Maria's Papers

Based on a true story, the once-wealthy Chance family are swindled out of their Whitewall Estate in the mid-1700s and the truth isn't discovered for nearly ninety years.In 1850 Maria Chance promises her dying father to put this injustice to rights, and is thereafter plunged into some extraordinarily dangerous and terrifying situations in mid-Victorian Britain that threaten not only her life, but her sanity too. One hundred and fifty years later, Naomi Draper, the Head of the local Council's Historic Research Department, causes a long forgotten document case to be opened, and she too is immediately plunged into a web of intrigue surrounding ownership of the now named Whitewall Farm. As she and her diverse range of friends and allies begin to unravel the mystery, it soon becomes apparent that some very powerful people don't want the truth disclosed, and that they are prepared to do anything to suppress it.A wonderfully compelling and exciting tale encompassing murder, love, intrigue, and betrayal spanning three centuries.

Mark of a Man

In a world where men are told to be strong, to suppress their feelings, to hold it together, Mark Sephton wants to educate today’s man on how he can understand his needs, emotions, responsibilities and his duty not only to those around him but to himself.

Mark wants to lift the lid on the emotions men feel and face, yet lack the understanding and confidence to express and grasp the importance of the masculine energy which creates a frame promoting a positive environment where women can thrive and together we can benefit from the beautiful feminine energy in return.

Mark’s vision is to help men be better men, through the lens and struggle of his own divorce and creating a healthy and open space for men to take a look at themselves in the mirror. Mark’s heart is to help men find a way out through the more difficult paths we must all at some point in our life take. 

Marriage Wars

You may believe that you know the person with whom you are walking down the aisle, but do you know the person that he/she will become after the vows are spoken? What changes take place with the placement of rings? What are the critical issues that you might be facing that you had never addressed, or thought you had addressed?

For example: how will you handle money, friendships and family, children, hidden addictions, sex, and cheating? While not insurmountable, they can become overwhelming, and potential battlegrounds for the war that has so often become marriage.

Learning to navigate the battles, and choosing the right weaponry, can help you to win the war without destroying the relationship—or yourself.

Marriage, The Iranian Style

Every time I attended a wedding for a reason, I noticed that despite all prior talks and agreements, the wedding ceremony was again carried out with great difficulty, and the couple endured many troubles to be able to get together. It was not because of not having a home and a lack of income, or due to the legal age for marriage, but the customs of the time, the condition of parental consent and their meddling in their child’s future life, or even the influence of the bride and groom siblings, were the main reasons to lead the simple routine of marriage in a bumpy and misled way, and even prevent it from happening.

I’d already written about my cousin in a family context in my diary. After reading it again, I realized what interesting and surprising, and at the same time painful, points there were during their marriage. For this reason, I decided to write about this event, which might be considered as a sample for other marriages, in a separate book in detail, called Marriage, The Iranian Style, so that the unpleasant parts can be reflected on.

Master Healthy Eating Habits

Do you want to eat healthier foods, lose belly fat and improve your health?

Previously have you lost weight, then old eating habits sneak back in, regaining the weight you lost?

Clear six-week guide to change your eating and activity habits.

If you read this book you will understand how, when and what to eat to …

Control appetite

Lose belly fat, gain muscle

Have more energy to be more active

Feel in control of what you eat

Feel in charge of your body

Put the odds in your favour for a longer life

Dieting does not work long-term because it only changes your body.

Changing eating habits works because it transforms your body and your brain.

Me

Ron Pearson was born in Bramley, Leeds on August 12, 1924. He began writing this book on August 12, 2021, his 97^th birthday. After a childhood beset by illness, he left school at 14, and took a job packing parcels in a multiple tailoring factory, not for him. He moved on to packing parcels general muggins at an advertising agency at 50 pence a week, which he loved. His career in advertising was interrupted by a four-and-a-half-year spell in the army on ‘Special Operations’. Returning to civvy street, his career culminated in being appointed Managing Director and then Chairman of one of Yorkshire’s most respected advertising agencies. He was a local actor for almost 50 years including the renowned Bradford Alhambra and Playhouse.

There are some sad moments outnumbered by many hilarious ones. Ron’s beloved wife, Pat, died in 2017 after 66 years of happy marriage.

The list of ‘celebrities’ he has met is impressive, including Princess Margaret, Prince Charles, Hollywood’s Marlene Dietrich, George Raft, Sir Ralph Richardson, George Best, Jackie Charlton, Harry Worth, Alan Bennett etc.

Me and My Shadow

Me and My Shadow – Memoirs of a Cancer Survivor is a brutally honest account of one teenager’s struggle to understand and deal with the most feared diagnosis known to society: cancer.

At 18 years of age, John Walker Pattison was thrust onto a roller coaster ride of emotional turbulence – his innocence cruelly stripped from him; his fate woven into the tapestry of life.

After years of failed chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments that ravaged his physical frame and almost destroyed his psychological stability – his parents were told that he would not survive. Yet, today, he is one of the longest surviving cancer patients in the UK.

Eight years after his unexpected recovery, the news that all parents fear, his daughter is diagnosed with terminal leukaemia. Yet like her father, she too would defy the odds and go on to become an international swimmer.

Pattison turned his life full circle and became a cancer nurse specialist at the same hospital that made his diagnosis decades earlier. He prescribes chemotherapy and cares for individuals with the same cancers experienced by both him and his daughter.

Throughout his journey, Pattison’s inspirations were the space rock legends, Hawkwind. He would get to play on stage with his heroes at the Donnington Festival in 2007.

More significantly, he found solace throughout his cancer journey in the history and spirituality of the Lakota Sioux Nation. In 2018, he would spend time on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation with the indigenous people of South Dakota. The same people who, unknowingly, supported him through life's greatest challenge: cancer.

Memoirs of a Failure

Tormented by an impoverished childhood, plagued by incessant bullying, and damaged by an abusive and violent relationship. Homelessness and broke, following failure after, failure, how does someone find the strength to keep coming back?

Memory Stick

Crafty, cunning and certainly clever, Memory Stick is a firework display of different literary styles and genres. Crammed with detail and facts. Just like a memory stick.

Book club readers have described this first volume of Oliver Milner’s entertaining autobiography as “William Boyd and Bill Bryson meet James Herriot and Sue Townsend.”

Structurally Memory Stick is based around 134 footnotes, taken from opensource Wiki history references, between 1961 and 1987. The story starts in wet and windy North Yorkshire. Flies to Nigeria. Flies back again. Goes back to Nigeria. Flies back again. Neil Armstrong lands on the moon. Olly goes to Wales. Takes in Norwich, ends up in London. Tames a penguin, and then…?

Just download Memory Stick, it gets rather interesting.

Men Over 60: Don't Quit Now!

Dr. Dorsen, a fellow in the American College of Sports Medicine and retired internist, is a cum laude graduate from Dartmouth College with his medical degree from the Rutgers New Jersey University School of Medicine, and residencies in medicine at Johns Hopkins and Hennepin County Hospital Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has served at the United States Paralympic and Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, and as a team physician for the U.S. Olympic Cross Country Ski Team. He is the author of The Vikings Change the Play Against Alcohol and Other Dangerous Drugs; Dr. D’s Handbook for Men Over 40: A Guide to Health, Fitness, Living, and Loving in the Prime of Life; Up from the Ashes: One Doc’s Struggle with Drugs and Mental Illness; and over 300 human interest and juried articles. He has spoken on sports medicine and related medical issues at US and world cross country events where he himself races. He lives in Eagan, Minnesota with his partner, Nada.

“Dr. Dorsen offers an antidote to time and a commitment to daily respect for your body and mind. With insight and clarity, he encourages us to make health a daily habit.”
- David Feldshuh, M.D., Ph.D., Pulitzer nominee for Miss Ever Boys’ based on the Tuskegee Study, professor of theater at Cornell University, and practicing emergency room physician.

“If we are going to help make a healthy world it is essential that men become kind and soft and step down from the altar of power. These things were not spoken in medical school maybe because most all the teachers were male, and psychiatry did not address the unhealthy features of the male personality. Thank you, Peter, for showing the possibility for a healthier world, making healthier men.”
- Patch Adams, M.D., a physician, comedian, social activist, clown, and founder of the Gesundheit! Institute, “Patch” is the author of the film,” Patch Adams” (1998), “Bringing Good Health to You” (1998), and “House Calls”(1998).

“Men Over 60: Don’t Quit Now! supplies helpful information for men in their senior years who want to stay active and healthy. To share this type of information with senior men is an admired goal of Dr. Dorsen and myself. I recommend Dr. Dorsen’s sequel to Dr. D’s Handbook as a helpful guide to anyone interested in this age group.”
- Barry Mink, M.D. was catcher for the Cincinnati Reds out of high school with 40 years as a practicing internal and sports medicine at the Aspen Clinic. Dr. Mink has been the team physician for the US Biathlon Team and Nordic team physician at both the 1980 and 1994 Winter Olympics.

“I came to this book for the information, but I stayed for the inspiration. There is lots of new information, even for an experienced physician. But more importantly, this book offers the inspiration to implement a healthy lifestyle as we pass from our 60s and beyond.”
- Edward Feinberg, M.D., MPH, chairman emeritus department of ophthalmology; faculty retina-vitreous service.

Mental Health Workbook

Mental health is a critical component of everyone’s lives. If you have a brain and have ever felt feelings, then this is the workbook for you!
It is part coloring book, part entertainment, part journal, and part suggestions for when encountering difficult times and complex emotions. Its main goal is to be a fun, helpful and useful workbook that encourages the user.

Midlife Crisis

After 20 plus years of marriage you would think that we would have settled into a nice rhythm of life and that big life changes were all past us now! But no. The ride of our lives was unfolding before our eyes, from sports cars and Harley Davidsons to strippers in New Orleans, from shady goings-on within the workplace to a homeless pregnant girl. How can a marriage survive such things? The affair with the Thai massage therapist was a catalyst. All these things changed the course of our lives. What would you have done?