A Foot in Both Camps

Susie is a four-year-old determined child born in the UK, whose parents have come to the UK from the Caribbean during the Windrush years in the late 1950s to help with rebuilding the country after the Second World War. A battle of wills ensues between the diminutive, wiry and strong-willed Susie and her overbearing and towering father who commands obedience from not only Susie and her siblings, but also her mother.

Although tender in years, Susie develops a stoicism which is remarkable for her age, and risks being ostracised from her family with her steely determination to stand up to her father. She is faced with negotiating the juxtaposition of conflict between two opposing cultures, which creates an internal tug of war and cultural confusion. Her identity is challenged, with Susie questioning where she really belongs. With the odds stacked against her, we see a strength of spirit which shines through and never diminishes. Even in the face of adversity, she pushes herself towards what looks like an uncertain future, determined to succeed come what may.

A Glimmer of Hope

This is a true account of what I thought was a second chance of love and happiness after a sequence of life altering events. I was ready to begin a new chapter in my life, and that is exactly how it began. Little did I know that my vulnerability was being taken advantage of, for what I thought was a blossoming new relationship quickly turned into a violent and fearful fight for survival after three years.

I have recorded my story in the hope to raise awareness about domestic abuse but to also show any survivors that there is always light at the end of the tunnel. Here is my story.

A Glimpse of North Sudan

North Sudan is a largely unknown, thought-to-be-unsafe land. A Glimpse of North Sudan aims to correct that. This book is far more than a travelogue. From diaries and photographs of a safe, non-alcoholic, wonderful holiday, it tells of a short tour of a smiling poor people with an ancient, frequently violent history, pyramids and tombs in royal cemeteries with wonderful paintings and reliefs to behold. It is a largely desert country but where the Blue and White Niles combine to form a majestic life-giving river on its way to the Mediterranean Sea. In addition, there are descriptions of black Sudanese pharaohs of Egypt, the lifestyle of a Bedouin family along with British involvement in ruling the country (a section on the Battle of Omdurman led by Kitchener with a young, ambitious Winston Churchill in the ranks) and of the civil wars since independence in 1956. Finally, it suggests a way out of the cul-de-sac of poverty and deprivation. This book is a must-read for the general-interest reader of a forgotten, though fascinating, land.

A Handbook for New Company Directors

Ever wanted to be a company director? Want to find out exactly what company directors do? This is a handbook for new board directors. It gives a thorough grounding in what a new board director (private, government and not-for-profit) needs to know to become and operate as a functioning, professional company board director. It is also a useful handbook and instruction manual for the experienced director to refer to for those complex and difficult decisions.

A Happé Ending

Every life comes to an end. It's inevitable. But not all deaths have to mean the end, they can also create new beginnings. When Nicola met Pete in her local pub, she never thought they'd be married with two kids within three years and she'd be widowed within ten. This is a true story of life, death, sadness, grief, irony and strength. And ultimately happiness. Life isn't easy and dealing with death is even harder.

A History of London Boroughs Through Beer Goggles (South East Edition)

Discover facts, fiction, trivia and history of some of London’s boroughs that you may not have known before.

All of this done whilst visiting some very interesting pubs and getting some exercise to boot!

Why not read and discover about a reputed spy for Russia, who lived in a quiet suburb unbeknownst to her neighbours for decades after WWII? Or learn about Her Majesty the Queen’s beasts and what they mean? Find out about the Fighting Temeraire and the part it played in the Battle of Trafalgar. And finally, uncover the Great Fires of London, but not the one everyone talks about.

A wealth of factoids which will astound your friends and family and could very well prepare you for some quiz nights!

A Hitchhiker's Triptych

John Gardiner worked as a journalist and media advisor for more than 40 years. He has travelled extensively across the world throughout his life. His book A Hitchhiker’s Triptych covers six months of his first journey into England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland during the turbulent days of the early 1970s. It was the time of the Troubles in Ireland. The Arabs also were holding the West to ransom with oil embargoes. John wanders head-on into these and other major world issues during his hitchhiking adventures.

His book is a superb exploration of life on the road during the 1970s. How easy it was to hitchhike in those days. Stick out a thumb and land a ride. A Hitchhiker’s Triptych is intriguing. It explores a wanderer’s life during far simpler times. Decades before the internet and instant news feeds. This is a journey pre-digital. A step back in time where adventure is achieved simply by standing beside a highway and sticking out a thumb. Wonders and wisdom found over that next hill.

A House in the Countryside

“Did I want to die with the knowledge that I hadn’t given it my all? No, I did not…”

This is the true story of William Halstead, a carefree and happy guy who succumbed to a horrific, relentless, and sometimes life-threatening gambling addiction. This eventually led him down a dark path towards serious mental health issues. A House in the Countryside is a short but compelling insight into the mind of an addict, the resulting psychological problems, and the impact this is having on many similar lives throughout society  – an awful disease from which happiness can be found again.

A Journey into Sales

-Know and believe in what you are doing or selling.

-You serve the needs of others.

-Sales is serving the unserved.

-Sales is selling whatever is lacking.

-In selling, different is good.

-It requires a lot of faith, self-confidence, willingness and preparation in accordance with the competitive products you are about to present.

-See things objectively.

-Be open-minded and always have the facts.

-Your products or services should make a difference over the competitor’s.

-Be disciplined and detailed, put the customer first, meet the customer on their turf.

-Be inspiring and exceptional in your product knowledge.

-Travel as necessary to perform the sales target.

-Sales is truly a matter of numbers.

A Man of Two Superpowers

Brainwashed by the school propaganda at the end of Stalin’s rule, Yakov Grinshpun becomes an ardent young patriot. Unable to reconcile the communist ideals with the anti-Semitism he encounters throughout his school years, Yakov dreams of a way to escape the shell of propaganda.

A move from a shtetl to college in the city of Odessa opens his eyes to the realities of Soviet life: lack of freedom, harsh economic conditions, and the double life he is forced to live as a teacher. The idea of emigration is planted in his mind and grows into a desperation to leave the socialist “Paradise.”

After living in a socialist zoo for decades, would he be able to escape and put roots in a capitalist jungle?

A Man of Two Superpowers is an engaging, intimate, and moving memoir of struggle, depression, and accomplishments—sprinkled with humor and self-deprecation. This story gives an inside look of a transformation of a patriot into a “traitor” and the struggles an immigrant must overcome to become an American.

“A Man of Two Superpowers is a powerful book about perseverance, resilience, and the huge human spirit. As a daughter of a Holocaust survivor, I found it particularly moving and relevant regarding today’s immigrant experience.” –Laura Zam, author of The Pleasure Plan

“A Man of Two Superpowers is the perfect memoir for our times. It makes a solid and poignant case for the U.S. as a land of freedom and opportunity. Yakov Grinshpun makes the best possible argument for welcoming immigrants. If we didn’t, we wouldn’t have neighbors like him. And we would be the worse for it.”–Caren S. Neile, Ph.D. author of Florida Lore

A Midwife's Memoir

Following a long career as a midwife and then a community midwife, Carol retired in 2016, but she found she missed the excitement of bringing new life into the world, the joy and fulfillment of helping mothers to be, and the sheer pleasure of working in a small community.

She decided to record her experiences in this book as a tribute to all the wonderful mums and dads she gave help and advice to; some of the highs and lows, amusing and sometimes heart-breaking stories, and the unusual and unexpected events that occurred during that long career.

A New Drive-Relational-Neuroscience Synthesis for Psychoanalysis

This book critically examines the shift from instinctual drive theory to relational theory in psychoanalysis, based on the premise that drive formulations are incompatible with relational configurations. It demonstrates that the original shift was misguided, based on misinterpretations and misconceptions of Freudian theory, informed by a problematic dualist social constructionist and relativist philosophical stance which sees mind as somehow disconnected from biological processes, therefore requiring a different epistemological approach. It illustrates how recent attempts at synthesis, and attempts to combine psychoanalysis and neuroscience, have inherited these earlier problems, leaving them equally unable to withstand critical scrutiny. As a result, this book aims to make a positive contribution by presenting a new drive-relational-neuroscience synthesis that is both philosophically coherent and empirically compatible with recent developments in psychology and the neurosciences. Specifically, the new synthesis: (1) is based on a conceptually sound realist philosophy which posits mind as extended and embodied; (2) emerges from a re-examination of Freud's writings by demonstrating how instinctual drives and relational strivings constitute interlinked aspects of an overall motivational structure; (3) includes a much-needed clarification of the role of the central concepts of evolutionary theory and motivational conflict; (4) is strengthened and supported by appropriately interpreted current neuroscientific research; and (5) addresses implications for psychotherapeutic theory. In this way, the book is clearly located within the broader context of integrating psychoanalytic theory into mainstream developments in contemporary psychology, including neuroscience, evolutionary psychology, embodied/hot cognition, personality, and psychotherapy.