Blog: Mel's Muse

Catching Contentment - A Guest Blog

I lay on a trolley in A and E, my breathing coming in rapid gasps. My oxygen sats were too low and the pain clamped me in a vice grip, leaving me crying out. ‘It’s a pneumococcal infection in both lungs,’ the consultant said, and admitted me for intensive IV...

Posted at 09:58am on 9th November 2018

2 Comments

Thomas's Story: Overcoming Physical & Mental Struggles

My next book, Picked for a Purpose, with the strapline Bearing fruit through times of hardship, was written at the request of my publisher. Each short chapter contains a story from my life, followed by a page or two of reflections, in which I look back, with the wisdom of...

Posted at 16:08pm on 20th October 2018

World Mental Health Day: Don't Chase The World

DON’T CHASE THE WORLD

Why do I feel such a waste of space?

Why is life always such a race –

To emulate, or, better yet

To surpass the success with which others have met?

Is this the world in which I live?

Is this the future I wish to give

To those who follow on from...

Posted at 08:33am on 10th October 2018

Book Club: Sensible Shoes - Who Are You & Where Have You Come From?

WHO ARE YOU? GUILT RIDDEN?

You pick up the phone, an unknown voice asks: ‘Is that the owner of the house?’ Indeed, sometimes they may address you by name. And what is your immediate response? Mine is never to affirm the query but to ask, ‘Who are you?’

This, however, is not...

Posted at 17:55pm on 10th September 2018

Suicide Prevention Day: The Trauma For Those Left Behind

THE TRAUMA FOR THOSE LEFT BEHIND

I spent the morning speaking with a male friend, of longstanding, whose mother took her own life when he was in his mid-teens. Coincidence? I had no idea that today, Monday 10th September, 2018 is World Suicide Prevention Day. Nor that my daily newspaper was...

Posted at 16:04pm on 10th September 2018

Hirschsprung, Ibs, Abdominal Pain & A Low Fodmap Diet: Reintroduction Table

Having been diagnosed only twenty-five years ago as suffering from Hirschspung - an intestinal disorder I was born with - I have endured decades of pain and embarrassment. Then, thanks to my lovely daughter - a teacher, who is good at directing her pupils and nagging where necessary - I...

Posted at 15:46pm on 4th August 2018

Book Club: Sensible Shoes - Whose Do You Walk In? Who Are You?

Who are you? Whose shoes do you walk in? Is this a question you’ve ever ask? No. I don’t mean do you ask it of other people. That’s not British! Downright rude, in fact. So - who are you? Is this something you have ever asked of yourself? And if...

Posted at 12:27pm on 13th July 2018

2 Comments

In The Days Of Rain - Book Club Verdict 'a Rivetting Read'

THRILLER OR HORROR STORY?

If reading In the Days of Rain by Rebecca Stott didn’t bring tears to your eyes, hearing the testimony of two members of my Book Club would certainly do so! Brought up in the Exclusive Brethren, they tell a tale of trauma of unimaginable scale: the strict...

Posted at 14:30pm on 20th May 2018

The Book Thief By Markus Zusak - Book Club Discussion

Words, words, words. Too many of them thought some members of my Book Club. But words, and their critical importance for good and evil – particularly when used by Adolph Hitler in the lead up to World War II – were the theme of The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. ...

Posted at 14:57pm on 20th March 2018

When Helping Hurts - Book Club Discussion Summary

How does it make you feel when you help someone out? Or when you give to charity? Big time! Go on. Be honest. Inevitably, it makes us feel good about ourselves. Doesn’t it? But what about when someone offers to help us out? With care? Or financially? Don’t you feel...

Posted at 12:52pm on 27th February 2018

Page 2 of 48