As a young woman I became fascinated by what contributes to our uniqueness as human beings. I was intrigued by historical influences, the development of personality, and how we frequently travel life’s lanes through a labyrinth of conflicting thoughts and emotions. Feminism, spirituality, psychology; I was absorbed by all three. Eventually I studied psychology. My working life was spent in a variety of roles, mainly supporting adults or young people to manage the challenges thrown at them by circumstance. Regarding my writing, I have always penned something i.e., poetry, songs, holiday journals. I progressed to short stories for adults, which were self-published under a pseudonym. ‘Thistle’ is my first novel.
A psychological, and at times disturbing drama which draws the reader into the lives of three very different young women living in southern England during the mid-20C. The story begins with Thistle, (a name she adopts for herself,) who experiences an emotionally damaging and traumatic childhood. She goes on to navigate adult life using a warped emotional compass.
Her relationships with Hilary and Fliss spark changes in all their lives. As plots interweave, the reader accompanies the characters on their individual journeys, which are full of unexpected twists and turns. The storyline incorporates social conventions of the time, as it explores love, loss, destiny, chance, and the developmental process of its main protagonists. True to real life, there is conflict, humour, and pathos.
My fascination: head versus heart, thoughts versus feelings.
It is all here in this remarkable, and enlightening book that draws from studies on the physiological, and psychological aspects of our brains, our psyches, bringing these together in an intelligible way. In doing so it enhances our understanding of people’s ‘lived experience.’
The really interesting Appendices aid the knowledge base. Some readers will find it a very grounding, self-help book. It has no superficial frills, gimmicks, or pseudo-psychological theories.
It is one of many books that has helped me to have empathy for my fellow human beings. The book also offers guidance for employers, parents, and schools.
Published in 1995, it is still widely read today. Goleman has written follow-up books.
The groundbreaking bestseller that redefines intelligence and success Does IQ define our destiny? Daniel Goleman argues that our view of human intelligence is far too narrow, and that our emotions play major role in thought, decision making and individual success. Self-awareness, impulse control, persistence, motivation, empathy and social deftness are all qualities that mark people who excel: whose relationships flourish, who are stars in the workplace. With new insights into the brain architecture underlying emotion and rationality, Goleman shows precisely how emotional intelligence can be nurtured and strengthened in all of us.
The Second Sex, published in 1949, is a forerunner of numerous books about the female psyche and experience; de Beauvoir inspired the next generation of feminist authors.
As a young woman it made me sit up and learn about historical, cultural, psychological, and political attitudes toward girls and women, and how those had always moulded females to fit stereotypes, and meet the expectations of their emotional, social, and familial connections.
It is presented in a very understandable way, that manoeuvers diverse parts into a comprehensible whole. It changed my personal construct of myself as a woman and guided me to interact differently with my immediate world.
People have not always agreed with some of what is written, but de Beauvoir ignites in-depth debate.
The essential masterwork that has provoked and inspired generations of men and women. “From Eve’s apple to Virginia Woolf’s room of her own, Beauvoir’s treatise remains an essential rallying point, urging self-sufficiency and offering the fruit of knowledge.” —Vogue
This unabridged edition reinstates significant portions of the original French text that were cut in the first English translation. Vital and groundbreaking, Beauvoir’s pioneering and impressive text remains as pertinent today as when it was first published, and will continue to provoke and inspire generations of men and women to come.
A controversial author who I discovered in my twenties; I lapped up his non-fictional work.
This book is an in-depth investigation into the dark side of the human psyche. Wilson explores the psychology and history of criminality and violence, concluding with how that is manifested in what was then his ‘present day’.
Although first published in 1984, nearly forty years on his work is still pertinent. For me that stimulates many questions. Having just pulled it from my bookshelf, I think it is time I read it again.
Wilson covers his subject with focused attention and easy-to-understand detail. He encourages the reader to think about human existence from many perspectives.
Colin Wilson tells the story of human violence from Peking Man to the Mafia - taking into account the calculated sadism of the Assyrians, the opportunism of the Greek pirates, the brutality that made Rome the ‘razor king of the Mediterranean’, the mindless destruction of the Vandals, the mass slaughter of Genghis Khan, Tamurlane, Ivan the Terrible, Vlad the Impaler and more. Each age has a unique characteristic pattern of crime. In the past three centuries crime has changed and evolved until the sex killer and the mass murderer have become symbols of all that is worst about our civilization.…
The female psyche presented in essays written by a plethora of excellent writers.
In addition to psychology, it also explores feminine spirituality, a favourite subject of contributory authors such as Jean Shinoda-Bolen and Sylvia Brinton Perera.
First published in 1990, this collection is truly insightful into ‘the birth of the conscious feminine.’ In places it describes very personal experiences.
I found it a book of healing, hence why I recommended it to some of my counselling clients. Being separate essays, if there is a particular writing style you do not like, it is simple to move on.
All the writers gave me something to contemplate and learn from. It is an incredibly nourishing read.
Micro-psychology by a brilliant storyteller, this was the first of Proulx’s books that I ever read, even though it was the last of the Wyoming trilogy. I went on to read the rest – and then more of her work.
Proulx draws me into the characters, their lives, the plot, setting, and atmosphere, using cleverly interpretative, and uniquely descriptive language. Just a few of her words and I am inside the story. I have been to Wyoming, taking the trilogy for company, although I had read them previously.
Some of her stories remain firmly fixed in my head, and I can re-read them without ever becoming bored.
The fantastic new collection of stories from the Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Shipping News and Brokeback Mountain. Fine Just The Way It Is marks Annie Proulx's return to the Wyoming of Brokeback Mountain and the familiar cast of hardy, unsentimental prairie folk. The stories are cast over centuries, and capture the voices and lives of the settlers this sagebrushed and weatherworn country has known, from the native Indian tribes to the modern day ranch owners and politicians, and their cowboy forebears. In 'A Family Man', an old man nearing the end of his life unburdens himself of the…
Gabrielle found her grandfather’s diaries after her mother’s death, only to discover that he had been a Nazi. Born in Berlin in 1942, she and her mother fled the city in 1945, but Api, the one surviving male member of her family, stayed behind to work as a doctor in a city 90% destroyed.
Gabrielle retraces Api’s steps in the Berlin of the 21st century, torn between her love for the man who gave her the happiest years of her childhood and trying to come to terms with his Nazi membership, German guilt, and political responsibility.
Api's Berlin Diaries: My Quest to Understand My Grandfather's Nazi Past
"This is not a book I will forget any time soon."
Story Circle Book Reviews
Moving and provocative, Api's Berlin Diaries offers a personal perspective on the fall of Berlin 1945 and the far-reaching aftershocks of the Third Reich.
After her mother's death, Robinson was thrilled to find her beloved grandfather's war diaries-only to discover that he had been a Nazi.
The award-winning memoir shows Api, a doctor in Berlin, desperately trying to help the wounded in cellars without water or light. He himself was reduced to anxiety and despair, the daily diary his main refuge. As Robinson retraces Api's…
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