Review: ‘The Oshun Diaries’, by Diane Esguerra

The Oshun Diaries

High priestesses are few and far between, white ones in Africa even more so. When Diane Esguerra hears of a mysterious Austrian woman worshipping the Ifa river goddess Oshun in Nigeria, her curiosity is aroused.

It is the start of an extraordinary friendship that sustains Diane through the death of her son and leads to a quest to take part in Oshun rituals. Prevented by Boko Haram from returning to Nigeria, she finds herself at Ifa shrines in Florida amid vultures, snakes, goats’ heads, machetes, a hurricane and a cigar-smoking god. Her quest steps up a gear when Beyoncé channels Oshun at the Grammys and the goddess goes global.

Mystifying, harrowing and funny, The Oshun Diaries explores the lure of Africa, the life of a remarkable woman and the appeal of the goddess as a symbol of female empowerment.

Trailer – https://vimeo.com/340907769

Purchase Links

Readers can order the book from the Lightning Books website at 30% off (with free UK p&p) if you enter this code at checkout – BLOGTOUROSHUN

http://eye-books.com/books/the-high-priestess-of-oshun

Amazon UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Oshun-Diaries-Encounters-African-Goddess-ebook/dp/B07SYLJ9YC

Amazon US –  https://www.amazon.com/Oshun-Diaries-Encounters-African-Goddess-ebook/dp/B07SYLJ9YC

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Review: ‘Bird Therapy’, by Joe Harkness

Blurb

I can’t remember the last book I read that I could say with absolute assurance would save lives. But this one will.’ Chris Packham


When Joe Harkness suffered a breakdown in 2013, he tried all the things his doctor recommended: medication helped, counselling was enlightening, and mindfulness grounded him. But nothing came close to nature, particularly birds. How had he never noticed such beauty before? Soon, every avian encounter took him one step closer to accepting who he is.

The positive change in Joe’s wellbeing was so profound that he started a blog to record his experience. Three years later he has become a spokesperson for the benefits of birdwatching, spreading the word everywhere from Radio 4 to Downing Street.

In this groundbreaking book filled with practical advice, Joe explains the impact that birdwatching had on his life, and invites the reader to discover these extraordinary effects for themselves.

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Review: ‘The Prison Doctor’, by Dr Amanda Brown

The Prison Doctor Paperback  by
ISBN: 9780008311445
Imprint: HQ
On Sale: 2019-06-13
Format: Paperback
Purchase Link

Blurb

Horrifying, heartbreaking and eye-opening, these are the stories, the patients and the cases that have characterised a career spent behind bars.

Savage beatings, dirty protests, drug addiction, depression and prisoners desperate to turn their lives around, Dr Amanda Brown has seen it all.

The no-holds-barred memoirs of a GP who went from working at a quiet suburban practice to treating the country’s most dangerous criminals – first in young offenders’ institutions, then at the notorious Wormwood Scrubs and finally at Europe’s largest women-only prison in Europe, Bronzefield.

A doctor devoted to caring for those most of us would rather forget

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Review: ‘This Queer Angel’, by Elaine M. Chambers

Publication Date: 7th March 2019
Price: £10.99
I.S.B.N.: 9781912618385
Format: Paperback

Blurb

The incredible true story of one woman’s campaign for equality in the armed forces.

A revealing memoir, laying open the cruel truth behind the longstanding ban on LGBT+ personnel serving openly in H.M. Forces. Discover the human cost of being deemed a criminal in the institutions protecting fellow citizens’ hard-won freedoms.

The first book covering recent military history, written from a lesbian perspective.

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May 2019 Bonus Review #1: ‘Lady Killers: Deadly Women Throughout History’, by Tori Telfer


Publisher: John Blake
Publication Date: 8th February 2018
ISBN-13: 978-1786061218

Blurb

When you think of serial killers throughout history, the names that come to mind are ones like Jack the Ripper and Ted Bundy. But what about Tillie Klimek, Moulay Hassan, Kate Bender? The narrative we’re comfortable with is the one where women are the victims of violent crime, not the perpetrators. In fact, serial killers are thought to be so universally, overwhelmingly male that in 1998, FBI profiler Roy Hazelwood infamously declared in a homicide conference, ‘There are no female serial killers’.

Lady Killers, based on the popular online series that appeared on Jezebel and The Hairpin, disputes that claim and offers fourteen gruesome examples as evidence. Though largely forgotten by history, female serial killers such as Erzsebet Bathory, Nannie Doss, Mary Ann Cotton, and Darya Nikolayevna Saltykova rival their male counterparts in cunning, cruelty, and appetite for destruction.

Each chapter explores the crimes and history of a different subject, and then proceeds to unpack her legacy and her portrayal in the media, as well as the stereotypes and sexist cliches that inevitably surround her. The first book to examine female serial killers through a feminist lens with a witty and dryly humorous tone, Lady Killers dismisses easy explanations (she was hormonal, she did it for love, a man made her do it) and tired tropes (she was a femme fatale, a black widow, a witch), delving into the complex reality of female aggression and predation. Featuring 14 illustrations from Dame Darcy, Lady Killers is a bloodcurdling, insightful, and irresistible journey into the heart of darkness.

Continue reading “May 2019 Bonus Review #1: ‘Lady Killers: Deadly Women Throughout History’, by Tori Telfer”

Unexpected Review: ‘Gender Identity, Sexuality and Autism’, by Eva A Mendes and Meredith R Maroney


Jessica Kingsley Publishers
21st January 2019
£13.99
978-1785927546

Blurb

Bringing together a collection of narratives from those who are on the autism spectrum whilst also identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and/or asexual (LGBTQIA), this book explores the intersection of the two spectrums as well as the diverse experiences that come with it. By providing knowledge and advice based on in-depth research and personal accounts, the narratives will be immensely valuable to teenagers, adults, partners and families. The authors round these stories with a discussion of themes across narratives, and implications for the issues discussed.

In the final chapter, the authors reflect on commonly asked questions from a clinical perspective, bringing in relevant research, as well as sharing best-practice tips and considerations that may be helpful for LGBTQIA and ASD teenagers and adults. These may also be used by family members and clinicians when counselling teenagers and adults on the dual spectrum. With each chapter structured around LGBTQIA and autism spectrum identities, Gender Identity, Sexuality and Autism highlights the fluidity of gender identity, sexual orientation and neurodiversity and provides a space for people to share their individual experiences.

Continue reading “Unexpected Review: ‘Gender Identity, Sexuality and Autism’, by Eva A Mendes and Meredith R Maroney”

Review: ‘The F#ck It Diet’, by Caroline Dooner

Blurb


The anti-diet bible that calls time’s up to poisonous beliefs about food, weight and worth.
DIETING DOESN’T WORK
Not long term. In fact, our bodies are hardwired against it. But each time our diets fail, instead of considering that maybe our ridiculously low-carb diet is the problem, we wonder what’s wrong with us.
But it’s time we called a spade a spade: Constantly trying to eat the smallest amount possible is a miserable way to live, and it isn’t even working. So f*ck it.
Caroline Dooner tackles the inherent flaws of dieting and diet culture, and offers readers a simple path to healing their physical, emotional, and mental relationship with food. What’s the secret anti-diet? Eat. Whatever you want. Trust that your body knows what it is doing. Oh, and don’t forget to rest, breathe, and be kind to yourself.
Irreverent and empowering, The F*ck It Diet is call to arms for anyone who feels guilt or pain over food, weight, or their body. It’s time to give up the shame and start thriving. Welcome to the F*ck It Diet. Let’s Eat.

My Review

Thanks to the publisher, HQ, for sending me a copy of this book. It’s much appreciated.

We’ve been told by the media and diet industry that we need to bee skinny and not eat, and if we just follow this diet or take this supplement we’ll be thin and happy and finally worthy of love and success. *Head-desk*

You may have noticed I’m fat. and yet I’m not diabetic, don’t have high blood pressure or cholesterol, and until my accident in 2012 I could shoot a bow all day, walk or swim for miles without rest, then get up and do it again the next day. Strange that. I should be a couch potato who never leaves the house and should be dead if not severely ill from ‘weight-related conditions’. And yet, I’m not. How odd.

Well, not really. Genetics and epigenetics has a lot more to do with our weight and health than a lot of things we do. Social beliefs can affect our bodies, and their reaction to food. Restrictive eating makes us obsessed with food because the body is in famine mode – we need to eat to survive and starving ourselves makes our brains go ‘must find food, now!’ until you eat – binge – and then you feel like crap. Been there, done that.

I have a history of dieting and binging, and have tried to stop it often but I still get into restrictive, punishing habits. These aren’t good for me. Mentally, I get obsessive, and physically, as I discovered reading this book, my body goes into famine mode, and I get obsessed with food. And I was always hungry! Seriously, Weight Watchers was seriously bad for my mental health

This book is the result of a moment’s existential misery and years of self-care, writing and reading. The author strongly supports the HAES movement and science-based health, and fat activists.

Caroline Dooner has written an easy to read, entertaining and thoughtful (if sweary) book about not dieting, anti-dieting. It’s probably good for your mental health to give it a read. I found parts of the book brought up some of my own struggles and I cried now and then.

Review: ‘Strays and Relations’, by Dizzy Greenfield

Blurb

Strays and Relations follows the story of Dizzy, whose search for her birth parents is sad, humorous, and in parts bizarre. Dizzy learns that she began life as a surviving twin, then was fostered until a permanent home was found.

Dizzy begins her search for her original identity. Why was she given up for adoption in the 1960s? Following a tenuous lead, she travels to Ireland with her best friend Sugar, but the trail takes a misleading turn. It ends in what they mistakenly believe is Dizzy’s mother’s grave.

Dizzy falls in love with Will, a blacksmith. But something is missing. Dizzy’s life changes when her birth father Tommy makes contact using a private detective. He reveals that her birth mother is alive and married to a man called Vernon. Now the bigger, trickier task lies ahead: working out how to fit the disparate bits of her life together. This is a book which will both amuse and touch readers’ hearts.

Strays and Relations manages sensitive subject matter with engaging wit and sharply-observed dialogue, and includes vivid descriptions of some rather unusual animals and people. It will appeal to readers who have encountered a recycled animal or family.

Purchase Links

https://www.troubador.co.uk/bookshop/contemporary/strays-and-relations/

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Non-fiction Bonus Reviews #1

I haven’t been feeling great so my reviews are a bit behind. I have a stack of books next to my laptop that I need to tell you all about. I’ve got three Pen & Sword books for you and an indie about comic book history.

Continue reading “Non-fiction Bonus Reviews #1”

Colouring book review: ‘Uzbekistan: An experience of cultural treasures to colour’

I do enjoy colouring in when I’m stressed. Or bored. And when this one came up, I just had to accept it.

My Review

The book pairs images of architecture, fabrics, mosaics, carvings and paintings from the last couple of thousand years with line images for the reader to colour in.

The paper is dense and high quality, and I’m scared to get my pencils anywhere near it. It’s so beautiful! And informative. As a cross-roads of cultures and civilisations, Uzbekistan has an artistic legacy that continues to this day.

Thanks to Rosie Crofts at Pen & Sword for sending me this book. I think I’m just going to stroke it a bit rather than try any colouring in.