A vivid memoir of one young woman's psychiatric treatment in the Sixties which raises questions, that are still relevant today.
Teenage life in the swinging sixties, hanging out in coffee bars talking fashion and pop music, who could wish for more? But in August 1968, growing pains started to kick hard for 18-year-old office worker Jean Davison and adolescent idealism quickly turns to angst and emptiness.
With her home life in chaos, Jean turns to a psychiatrist hoping for a sensible adult to talk to. That’s where her problems really begin: a week’s voluntary psychiatric rest is the start of one long nightmare of drugs, electric shock treatment and abuse which turn her into a zombie.
Losing five years of her young life to the mental health system, Jean finally finds the courage to say “no” to drugs and turns her life around, finds love and returns to the mental health service as a worker.
Balancing quotes from case number 10826, her actual case notes which reveal a diagnosis of chronic schizophrenia, with her own account of interviews with doctors, this memoir raises disturbing questions on the treatment of psychiatric patients, which are still relevant today
Jean Davison, was born in 1950 into a working class family in Yorkshire She left school at 15 to work in a factory. After leaving the psychiatric system she returned to education to study for GCEs. She has worked as a secretary for the NSPCC and within the health service. In 1979 she met Ian who she later married. She later graduated from university with a first-class degree in literature and psychology. Still living in Yorkshire with Ian, she now works in mental health. The Dark Threads is her first book.
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In his own self-review of this book, the author Tim Young says, "BRILLIANT! This is the snarky, intelligent, and hilarious look into the inconsistencies throughout Mitt Romney’s political career that both Democrats and apathetic Republicans have been waiting for."
Comedian and pundit Tim Young tears apart the 2012 race and analyzes the statements of Mitt Romney in this no-holds barred commentary. He dares to take stabs at everything from Romney’s religious views to his forgetting that he owns guns. In the end, you’ll question why the Republican Party chose Romney as their candidate and even more so, why he is even a Republican.
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Painstakingly honest, this chilling memoir reveals how a teenager became immersed in the bizarre life of legendary porn star John Holmes. Starting with a childhood that molded her perfectly to fall for the seduction of “the king of porn,” this autobiography recounts the perilous road that Dawn Schiller traveled—from drugs and addiction to beatings, arrests, forced prostitution, and being sold to the drug underworld. After living through the horrific Wonderland murders of 1981, she entered protective custody, ran from the FBI, and turned in John Holmes to the police. This is the true story of a young girl’s harrowing escape from one of the most infamous public figures, her struggle to survive, and her recovery from unthinkable abuse.
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You Saved My Life tells the extraordinary true story of the charming Algerian con-man whose friendship with a disabled French aristocrat inspired the record-breaking hit film, The Intouchables.
Sellou’s fictional reincarnation, Driss, played to critical acclaim by French comedian Omar Sy in the movie Les Intouchables, captured the hearts of millions with his edgy charm. Already a bestseller in France and Germany, You Changed My Life shows us the real man behind Sy’s smiling face. The book takes us from his childhood spent stealing candy from the local grocery store, to his career as a pickpocket and scam artist, to his unexpected employment as a companion for a quadriplegic.
Sellou has never before divulged the details of his past. In many interviews and documentaries, he has evaded or shrugged off the question of his childhood and his stay in prison, until now. He tells his story with a stunning amount of talent, with humor, style, and—though he denies that he has any—humility.
Sellou’s idiosyncratic and candidly charming voice is magnificently captured in this memoir, a fact to which his friend Philippe Pozzo di Borgo testifies in his touching preface for the book.
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A journey from innocence to experience, THE ORANGE BLOSSOM EXPRESS traces the journey
of a group of young people that survive The Age of Aquarius. The bizarre and edgy realities of the 1960s are explored through the lives of the characters in Evangeline's raw and vibrant narrative. Here, love and peace get complicated as a marijuana smuggler and the woman who loves him traverse the obstacles and opportunities of an era.
of a group of young people that survive The Age of Aquarius. The bizarre and edgy realities of the 1960s are explored through the lives of the characters in Evangeline's raw and vibrant narrative. Here, love and peace get complicated as a marijuana smuggler and the woman who loves him traverse the obstacles and opportunities of an era.
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This anthology of childhood memories was furnished by family and friends from all walks of life and drawn from a wide range of people.
All the stories are true, as far as memory allows, and the contributors are real people whose ages range from 16 to 87. The individuals concerned were born in the 20th century. I interviewed each person and edited the stories and recollections.
In some instances, where I have received verbal recall, I have excluded much of the strong language. In other instances, where such expression is milder, I have included it to maintain the voice and flow of the storytelling process.
This is not a children’s book, although older children may find it rewarding to discover the childhoods of their parents, grandparents and even great-grandparents. These were childhoods enriched through street games and songs and all manner of simple entertainment – long before the arrival of cellphones and home computers.
All the stories are true, as far as memory allows, and the contributors are real people whose ages range from 16 to 87. The individuals concerned were born in the 20th century. I interviewed each person and edited the stories and recollections.
In some instances, where I have received verbal recall, I have excluded much of the strong language. In other instances, where such expression is milder, I have included it to maintain the voice and flow of the storytelling process.
This is not a children’s book, although older children may find it rewarding to discover the childhoods of their parents, grandparents and even great-grandparents. These were childhoods enriched through street games and songs and all manner of simple entertainment – long before the arrival of cellphones and home computers.
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Initially conscripted into the Royal Army Ordnance Corps and trained as a vehicle mechanic, he was then posted in March 1940 to a prewar Territorial unit - The 7th Kings Own Scottish Borderers, then a home defense unit based near London. His diary is a most interesting account of a young vehicle mechanic who also had to learn to be a infantry soldier. Albert remained with this unit for all his wartime service, later going to the Shetland Islands when the 7th KOSB were part of OSDEF (Orkney and Shetlands Defence Force). Then in late 1943 much to their surprise the unit was posted to Lincolnshire to become the third infantry unit in the 1st Airlanding Brigade then in the process of returning from Italy with the rest of the 1st Airborne Division. Swapping their glengarries for red berets Albert and his comrades had to adapt to their new way of getting to war by glider.
The diary continues with a down to earth account of the highs and lows of the next few months. Then in September 1944 Albert flew to Holland on Operation Market-Garden and his account (written in PoW camp) describes the savage nine days fighting at Arnhem from the slit trench level. Taken prisoner on the last day his account then describes the spartan life in PoW camp without pulling any punches. Sadly Albert died in 2001 but his diary survived and his daughter Maggie Clifton together with help from two published 'Arnhem' authors have edited a unique account of the fighting at Arnhem from the front-line soldier's perspective.
Key sales points: Unique personal account of the formation of Britain's airborne forces and their epic actions during Operation Market Garden, The diary is supplemented by extensive annotations from acknowledged Arnhem expert Niall Cherry providing additional information relating to the units and individuals mentioned in Albert's diary, Features a large number of rare photographs and documents.
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The Story of Mary MacLane shocked the literary world when it was published in April 1902. It sold 100,000 copies in its first month, an astonishing number then and now. Within a few years it had been translated into 36 languages, and writers such as Ernest Hemingway, Hart Crane, and Gertrude Stein lauded it as an important influence in their quests for a new American style.
The author was a 19-year-old girl from the raw, masculine mining town of Butte, Montana. With the publication of this book, Mary MacLane became an overnight sensation. She was called the ‘Wild Woman of Butte,’ a Bohemian, a radical, a feminist, a rebel. Although MacLane went on to write other books, none had the impact of this one, which remains a tour de force about life, love, and longing. Fresh, frank, and funny, ‘The Story of Mary MacLane’ is as powerful today as it was provocative when first published.
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Eager and ready to take on the world, the author wanted to experience a new culture whilst working and travelling in Asia. Finding positions in South Korean language schools, he encounters greedy directors, abusive teachers and students who seem intent on driving him crazy. This was no ordinary working holiday. Seemingly unending culture shock pushes this intrepid expat to his limits.
An eye opening and cautionary tale for anyone embarking on their overseas experience.
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