Showing results by publisher "Quercus" in Relationships, Parenting & Personal Development

Being alone has a serious branding issue. We've only ever had negative language to talk about flying solo - but what about when time spent alone is restorative and joyful? What if it's something you crave? Enter: alonement, Francesca Specter's empowering new word to express valuing your own company and carving out time to spend with yourself, whoever you are and whatever your relationship status. In Alonement, Francesca Specter reveals how we can all thrive alone, whatever our circumstances, and harness the untapped power of some meaningful time with me, myself and I.

Nagomi represents a state of being where both 'bad' and 'good' things live in harmonious and beneficial co-existence. Every life will have joys and sorrows, opportunities and misfortunes. Understanding and accepting this is important, but nagomi takes it one step further by showing you how to balance all of these experiences, both positive and negative. Best-selling and internationally celebrated author Ken Mogi delves into Japan's history, into its traditions, its society and also into neuroscience to adapt the concept of nagomi for a Western audience.

Now in his late seventies, Sir Ranulph Fiennes looks back on a lifetime of exploration, and draws powerful, inspiring lessons that we can all use when faced by the tribulations of everyday life. Having crossed both Polar ice caps on foot, climbed Everest and the Eiger, served in the SAS and circumnavigated the world along its polar axis—a 53,000-mile odyssey that has never been repeated—'Ran' looks back from the summit of an incredible life.

Ten days before Gwen Kingston turned twelve, her beloved mother - with whom she shared a birthday - died. She left behind two chests - one for Gwen and one for her brother - filled with lovingly wrapped presents and letters marking the milestones she would miss: driver's licences, graduations and every one of their birthdays until the age of thirty. Each gift a chance to reach back into the past and, for the briefest moment, hear her voice again.

We all go through patches when we find it hard to sleep. Either we have problems dropping off at night or we wake in the early hours with thoughts buzzing round in our minds. Sometimes it seems impossible to get that elusive night's sleep we so badly crave, but this book will show you how to break negative patterns, get more rest and improve your wellbeing.

It's about time we made motherhood more diverse.... When Candice fell pregnant and stepped into the motherhood playing field, she found her experience bore little resemblance to the glossy magazine photos of women in horizontal stripe tops and the pinned discussions on Mumsnet about what pushchair to buy. Leafing through the piles of prenatal paraphernalia, she found herself wondering: "Where are all the black mothers?". 

We are all capable of locating greatness within us and achieving hitherto unimaginable feats. Whether you are old and wise or young and bursting with energy, there are limits you are imposing on yourself that this book will help you reconsider. Adam Peaty shows you how to take more control of your life and helps you both discover and develop your talents. He shares his own 10 secrets to a winning mental attitude, whether it be at home, at work, on the sports field or within ourselves.

For many of us who suffer from depression or anxiety, the simple act of endurance, of having to appear 'normal', is a daunting, painful and heroic task. Getting out of bed, packing the kids off to school, showing up for work, preparing dinner...these can be astonishing achievements when it sometimes takes a superhuman effort simply to stand upright. How do you keep going?

No one would consider Judith Newman's domestic life normal. She and her husband keep separate apartments - his filled with twin grand pianos, as befits a former opera singer; hers packed with the clutter and chaos of twin adolescent boys conceived late in life. And one of those boys is Gus, her sweet, complicated, autistic 13-year-old. With honesty and humour, To Siri, with Love chronicles one year in the life of Gus and the family around him - a family with the same crazy ups and downs as any other.

In Hidden Strengths, Dr. Lynn Kern Koegel and Claire LaZebnik explore how the strengths of children and young adults diagnosed with ASD are commonly overlooked or misjudged, even by trained professionals. The authors examine how outdated attitudes, a lack of sufficient training and an overreliance on standardised testing works against efforts to see the capabilities of autistic children. Focusing on the importance of motivation strategies, Hidden Strengths dives into ways to use a child's interests and strengths when teaching them.

Katie Piper's extraordinary story of strength and recovery after a brutal rape and acid attack has captivated Britain. In this powerful sequel to her bestselling memoir, Katie tells the remarkable story of what's happened in the years since she bravely left the safety of her parents' home. With her trademark honesty, humour and heartfelt emotion, Katie shares the highs and lows she has faced as her life changed in ways she never thought possible.

The perfect gift book, featuring the writing of Meryl Streep, Bill Bailey, Emilia Clarke, Olivia Colman, Caitlin Moran, Richard Ayoade, Emily Watson and others, to coincide with the upcoming movie Last Christmas, starring Emma Thompson, Emilia Clarke and Henry Golding. When you think back to Christmases past, what (if anything) made it magical? This is a beautiful, funny and soulful collection of personal essays about the meaning of Christmas, written by a unique plethora of voices from the boulevards of Hollywood to the soup kitchens of Covent Garden. 

Craft enthusiasts are no doubt already aware of the joys of making and the frustration when you must put aside your project and go back to your day job or to less enticing tasks around the house. But there is more to crafting than the simple enjoyment of a creative hobby. Drawing on the firsthand accounts from everyday crafters, Craftfulness considers the vital well-being effects to be gained from the simple expression of your creativity and investigates the soul cleansing and stress relieving benefits of making things by hand.

Who doesn't want to know how to achieve real confidence - and who better to pass on the secrets than a woman who has overcome such gruelling physical and emotional hurdles and emerged on the other side smiling? In 2008 Katie Piper survived a brutal rape and acid attack which left her severely burned and disfigured and changed her life forever. Her previous audiobooks told the story of her long and painful journey back towards health and happiness. Now, in Confidence: The Secret, Katie takes the next step from recovery to empowerment.

Manifesting. Big Magic. The Law of Attraction. There's no denying that whatever you call it, using your mindset to bring your desires into reality is having a moment. But what if your life experiences so far have demonstrated the exact opposite? What does manifesting look like if you're not white, thin, traditionally pretty, or able bodied? Candice Brathwaite is here to tell you exactly what it looks like. Supported by her four pillars of Seeing, Believing, Doing and Being, Candice will guide you towards the life you deserve and show you that manifesting can be for everyone.

In March 2015, Naja Marie Aidt's 25-year-old son, Carl, died in a tragic accident. When Death Takes Something from You Give It Back is about losing a child. It is about formulating a vocabulary to express the deepest kind of pain. And it's about finding a way to write about a reality invaded by grief, lessened by loss. Faced with the sudden emptiness of language, Naja finds solace in the anguish of Joan Didion, Nick Cave, C. S. Lewis, Mallarmé, Plato and other writers who have suffered the deadening impact of loss. 

Whether your birthing plan got thrown out of the window or the birth was seemingly straightforward, childbirth and early parenthood are some of the most transformational mind and body experiences you can ever undertake, but so often we aren't afforded the time and space to reflect and reframe those experiences. The pressure to adjust, to be ok, to ignore any difficult emotions and to get on with it can be stifling. The Birth Debrief is here to help.  

A field guide for parents about the secret lives of 21st-century teenagers - from relationships to self-harm, from drugs to sexting - and how you can help them and yourself through these turbulent years.

In Always Smiling, Toff is here to share her experiences, some funny, some sad, some that make her cringe with embarrassment. So whether it is friendships, family dramas, heartbreak and relationships, or how she coped with living her life in front of millions of viewers of Made in Chelsea, Toff reveals how she has learnt to keep a smile on her face, whatever life throws at her. Told with her trademark honesty, humour and endless sense of fun, Always Smiling is a must-have for any fan. 

Holly loves making marmalade. Now she has a chance to leave her stressful city job and pursue her dream - of returning to the Dorset landscape of her childhood to open Bitter Orange, a shop celebrating the fruit that first inspired her. Holly's mother Ella has always loved Seville. So why is she reluctant to go back there with Holly to source products for the shop? What is she frightened of - and does it have anything to do with the old Spanish recipe for Seville orange and almond cake that Ella keeps hidden from her family?