BOOK REVIEWS
By Kate Duggan
Books to uplift, inspire and he elp you to move forwards. The Shift – Sam Baker Whether you’re just approac ching the perimenopause or have e reached m common the other side, Shift is a must read. It covers everything from V\PSWRPV WR WKH PHGLDµV WUHDWPHQW RI ´LQYLVLEOH ZRPHQµ < <R RX ZRQµW ¾QG a list of all the difffferent types of HRT or discover a magic curre-all for KRW ¿XVKHV ,QVWHDG DV WKH VXEWLWOH VD D\ \V LWµV WKH VWRU\ RI KRZ %DNHU ORVW (and found) herself after 40 – and how you can too. I loved th he author ’s wry humour and admission that she doesn’t have all the answ wers. g are quotes from hundreds of wo Interspersed with her writing omen, revealing diffffering views to the t menopause, ageing and life in n general. Where Ho ope Comes From – Nikita Gill urney through the stages of grief, Nikita Gill’s poems take the reader on a jou ovid-19 and lives thousands of miles m onwards to o hope. Gill is at high risk from Co DZD\ IURP P KHU IDPLO\ +HU SRHPV KHOSHG KH HU WR ¾QG D ZD\ IRUZDUG $V VKH explained on Instagram, “When I realised th hat I needed to honour my grief and a DQJHU , ¾Q QDOO\ EHJDQ WR ZRUN P\ ZD\ WKURXJK WKHP ³ 7KH UHVXOW LV D WUXO\ EHDXWLIXO collection of short poems to help the reader “… come away with a little more e joy DQG KRSH WKDQ EHIRUH ³ One Hund dred Years of Lenni and Margott – Marianne Cronin $ ERRN DERXW WZR WHUPLQDOO\ LOO IULHQGV PD\ D\ QRW VHHP OLNH WKH PRVW XSOLIWLQJ RI R UHDGV how One Hundred Ye Years of Lenni and Margot manages to be just that. t yet someh seventeen n-year-old Lenni and eighty-three--year-old Margot meet in hospitall. They set themse ar of elves a challenge of painting a hu undred pictures, one for every yea WKHLU OLYHV $V WKH\ JURZ FORVHU WKH\ UHYHDO WKH VWRULHV EHKLQG WKH SDLQWLQJV :KLOH al focus in on Lenni, it’s Margot’s life, with all its ups, downs and loves the origina lost,, that ends e up p taking g centre stage. g e – Robert Poynton Do Pause Poynton discusses d how pausing (whether to t reconsider, question yourself, appreciate c help us to take back control, become b e your surroundings or just rest) can PRUH FUHD FH LQ DWLYH DQG XOWLPDWHO\ EH KDSSLHU ,II \RXµUH VWUXJJOLQJ WR ¾QG D EDODQF OLIH RU ¾QG G \RXU EUDLQ LV DOZD\ D\V ´RQµ WKLV OLWWWOH ERRN FRXOG EH WKH FRII IIHH EUHDN N UHDG you’re look king for. The Atlas s of Happiness – Helen Russell Helen Rus ssell explores traditions, practices s and beliefs from around the worrld, from the Ittalian ‘dolce far niente’ (the joy of doing nothing) to Japan’s ‘wabi-s sabi’ (appreciatting things as they are, with all the eir imperfections). She also offfers s advice IRU HPEUDF YHU\GD\ D\ OLIH $Q HQMR\DEOH UHDG WR R GLS LQ FLQJ VRPH RI WKHVH SUDFWLFHV LQ HY PLJKW DQ RXW RI K O \RX WR VHH OLIH OLI D OLWWOH OL O GLII IIHUHQWO\ O I 7KH K $WODV O RII +DSSLQHVV L L K MXV M VW KHOS Other books to try… I’ve covered these before, but in case you missed them, I highly h recommend: • Matt Haig’s The Midnigh ht Library • Charlie Mackesy’s The Boy B , The Mole, The Fox and The Horse • Brandon Stanton’s Hum mans
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APRIL/MAY 2021
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