Showing results by narrator "Willow Nash" in All Categories

The menopause for many women is a daunting time of change, of unexpected health challenges, of rollercoaster emotions and unprecedented shifts in how we feel physically and emotionally. But we emerge wiser than before, and stronger than we know. For many, the years immediately post-menopause bring other seismic changes too - empty nests, re-evaluated careers, losses and gains as individual as we are. The decade that takes us from our early 50s to early 60s is a time for us to take stock, to power ahead, to decide who we are and how we want to live as we face the future.

All expecting mothers have an innate capacity to give birth safely and naturally, but it's easy to be distracted by stories of traumatic births and a deep anxiety that you won't be in control. Experienced doula and Active Birth associate Nicole Croft takes the fear out of labour and childbirth in this empowering and practical guide. Full of wise advice and simple skills to prepare you mentally and physically, Nicole tells you everything you need to know to ensure you have a very positive experience giving birth, whether you labour naturally or require medical intervention.

In this collection of stories, Gabriella Braun shares insights from over twenty years of taking psychoanalysis out of the therapy room and into the sta­ff room. She shows us why a board loses the plot, nearly causes their company to collapse, and how they come through. We see the connection between a headteacher's professional and personal loss. We understand seemingly unfathomable behaviour—why a man lets his organisation push him around, a lawyer becomes paranoid, a team repeatedly creates scapegoats, and founders of a literary agency feud.

1911, Bath, England – Passionate suffrage campaigner Esther Stanbury has been banished from her home for her views. So ever since, she’s worked as a window dresser in Pennington's Department Store, where she’s proud to have a job and to earn her own money. She has hopes and dreams of helping secure women the vote, and not just by seeking to convince her friends at Pennington’s, Elizabeth, Cornelia and Amelia to join her cause.

I’d stay in Ballyholme, Northern Ireland, to decide whether to forgive my cheating husband, Ryan. Ciara, my new best friend, would stay in our London home, free of charge, until I made up my mind. The ruse certainly had its plus points: Ciara’s unexpected appearance would freak Ryan out, and my disappearance should make him regret his roving eye. But now I learn Ciara has evidence…evidence that my husband has committed murder. And she’s no longer answering my texts and calls. Is it some sort of blackmail plot? More worrying, if Ryan is indeed a killer, could he strike again?

Freda knows the work she does on the home front is vital. Especially when bombs begin raining down on her beloved city of Bath and she and her friends find themselves feeling the effects of war like never before. Years of being told to be a ‘good girl’ by her mother, Freda has always done what’s been expected of her. But, even though she’s proud of her work nursing soldiers and victims of war, she can’t help but wonder if there’s more for her in life. And her secret desire to become a journalist feels increasingly like a calling she can’t resist.

It's been a while, but Lara Carson's back in Bath, and lives are set to change as a result. Because Lara left her family and boyfriend Flynn 18 years ago without a word to anyone. Why has no one heard from her since? Her childhood best friend, Evie, is thrilled Lara's back and able to share her happiness. Evie's about to walk down the aisle with her dream man, Joel. Or so she thinks.... Then there's Flynn Erskine, even more attractive now and stunned to see Lara again.

A lovely day out takes a dark turn when a complaining customer is found dead... Luckily amateur sleuth Belinda Penshurst is on the scene – and ready...

Bath, 1912. When Miss Pennington sends Amelia Wakefield to study the department stores of New York, she couldn't be more excited. Meeting Amelia on board the Titanic, Samuel can't help wondering what painful history has made the beauty so reserved. But he already has too many responsibilities for love. Ruby Taylor’s priority has been making sure her little brother is safe. But when that means accepting Victoria Lark's offer of sanctuary, Ruby's secrets are under threat of being revealed....

Sisters Annie and Jess are used to their mother, Julia, being spontaneous. But when Julia announces she’s flying off to Rome to meet her first love, Patrick, whom she hasn’t seen for 50 years, it's an adventure too far. So, her daughters decide the only way to keep Julia safe is to go too - without actually telling their mother she has chaperones!

1910, Bath, England – Hardworking and whip smart, Elizabeth Pennington is the rightful heir of Bath’s premier department store, Pennington’s. But her father, Edward Pennington, believes his daughter lacks the business acumen to run his empire. He is resolute a man will succeed him. Determined to break from her father's hold and prove she is worthy of inheriting Pennington’s, Elizabeth makes two lifelong friends in Esther and Cornelia – who both work in the store.

Testosterone Rex is the powerful myth that squashes hopes of sex equality by telling us that men and women have evolved different natures. Fixed in an ancestral past that rewarded competitive men and caring women, these differences are supposedly recreated in each generation by sex hormones and male and female brains. Testosterone, so we're told, is the very essence of masculinity, and biological sex is a fundamental force in our development. Not so, says psychologist Cordelia Fine.

London's luxurious Hotel du Barry has been left unscathed by WWI, and the party has just begun: tainted love, murderous desires and gin - it's The Grand Budapest Hotel with a dash of Gatsby. When a laughing baby is found amongst the Hotel du Barry's billowing sheets, tucked up in an expensive pair of ladies' bloomers and neatly pegged to the laundry line, the hotel staff resolve to keep the child.

Hannah and Daniel were teenage sweethearts, but then Daniel left their sleepy village of Middlefern and his grandfather's veterinary practice behind for the bright lights of London. Now, 15 years later, the prodigal grandson has returned to temporarily take over the village practice with a veterinary qualification and his dog, Sammy, in tow. Daniel is ready for rabbits with tummy aches, guinea pigs who've lost their squeak, plenty of cow complaints and a whole lot of memories—both good and bad. But is he ready to see Hannah again?

Hiding out in the gents' toilets backstage is not the way Sasha imagined bumping into her significant ex. Especially when that ex is notoriously damaged, famously wild rock god Nate Munro! She has a massive favor to ask him, but one glimpse of his sinfully dark eyes and all she can think about is that he's seen her naked! Nate's used to women doing anything to get his attention, but he never pictured bubbly schoolteacher Sasha as the groupie type - she's far too sweet!

In stark contrast to her own childhood during the last days of the Raj in India, the spectacular beauty surrounding their home, Rathgarven in Ireland, has proven to be a happy place for Kathleen O'Sullivan and her husband, James, to raise their four children. But Kathleen is no stranger to heartbreak, and when the family is faced with losing everything, she knows they will need to adapt to survive. Even if that means leaving their beloved home and moving to Australia to start afresh.

Miss Jennie Bemyss was in a position that any intelligent young lady would envy. The wealthy, worldly Marquis of Charrington proposed a marriage of convenience that would leave him free to pursue his pleasures and leave Jennie free of his undoubtedly depraved desires. At the same time, handsome, charming Guy Chalmers, whom Jennie had loved since childhood, proposed to aid her in enjoying her freedom to the fullest.

London, 1920. When 14-year-old Victoria Keats is thrown out of her home by her violent father, it seems likely she will starve until two strangers provide her with no-strings-attached help. As Vicki's life improves, she can't help but fixate on the mystery of these good Samaritans, but tracking them down may be more life changing than she thinks.

The wonderfully nostalgic and heartwarming new novel from the Sunday Times top-ten best-selling author of The Beggar Maid. Born out of wedlock when her mother was only fourteen, Lucy Pocket has spent all her life in the care of her disreputable but charming grandmother, Eva. They dodge from one poor lodging house to another, always in debt and resorting to theft in order to exist. Until her wealthy paternal grandfather buys her from Eva, determined to bring Lucy up to be a lady.

Pear Tree Farm in Cornwall, owned by the kind-hearted Nessa Vivian, is known for taking in lost souls, and ex-soldier Crispin Davies is certainly one of those. But the once sleepy caravan park is now a thriving business, and far from the peace and quiet Crispin was craving, he soon finds himself roped into helping out with a short-notice Christmas festival, organised by Nessa’s sister, Lowena. But despite Crispin’s initial reluctance, his involvement in the festival serves to throw him together with Ashley Spencer, an American woman and fellow lost soul.