Frys autobiography of his early years, was published to rave reviews and was a huge bestseller. In those thirteen years since, Stephen Fry has moved into a completely new stratosphere, both as a public figure, and a private man. Now he is not just a multi-award-winning comedian and actor, but also an author, director and presenter. In January 2010, he was awarded the Special Recognition Award at the National Television Awards. Much loved by the public and his peers, Stephen Fry is one of the most influential cultural forces in the country. This dazzling memoir promises to be a courageously frank, honest and poignant read. It will detail some of the most turbulent and least well known years of his life with a reading that will excite you, make you laugh uproariously, move you, inform you and, above all, surprise you.

A Sunday Times Bestseller Have you ever had a strange urge to jump from a tall building, or steer your car into oncoming traffic? You are not alone. In this captivating fusion of science, history and personal memoir, writer David Adam explores the weird thoughts that exist within every mind, and how they drive millions of us towards obsessions and compulsions. David has suffered from OCD for twenty years, and The Man Who Couldn't Stop is his unflinchingly honest attempt to understand the condition and his experiences. What might lead an Ethiopian schoolgirl to eat a wall of her house, piece by piece; or a pair of brothers to die beneath an avalanche of household junk that they had compulsively hoarded? At what point does a harmless idea, a snowflake in a clear summer sky, become a blinding blizzard of unwanted thoughts? Drawing on the latest research on the brain, as well as historical accounts of patients and their treatments, this is a book that will challenge the way you think about what is normal, and what is mental illness. Told with fierce clarity, humour and urgent lyricism, this extraordinary book is both the haunting story of a personal nightmare, and a fascinating doorway into the darkest corners of our minds.

Listen to the brand new dramatisation of How To Be a Woman, narrated by Caitlin herself, as part of BBC Radio 4's Riot Girls season Selected by Emma Watson for her feminist book club Our Shared Shelf It's a good time to be a woman: we have the vote and the Pill, and we haven't been burnt as witches since 1727. However, a few nagging questions do remain... Why are we supposed to get Brazilians? Should we use Botox? Do men secretly hate us? And why does everyone ask you when you're going to have a baby? Part memoir, part rant, Caitlin answers the questions that every modern woman is asking.

Winner of the Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry 2016There were many things that Hollie McNish didn't know before she was pregnant. How her family and friends would react; that Mr Whippy would be off the menu; how quickly ice can melt on a stomach. These were on top of the many other things she didn't know about babies: how to stand while holding one; how to do a poetry gig with your baby as a member of the audience; how drum'n'bass can make a great lullaby. And that's before you even start on toddlers: how to answer a question like 'is the world a jigsaw?'; dealing with a ten-hour train ride together; and how children can be caregivers too.But Hollie learned.And she's still learning, slowly. Nobody Told Me is a collection of poems and stories taken from Hollie's diaries; one person's thoughts on raising a child in modern Britain, of trying to become a parent in modern Britain, of sex, commercialism, feeding, gender and of finding secret places to scream once in a while.

The second collection of memoirs from the author who inspired the BBC series All Creatures Great and Small. Now settled into the sleepy Yorkshire village of Darrowby, and married to Helen the farmer's daughter, James Herriot thinks he's finally got himself sorted. But life as a vet in the 1930s was never going to be easy. Quite aside from his unpredictable colleagues, brothers Siegfried and Tristan Farnon, he must contend with new-fangled medical techniques, delivering calves after far too much home-made wine, and a grudge-holding dog called Magnus who never forgets. And then, with Britain on the verge of war, James faces a decision that could separate him from Darrowby - and Helen - for ever . . . Since they were first published, James Herriot's memoirs have sold millions of copies and entranced generations of animal lovers. Charming, funny and touching, All Things Bright and Beautiful is a heart-warming story of determination, love and companionship from one of Britain's best-loved authors.This omnibus edition comprises the majority of chapters from Let Sleeping Vets Lie and Vets in Harness.

Everyone thinks they know the real Gordon Ramsay: rude, loud, pathologically driven, stubborn as hell. But this is his real story...This is Gordon Ramsay's autobiography - the first time he has told the full story of how he became the world's most famous and infamous chef: his difficult childhood, his brother's heroin addiction and his failed first career as a footballer: all of these things have made him the celebrated culinary talent and media powerhouse that he is today. Gordon talks frankly about:* his tough childhood: his father's alcoholism and violence and the effects on his relationships with his mother and siblings* his first career as a footballer: how the whole family moved to Scotland when he was signed by Glasgow Rangers at the age of fifteen, and how he coped when his career was over due to injury just three years later* his brother's heroin addiction.* Gordon's early career: learning his trade in Paris and London; how his career developed from there: his time in Paris under Albert Roux and his seven Michelin-starred restaurants.* kitchen life: Gordon spills the beans about life behind the kitchen door, and how a restaurant kitchen is run in Anthony Bourdain-style.* and how he copes with the impact of fame on himself and his family: his television career, the rapacious tabloids, and his own drive for success.

Sydhavnen er en udskældt bydel med negative statistikker om alt. Så hvorfor dog skrive en bog om dette forfærdelige sted? Svaret er enkelt: Sydhavnen var det perfekte sted for en dreng fra midten af 1940 erne til midten af 1960 erne. Her var og er forskellige mennesker. Også de skæve. Her var store grønne gårde og haveforeninger med små huse og en havn, hvor vi kunne fiske og bade. Der var Valbyparken og lossepladsen, hvor vi føjtede rundt - og ofte fikskrammer og forstuvninger, da vi drenge fra Sydhavnen var modige. Måske dumdristige er et bedre dækkende ord. Vi legede Kongen og hans efterfølgere. Gjorde man ikke som Kongen, faldt man i hierarkiet. Hvem ville det? Bogen er ikke kun en erindringsbog, men lige så meget en fortælling om en spændende og anderledes bydel og dens mennesker, hvilket suppleres af bogens mange fotos og illustrationer, som forfatteren, der også er arkitekt, selv har stået for.

After nearly a decade of climbing to reach all 82 summits over 4000m, Ben Tibbetts sets out his selection of the most compelling routes in the Alps. He describes his journey on each ascent through a series of stirring adventures, into which are woven threads of historical ascents from the earliest days of alpine climbing to its present day.

A powerful anti-war statement and memoir, with a foreword by Bruce Springsteen

The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober, penned by Catherine Gray, is a must-read for anyone seeking a fresh perspective on sobriety. Published in 2017 by Octopus Publishing Group, this book falls under the self-help genre but is far from your typical guide. Instead, it's a candid and humorous account of Gray's journey to sobriety, offering readers an intimate look at the struggles and triumphs of overcoming addiction. It's a book that not only provides practical advice but also challenges societal perceptions about alcohol. The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober is a beacon of hope, proving that life can be fun and fulfilling without alcohol. Published by the Octopus Publishing Group, it's a testament to the power of resilience and personal growth.

This bestselling book contains the jaw-dropping confessions of the man who fulfilled the secret sexual fantasies of Hollywood's most glittering stars and royalty