Biography International

A young psychiatric nurse recalls her eye-opening experiences at one of Britain's secure mental hospitals during the 1980s.

'Congratulations on the resurrection of your life,' a colleague wrote to Emily Rapp Black when she announced the birth of her second child. The line made Emily pause. Her first child, Ronan, had died before he turned three years old from Tay-Sachs disease, an experience she wrote about in her first book, The Still Point of the Turning World. Since that time her life had changed utterly: she had left the marriage that fractured under the terrible weight of her son's illness, remarried the love of her life, had a flourishing career, and given birth to a healthy baby girl. But she rejected the idea that she was leaving her old life behind - that she had, in the manner of the mythical phoenix, risen from the ashes and been reborn into a new story, when she carried so much of her old story with her. More to the point, she wanted to carry it with her. Everyone she met told her she was resilient, strong, courageous in ways they didn't think they could be. But what did these words mean, really?

Violently gang-raped when she was thirteen years old, and raped three more times before the age of eighteen, Madeleine has experienced more trauma in her life than most ever will.

'Utterly gripping' - The Guardian 'Fascinating' - The Sunday Times 'Moving' - Scotsman 'Engrossing' - Financial Times Sue Black confronts death every day.

Selma Blair has played many archetypal roles: gullible ingenue in Cruel Intentions. Preppy ice queen in Legally Blonde. Fire-starter in Hellboy. Muse to Karl Lagerfeld. Face of Chanel. Cover model. Advocate for the multiple sclerosis community. But before all of that, Selma was known best for being one thing: a mean baby. In a memoir that is as wildly funny as it is emotionally shattering, Selma Blair tells the captivating story of growing up and finding her truth.

The classic story of four nineteenth-century women who, for different reasons, gravitated to the wildness of the Middle East and North Africa.

An unbelievable true story of romance, sacrifice, loss, and resilience, Lovers in Auschwitz chronicles the lives of two young people ensnared in the Nazis' horrific creation, who discovered hope and humanity in history's darkest hour.

An astonishing and brave memoir of life, love, and assisted death, from the author of White Houses.

This book is inspired by true events but is not a biography. The truth is My Truth is not The Truth, and that's as honest as I can be. It's partially true, rather than painfully true, and I have possibly been economical with the truth, Your Honour. Basically, I made this sh*t up . . .