Books & Authors - Antony Simpson - Author, Blogger, Nurse & Witch.

June Has Been All About Mental Health Wisdom

By AntonyAmazon, Books & Authors, Happiness & Joy, HealthNo Comments

June has been all about my book Mental Health Wisdom. Yesterday marked four months since its release. Over 70 copies have been sold, mostly in the UK. However the book has gone international, with a couple of copies sold in Germany & Australia.

The feedback from the book has been awesome. People have described it as: excellent, educational, informative, entertaining. Many have said that they have passed it on to their husband/wife/son/daughter/friends who are struggling with their mental health. Many have opened up and told me their stories of struggling, or their stories of their mental illnesses.

Before I published the book, I thought: if this book helps one person, or one person finds it useful, then all the effort, energy and time I put into the book will have been worth it. I’m proud to tell you that it has already helped more than one person.

So what have I actually done?

Local Book Club Talk – I did my first ever local book club talk. All the people at the book club were awesome, lovely and kind. Unexpectedly, everyone at the book club bought a copy of the book, meaning I sold out of my stock. I have since ordered more stock and it has been delivered.

Guest Blogger on NeedToLive – I was invited to be a Guest Blogger on NeedToLive. NeedToLive is a website aimed at supporting students around careers, education, enterprise, finance, lifestyle and well-being. I recycled some old, but still some of my favorite blog posts and sent them over. They published them all, all at once. Here are the articles they published:

Wigan & Leigh College Keynote Speaker – I was invited to be the Keynote Speaker at Wigan & Leigh College’s annual Student Conference. The presentation was titled How to Survive & Thrive.

Image From @WiganLeighCol on Twitter.

A Tweet from Wigan & Leigh College Afterwards.

I entertained, educated and even got a couple of laughs from the audience. I’m still awaiting formal feedback from the presentation, but informal feedback has included the presentation being described as “brilliant.” They even talked about inviting me to speak at next year’s conference. They are also going to do some publicity to tell my student journey (me being a former student), which should also help promote the book.

That’s pretty much it. But I’ll leave you with a request: If you’ve already bought a copy of Mental Health Wisdom, I’d be grateful for review on Amazon or Goodreads, even if it’s just a star rating:

An Amazon review would be really appreciated. Amazon lists books with reviews higher than those without. You can leave a review in the UK here: https://amzn.to/2NRPz07

An Goodreads review would be really appreciated. You can leave a review here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44402963-mental-health-wisdom—developing-understanding-empathy?ac=1&from_search=true

Blog soon,

Antony

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Saturday 22 June 2019

Book Review: Curses, Hexes, & Crossings by S. Connolly

By AntonyAmazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsNo Comments

curses-hexes-crossings-by-S.Connolly-book-cover

The universe likes balance. Creation and destruction. Light and dark. Good and bad. All Witch’s should know about blessings, healing and positive magic; along with curses, hexes and negative magic.

Knowing about and understanding how curses, hexes and the like work, enables a Witch to better protect themselves and others against this sort of magic.

In my personal practice I would be more likely to bind (to stop) or to banish (to get rid of) someone or something that is having a negative impact on me or those around me, rather than Curse or Hex them.

Now with all that written, let’s get to the review:

This superb book has been written for the experienced Witch. It covers what cursing is. The Ethics of Exceration Magick, with the key messages here being: is a curse justified?

It takes a lot of energy to create and maintain a curse. Are you willing to take responsibility for your magick and any consequences (be them intended or unintended)? There’s a fantastic chapter on the history of cursing from ancient history up until recently, covering a wide range of cultures from across the world.

Curses, Hexes, & Crossings covers the psychology of a curse. That the victim being aware that they are cursed can attract negative energies and be self fulfilling – even without the Witch ever actually doing a ritual or casting a spell.

Connolly explains how the Witch can make their own curses and spells; before providing a large number of curses, hexes, & crossings with Connolly sharing her experience with each.

The curses, hexes and crossings are from a wide range of cultures, but many are highly influenced by Daemonolatry and Santansim, which is not surprising given the author’s occult background.

Connolly writes about herbs and stones for cursing, then explains how to break curses. Connolly writes about unintentional or curses cast by your subconscious without your conscious awareness, we’ve all done it. Throughout Connolly writes about how understanding curses and how they work can be used to defend against them and deal with curses aimed at you from others.

Connolly has a fascinating perspective on curses, she explains that a curse can be the start of the emotional healing process. By casting a curse, the Witch can release the intense emotional reactions of rage, anger, frustration and the need for revenge. The Witch having let go of these emotions, can then start the healing process.

The whole of this book from start to finish is brilliant. Connolly’s passion for the topic comes through in her writing. She is not afraid to speak her mind and be honest with the reader, knowing that not everyone will like what she writes. Here are some examples:

Right now I think it’s prudent to point out that some people will object to this book’s mere existence…

The modern Wiccans, for example, have been so busy trying to be accepted by the Christian mainstream that they insist upon distancing themselves from anything that could be misconstrued as “evil”. This includes cursing…

I believe there are instances where curses are appropriate. As I mentioned earlier I also believe curses can go a long way to helping the magician psychologically. For everything negative something good will come of it. Everything is a shade of gray. We could reasonably argue that prosperity magick has a dark side…

“If you discuss ethics and cursing you’re a fluffy bunny.” This is often said by people who want to practice only the blackest magick and arts so arcane that they may dress in black and purport to be the scariest mosty evil magicians to walk the earth. To them I say, eventually you’ll grow up, get off your high horse, and join the rest of us in reality.

(From: Curses, Hexes, & Crossings by S. Connolly, pages: 4-5, 2011.)

The only way this book could have been any better if Connolly included some more advanced protection magick. Curses, Hexes, & Crossings by S. Connolly has been self-published on Amazon. I’m so glad for self-publishing, as this book probably wouldn’t have seen the light of day without it, given its subject matter.

Curses, Hexes, & Crossings by S. Connolly is available to buy on Amazon.

If you like books about this subject matter, you may also like Utterly Wicked: Curses, Hexes & Other Unsavory Notions by Dorothy Morrison. Utterly Wicked is currently out of print, but Morrison (the author) is in discussions with another publisher to have it re-released. So wait for re-release until you purchase to get it at a reasonable price.

Review soon,

Antony

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Saturday 11 May 2019

Book Review: The Neuroscientist Who Lost Her Mind by Barbara K. Lipska

By AntonyAmazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsNo Comments

the-neuroscientist-who-lost-her-mind-barbara-lipska

Imagine spending your life studying the brain and mental illnesses like schizophrenia, only to find yourself start exhibiting the same symptoms.

This is what happened to Neuroscientist Barbara Lipska in this powerful memoir, The Neuroscientist Who Lost Her Mind.

Lipska describes her life before any symptoms. She was/is highly functioning in all areas of her life. In her career she managed/manages a foundation and a brain bank.

In her personal life she has a loving husband, children and grandchildren. The family are into fitness and Lipska describes being physically fit and always pushing herself, to run further, to go faster.

Suddenly one day Lipska is on a run, a regular route she’s done thousands of times before, but she can’t remember where she lives.

This is just the start of the sometimes bizarre, sometimes difficult and sometimes downright scary symptoms. Lipska goes to the hospital, family in tow and is diagnosed with a brain tumor.

As the tumor is being treated Lipska’s symptoms worsen. She becomes abrupt and emotionally hurtful to her family. It is a strange thing. Looking back now, Lipska can understand how some of the awful things she said would have hurt her family and how she now knows that they were hurt by their reaction. Yet she can still remember how she felt and what she was thinking at the time. I think it would be fair to say Lipska losing her empathy was probably one of the most challenging symptoms for her.

Lipska describes her journey through the American healthcare system and how she managed to get enrolled into a clinical trial programme, after checking that her insurance would cover the costs, that probably saved her life. I must admit this part made me feel extremely grateful for the National Health Service (NHS) that we have here in the UK, which is free, paid for through taxation.

The ending is ultimately positive. As Lipska continues to be treated her symptoms start to lessen and eventually disappear. Her cancer goes into remission. Reading The Neuroscientist Who Lost Her Mind made me feel like I’d made a new friend in Lipska. This is because stories, especially personal, intimate and ones involving vulnerability help people form meaningful connections with one another. I will admit that this book made me cry at one point, which is extremely rare and a testament to Lipska’s writing and honesty.

Despite the subject matter, Lipska’s tone is warm, engaging and makes the book a page turning read. I read it in a few settings, never wanting to put it down.

I would highly recommend The Neuroscientist Who Lost Her Mind to anyone that likes memoirs, or stories about dealing with adversity.

Review soon,

Antony

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Monday 6 May 2019