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The See-Through House: My Father in Full Colour
By Shelley Klein. 2020
'A charming account of a daughter, a house and a fastidious dad' Sunday TimesShelley Klein grew up in the Scottish…
Borders, in a house designed on a modernist open-plan grid. With colourful glass panels set against a forest of trees, it was like living in a work of art. Her father, Bernat Klein, was a textile designer whose pioneering colours and textures were a major contribution to 1960s and 70s style.Thirty years on, Shelley moves back home to care for her father, now in his eighties: the house has not changed and neither has his uncompromising vision - or his distinctive way of looking at the world. Told with great tenderness and humour, this is Shelley's account of looking after an adored yet maddening parent and a piercing portrait of the grief that followed his death. 'A sad, funny, utterly fascinating book about families, home and how to say goodbye' Mark Haddon'Original, moving and bracingly honest... often hilarious' Blake Morrison, Guardian'It is strange that grief should produce such a life-affirming book, but it has. Read it for the solace it contains, or for its captivating descriptions. Either way, it's a delight' TelegraphSaved By The Angels
By Glennyce S. Eckersley. 2002
Saved by the Angels gives warm and uplifting true stories of the extraordinary things that can happen to people (or…
their friends and relatives) if they have a near-death experience. This might include seeing the Angel of Death, having clairvoyant dreams, being aware of special fragrances, strange symbols and coincidences. Glennyce Eckersley, author of the hugely successful An Angel At My Shoulder, has collected many true stories of how angels can affect people's day-to-day lives. As more of us search for greater spiritual fulfilment, they give us hope that we live, not in a purely chaotic world, but in one of harmony, meaning and order.Sarah's Diary: An unflinchingly honest account of one family's struggle with depression
By Sarah Griffin. 2007
'I was fourteen when I found my Dad trying to commit suicide in the garage. Sounds shocking doesn't it? But…
that was part of me, part of living with my Dad'Sarah's Diary is the very personal diary of Sarah Griffin - an ordinary teenage girl learning to deal with the ups and downs of family life. On the outside hers was like any other family, but behind closed doors lay a sad and lonely secret. Sarah's Dad had depression -- a condition we've all heard of but seldom discuss. Beautifully written, brutally honest, Sarah's story is compelling reading.Roy Lichtenstein: How Modern Art Was Saved by Donald Duck (Penguin Specials)
By Alastair Sooke. 2013
A Penguin Special on Roy Lichtenstein by Alastair Sooke - read in 2 hours or less'Why, Brad darling, this painting…
is a masterpiece! My, soon you'll have all of New York clamoring for your work!' Roy Lichtenstein - architect of Pop art, connoisseur of the comic strip, master of irony and prophet of popular culture. From exhilarating images of ice-cool jet pilots in dog fights, to blue-haired Barbie dolls drowning in scenes of domestic heartache, Lichtenstein's instantly recognisable paintings, with their Ben-Day dots and witty one-liners, defined the art of a generation. But how did a jobbing, unassuming painter of the Fifties become a world-famous Pop artist whose work today sells for millions? What do his paintings really tell us? And what is his legacy?This book, by art critic and broadcaster Alastair Sooke, is a perfect introduction to the artist and his work. Spanning Lichtenstein's career, and explaining his unique style, it is a journey through the life of one of the twentieth century's greatest artists.Published in time for a major new retrospective of the work of Roy Lichtenstein.'Sooke is an immensely engaging character. He has none of the weighty self-regard that often afflicts art experts and critics; rather he approaches his subjects with a questioning, open, exploratory attitude' Sarah Vine, The Times'His shows are excellent - clever, lively, scholarly, but not too lecturey; he's very good at linking his painters with the world outside the studio, and at how these artists have affected the world today' Sam Wollaston reviewing 'Modern Masters', GuardianAlastair Sooke is deputy art critic of the Daily Telegraph. He has written and presented documentaries on television and radio for the BBC, including Modern Masters, an acclaimed BBC One series that chronicled modern art in the twentieth century. Since 2009 he has reported regularly for The Culture Show on BBC Two. He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, and at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London.The Promise: The Moving Story of a Family in the Holocaust
By Barbara Powers. 2006
A Holocaust survivor's own story, told specially for young readers.This is the remarkable true story of a young Jewish girl…
and her brother caught in a world turned upside down by the Nazis during the Second World War. Eva Schloss describes her happy early childhood in Vienna with her kind and loving parents and her older brother Heinz, whom she adored. But when the Nazis marched into Austria everything changed.Eva's family fled to Belgium, then to Amsterdam where, with the help of the Dutch Resistance, they spent the next two years in hiding - Eva and her mother in one house, and her father and brother in another. But in the end they were all betrayed and deported to Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. Despite the horrors of the camp, Eva's positive attitude and stubborn personality (which had often got her into trouble) saw her through one of the most tragic events in history but sadly her father and brother perished just weeks before the liberation. Eva and her mother travelled back to the house in Amsterdam where Heinz and his father had hidden and discovered over thirty beautiful paintings by her brother. Heinz hadn't wasted any of his talents during his captivity. For Eva, here was a tangible, everlasting memory of her beloved older brother, and a reminder of her father's promise that all the good things you accomplish will make a difference.Heinz's paintings have been on display in exhibitions in the USA and are now a part of a permanent exhibition in Amsterdam's war museum.Eva Schloss is the posthumous step-sister of Anne Frank, after mother, Fritzi, was remarried to Otto Frank, the only surviving member of his immediate family.Please Don't Cry: A family torn apart by grief. An incredible act of love.
By Jane Plume. 2014
'I’m glad I could do her this one last favour. If it had been the other way round, I know…
Gina would have done the same for me.’Jane and Gina were the best of friends. When Gina’s husband Shaun was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2009, Jane vowed to do everything she could to help her best mate and her two small sons through the awful time to come. But things were about to take a tragic turn for the worse. In 2010, Gina was killed in a shock car crash. Though devastated by her own grief, Jane knew that Gina needed her now more than ever – to help with the boys she had left behind. And after cancer claimed Shaun's life, Jane stepped in to care for the two orphans, becoming the mother her best friend could no longer be.This is the moving true story behind an incredible act of love.Our Billie
By Ian Clayton. 2010
'An astonishing work' - Joanne HarrisEvery parent's worst nightmare became a reality for Ian Clayton. On a short holiday break…
in Hay-on-Wye he took his nine-year-old twins canoeing, and in a freak accident his daughter Billie was drowned. In a remarkably frank and vivid way Clayton describes what happened on that spring day, his desperate attempts to save his two children, and then what it felt like two years later to come face to face with the men who hired out the canoe.But Our Billie is not a story of bitterness and recrimination. Instead it's the story of how a family attempts to come to terms with something which makes no sense at all. Through his memories of Billie and his wonderfully affectionate portrait of the small town in Yorkshire where the family has lived for generations, he weaves a story of loss and remembering, of gratitude and forgiveness.Openhearted: Eighty Years of Love, Loss, Laughter and Letting Go
By Ann Ingle. 2021
SHORTLISTED FOR TWO IRISH BOOK AWARDS'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 - Open-Hearted 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 DunphyOne Last Goodbye: Sometimes only a mother's love can help end the pain
By Kay Gilderdale. 2011
Watching her child die is the hardest thing a mother can ever do. But for Kay Gilderdale, saying a final…
goodbye to her only daughter Lynn was exceptionally painful: she'd played a part in her death.Lynn was just 14 when she was struck down by the crippling disease ME, leaving her paralysed and in constant agony. Over the next 17 years, she became desperate to escape her miserable existence, even begging her mum to help her die. So, one night, when Kay found Lynn attempting suicide, she was forced to make an impossible decision. Continue watching her child suffer or help her end the pain?Eventually, fighting her every instinct, Kay helped her precious daughter take a fatal overdose. But while Lynn was finally free, her mother faced a fresh agony - a possible lifetime behind bars. The highly controversial trial that followed opened a fierce public debate on assisted suicide. Is it murder or mercy?Here, in her heartbreaking story, Kay reveals the harrowing truth behind the headlines and the desperate lengths a mother will go to for the love of a child.One Day at a Time: A Memoir
By Susan Lewis. 2011
She was only nine when her world fell apart. The struggle to understand took a lifetime.In 1960s Bristol, Susan's family…
was like any other with its joys and frustrations, and fierce loyalties. Then tragedy struck and left a legacy that was to last a lifetime.Susan was only nine when her mother died. A year later she was sent away to school. She didn't want to go, and didn't understand why she had to. In her struggle to cope with an uncertain world - a world where nothing seemed to make sense any more - she pushed away the one person she loved best, her father. It wasn't until adulthood beckoned that she realised that, in order to turn their relationship around, she had to learn to love - and trust - again.My Sister Milly
By Gemma Dowler. 2017
You've seen Manhunt, now read this powerful and personal account from Milly Dowler's sister Gemma . . . 'My name…
is Gemma Dowler. On 21 March 2002, a serial killer named Levi Bellfield stole my sister and sent our family to hell . . .'In My Sister Milly, Gemma Dowler recounts the terrible day of Milly's disappearance, the suspicions that fell on the family, the torture of encountering the murderer in court, the fatal errors made by the police, how it very nearly destroyed her family and how love and hope helped the family survive.Everyone thinks they know the story of Milly Dowler, but only one person knows the true pain of having lost her sister, and how a family can rediscover hope to survive.________________'Compelling. An amazing book'Jeremy Vine, BBC Radio 2'Heartbreaking' Daily Mail'Tragic, poignant, full of emotional memories'Daily MirrorA Mother's War: One Woman's Fight for the Truth Behind Her Son's Death at Deepcut
By Yvonne Collinson Heath. 2013
Yvonne Collinson Heath will never forget the telephone call that changed her life for ever. On 23 March 2002, her…
eldest son, James – a private with the Royal Logistic Corps – was found dead in mysterious circumstances at the notorious Deepcut barracks. He had a single gunshot wound to the head. It was a tragedy that to this day raises questions.A Mother’s War recounts Yvonne’s anguish at losing her son, a boy who dreamed of serving his country but died before he had even reached his 18th birthday. It is also the powerful story of an extraordinary woman who overcame adversity – including the hurt of being abandoned by her father, bullied as a child and abused by a trusted uncle – to find love and raise a son, only to see him cruelly taken from her within weeks of his joining the Army. It reveals how her decade-long quest for answers uncovered sinister secrets and a series of cover-ups that went right to the heart of Whitehall.Above all else, A Mother’s War is the story of how Yvonne’s grief triggered a search for the truth that took her to Downing Street and captured the hearts of the nation.Michelangelo: His Epic Life
By Martin Gayford. 2013
At thirty one, Michelangelo was considered the finest artist in Italy, perhaps the world; long before he died at almost…
90 he was widely believed to be the greatest sculptor or painter who had ever lived (and, by his enemies, to be an arrogant, uncouth, swindling miser).For decade after decade, he worked near the dynamic centre of events: the vortex at which European history was changing from Renaissance to Counter Reformation. Few of his works - including the huge frescoes of the Sistine Chapel Ceiling, the marble giant David and the Last Judgment - were small or easy to accomplish. Like a hero of classical mythology - such as Hercules, whose statue he carved in his youth - he was subject to constant trials and labours.In Michelangelo Martin Gayford describes what it felt like to be Michelangelo Buonarroti, and how he transformed forever our notion of what an artist could be.Living On The Seabed: A memoir of love, life and survival
By Lindsay Nicholson. 2011
'The morning after John's death, I remember feeling absolutely enraged that the world had kept turning and the sun had…
come up as if nothing had happened.'Lindsay Nicholson and her husband, the Observer journalist John Merritt, were regarded as a golden couple. But their world was turned upside down when John contracted leukaemia. His death at the age of 35 left Nicholson bereft with grief, now the single parent of two beautiful daughters. Then, in a tragic twist of fate, her elder daughter Ellie also contracted the same disease, dying shortly after. Nicholson found that nothing could prepare her for the emotions she was feeling. In this courageous and heart-rending memoir, Lindsay Nicholson reflects on her grieving process and the battle she faced to survive it. Her resilience and spirited determination are an inspiration to us all.Life After You
By Lucie Brownlee. 2014
‘He crashed on to the pillow next to me, heavy as a felled oak. I slapped His face and told…
Him to wake up. Our daughter, B, appeared in the doorway, woken up by the screaming – I must have been screaming but I don’t remember – and she was crying and peering in. I told her the ultimate adult lie; that everything was all right.’Sudden death is rude. It just wanders in and takes your husband without any warning; it doesn’t even have the decency to knock. At the impossibly young age of 37, as they were making love one night, Lucie Brownlee’s beloved husband Mark dropped dead. As Lucie tried to make sense of her new life – the one she never thought she would be living – she turned to writing to express her grief. Life After You is the stunning, irreverent and heartbreakingly honest result.Life After Baby Loss: A Companion and Guide for Parents
By Nicola Gaskin. 2018
**Winner of Author of The Year at The Butterfly (Baby Loss) Awards**For all parents and family managing the emotional battlefield…
of baby loss.When my baby died my whole world changed forever. I was left full of love, yet deeply heartbroken and faced with the task of living without my most precious longed for treasure. Following a fraught journey of trying to conceive again, two subsequent miscarriages, and an anxiety fuelled pregnancy after loss, I was finally able to welcome my baby girl into the world. This is the book I wish I’d been given – it will help you to not only survive the loss of your baby but to celebrate the life they had, no matter how brief. This is my hard won gift to you.Losing a child is one of the most devastating events you can go through and yet, losing your baby – particularly before they are born – remains a taboo and often misunderstood topic. In this very gentle guide, Nicola Gaskin opens up the conversation around baby loss offering raw, honest and deeply empathetic support to all parents. From coping with the initial shock, finding ways to overcome jealousy and anger, surviving birthdays and Mother’s Day, through to living with everlasting grief and the fresh round of grief and anxiety that comes with parenting after loss, it will help you to navigate through a huge range of intense and complex emotions.Beautifully written and powerfully illustrated, this book will hold your hand through your darkest and lightest moments: read it to know you are not alone and that all your feelings are absolutely valid.Leonardo Da Vinci
By Kenneth Clark, Martin Kemp. 1939
I Wasn't Ready to Say Goodbye: Surviving, Coping and Healing After the Sudden Death of a Loved One
By Brook Noel, Pamela Blair. 2008
The most helpful grief book to read when you're ready to start healing after the loss of a loved one.Discover…
the transformative power of healing and hope with this top-rated grief book and compassionate guide for those navigating the challenging journey of grief and loss.Written with profound wisdom and heartfelt empathy, I Wasn't Ready to Say Goodbye gently walks readers through the stages of grief, providing practical tools and empowering strategies to cope with the pain and confusion that accompany the loss of a loved one. Whether you've experienced the recent passing of a family member, friend, or even a pet, this book offers solace and guidance to help you navigate your unique grieving process.Features include:Practical Guidance: Learn effective coping strategies and practical tools to navigate the grieving process.Empathy and Understanding: Feel understood and supported through heartfelt anecdotes and relatable experiences.Personal Growth: Find solace and meaning in your grief journey as you embark on a path of healing and personal growth.Comprehensive Resource: Access a comprehensive guide that addresses various aspects of grief, including anticipatory grief, sudden loss, and long-term complicated grief.Hope and Inspiration: Embrace a message of hope and inspiration, knowing that healing is possible even in the face of profound loss.Whether you are at the beginning of your grief journey or further along the path, this book will help you find the strength to heal, honor your loved one's memory, and rediscover joy and purpose in your life.Praise for I Wasn't Ready to Say Goodbye:"I highly recommend this book, not only to the bereaved, but to friends and counselors as well."— Helen Fitzgerald, author of The Grieving Child, The Mourning Handbook, and The Grieving Teen"This book, by women who have done their homework on grief... can hold a hand and comfort a soul through grief's wilderness. Outstanding references of where to see other help."— George C. Kandle, Pastoral Psychologist"Finally, you have found a friend who can not only explain what has just occurred, but can take you by the hand and lead you to a place of healing and personal growth…this guide can help you survive and cope, but even more importantly... heal."— The Rebecca Review"For those dealing with the loss of a loved one, or for those who want to help someone who is, this is a highly recommended read."—Midwest Book ReviewNamed a Best Book on Losing a Parent for 2022 by Choosing Therapy.The Way of Baseball: Finding Stillness at 95 MPH
By Shawn Green, Gordon McAlpine. 2011
Shawn Green’s career statistics can be found on the backs of baseball cards in shoe boxes across America: 328 home…
runs, 1,071 RBIs, .282 career batting average, All-Star, Gold Glove, Silver Slugger. . . . But numbers tell only part of the story.His path to success was as grounded in philosophical study as in ballpark wisdom. Striving to find stillness within the rip-roaring scene of Major League Baseball—from screaming fans to national scandals— Green learned to approach the sport with a clear mind. In the tradition of Phil Jackson’s Sacred Hoops,Green shares the secrets to remaining focused both on and off the field, shedding light on a signature approach to living by using his remarkable baseball experiences to exemplify how one can find full awareness, presence, and, ultimately, fulfillment in any endeavor. Following his development from inconsistent rookie to established All-Star to aging veteran,The Way of Baseball illustrates the spiritual practices that enabled him to “bring stillness into the flow of life.” Requiring mastery of perspective and continual management of ego, the game of baseball afforded Green the opportunity to explore his potential as more than just a ballplayer. A treasure of practical wisdom and an intimate look at what it really means to “let go,” The Way of Baseball illuminates the creative possibilities within us all.My Bat Boy Days: Lessons I Learned from the Boys of Summer
By Steve Garvey. 2008
On the evening of March 28, 1956, Steve Garvey's father, a Greyhound bus driver in the Tampa Bay area, asked…
his young son if he'd like to accompany him as he drove the Brooklyn Dodgers to a spring-training game with the New York Yankees. For Garvey, a baseball card collector and an aspiring Little Leaguer, the opportunity stretched beyond his wildest imagination and marked the beginning of a legendary career and life in baseball. Garvey spent five years (1956-1961) as a bat boy, mostly for the Brooklyn Dodgers and briefly for the New York Yankees and the Detroit Tigers. The fact that he would go on to become a first baseman with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and one of the most successful players of his era, is like something out of a Hollywood script. My Bat Boy Days is his moving collection of indelible memories, fascinating profiles, and lessons learned -- about the game and about life -- from heroes such as Jackie Robinson, Sandy Koufax, and Mickey Mantle. My Bat Boy Days is for the generation of fans who remember the Boys of Summer and for the generation who grew up watching Steve Garvey play for the love of the game. Garvey's story is perfect for sharing with children and grandchildren who are just now getting to know and love the game.