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Book Review: Survivor – Recovering from Alcoholism, Heartbreak and Trauma by Kieran Youens-Byrne

By Amazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsNo Comments

Survivor: Recovering from Alcoholism, Heartbreak and Trauma is an exceptional and heart touching memoir by Kieran Youens-Bryne.

In Survivor, Kieran shares his journey through addiction to alcohol, his heartbreak at ending his marriage to a narcissist and his emotional traumas from his earlier years.

It is a wonderfully inspiring read and includes literature in its various forms including poems, essays, quotes and even a playlist. The title of his book sums him up completely: Kieran is a survivor.

Kieran covers every aspect of where his addiction to alcohol took him, from his very first taste of an alcoholic drink, through the dark depths of active addiction and withdrawal and out the other end and into active recovery. Along the way he shared what worked for him, what didn’t and all the things he learned along the way.

Survivor is an brilliantly honest account of where addiction/dependency, a narcissistic partner and past traumas can lead to a person. But it is uplifting at the same time.

The book is written in an easy to read and engaging style. It demonstrates Kieran’s unique writers voice and is a piece of creative work that he should be very proud of.

I am pleased to report that Kieran’ story also has a satisfying happy ending. Kieran gets sober, at the time of writing this review he has been sober for more than a year. In the year sober, Kieran has completely transformed his life.

Kieran has rebuilt his confidence and self-esteem destroyed by his narcissistic ex-partner. Kieran has rediscovered his formally oppressed identity and learned to love himself once again. Kieran has faced past traumas and began working on healing and letting go of these traumas.

Kieran has gone on to write, edit and publish a further book titled Recovered, that I can’t wait to read. He is healthy and happy. I can’t wait to see what this amazing man does next.

Review soon,

Antony

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Book Review: James Acaster’s Classic Scrapes by James Acaster

By Amazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsNo Comments

James Acaster’s Classic Scrapes is a book by the eccentric, undeniably funny and weirdly attractive James Acaster.

In James Acaster’s Classic Scrapes, James shares stories from his life. Some of them he’s shared on Josh Widdicombe’s radio show.

These stories are ‘scrapes’ because of the situations James finds himself in and how he scrapes by. These stories are hilarious, particularly because he doesn’t appear to learn from past experiences.

What’s wonderful about James, is that he seems to aimlessly wonder through life, has a rather unique perspective on the world and the people around him.

The book made me laugh (out loud at times) and one thing I learned from it was: Never get in a car if James Acaster is driving. Honestly, I don’t know how this wonderful man is still alive.

If you want a light entertaining read, then this book is for you. By the end of it, you feel like you know James and his way of thinking. You can’t help but find this man strangely endearing and wanting him to do well in the future.

Review soon,

Antony

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Home Magic – Superb Simmer Pot Mixes from The Lancashire Witch

By Paganism, Reviews, ShoppingNo Comments

The Lancashire Witch is a Witchy shop. The bricks and motor shop is based Leyland, Lancashire, but they also have an online shop.

All their products and services are designed, developed and delivered by an expert Witch, named Sally.

Sally is an intergenerational Witch being trained from a young age by her mother and grandmother. Sally is wonderful. Friendly, helpful and really knows her stuff.

The Lancashire Witch sells everything a Witch could need under one roof. This includes: Herbs, Resins, Roots, Bones, Flowers, Barks, Spell Oils, Spell Powders, various Tools, Incenses, Floor Washes, Spell Inks, Sprays, Rice, Honey Jars, Bath Salts, Candles and Crystals. It’s a one stop shop for all your magical needs!

I recently got my hands on this Money Magnet Simmer Pot Mix. This is handmade Sally (the Witch herself) is blessed and intended for its purpose. What is a simmer pot mix I hear you ask?

A simmer pot mix is a collection of herbs, roots, barks, dried fruit and flowers that you put into a pan and then simmer for as long as possible. This process releases the magic out of the spell ingredients and releases it into the Universe. It’s a brilliant idea and one a type of spell casting I have never ever thought of doing before.

This is what the Money Magnet Simmer Pot Mix looks like in the pan:

Now, first things first. It smells magical and absolutely divine. The smell throws well, filling my kitchen and living room (tip: open all the doors inside your home that you can and let the scent spread throughout your home). You’ve got to try one of these, if only for the scent that comes completely natural world. Sally only uses the produce of nature and never anything artificial.

The great thing is that The Lancashire Witch does these simmer pot mixes around every sort of spell work you could think of, including: luck magic, cleansing, blessing, healing, hexing, love, etc. And if you can’t find what you’re looking for, you can even order a custom simmer pot mix suited to your intention.

In terms of Spell effectiveness, we’ll have to wait and see. I only just simmered this morning. But I’ve had many other products and services from The Lancashire Witch and they are always effective and often quickly.

Blog soon,

Antony

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Music Review: Last Man Dancing by Jake Shears – A Classic Dance Album

By Amazon, Music & Radio, ReviewsNo Comments

Former frontman of the Scissor Sisters, Jake Shears recently released his 2nd album Last Man Dancing. His first album was self-titled.

Last Man Dancing is essentially a classic dance album. Each track is an epic foray of music that must be danced to.

The track listing is as follows:

  1. Too Much Music
  2. Do the Television
  3. Voices (feat. Kylie Minogue)
  4. I Used To Be In Love
  5. Really Big Deal
  6. Last Man Dancing
  7. 8 Ball (feat. Le Chev)
  8. Devil Came Down Dancing
  9. Mess of Me
  10. Doses (feat. Big Freedia)
  11. Radio Eyes
  12. Diamonds Don’t Burn

My favourite track is Last Man Dancing. You can buy the album on Amazon here.

Blog soon,

Antony

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