#BookReview LUCKY by ED JACKSON #nonfiction #sports

ABOUT THE BOOK

From tragedy to triumph, one step at a time – an inspirational story of triumph over adversity against the odds

At just 28 years old, Ed Jackson was told he would never walk again. After a miscalculated dive into a pool, he suffered multiple cardiac arrests, a broken neck and a partially severed spinal cord. Lying paralysed in intensive care, the former rugby player knew his life would never be the same. But he wasn’t ready to give up hope.

Driven by relentless determination, Ed embarked on an incredible journey to independence. Millimetre by millimetre, he began to regain movement in his fingers and toes. Defying the expectations of even the most optimistic doctors, step by step, Ed began to walk again.

Fuelled by a renewed appreciation for life and a determination to help others suffering similar injuries to his own, Ed set his sights on a new challenge: mountaineering. Embarking on a gruelling climb to raise funds for a spinal unit in Kathmandu, Ed realises that, once again, the odds are stacked against him. Will he be able to overcome his own life-changing injury and transform others’ lives for the better?

Lucky is the story of how Ed faced the impossible when it seemed all hope was lost, and shows how you, too, can overcome the biggest challenges that life sends your way.

PUBLISHED BY HQ

PURCHASE LINK

Amazon

MY REVIEW

In this book Ed Jackson shares an astonishingly powerful message and I’m in total awe of him and the impact of the positive mental attitude that has helped him come to terms with his accident and not let it stop him! The bravery and determination he shows throughout is inspiring!

As he looks back over the accident that changed his life, he shares important messages about the power of the mind and how being supported by equally positive friends and family, gave him the fight within to look for new opportunities and challenges. It shows how quickly life can change in the blink of an eye and I was left in total admiration as he shared those moments as they unfolded. He would keep setting himself little challenges to inspire himself to keep moving forward mentally and physically and also looked to others who had suffered spinal injuries before him to keep pushing himself.

A brilliant read and an inspirational man!!

★★★★★

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#BookReview SUMMER OF HOPES AND DREAMS by SUE McDONAGH @ChocLituk

ABOUT THE BOOK

Can “Dozy Rosie” spice up her life and prove she’s not boring?

Rosie Bunting has spent her life caring for others, often at the expense of her own hopes and dreams. But when she overhears somebody describing her as “boring”, she decides it’s time for a change.

Little does she realise that the outdoor pursuits weekend brochure handed to her at the local Art Café will kick start a summer that will see her abseiling down a Welsh cliff face in “eye watering” leggings, rediscovering her artistic side and unexpectedly inheriting an old fire engine. It also involves meeting hunky outdoor instructor, Gareth Merwyn-Jones – although of course he’d never be interested in Dozy Rosie Bunting … would he?

One thing’s for certain: Rosie’s path to achieving her hopes and dreams might not be smooth, but it’s definitely not boring.

PUBLISHED BY CHOC LIT

PURCHASE LINKS

Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0953VZQN9?tag=smarturl-gb-21

Apple: https://books.apple.com/gb/book/summer-of-hopes-and-dreams/id1567909469?

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/summer-of-hopes-and-dreams

Google: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Sue_McDonagh_Summer_of_Hopes_and_Dreams?id=5-8xEAAAQBAJ

Nook: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Sue_McDonagh_Summer_of_Hopes_and_Dreams?id=5-8xEAAAQBAJ

MY REVIEW

All the feels – and more!! I loved the latest in the Art Cafe series – easily read as a standalone! – and it has yet more fabulous characters you take to your heart in the most wonderful of settings!

Rosie is the main focus of this story and I dare you not to want to be her best friend!! She’s the kind of woman who is always putting others first, without complaining, yet she’s forgotten just who she is. And when she overhears her own daughter calling her boring – shame on her!! – she throws caution to the wind and sets about finding herself and putting herself first for a change!

After a visit to the Art Cafe, she finds out about an outdoor pursuits weekend – what better way than doing something out of the ordinary and challenging yourself!! And while she’s there she starts a journal so she can chart her progress – I loved this aspect of the book and loved reading her entries! She’s more honest with a pen in her hand and seeing her thoughts on everything written down seems to make her more relaxed and feel in control!

She meets all kinds of different people on the weekend and I loved the variety and how that seemed to help with her confidence – the lovely instructor Gareth helped on that front too!! He was dealing with his own family issues after his marriage broke down.

Rosies’ ex is still on the scene too and sniffing around when there’s money to be had, so I loved watching how Rosie dealt with this new challenge. And how others helping her, made her happy again to be helping others with their own problems and finding solutions to make the future seem more ‘rosy’ for Rosie!! I’m sorry I couldn’t resist!!

A fabulously inspiring story!! Loved it!!

★★★★★

#BookReview Old Baggage by Lissa Evans

What do you do next, after you’ve changed the world?

It is 1928. Matilda Simpkin, rooting through a cupboard, comes across a small wooden club – an old possession of hers, unseen for more than a decade.

Mattie is a woman with a thrilling past and a chafingly uneventful present. During the Women’s Suffrage Campaign she was a militant. Jailed five times, she marched, sang, gave speeches, smashed windows and heckled Winston Churchill, and nothing – nothing – since then has had the same depth, the same excitement.

Now in middle age, she is still looking for a fresh mould into which to pour her energies. Giving the wooden club a thoughtful twirl, she is struck by an idea – but what starts as a brilliantly idealistic plan is derailed by a connection with Mattie’s militant past, one which begins to threaten every principle that she stands for.

Old Baggage is a funny and bittersweet portrait of a woman who has never, never given up the fight.

Published by  Macdonald

Purchase Links

Amazon UK

Hive.co.uk

Book Depository

MY REVIEW

What an astonishing book!!

In Matilda Simpkins, there is a character with so much depth and background to explore – it’s just that she has reached a point in her life where her past was a million more times exciting than her present! She used to be part of the suffragete movement and her time fighting for the rights of women saw her jailed a number of times, attending numerous marches and even heckling Churchill. And now in middle age she finds nothing even comes close to recreating that buzz and spark in her. The only enjoyment she seems to get out of life nowadays is passing on advice to neighbours – whether they want it or not!!

When she finds herself under the watch of the police again after a street robbery, she soon finds a new way of feeling involved in the world and inspiring a new generation of young girls to be educated and feel inspired to think more of themselves as she starts a Girls Club on Hampstead Heath, teaching them a variety of skills.

There are a number of other important characters we get to meet along the way – from Florrie ‘The Flea’ who lives with Mattie and is a dear friend and a calming influence on her friend, to Ida who is a young girl whose family expect very little from her other than to cook for her brothers at home, and they tease her when she shows an interest in wanting more out of life and for herself.

I found this to be such an inspiring read. We take so much for granted nowadays as women and it is always eye-opening to go back and look at the struggles women went through and to have a character of Mattie who is fearless, most of the time, is really enlightening and stirring. Mattie and Florrie have many times when their friendship is tested, there are fallings out, but it showed beautifully the bond they do share that when times are tough they are there for one another.

I loved spending time with these characters over the years in this book and highly recommend everyone to pick this book up and hopefully feel as proud and uplifted as I did after reading this!

 

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