This a gentle and uplifting memoir. Sam intersperses the story of his life with his tales of traversing the West Highland Way. Each passage is fairly short and cleverly leaves you wanting more. Sam is an actor, and the star of Outlander. Before reading I hadn’t seen any of his work (sorry, Sam!) but thisContinue reading “Come take a seat by the fire…”
Tag Archives: smallwonders
Feeling Blah?
It’s my stop on the blog tour for Feeling Blah by Tanith Carey. Before reading, I had never heard of anhedonia, which is when you feel more bad than good: This book will be useful for people who know they are not depressed but yet feel like they don’t enjoy life as much as theyContinue reading “Feeling Blah?”
I need to get my hands dirty
OK, I admit it. I desperately need to get my hands in the soil. I missed gardening when I lived in London in the noughties and only realised when I suffered from burnout and functional neurological disorder. Then I moved to Essex and immersed myself in rural life, enjoying reconnecting with the natural world. IContinue reading “I need to get my hands dirty”
If you think you know trees, think again!
Thirteen Ways to Smell a Tree: A celebration of our connection with trees is a small, easy-to-read non-fiction book packed with facts and insights – both historical and modern-day. The author, David George Haskell, took me around the world to get up close and personal with some of the world’s most marvellous trees, including oneContinue reading “If you think you know trees, think again!”
A book celebrating the joy of front gardens
This book heroes 20 commonly found plants growing in the front gardens of one road in London. Ben’s observations in Grove Park – such as hollyhocks growing at number 92 being ‘serotonin for the summer soul’ – are insightful and full of joy. Ben takes us with him as he walks up and down theContinue reading “A book celebrating the joy of front gardens”
On top of the world
Brown Clee is the highest hill in Shropshire, standing at 540 metres. On the first day of our holiday, we (my husband, daughter and I) set off to the top from our Air BNB because a previous guest mentioned it was a nice thing to do. There was an OS map on the wall, soContinue reading “On top of the world”
Hopping across the pond
A June reads round-up. Just three books this month, spanning the 1900s to the present day – in the UK, Central and North America. Rarely for me, more fiction than non-fiction although American Dirt felt very real as I was reading, and disturbingly so. Small Eden by Jane Davis If you like UK-based historical fiction,Continue reading “Hopping across the pond”
Recommendations for The Cactus Surgeon
I’ve been extremely grateful for the wonderful reviews readers have shared with me, and here are just some of my favourites: ***** A lovely book with some important messages about living well, a cracking read. I enjoyed this book a lot and read it in a very short time as it really pulled me in.Continue reading “Recommendations for The Cactus Surgeon”
Hanging out with the olive elders
I’ve just spent a glorious week in Puglia, Italy for my Dad’s 70th birthday. Like so many things this holiday has been delayed by Covid and at one point I began to wonder whether all the extra travel admin was really worth it. It turns out it was, although I probably wouldn’t travel abroad forContinue reading “Hanging out with the olive elders”
How to deal with FND (or unexplained medical symptoms)
In 2009 I was diagnosed with functional neurological disorder (FND). The symptoms, including severe and uncontrolled twitching and spasms, came from the body not functioning because of faulty brain signals. There were no structural changes to be seen on a scan. I had a diagnosis, but whilst I now had a name for it, theContinue reading “How to deal with FND (or unexplained medical symptoms)”