Drawing Breath

A book of memories.

Growing up in the 1950s and 60s, childhood is peppered with untold freedom and strict codes of behaviour. There are fears of not being accepted, not conforming and for those suffering from gender dysphoria, there is nowhere to turn.

A convent education brings Jennifer intense friendships, unrequited love and tussles with belief and disbelief in a higher being. She finds diversion in play acting and searching for adventure in the role of her alter ego.

Emerging from the protective arms of a white middle class family, she confronts the harsh realities of life with a charismatic young man as her cicerone. After four years of teaching bring feelings of inadequacy, of not being up to the job and finding no place in heterosexual British society, Jennifer decides to start afresh and to leave England.

Drawn to the Light

Drawn to the Light is a captivating memoir that chronicles the life of an empathic child born into a loving and psychic family. From the author’s birth, readers will follow her journey of discovering spirituality and finding her place in the spiritual world.

This book is a collection of powerful experiences, ranging from psychic and spiritual to the everyday moments that shape us into who we are. Through sharing her story, the author hopes to inspire others who are also on their spiritual path.

While the author’s spiritual journey began in earnest when she joined a Spiritual Development and Meditation Group in 2001, her growth has continued to flourish in the years since then. In this book, readers will find inspiration and guidance for their own spiritual journey.

With quotes from spiritual luminaries like Neale Donald Walsh and Natasha Hoffman, Drawn to the Light offers a unique perspective on the difference between religion and spirituality, and how finding one’s own spiritual truth can unite us all. This memoir is a must-read for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of their own spiritual path.

Driving a Cat to Portugal and Building a House When We Get There

While waiting to board a plane for our annual holiday, my wife and I exchanged a few words,Me: ‘Where’s Faro?’Wife: ‘Portugal.’Little did we know, that fleeting conversation would lay the blueprint for our future. Soon, the allure of Portugal would not only inspire our next holiday destination, it would beckon us to transform a passing fancy into a permanent address in the sun-kissed hills of São Brás de Alportel.Amidst our major life decisions, the laughs, the frowns, the ups and downs, Marli (our much loved cat, who was prone to car sickness) takes centre stage. From her early years in Slaithwaite, Huddersfield, UK, to her sunlit retirement in Portugal, Marli’s journey mirrors our own, from idealism to realism, (with pit-stops at Bafflement, Bliss, Disappointment and Delight).Follow our tale from whimsical date-night daydreams to the concrete steps of buying land and building a home in a foreign country. This narrative isn’t just about relocating- it’s a candid and humorous exploration of love, hope, challenges, and the sheer unpredictability of life.We had a dream, we had each other, and we had Marli.What could possibly go wrong?

Duality & Non-Duality

Alberto Martín has spent many years studying and practicing Christianity, Sufism, Buddhism, and Advaita Vedanta (in that sequence) plus, at one time, the religion of the Crows (a native tribe of N. America). “For me, it has been universalism all along ever since I read Plato when I was 15 years old. Lately my attention has been focused on Shankara’s Advaita Vedanta and non-duality.”

For this author, Plato and Shankara say practically all that can be said about reality and the way towards its assimilation and exemplification.

In this work Martín answers many of the probing questions anyone of us is led to ask along our lives.

Ed’s Odyssey How I Met Buddha and the Aliens

As Ed's life took unexpected turns, he found himself on a journey towards a spiritual awakening. From his childhood in the West Country to adventures East, with challenges and triumphs over addiction, to encounters with angels, aliens, and mystical energies, Ed's story is a captivating tale of personal growth and transformation.

His experiences in the altered state and waking state, backed up by several neurological feedback sessions, made it a welcome truth, which would change his life forever. Follow Ed on his extraordinary journey as he chronicles it all in a journal, originally written, to be discovered by distant relatives in a dusty attic.

“Ed’s book bridges spiritual experience, neuroscience, and psychic phenomenon in a real-world, grounded way. I have seen Ed’s capacity to channel the psychic and it deserves the research Ed is leading” - Stuart Black, Managing Director of Brain Train UK

Elephant on Main Street

This is this story of Eamon, a little boy growing up in Northern Ireland in the sixties, before he succumbed to Leukaemia, a few months short of his seventh birthday. The book describes specific aspects of his short but remarkable life, all written from his perspective. Each chapter has a footnote which charts the history of the conquest of childhood leukaemia which commenced during his lifetime. The book is based around actual events and things which Eamon said and did which have been passed down. Eamon has the benefit of perspective, so he can describe events that have yet to happen which have a bearing on the life of his family.

Everything I Need to Know About Life I Learned from My Houseplants

Life is a journey and finding our place in that life can feel overwhelming. Who am I? Where do I belong? How do I cultivate a life that makes my heart happy?

“He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened.” ― Lao Tzu

While there are many books written on self-discovery, Everything I Need to Know About Life I Learned from My Houseplants is unique in its approach by using the growth cycle and care of houseplants to impart wisdom and essential life lessons for living an authentic life.

Throughout the book, the author’s own journey of personal growth unfolds alongside practical information and care tips for raising happy, healthy houseplants. While this little book tackles some tough topics, such as her struggle with depression and experience in an abusive relationship, it is done with a lightness and humour that makes you feel like you’ve known the author for years.

This book will leave you feeling inspired and ready to change and improve your own life, as well as those of your houseplants.

Evolution: The Pattern

The origin of life is the fusion of two slightly different halves: fusion-fission, fusion-fission, fusion-fission… the rhythm of Life. In the beginning of all beginnings, an energetic proton and neutral neutron had fused into one whole. On planet Earth, the fusion took monumental proportions until the mating ritual has reached the highest conceivable degree. Love has a power to create life but also has a power to destroy it if its integrity is violated. Psychopath-men attack women, psychopath-women attack own children while breast, prostate and colorectal carcinomas are responsible for more than 20% human deaths whose incidence in great apes is less than 2%. Are humans on the decline? To find out this we have to unravel the mystery of the origin of life. Only if the sequence of the events in the story of life is correct, a pattern will emerge.

Exploitation

In Exploitation, readers are taken on a heart-wrenching journey through the mind and experiences of a frontline soldier. Through intense and extreme pressure, the soldier must navigate their way through the challenges of combat and emerge on the other side. With raw and emotional storytelling, this book offers a unique insight into the thoughts and actions of those on the front lines, leaving readers with a deeper understanding of the challenges and sacrifices of military service.

F*cking Up Adulthood

I didn’t ask for this. There’s no consent form for adulthood, you just get thrown in the deep end. One minute I’m jerking off my way through high school, the next I’m spending £5 on cheddar cheese. If you’re fed up with adulthood and its merry band of shite like me, let’s fight back against the conventions we so dearly hate. Join me on my runaway mission as I moan my way through the themes of young adulthood. Longing to be back on his feet, escaping the country to recover from what broke him. All the while dissecting the political and social landscape the world enters.

Fallen Through The Cracks

Press your chin hard against your throat. Now turn your head to the left and lift your left shoulder until it touches your ear. Keep your chin against your throat, your left ear against your left shoulder, contract your neck and shoulder muscles as tightly as you can and hold it like that for the rest of your life. That’s right. Eat like that, brush your teeth like that, drive like that and keep your head like that when you go to sleep at night.

This is what psychiatrists in South Africa did to me and they expect me to live like that for the rest of my life.

Far From Worries

A couple of years ago, the author moved next door to the King of Thailand working as an editor of an online magazine published in Hua Hin, a seaside town. At the time, the king lived there permanently in his summer palace known in Thai as the Klang Kangnon palace, which delightfully translates as ‘Far from Worries’. The book is a chronicle of the author’s year there, but in a larger sense, it is a portrait of contemporary Thailand; part memoir, part history and part travel book.