Recently I was asked: What would your ideal man be like?
I wish I had a quick and funny answer. But I didn’t. I wasn’t able to answer it at all. I couldn’t answer because I haven’t thought about a relationship, or even considered the idea of having a man in my life for a long time. Too long.
But the question sparked something inside of me. It made me check-in with my heart and head. It made me think, wonder and to my surprise hope for love. With the right man of course.
A man that is kind, interesting and funny. As I thought about my ideal man and what I would want and be able to give in a relationship, I realised something:
Some of you may question the choices I make and the decisions I take. I understand, so do I. But my choices and decisions are always made by following my heart and listening to my gut instinct.
I regret no choice or decision I’ve ever made. How can I? When all my heart wants is a life filled with joy, happiness and love. And my gut gives me instincts in the hope of keeping me safe.
After a lot of reflection, I recently posted the above as my status update on Facebook. Boyfriend-A and I have decided to end our relationship. I won’t go into the personal details here. But I wish Boyfriend-A well with whatever his future holds. I hope he finds happiness and love.
In Split by Mel Bossa we meet twenty-eight year old Derek whose recently moved into a new condo with his boyfriend Nathan. Derek’s quiet, stutters when he speaks and has red hair. He’s had a hard childhood, his mother had a mental breakdown after she lost an unborn and afterwards his father worked away a lot.
Nathan is a ‘closer,’ big in the Sales world. He loves Derek and pays for everything, giving Derek a life of luxury. Nathan proposes marriage to Derek and he is unsure but accepts. One day while Nathan is away at a Sales Conference in London, Derek’s Aunt Fran comes round to see him and the new condo.
I immediately sensed that Derek and his Aunt Fran have a close relationship. Aunt Fran still smokes even though she’s got cancer and throughout Derek’s turbulent childhood was the one stable adult influence.
Aunt Fran presents Derek with his diary that he wrote at 11 years old. In this diary he writes to Bump, his mothers unborn. Eleven year old Derek is naive and just starting to experience puberty, we’ve all been there so it’s completely relatable and gives the reader a lot of empathy for him. Derek is about to read about his traumatic childhood and so are we the readers.
As we read the diary entries we are introduced to Derek’s neighbours the Lund family. Boone Lund is Derek’s age and his best friend; Lene Lund is younger and is eccentric but very funny; and Nicolai is wild. Derek can’t eat around Nicolai, craves to be around him and have his attention and realises when Nicolai disappears that he loves him.
We discover that Derek bottles up his emotions until he explodes; think of a pressure cooker – if you don’t release the steam sooner or later it’s going to explode. Derek’s inability to express his feelings resulted in asthma attacks in his childhood; but in present day his emotions are building up again as he faces the past and finds himself back in contact with Boone, Lene and Nicolai.
Bossa’s use of diary entries is a brilliant idea and one that is very well executed. I did feel that some of the diary entries were longer than necessary whereas others were shorter than I would have liked. Bossa’s mix of diary entries along with events in the present kept the storyline moving along at a good pace.
In the present Derek learns to express his emotions, finally finding his voice towards the end of Split. This leads to an extremely satisfying happy ending that leaves the reader contented. The ending of the book is stretched out but this only gives the reader more of the happy ending to enjoy.
On a personal level Split filled me with hope for love and I found myself wishing for a love that Derek comes to experience at the end of the book. This made Split a piece of literature that is beyond superb and that I will read time and time again.
Considering that Split was Bossa’s first novel it is incredible. Bossa should be proud of Split and her unique writers voice that gives her a gift for story telling. I’ve become a fan of Bossa and still have Suite Nineteen of hers to read and review. After that I will have to eagerly await future books.
The Z-Virus mutates people’s DNA. The majority of infected people become zombies, but a minority seem immune but the virus causes them to develop powers.
At first these powers like invisibility, telepathy and telekinesis aided survival. But as the Z-Virus continues to mutate the powers become more and more destructive.
Forced with no other choice, one group goes in search of a cure. But will they survive the roaming zombie hordes long enough to make an epic journey across the country to find the cure?
Join Alexis, Vis, Chan, Luke, Natalie, Grace, Chloe, Kyle, David and Goliath on this journey in Z-Virus Powers, the first instalment of this three part story.
Are you a Doctor, Nurse, Healthcare Assistant or Other Healthcare Professional? Or a Student?
Ways The Human Body Can Go Wrong covers every system of the body, what can go wrong when the body malfunctions or fails, symptoms (including why these happen) and cures/treatments available.
It includes knowledge around essential skills for Clinical Excellence such as Assessment, All Age Observational Norms, Models of Care, Communication/Handover Tips, the role of Specialities, Medication Tips, Dealing with Errors, Documentation Advice and a list of Useful Resources.
It is written in plain English, but highlights important medical terminology. It has been written at a level where someone from a non-medical background can pick it up and learn, but that it is still valuable to those with significant Clinical Experience.
My dear friend Roy decided to follow in his family’s footsteps and enlist in the Royal Navy.
I wanted to maintain our friendship, to continue to support Roy, to make him laugh and to entertain him. So I came up with the idea of sending him a weekly email on random topics.
These emails were on a variety of topics, always being entertaining, sometimes being interesting, sometimes funny and occasionally being serious.
Topics included: Jokes, Puzzles, Inspirational Quotes, Future Technology to Be Excited About, How to Fight A Shark, How to Woo A Turtle, Some of the Most Amazing Jobs in the World, Facts About Castles, Do Aliens Exist?, The Kindest Humans, A List of Cakes, 13 Weird Body Facts, 20 Super Space Facts, Ancient Egyptian Curses, 10 Weird Olympic Games, The Great Emu War of 1932, Quiz: Flags of the World, Legendary Characters from the UK and others.
My Royal Navy Friend is a copy of these emails. In total, there are 52 emails. Dispersed throughout the book are also Royal Navy facts and stories.
This workbook has been designed for anyone that is struggling with alcohol or has struggled with alcohol in the past.
It is written in a Motivational Interviewing style, one of the key therapies used to support people with alcohol issues. It has been designed using a trauma-informed approach and is strength–based.
What you will find in this book is more than just worksheets about alcohol. You’ll find all the tools someone needs to get into recovery from alcohol and stay there. It’s a therapy-based book, not an alcohol-based book.
SpellCast is a comprehensive compendium of spells, oils, charms and talismans. It is purely a book about magic, folk magic for the 21st century. The spells are ones that are tried and tested, with some that will stand the test of time.
In SpellCast you will read about the power of Instant Magic, of Banishment & Bindings, Blessings, Cleansing, Communication, Death, Employment, Finance & Money, Fertility, Friendship, Happiness & Joy, Health, Love & Relationships, Luck Magic, Protection, Transformative Magic and WishCraft.
This book will change your life. Your life will be abundant in all meanings of the word.
This book contains everything that you need to know about mental health and mental illness. Mental Health Wisdom is divided into three sections.
Understanding is section one and is all about the facts of mental health.
In section two, Empathy Through Lived Experience, the author shares his personal experience of mental illness.
Life Hacks is section three. It’s all about self-care and quick and easy ways to improve your mental health, prevent mental illness or relapse of mental illness.
Mental Health Wisdom contains everything that you need to know about mental health and mental illness.
Mental Health Wisdom is divided into three sections.
Understanding is section one and is all about the facts of mental health.
In section two, Empathy Through Lived Experience, the author shares his personal experience of mental illness.
Life Hacks is section three. It’s all about self-care and quick and easy ways to improve your mental health, prevent mental illness or relapse of mental illness.
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