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Book Review: The Poetic Prisoner (Breaking Free Vol. 1) by Taym Doraj

By Amazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsNo Comments

Full Disclosure: I edited this book and contributed creatively to the cover design.

Here is how The Poetic Prisoner’s back cover describes the book:

Talented Poet, Taym Doraj takes you on an emotional adventure in The Poetic Prisoner (Breaking Free Vol. 1).

Taym shares poems about his time in prison, his battle with addictions, crime, mental health, broken and dysfunctional family ties during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this book you’ll find poems about dark times, the desire to change, love, connection, hope and being inspired to transform his life. From life going all wrong, to a positive vibes mindset developed from God, yoga and meditation.

One of the reasons I love this book is because everyone of the poems are brilliant. Taym has a really engaging writer’s voice and tackles tough subjects well. He uses the imagery of dark and light throughout this book and shares how he transformed his life from negative to positive.

Taym hopes to use his life experiences and this book to inspire people to be healthier and happier. It’s a fantastic book that deserves your attention and is thoroughly enjoyable to read. Like most poetry books it is short at just 47 pages. But Taym is clever and doesn’t waste a single word.

The Poetic Prisoner (Breaking Free Vol. 1) by Taym Doraj is available to buy on Amazon.

Review soon,

Antony

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Tuesday 9 April 2024

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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Sunday 18 February 2024

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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Saturday 17 February 2024

Book Review: Neal’s Yard Remedies Essential Oils by Susan Curtis

By Amazon, Books & Authors, Nature, Reviews2 Comments

Essential Oils by Susan Curtis is an essential book to own if you’re serious about aromatherapy.

This durable hardback has 256 glossy pages of full colour with plenty of photos. It has an A-Z of essential oils, for each oil covering:

  • An introduction
  • What it is good for?
  • Best Uses
  • Methods of use (i.e. bath oil, massage oil, compress, skin care, etc.)
  • The Plant
  • The Essential Oil (how the essential oil is made)
  • A photo of the plant or herb

Then the book goes on to sections on: Base Oils, Essential Oil Recipes and Healing Remedies.

The Essential Oil Recipes includes a really useful table of common conditions and which oils are good to work with around these conditions.

This book is backed by Neal’s Yard whom are famous for their shops selling essential oils.

The only thing that was missing out of the book for me was spiritual/magical uses of essential oils. But other than that I would (and have to all of my friends) highly recommend this book.

Essential Oils by Susan Curtis is available to buy on Amazon and at all good bookshops.

Review soon,

Antony

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Thursday 18 March 2021
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