Showing results by publisher "Orion" in Parenting & Families

Ruth was a ghost of a girl when she arrived into foster mother Maggie Hartley's care. Pale, frail and withdrawn, it was clear to Maggie that Ruth had seen and experienced things that no 11-year-old should have to, that she had been conditioned to 'see no evil, speak no evil'. Ruth is in desperate need of help, but can Maggie get through to her and unlock the harrowing secret she carries? Through love, reassurance and patience, Maggie starts to unravel Ruth's painful past.

When 16-year-old Jess arrives on foster carer Maggie Hartley's doorstep with her newborn son, Jimmy, she has nowhere else to go. Arriving straight from the hospital, having just given birth, Jess is like a rabbit caught in the headlights. Scared, alone, and practically a child herself, she is overwhelmed with the responsibility of caring for a newborn without the support of a loving family or her beloved boyfriend. With social services threatening to take baby Jimmy into care, Jess knows that Maggie is her only chance.

Ever woken up worrying that you said the wrong thing at work drinks the night before? Felt frustrated with yourself for polishing off the entire bottle of wine when you only intended to have one glass? The emotional pull of alcohol is strong, but Mindful Drinking: How Cutting Down Will Change Your Life is here to help us cultivate a new, healthy and more mindful relationship with alcohol. Journalist Rosamund Dean combines scientific expertise with practical advice in a game-changing four-step plan.

Evie and Elliot are scrawny, filthy and scared when they turn up on foster carer Maggie Hartley's doorstep. Aged just two and three years old, this brother and sister have hardly set foot outside their own home. They have been prisoners, locked in a world of abuse, violence and neglect. Maggie soon realises that Evie and Elliot are lacking the basic life skills we all take for granted, and the outside world terrifies them. Gradually unlocking the truth of their heartbreaking upbringing, Maggie tells their shocking true story.

At just 10 years old, Kirsty has suffered a lifetime of heartache. Neglected by her teenage mother and taken into care, Kirsty thought she had found her forever family when she was fostered by Pat and Mike. But when Pat has a heart attack and collapses in front of her, Kirsty's foster family say it's her fault. Kirsty is still reeling from this rejection when she comes to live with foster carer Maggie Hartley. She acts out, smashing up Maggie's home, and even threatens to hurt the baby boy Maggie has fostered since birth.

'They have lightning in their souls, thunder in their hearts, chaos in their bones.' Nikita Gill's poetry has captured hearts and minds all over the world; her inspirational words have been shared hundreds of thousands of times online, plastered across placards on international women's marches and even transformed into tattoos. This collection will showcase mostly unseen poetry and prose, delving into ideas about passion, identity, empowerment and femininity. Written and read by Nikita Gill.

Lucy Banbury isn't the sort of person with whom everyone gets along—she's prickly and secretive, and she likes things ordered 'just so'. But things couldn't be going better for her—she swims three times a week, she's on the cusp of a huge promotion at work and she's dating someone perfect on paper. But when she discovers at a family wedding that she's adopted, her whole world is shattered. Those cracks she's taken years to plaster over are beginning to surface, and she's not sure how much longer she can keep all her secrets hidden, all whilst pretending to be someone she's not.

London, 1940. Winnie Berry is at the heart of the community in her pub, The Battersea Tavern. Her door is always open to those in need of a cup of tea and sympathy. Winnie's abusive husband has left, and she finds herself foolishly falling in love with black-market trader Harry Hampton. But Harry is married, and Winnie soon finds herself tied up in his web of secrets. Meanwhile Winnie's son is back in London—not to visit his own child, but to charm the latest barmaid at the Battersea Tavern, which will lead to devastating consequences for the family.

Renowned as a BBC journalist, Victoria Derbyshire has spent 20 years finding the human story behind the headlines. In 2015 she was diagnosed with breast cancer. With honesty and openness, she decided to live out her treatment and recovery in the spotlight in a series of video diaries. Victoria has kept a diary since she was nine years old, and in Dear Cancer, Love Victoria she shares her day-to-day experiences of life following diagnosis and coming to terms with a future that wasn't planned.

'I always wanted kids - but then again, I always wanted a loft conversion. Both are pretty easy to put off, as they're very expensive and tend to wreck your house.' Stand-up comedian Sam Avery (aka the Learner Parent) started his award-winning blog when his twin boys were born. A million nappies and Peppa Pig episodes and a lot less sleep later, he shares all the lows, highs and hilarious in-betweens of his experiences of first-time parenthood in this, his highly anticipated first book.

Gemma knows perfectly well how one moment can change your life forever. That's why, for two decades, she's lived life by the rulebook. But this year, everything is different. The beloved daughter she gave up for adoption all those years ago is about to turn 18—and that means, there's a chance of being found. For the first time in her life, Gemma can no longer run from her secrets. And she begins to realise that when everything is falling apart, love can be found in the unlikeliest of places.

The Mindful Living series is a new series of short mindfulness books dedicated to enhancing three important areas of our lives: parenting, relationships and work. Best-selling author and mindfulness guru Oli Doyle shows that all the key domains of life provide great opportunities to practice mindfulness and discover peace of mind. In present-moment parenting, Oli guides the listener through a six-week guide to show how mindfulness can help us be completely present in the messy reality that is parenting.

Steph Herrington runs a successful hair salon—she can make your hair look amazing but she's no gardener! An allotment was her late husband's dream. But when her daughter, Jessie, decides to take the plot on in her dad's memory, Steph sees a chance to bridge the gulf that grew between them as their loving, close-knit family fell apart. Only the gnarly tangle of weeds and thorns—and working together to tame it—is far worse than they'd imagined!

As his 50th birthday dawned, Peter Dunne had a life-changing conversation with a friend and realised that, while he may not have invented the internet or found a cure for cancer, he had nonetheless fathered three remarkable and beautiful children. Inspired by that fact, he set out to leave a trail of metaphorical breadcrumbs for them, so that if they ever needed to know what their father might have had to say on a particular subject, it would be set down for them.