Book picks similar to
Born for Life: Midwife in Africa by Julie Watson
memoir
africa
health
inspirational
Adventures of a Surgical Resident
Philip B. Dobrin - 2010
This is the story of a surgeon in training and his adventures during the years of his residency.
A Fly on the Ward
Michael K. Chapman - 2012
A collection of humorous hospital stories and events as witnessed by a frequently incarcerated patient and told from a patient's point of view while secured and gagged in a hospital bed.Stories and tales from a lifetime of hospital admissions, showing that hospital life as a patient is not all doom and gloom.
The Lullaby Illusion: A Journey of Awakening
Susan Joyce - 2013
Through difficult life changes -- Cyprus's bloody coup and war in 1974, a rescue from a sinking ship in the Indian Ocean, learning of her husband s secret life, and surviving his deadly assault in Belgium -- she discovers her ticking clock is not the child she has failed to produce, but rather the creative potential with which she can create a new life.
Marie Potter and The Campervan of Doom
Brian Burke - 2012
My wife Marie (pronounced Marry) and I thought that as we hadn't set foot in a van before it would be a great idea to head off into the sunset in a cloud of diesel smoke; our trusty steed Gemima (the Hymer) wanted to stay at home and Marie seemed determined to maim me. The following is a tale of mechanical mischief, foolishness and an exploration of the human psyche. We visited some amazing places; met some fantastic people and in between the endless problems had a fabulous time. Hope you enjoy it!(From Amazon.co.uk)
The Crinkle Crankle Wall: Our First Year in Andalusia
Sabina Ostrowska - 2020
As soon as they drive across Andalusia, they fall in love with its rugged beauty, whitewashed villages, red geraniums, giant aloes, and endless olive trees. After weeks of visiting ruins and dilapidated sheds advertised as homes, they find a little stone cottage in a mountain valley in the middle of nowhere. Equipped with everything that a romantic soul desires: a patio shaded by grape vines, an ancient bay leaf tree, and a formidable oak in front of a long driveway, they fall in love with this property and decide to reform it into a guest house. With little foresight or planning, they exchange cushy expats lives for a life in the sun.Quite quickly, however, they find themselves battling cowboy builders, no electricity, a dry well, torrential rain storms, and a freezing cold winter without a roof over their heads. Through all these adventures, they develop relations with their neighbours who had lived in the valley for many generations. Puzzled by the strangers’ behaviour, the neighbours teach them about olive picking, and the cultivation of local vegetables. But primarily, they offer their endless generosity and insight into life in rural Andalusia.As they begin to settle in, financial problems confront our somewhat naïve couple. Without steady pay checks and construction bills piling up, their idea of the good life starts to fall apart. Written with a wry sense of honest humour, this story is filled with twists and turns that take the reader on a journey from a life where every day was monotonously repetitive to a place where every day presents a new challenge.
Imposter: On booze, crippling self-doubt and coming out the other side
Matt Chisholm - 2021
Clarity: A Memoir
Diana Estill - 2021
Her father is too busy chasing skirts and throwing fits to notice what she does. And her mom is too mentally absent to properly parent. While Diana’s narcissistic dad terrorizes and exploits her, she works harder to please him. Estill, an award-winning humor author, shares an honest and comedic look at her dysfunctional childhood. As an adult, she struggles to reclaim her power while caring for her dementia-impaired dad. In this thought-provoking tale of resilience, the author pierces the fog of emotional abuse.
Apple Island Wife: Slow Living In Tasmania
Fiona Stocker - 2018
It was the lifestyle change that many dream of and most are too sensible to attempt.Wife, mother and now reluctant alpaca owner, Fiona jumped in at the deep end. Gradually Tasmania got under her skin as she learned to stack wood, round up the kids with a retired lady sheepdog, and stand on a scorpion without getting stung.This charming tale captures the tussles and euphoria of living on the land in a place of untrammelled beauty, raising your family where you want to and seeing your husband in a whole new light. Not just a memoir but an everywoman’s story, and a paean to a new, slower age
A Kick at the Pantry Door
Philip Whiteland - 2013
We have your favourite table ready and waiting and a selection of tasty and unusual dishes for your delectation and delight (but do bear in mind that the kitchen closes shortly as the Chef needs to go to his second job, rodding out blocked sewers). We have a few choice 'nostalgedy' stories for Starters, some meatier ones for your Mains, a selection of 'curmudgeonly rants' or keen observations (you take your choice) for Dessert, and something unspeakable to go with your Coffee and Mints.Philip Whiteland tickles your fancy (it's not a crime yet) once again with this compilation of stories, often with a food-based theme, from today and yesterday. Pull up a chair and tuck in!
Chasing Kites: One Mother's Unexpected Journey Through Infertility, Adoption, and Foster Care
Rachel McCracken - 2017
Rachel McCracken gets the heartache and the sorrow of the desolate valley called Infertility. She gets the dedication and work that it takes to blend a family. She gets the commitment and purpose needed to help children rise from the ashes of abandonment and fear.
For anyone who wonders:
What is an orphanage really like? Can you really bond with an adopted or foster child? What is it like to lose a child who is reunified with their birth parent? Can you love an adopted or foster child as much as a biological child? How about fertility treatments, are they actually that bad? Why don’t people just adopt? What’s the big deal? Chasing Kites answers all of these questions and more. Going from zero to four adopted children through a Colombian orphanage and then from four to seven through the US Foster Care System, Rachel writes a masterful memoir of the good, the bad, and the beautiful with purpose-driven life lessons learned from each. If you have ever experienced loss, grief, or heartache this book is for you. If you are struggling to create a family or to blend a family this book is for you. If you are trying to support someone you love through any of these things, this book is for you.
Lose yourself in this delicious tale of love both lost and found.
Angels by My Side: Stories and Glimpses of These Heavenly Helpers
Betty Malz - 2013
Riveting true stories and biblical insights fill this inspiring exploration of how angels intervene in our lives every day--whether or not we're aware of them.
My Every Breath: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Hope
Anna Maynard - 2019
Throughout her tumultuous childhood, Anna found for a life of normalcy and despite the death of her older sister, France—who succumbed to the same disease—Anna pursued her dream to live a long, productive life with courage, determination and hope.
In the Body of the World
Eve Ensler - 2013
Yet she spent much of her life disassociated from her own body—a disconnection brought on by her father’s sexual abuse and her mother’s remoteness. “Because I did not, could not inhabit my body or the Earth,” she writes, “I could not feel or know their pain.”But Ensler is shocked out of her distance. While working in the Congo, she is shattered to encounter the horrific rape and violence inflicted on the women there. Soon after, she is diagnosed with uterine cancer, and through months of harrowing treatment, she is forced to become first and foremost a body—pricked, punctured, cut, scanned. It is then that all distance is erased. As she connects her own illness to the devastation of the earth, her life force to the resilience of humanity, she is finally, fully—and gratefully—joined to the body of the world.Unflinching, generous, and inspiring, Ensler calls on us all to embody our connection to and responsibility for the world.http://us.macmillan.com/inthebodyofth...
Fat Woman on the Mountain: How I Lost Half of Myself and Found Happiness
Kara Richardson Whitely - 2010
She lost 120 pounds and found happiness along the way. Kara Richardson Whitely has been a journalist for the past decade. She has been featured in Self, American Hiker and Redbook magazines.
Expecting Sunshine: A Journey of Grief, Healing, and Pregnancy After Loss
Alexis Marie Chute - 2017
After her son, Zachary, dies in her arms at birth, visual artist and author Alexis Marie Chute disappears into her “Year of Distraction.” She cannot paint or write or tap into the heart of who she used to be, mourning not only for Zachary, but also for the future they might have had together. It is only when Chute learns she is pregnant again that she sets out to find healing and rediscover her identity—just in time, she hopes, to welcome her next child. In the forty weeks of her pregnancy, Chute grapples with her strained marriage, shaken faith, and medical diagnosis, with profound results. Glowing with riveting and gorgeous prose, Expecting Sunshine chronicles the anticipation and anxiety of expecting a baby while still grieving for the child that came before—enveloping readers with insightful observations on grief and healing, life and death, and the incredible power of a mother’s love.Second Edition includes: Bonus chapter written from the author’s husband’s perspective. Plus, resource section, group discussion questions, and Q&A with author Alexis Marie Chute