Sudden, severe ill health comes as a shock and presents several challenges, most notably, loss of confidence. Suddenly people are afraid to take exercise, have sex or even go to the shops. Their entire self-image takes a battering, and this roller-coaster of uncertainty often leads to anxiety and depression. This book looks at the learning curve involved in sudden and chronic illness, and explores key ways to build psychological resilience during this time of challenge. Whether it concerns...

There’s a quiet revolution happening in the way we die. More than 1.5 million Americans a year die in hospice care—nearly 44 percent of all deaths—and a vast industry has sprung up to meet the growing demand. Once viewed as a New Age indulgence, hospice is now a $14 billion business and one of the most successful segments in health care. Changing the Way We Die, by award-winning journalists Fran Smith and Sheila Himmel, is the first book to take a broad, penetrating look at the hospice lan...

Prayer and ingenuity have kept the remote English convent of St Winifreda in the Fen going for centuries, but now the roof leaks, the bell tower is crumbling and rats have moved in. The Bishop’s accountant wants to send the retired sisters to a home, disperse the working nuns, pull down the buildings and sell the land off as a car park. But he has reckoned without the unstoppable force that is Reverend Mother Elizabeth. With her team of ex-offenders, migrant workers and passing strangers, ...

We all hope for dying well and living fully until we do. The truth is that we don’t have a choice about whether or not we’re going to die but sometimes we have a choice about whether our dying is going to be easier or harder. Hospice is about treating people rather than treating disease. It looks beyond the physical suffering and includes the whole family.

A vicious master, a cruel injustice, and a long-held secret. . .After travelling to the notoriously haunted Crowswood Castle to recover from illness, Cambridge student Vita Carew finds herself at the centre of a ghostly unsolved mystery.As renovations on the ancient castle near completion, old secrets emerge, and Vita must decipher the meaning of a hidden message in an old painting of the deceased previous mistress of the house. When workmen unearth human r...

A mysterious victim, a heartless doctor, and an assistant whose loyalty extends to murder.After falling behind during her first year studying science, Vita Carew plans a studious Christmas vacation in Cambridge. However, when an injured man with no memory is discovered and brought to her local hospital, she can’t help but be lured away from her books by an enticing mystery.Curious to learn more, she begins to unravel the events leading up to the man’s attac...

A dazzling diva, a glittering society dinner, and a killer with a terrible grudge…In Edwardian England, bookish and bespectacled Vita Carew longs to be left to her scientific studies. But she can't avoid the event of the season, a gala at Pemberton Hall. This glamorous concert and sumptuous dinner will mark the Pemberton household’s triumphant return to society after a run of misfortune.But disaster strikes as soon as the seafood is served. Elegant guests f...

A quiet lodger, a secret vice, and a fortune-seeker who will stop at nothing.When a neighbor’s lodger is found dead, Vita Carew, a sharp-witted science student, is the first on the scene. The police pronounce it an accident, a fatal fall, but Vita remains unconvinced. Her access to the post–mortem reveals the truth: Albert Flett was murdered.As Vita investigates, she uncovers a trail of evidence that suggests Albert’s quiet, unassuming ways were hiding a co...

A professor's dismissal, a boxer's death, and a widow's secrets. Can Vita Carew solve the mystery?In 1903 England, Vita Carew's dreams of studying at Cambridge are shattered by a dismissive professor. But Vita’s intellect proves invaluable after her brother and a visiting American boxer take part in an ultimately lethal boxing match. Vita’s brother is gravely injured and the boxer dies, leaving behind his glamorous wife.Though the boxer's unexpected death i...

Did the universe start with a Big Bang? Is light a wave, a particle – or both? Is a "Theory of Everything" possible?Explaining the key milestones in the field of science in a clear and simple way, The Science Book answers these questions and more besides, and is the perfect introduction to the subject. Untangling knotty theories and shedding light on abstract concepts, entries unpack each complex idea with a combination of easy-to-follow explanations, inno...

Get to grips with the key concepts that have shaped the way we think about the environment, ecosystems, and biodiversity, and our role in protecting the planet.Packed with short, pithy explanations of more than 90 of the key milestones and groundbreaking ideas within the field, The Ecology Book is the perfect one-stop guide to the subject. Untangling knotty theories and shedding light on complex concepts, the book explores and explains each one through a c...

A Buddhist teacher draws from her years of experience in caring for the dying to provide inspiring lessons on how to face death with courage and compassionThe Buddhist approach to death can be of great benefit to people of all backgrounds—as has been demonstrated by Joan Halifax’s decades of work with the dying and their caregivers. A Zen priest and a world-renowned pioneer in care of the dying, Halifax has helped countless people face death with courage and traine...