Hope, Grace and Faith by Leah Messer

 

An unflinching and honest account of the off-camera reality of TV personality and fan favorite, Leah Messer.

Since she was thrust under the microscope of reality television at the age of seventeen, on MTV’s documentary series 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom 2, Leah Messer’s life—from her struggle to rise to the challenges of motherhood, to the diagnosis of one of her twin girls with a rare form of muscular dystrophy, to the collapse of two marriages—has played out on the small screen. She has learned to live under the harsh glare of media scrutiny, yet there is a truth behind the reality that the camera never sees.

In her memoir, Leah takes readers behind the scenes and shares an intimate, often heartbreaking portrait, of her turbulent childhood in rural West Virginia, the rock bottom that forced her to reevaluate her life, and her triumphant break from toxic relationships and self-destructive cycles to live her life with hope, grace, and faith.

It’s no secret that I LOVE the Teen Mom franchise, and Leah is one of my favourites. So when I found this book available for free on my Audible subscription, I had to listen to it.

Leah is awesome, but learning so many new things about her in this book just makes me even more in awe of her! She had already been through so much as a child, and that was before getting pregnant at 16, finding out it was twins, and realising one of her girls had a disability. 

Her story is so touching, her girls are amazing. She talks quite openly about all the bad things she’s been through in her life, her divorces, cheating, prescriptions drugs,sexual assault, psychologcal and physical assault. This lady ahs been through so much, and yet she stands so tall and says ‘bring it’. Such a strong independent woman, bringing up 3 beautiful girls, I hope shes doing good and has a great life.

I Let Him Go by Denise Fergus

 

I was crying so much I couldn't breathe. The thought of leaving the shopping centre without him was crushing. I knew that walking away from the place where he had gone missing, without any idea where he now was, meant that things were really bad. James had been right by my side and then he was gone forever.'

On 12th February 1993, Denise Fergus' life changed forever. As she was running errands at New Strand Shopping Centre, she let go of her two-year-old son's hand for a few seconds to take out her purse.

Denise never saw her son again.

For the first time since that moment 25 years ago, Denise tells her extraordinary story in this heart-wrenching book, an unflinching account of that terrible day. What if she had never taken James shopping? What if she had turned right coming out of the butcher's, instead of left? Denise's initial hope after seeing her son on CCTV with other children quickly turned to devastation when, two days later, James' body was found.

His death reverberated around the world and his killers became the youngest ever convicted murderers in UK legal history. Four minutes is all it took for them to lead James away from his mother to his death. Denise took up a tortuous legal battle for James, and it was her astonishing strength and love for her son that ultimately helped to change the way the law treats victims of crime.

This is a mother's tale, of finding a way through the despair to remember the happiness and wonderful memories that James brought his family rather than just as a murdered child.

I wasn’t sure if I could listen to this, but then I thought if Denise can go through what she went through,I can listen to her story. First things first, if you know the story of James, most of us do, you’ll know this is a hard read. But I still wasn’t prepared for how much I would cry. It absolutely broke my heart. Denise had already been through so much before James was even born, but to then go through the unimaginable, James being taken and murdered, my heart broke for her.

The book in its way is actually lovely. Yes it’s hard, and I can’t even begin to imagine what it must have been like, but there is so much happiness in the book too. Denise tells lovely stories, how muchJames was loved, what a little character he was. I loved hearing these parts, and how much Denise fought for justice for him after his murder. 

James is probably always going to be remembered by the public as that little boy on cctv, being led away by 2 children, but I hope anyone who reads this gets to know that little boy as something else, as a kid with a big heart, and a big smile.

A Class Act by Rob Beckett

 

Rob Beckett never seems to fit in. At work, in the middle-class world of television and comedy, he’s the laddy, cockney geezer but to his mates down the pub in south-east London, he’s the theatrical one, a media luvvy. Even his wife and kids are posher than him.

In this hilarious exploration of class, Rob tries to understand the life he lived growing up as a working-class kid in comparison to the life he lives now.

Will he ever favour a craft beer over strong lager? When did it become normal for kids to eat sushi? Is he still working class? Why does he feel so embarrassed about success? And, will it ever be acceptable to serve pie mash on a wooden board?

Tackling the questions big and small, A Class Act is a funny, candid, often moving account of what it feels like to be an outsider and why actually that’s the best (slightly awkward) place to be.

We all know how much of a funny man Rob Beckett is, I really enjoyed listening to Parenting Hell by him and Josh Widdecombe, so I had to grab this one before my Bookbeat subscription ran out.

He talks about growing up working class, and how different his life is now. The stories he tells of growing up, some were hilarious and I laughed out loud quite a few times. His brothers heckling him at his stand up performances, the laughs and memories he’s made with his family. But he also talks a lot about his mental health later on in life too, and my heart honestly went out to him. I’m hoping he’s been able to get any help he needs and is doing much better now.

A really good read (well I listened), and I think if you enjoy funny stories, and a glimpse into other peoples lives, you’ll like this one.

The Tw*t Files by Dawn French

 A hugely-relatable, funny, honest and inspirational 'memoir of sorts' in which Dawn celebrates what it means to be gloriously, messily human.

 

When I was younger I wanted to be an interesting, sophisticated, semi-heroic, multi-layered person.

BUT. That kind of perfect is impossible. Being an actual twat is much the real me. Sorry to boast, but I am a champion twat.

In The Twat Files I will tell you about all the times I've been a total and utter twat. The moments where I've misunderstood stuff and messed up. My hope is that these stories might fire up yer engines to remind you of just what a massive twat you also are.

Let's celebrate and revel in this most delightful of traits together. That would be perfectly twatty.

I absolutely love Dawn French, I mean who doesn’t, and I remember reading Dear Fatty a long time ago, so I was looking forward to listening to this one. I love that she narrated it herself too. 

Dawn is hilarious, and she has so many stories in this book.It’s all about how you can be a Tw*t, and she tells her many stories of when she was one. I laughed so hard at some of her tales, almost drifting off with her anesthesia and telling the surgeon not to let her die as she’s a national treasure )which she obviously is), but how funny. Turning up with Mr French at Elton John’s house party, dressed in an outfit that even Elton didn’t know who they were under their costumes! 

If you like funny memoirs, a good laugh, and a realization that you’re sometimes a tw*t too, then I’d definitely recommend this one. 

Phantom Limb by Lucinda Berry

 

Emily and Elizabeth spend their childhood locked in a bedroom and terrorized by a mother who drinks too much and disappears for days. The identical twins are rescued by a family determined to be their saviors.

But there’s some horrors love can’t erase…

Elizabeth wakes in a hospital, strapped to her bed and unable to move or speak. The last thing she remembers is finding Emily’s body in their bathroom. Days before, she was falling in love and starting college. Now, she’s surrounded by men who talk to themselves and women who pull out their eyebrows.

As she delves deeper into the mystery surrounding Emily’s death, she discovers shocking secrets and holes in her memory that force her to remember what she’s worked so hard to forget—the beatings, the blood, the special friends. Her life spins out of control at a terrifying speed as she desperately tries to unravel the psychological puzzle of her past before it’s too late.

I recently read my first Lucida Berry book and was excited to start this one as my second. Wow this lady knows how to write a good thriller! I thought I knew where this was going after about 15% of the book, but I had no freaking idea the way it was going to turn out! 

I felt so sorry for Elizabeth and Beth, reading about their past was awful. But the love they had for each other was immense, a true family bond. The way they looked out for each other and took care of each other when no one else did. I really liked Elizabeth and kept hoping things would turn out well for her. 

A great story, I’d definitely recommend.

The Break-In by Dan Clark

 

They're not leaving until they get what they've come for...Tis the season for joy and festivity, but for Leah and David Howden, their lives are about to take a chilling turn. Just days before Christmas, and with the Howdens presumed to be away at their annual spa stay, two thieves seize the opportunity to break in. However, due to a problem at the hotel, the married couple are forced to head home earlier than planned, thrusting them into a confrontation with the burglars. Bound and vulnerable, Leah and David must unwrap some buried secrets and fight for their survival.

I love Dan’s stories so I had to read this one especially in th run up to Christmas. It’s such a good novella, filled with a lot of what the hel moments, and some edge of your seat panic! I felt like I needed to warn Leah and David not to go home, and was willing them not to go into their house.

Definitely one to read, looking forward to Dans next book. 

The Book of fire by Christy Lefteri

 

This morning, I met the man who started the fire. He did something terrible, but then, so have I. I left him. I left him and now he may be dead. Once upon a time there was a beautiful village that held a million stories of love and loss and peace and war, and it was swallowed up by a fire that blazed up to the sky. The fire ran all the way down to the sea where it met with its reflection. 

A family from two nations, England and Greece, live a simple life on a tiny Greek island: Irini, Tasso and their daughter, lovely, sweet Chara, whose name means joy. Their life goes up in flames in a single day when one man starts a fire out of greed and indifference. Many are killed, homes are destroyed, and the island's natural beauty wiped out. In the wake of the fire, Chara bears deep scars across her back and arms. Tasso is frozen in trauma, devastated that he wasn't there when his family most needed him. And Irini is crippled by guilt at her part in the fate of the man who started the fire. But this family has survived, and slowly green shoots of hope and renewal will grow from the smouldering ruins of devastation.

Thanks so much to Bonnier Books for my gorgeous gifted Hardback. 

I read this book with my pal Kath and we both really enjoyed it, we read The Beekeeper of Aleppo a while ago so knew we’d like this one. The story of Irini, Tasso and Chara was so sad, so many times I had tears in my eyes. There's one scene which lasts a while, when they're escaping the wild fires and are in water, that part got me hooked. Listening to Irini’s storytelling, trying to keep chara and the old woman calm was so enchanting. The stories told throughout the book are sad and uplifting at the same time. I liked hearing about the past, and enjoyed the switching from then and now.

Christy Lefteri writes with such beauty, I remember talking to Kath about how lovely the forest had been described, I felt like I was right there. The paintings, the garden, the forests, all talked about with such love. Well done Ms Lefteri, another book very well written.