Wendy Holden

'This is a remarkable book . . . Read it and use it: you may find you are doing nothing less than giving back to your children their childhood, while they still have the chance to live it' Mark Williams, Director, University of Oxford Mindfulness Centre and author of MINDFULNESS FINDING PEACE IN A FRANTIC WORLD'10 MINDFUL MINUTES can help any adult - parent, grandparent, teacher - make double use of their moments with the children they love and have a terrific time while helping shape that child's brain for a lifetime of resilience and happiness' Daniel Goleman, author of EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCEBestselling author Goldie Hawn offers parents a practical guide for helping their children to learn better and live more happily. Based on the MindUP programme, supported by the Hawn Foundation, 10 MINDFUL MINUTES outlines short, practical exercises for parents and children - taking less than 10 minutes - to help young children and teenagers reduce stress and anxiety, improve concentration and academic performance, effectively manage emotions and behaviour, develop greater empathy for others and the world, and be more optimistic and happy. Representing the culmination of years of research and programmes developed by the Hawn Foundation currently being used by schools internationally, this book will help children and parents develop mindfulness which has been proven to promote more effective learning and happier lives.

Vangitseva perhedraama ja ainutlaatuinen kurkistus maailmankuulun muotitalon kulissien taaPatricia Guccin teos on yhtä aikaa sekä valaiseva katsaus Guccin muoti-imperiumin syntyyn ja satumaisiin menestyksen vuosiin että omakohtaisuudessaan koskettava kertomus tarkoin vartioidusta perhesalaisuudesta. Aldo Gucci loi isänsä perustamasta pienestä paikallisesta käsityöläisyrityksestä Hollywoodin tähtien ja kuninkaallisten tunnetuksi tekemän globaalin brändin. Huiman menestyksen päivinä vauhtisokeus vei kuitenkin miehen mennessään, ja lopulta hänet tuomittiin vankeuteen verolakien kiertämisestä. Hän joutui syrjään perheyrityksen johdosta ja sai seurata, miten seuraava sukupolvi petti hänet ja pakotti koko suvun myymään yhdessä rakennetun muotitalon kansainväliselle sijoitusyhtiölle. Dramaattisen yrityshistorian ohessa Aldo Guccin tytär Patricia kertoo myös isänsä tarkoin varjellun rakkaustarinan, jonka paljastuminen olisi 1960-luvulla johtanut muoti-imperiumin johtajan varmaan tuhoon. Patricia Gucci syntyi Aldo Guccin ja hänen sihteerinsä Brunan salaisen rakkauden hedelmänä 1960-luvun alussa, jolloin perheellisen miehen syyllistyminen aviottoman lapsen hankintaan oli Italiassa rikos. Aldo ei kutenkaan voinut mitään tunteilleen Brunaa kohtaan, ja välttääkseen skandaalin hän lähetti raskaana olleen Brunan synnyttämään Lontooseen. Myöhemmin Aldo järjesti Brunan ja Patrician lähelleen Roomaan, missä hän yritti piilotella heitä Italian viranomisilta, medialta ja omalta perheeltään. Patricia Guccin sydämeenkäyvä kertomus vanhemmistaan ja omasta salatusta elämästään perustuu hänen omiin muistoihinsa ja kokemuksiinsa, hänen äitinsä Brunan haastatteluihin sekä Aldo Guccin ylitsepursuavan runsaisiin kirjeisiin rakastetulleen. Patricia Gucci kävi koulunsa Englannissa, Italiassa ja Sveitsissä sekä opiskeli Yhdysvalloissa. Vuonna 1982 hän sai kutsun Guccin sukuyrityksen hallitukseen, missä tehtävässä hän jatkoi vuoteen 1987 saakka, jolloin yritys myytiin Invetscorpille. Hänen isänsä Aldo Guccin kuoleman jälkeen Patriciasta tuli tämän ainoa perillinen, joka on keskittynyt luomaan omaa uraa erilaisten kirjallisten projektien parissa.

TREAT YOURSELF to a sparkling romantic comedy... Last of the Summer Moët is a bottle of champagne in book form! 'Effing marvellous' JILLY COOPER. 'Funny and smart' INDIA KNIGHT. 'Total bliss' DAILY MAIL. Wendy Holden's warm and funny comic heroine Laura Lake is back. And this time, she's gone rural... Laura Lake, editor of glossy magazine Society, is always on the hunt for scandalous scoops to fill her pages. Now she's discovered a top-secret village in the English countryside where the rich and famous own weekend retreats. Where film stars, Turner-prize winners and billionaires park their helicopters outside the gastropub and buy £100 sourdough loaves from the deli. Outsiders are strictly forbidden. But luckily Laura's best friend Lulu, a logo-obsessed socialite with a heart as huge as her sunglasses, suddenly fancies a quiet life in the country... But life in this enchanted rural idyll is harder than it looks. A brawl at the world's poshest pub quiz nearly brings down the government. And gossip from rehearsals of the midsummer pantomime threatens to tear the village apart... Can Laura write her exposé before the snobbish villagers blow her cover and suss her true identity? WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT WENDY HOLDEN: 'A brilliant, funny read... Perfect escapism from the daily grind' 'Move over Sophie Kinsella - there's a new Chick Lit queen in town' 'Escapism in its purest form... A little gem' 'Pure fun, escapism and self indulgence. Delicious!'

'[A] fun and fizzy romantic comedy' says the Daily Mail. Wendy Holden, the number one bestselling queen of romantic comedy, returns with a wonderfully warm and witty tale, guaranteed to delight her legions of fans. 'With plenty of laughter, love, fun and characters you really care about, this is the perfect companion for a weekend spent curled up on the sofa' Heat magazineWhen Nell is marooned at the altar, her feisty best friend Rachel says she'll come with her on honeymoon instead. Why waste a week in a posh country hotel? So the duo, plus Rachel's Agatha Christie-obsessed small daughter Juno, head for the hills and idyllic Edenville, on the edge of the beautiful Pemberton estate. Awaiting them is a cast of colourful characters from Jason the harassed hotel manager to the ruthless Angela, Director of HR. Not to mention the handsome Dylan, a bestselling writer on the run from his past. Nell doesn't want to go back to London, so when a job on the estate comes up, she's happy to stay. Even if it is arranging weddings in the Big House! As she becomes entangled in the lives of the locals - and they weave their way into her heart - she realises there might be a way to reach the rainbow's end after all

"With remarkable detail gleaned from a wealth of research, journalist and author Holden relates the three women's unforgettable journey from their imprisonment in ghettos to their arrival at Auschwitz. . . . An astonishing and deeply moving work." --Booklist (starred review)The Nazis murdered their husbands but concentration camp prisoners Priska, Rachel, and Anka would not let evil take their unborn children too--a remarkable true story that will appeal to readers of The Lost and The Nazi Officer's Wife, Born Survivors celebrates three mothers who defied death to give their children life. Eastern Europe, 1944: Three women believe they are pregnant, but are torn from their husbands before they can be certain. Rachel is sent to Auschwitz, unaware that her husband has been shot. Priska and her husband travel there together, but are immediately separated. Also at Auschwitz, Anka hopes in vain to be reunited with her husband. With the rest of their families gassed, these young wives are determined to hold on to all they have left--their lives, and those of their unborn babies. Having concealed their condition from infamous Nazi doctor Josef Mengele, they are forced to work and almost starved to death, living in daily fear of their pregnancies being detected by the SS. In April 1945, as the Allies close in, Priska gives birth. She and her baby, along with Anka, Rachel, and the remaining inmates, are sent to Mauthausen concentration camp on a hellish seventeen-day train journey. Rachel gives birth on the train, and Anka at the camp gates. All believe they will die, but then a miracle occurs. The gas chamber runs out of Zyklon-B, and as the Allied troops near, the SS flee. Against all odds, the three mothers and their newborns survive their treacherous journey to freedom. On the seventieth anniversary of Mauthausen's liberation from the Nazis by American soldiers, renowned biographer Wendy Holden recounts this extraordinary story of three children united by their mothers' unbelievable--yet ultimately successful--fight for survival.

An incredible, inspirational story of resilience, resourcefulness, and maternal courage, set against the background of the holocaust.

Wild and Free by Sunday Times bestselling author Wendy Holden sees the author of Bad Heir Day and The Wives of Bath at the top of her game. Fun for fans of Jane Costello and Carole Matthews.'Super-sharp ... This hugely entertaining novel is chick lit at its best!' CloserWild & Free is the festival du jour. Everyone piles through its gates - and Cupid lies in wait to sprinkle a little midsummer madness on them all. Teacher Ginnie is desperate to forget her crush on headmaster Mark, and hopes glamping might do the trick. But Mark is also heading for Wild & Free to reform his college band ... desperate not to be seen by anyone he knows. Mark's bandmate James dreams of a festival blow-out with his son, Guy ... until his wife Victoria's ambition kills the dream. Now she and Guy are en route to Wild & Free instead but when Guy meets Shanna-Mae and falls for her earthy charms, Victoria is determined to snap Cupid's arrow. Will the magic of the festival send them wild? Or set them free to find peace and love?

When Haatchi was injured by a train, he lost one of his legs and his tail - a huge problem for such a big dog. he needed to find his perfect Forever Home. And then Haatchi met Owen. Owen was finding life hard too. And, like Haatchi, he had a lot of love to give .

Haatchi and Little B tells the inspiring and moving true story of Owen Howkins (also known as Little B, short for 'Buddy') and Haatchi, an Anatolian shepherd dog who was abandoned on a railway line as a puppy and left for dead. Thankfully, Haatchi was rescued, despite sustaining severe injuries.

Welcome to Branston College ... We are an academic institution in the heart of an ancient university town. Our architecture might not feature dreaming spires, but the central dome nonetheless casts a characterful shadow. Amenities include a distinctive subterranean bar and a newly renovated garden where you can observe local wildlife. Diana is starting a new life as gardener at Branston, a challenging restoration project which allows her to indulge a love of delphiniums beneath the disconcerting gaze of dishy but remote Richard, the recently widowed College Master. A new term brings new students, among them It Girl Amber, darling of the gossip columns and dead ringer for inclusion in the university's notorious elite society. As lustful teenagers and crabby tutors run riot in Diana's garden, her peaceful haven is trampled, and then a blast from the past threatens to ruin a new romance. Can anything save Diana's hard-won happiness, let alone her herbaceous borders?

Teaching Our Children to Help Themselves Be Happy Practical, timely, relevant, and inspiring, 10 Mindful Minutes is Goldie Hawn's gift to parents who want to help their children learn better and live happier lives. Inspired by the revolutionary MindUP program (developed under the auspices of the Hawn Foundation), the book offers easy-to-grasp insights from current behavioral, psychological, and neurological studies to show how our thoughts, emotions, and actions--including our ability to focus, manage stress, and learn--are all exquisitely interconnected. Hawn presents simple and practial ways to develop mindfulness in children and parents alike, and shares her own heartfelt experiences with the challenges and joys of parenting.

From the bestselling author, Academy Award-winning actress and founder of the Hawn Foundation, a practical guide for parents to help children cope with stress, improve concentration and lead happier lives.

Fame, love and happiness. Can anyone have it all? Darcy's a struggling English-rose actress when The Call comes from LA. An Oscar-tastic director. A movie to make her famous. The hunkiest co-star in Hollywood. So why doesn't she want to go? Belle's a size-zero film star but she's in big, fat trouble. Hotter than the earth's core a year ago, she's now Tinseltown toast after her last film bombed. Can she get back to the big time? When the two women lock horns over men, movies and megadiets, there's more drama than even Hollywood can handle. And after a celebrity nanny, reluctant supermodel and passionate star chef enter the mix, things get seriously hot and spicy.

Sophie's marriage was perfect, but now it's all gone wrong. Mark works late; she's left with the baby, domestic drudgery, her own career to keep on the go and the growing feeling that Mark is having an affair. When he fails to come home one night it's the last straw. Sophie wants a divorce. But Mark doesn't. He hasn't been unfaithful, just thoughtless. Desperate not to lose his family, he signs up to the 'School for Husbands', which transforms hopeless spouses into perfect marriage partners. But will its intensive and unusual tuition be enough to get him back with Sophie? Especially now an eligible millionaire is after her...

'A modern day Jilly Cooper' Glamour. A witty, well-observed tale from bestseller WENDY HOLDEN, author of MARRYING UP and FAME FATALE. Champagne D'Vyne is a celebrity socialite with a charmed life - and a mania for men, money and fame. Jane is a journalist with an ordinary life - love stress, work stress and a spare tyre that won't go away. As their contrasting worlds become bizarrely intertwined, Jane realises that the blonde, busty and blatantly ambitious Champagne will let nothing come between her and what she wants. Least of all Jane.

Cash-strapped Rosie and her boyfriend Mark are city folk longing for a country cottage. Rampantly nouveaux-riches Samantha and Guy are also searching for rustic bliss - a mansion complete with mile-long drive and hot and cold running gardeners. The village of Eight Mile Bottom seems quiet enough, despite a nosy postman, a reclusive rock star, a glamorous Bond Girl and a ghost with a knife in its back. But there are unexpected thrills in the hills. The local siren seduces Guy while mysterious millionaire makes Rosie an offer she can't refuse. But should she?