For Simon Bill's drunken anti-hero, an abstract artist forced to haunt private views to siphon the free booze, the picture looks bleak. He has been dumped by his curator girlfriend and the only dealer left with time for him is the one who sells him drugs. But his luck changes when he's offered a job as artist in residence at a neurological institute. Enthralled by the characters and conditions he encounters - and infatuated by the beautiful amnesiac Emily - he sees a chance to revive his c...

Stolen, beaten, deprived of his liberty and used as child labour, Bill Simon's was not a normal childhood. He was told his mother didn't want him that he was 'the scum of the earth' and was locked up in the notorious Kinchela Boys Home for eight years. His experiences there would shape his life forever. Bill Simon got angry, something which poisoned his life for the next two decades. A life of self abuse and crime finally saw him imprisoned. But Bill Simon has turned his life around and in...

'DEEPLY HONEST, SURPRISINGLY HILARIOUS AND UPLIFTING' The Pool'HEART-WARMING: UNMISSABLE' Damian Barr, MetroSusan Calman is a much-loved comedian and writer who has appeared on countless radio and television programmes from The News Quiz and Just a Minute to Armchair Detectives and Secret Scotland. She's hosted th...

When Eleanor Morgan published a first-person account of her struggles with anxiety as part of the online series the VICE Guide to Mental Health, the response was staggering. Within four days, the article was read by five million people in fifteen countries, prompted tens of thousands of reader responses and was endorsed by numerous high-profile celebrities, including Caitlin Moran.In Anxiety for Beginners, Morgan digs even deeper, combining her own experiences—rendered in ...

Winner of the Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature 2014 nonfiction prize. Shortlisted for the Queensland Literary Awards 2013 nonficiton prize.It's not every day you get to admit you're mad.The thing with psychosis is that when I'm sick I believe the delusional stuff to the same degree that you might know the sky is above and the earth below. And if someone were to say to me that the delusional thinking is, in fact, delusional, well that's the same as if ...

Introducing a bold new voice in Australian nonfiction, Late Bloomer is a heartfelt coming-of-age memoir that will change the way you think about autism.Clem Bastow grew up feeling like she’d missed a key memo on human behaviour. She found the unspoken rules of social engagement confusing, arbitrary and often stressful. Friendships were hard, relationships harder, and the office was a fluorescent-lit nightmare of anxiety. It wasn’t until Clem was diagnosed as autist...

A rich collection of writing from those negotiating disability in their lives – a group whose voices are not heard often enough‘My body and its place in the world seemed normal to me. Why wouldn’t it?’‘I didn’t grow up disabled; I grew up with a problem. A problem that those around me wanted to fix.’‘We have all felt that uncanny sensation that someone is watching us.’‘The diagnosis helped but it didn’t fix everything.’

'The pre-eminent novelist of Renaissance Italy' S. J. PARRIS, OBSERVER'Dunant triumphs, like all good novelists: in a deft, shrewd, precise use of killer detail' CHRISTOBEL KENT, GUARDIAN'She writes like a painter, and thinks like a philosopher . . . A tour de force of storytelling' AMANDA FOREMAN'A writer of powerful historical imagination and wicked literary gifts' SIMON SCHAMA

With raw honesty, Christopher and Nicola Stevens lay bare their experiences, which are by turns harrowing, hilarious, and inspirational.Autism is often depicted as a lonely affliction but, as David's story unfolds, his parents reveal how the condition has given them an unbreakable togetherness; an insight into prejudice, as well as kindness; an understanding of life without words or language; and an intense appreciation of their children. Caring for David is an all-consuming experience...a...

The loss of a pet can hit us as hard as the loss of any close friend. Yet pet bereavement is so little talked about that, along with their grief and pain, animal lovers may find themselves having to deal with feelings of confusion and even embarrassment at the strength of their reaction.For anyone grieving the loss of a pet, or facing up to having a pet put down, Losing a Pet aims to fill the gap. Warm, direct and compassionate, this short books offers practical guidance, emotional...

"The best book I've read this year" Rachael, Goodreads reviewer ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐"Fantastic" Rachel, Goodreads reviewer ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐"Funny, insightful, heart-breaking" NetGalley reviewer ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐"A magnificent book" Jo, Goodreads reviewer ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐Step inside one of Britain's most renowned prisons...During her time as a prison teacher Mim Skinner met people from al...

Lydia was 19 years old and enjoying university with a loving family and great friends when she became anorexic. The doctors told her that she would die.This is Lydia’s account of what anorexia did to her, how it changed her and how it impacted on her family, friends and all her choices in life. Her story is told through letters and blogs that Lydia wrote at the best and worst of times, notes from her parent s and friends desperately trying to find a way through to her and doctors n...