Diaries & Memoirs

After a decade overseas, Ally Shepherd got stuck in the Northwest of England amid 2020's pandemic chaos. She promptly became a born-again Northerner and wanted to tell the world. Documents her journey to understand herself through the region exploring the diverse legacy of food, music, literature, dialect, social change and superstition

After retiring to Cyprus and looking forward to a life of leisure, a neighbour told me the donkey sanctuary was losing their farrier and was I interested! This was the beginning of my second career as a farrier in Cyprus that led me to some way out places, and to meeting some really interesting people. Also I was asked if I could shoe a horse which snowballed into horseshoeing the length and breadth of Cyprus and over the border into the Turkish area too. My work all came from recommendations. I did try to control my work to two or three days a week as i wanted to follow other leisure activities. Some weeks though, that plan went out of the window.One leisure activity I did get involved with was a writers group. For years I had always wanted to write a book about my life as a farrier, but it was always going to be tomorrow when I would start it. I had told God knows how many folk over the years that one day I would write a book but it certainly wasn't going to be today as I had no idea how to go about it. That changed when I met the chairman of Paphos writers group and told him about my plans to write about my farrier life, one day he said; ''Well it is no good talking about it. I hope to see you at our groups meeting at 10 o'clock tomorrow. That morning was the ''tomorrow'' that had finally come to start writing my first book; All clenched up and nearly finished.'' Now I write regularly and my second book ''All clenched up and finally finished'' is published.

This volume reveals how an ordinary American couple, Cimbaline and Henry Fike, wrote their way through struggles that challenged the survival of both their nation and marriage. Drawing on hundreds of letters exchanged between 1862 and 1865, A Union Tested details the lives of an Illinois homemaker and a quartermaster in the Union army and reveals how Civil War correspondence sustained relationships disrupted by war. In his research Jeremy Neely found that such letters became an epistolary bridge that sustained families--wives and husbands, parents and children, brothers and sisters--across the years and miles that stretched between them during the tumult of war. The Fikes' years-long correspondence shows how a fully formed marriage reconstituted itself within the handwritten lines the couple cast across hundreds of miles. Amid the extraordinary circumstances of wartime, writing to one another prompted a remarkable degree of self-reflection and provided for each the space to learn anew about their partners, their country, and themselves.

Comedian and severe dyslexic Phil Hanley reveals his unlikely path to success in a story that is equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking.When Phil Hanley was in first grade, he realized something that would forever set him apart from his peers: he couldn't read. His teachers were ill-equipped to assist him, and he slipped through the school's cracks, year by year falling further and further behind his friends. Finally, he was diagnosed with dyslexia, a learning disability that would shape the rest of his life.Unable to pursue college or a traditional job, Phil was thrust into a life defined by unconventional twists, including a stint as a runway model in Europe. Eventually, he found himself on a stage with a microphone, a spotlight, and five minutes of jokes. Unlike so many previous pursuits, stand-up felt right to Phil, and he soon discovered that the more he worked at it, the more he got out of it-a realization that, he compellingly argues, saved his life. Spellbound is a story of humor and also of struggle and heartbreak, of constantly living in a world that sees things differently than you do, and of triumph over adversity.Phil shows us that dyslexia can be a huge challenge, but it doesn't spell certain condemnation (and neither can he). Just the opposite: dyslexia has been more than a blessing in his life-it's been his North Star.

A collection of meditations, essays and practical tips on creativity and the craft of writing, by the New York Times bestselling writer

This volume reveals how an ordinary American couple, Cimbaline and Henry Fike, wrote their way through struggles that challenged the survival of both their nation and marriage. Drawing on hundreds of letters exchanged between 1862 and 1865, A Union Tested details the lives of an Illinois homemaker and a quartermaster in the Union army and reveals how Civil War correspondence sustained relationships disrupted by war. In his research Jeremy Neely found that such letters became an epistolary bridge that sustained families--wives and husbands, parents and children, brothers and sisters--across the years and miles that stretched between them during the tumult of war. The Fikes' years-long correspondence shows how a fully formed marriage reconstituted itself within the handwritten lines the couple cast across hundreds of miles. Amid the extraordinary circumstances of wartime, writing to one another prompted a remarkable degree of self-reflection and provided for each the space to learn anew about their partners, their country, and themselves.

A memoir detailing a woman's experience of dealing with surgical mesh and its complications. Explains the medical failures which allowed this practice to continue despite causing pain and suffering to a vast number of women.

A funny, frank and uplifting memoir of what it's like to live with bipolar disorder from model and mental health activist, Rosie Viva and how we can all learn to make peace with our minds.

A Wilder Way is a memoir of a relationship with an ever-changing garden, of setting down roots and becoming embedded in nature, and of how tending to a patch of land will not only grow us as individuals, but can also help to grow a better world. Join Poppy Okotcha in her wild little garden in Devon, where, over the course of a year, she shares the inspiring, the mundane and the magical moments that arise from tending a garden through the seasons, and what they can teach us about living more sustainably. Alongside tips for sowing and growing, wild ingredients to be found and delicious seasonal recipes to make, she shows us how the small joys of engaging with the natural world are imperative for our physical and emotional wellbeing. How the more we look at the world around us, the more we learn and the more we care. Woven throughout are folktales from her English and Nigerian heritage - stories with nature at their heart that have inspired her, and will inspire us to live a little more wildly.

Brings together virtually every known communication exchanged between the writer and the twelve girls he called his ""angelfish"", a group of schoolgirls who became his surrogate grandchildren. It also includes a number of Clemens's notebook entries, autobiographical dictations, short manuscripts, and other relevant materials that further illuminate this fascinating story.

Follow Ashley on a journey of unexpected twists, unimaginable pain and unbreakable bonds. A tale of resilience, where the past becomes a battleground for the future. Secrets buried in the sands of time resurface, testing the limits of love and loyalty.Amidst the shadows of uncertainty, a family's strength is put to the ultimate test. Experience the emotional rollercoaster as they navigate a complex web of decisions, sacrifices, and redemption. A story that explores the deepest corners of the human soul, revealing the power of forgiveness and the enduring spirit of hope.Through this captivating narrative, witness the transformation of lives, the mending of broken hearts, and the pursuit of a brighter tomorrow. As the chapters unfold, Ashley embarks on a poignant quest, teaching us that even in the face of adversity, there is always a chance for healing and a new beginning.