Kirjahaku

February 2011 On December the 17th 2010 Tarek el-Tayeb Mohamed Bouazizi, a young street vendor from Tunisia, was so disheartened by The System that he took his own life, by setting himself on fire. I am witnessing the collective few become and overcome the collective many. A changing tide of humanity is sweeping across a region that will affect not only that region but the rest of the world also. How? I have my theories, but let the future answer that, and then let history question it. My story is also of change. I wanted to change the person I had become; a tormented alcohol and drug addict. Following a phone call to my father, my story continues on from my last book, Two Years: in the mind of a recovering alcoholic, from the last few months in prison to coming home, exploring and putting into practice all of those thoughts and insights I was having about life, the universe and how to live and get fulfilment from it. This has led me to become a better father and partner, an existence away from the turmoil and stress, a state of mind free of the demons that had troubled me for a lifetime. This has led to a platform of contentment, a budding sense of inner peace from where I can progress even further. This story is about how I initially created this new life through choices I had made with the help of the unknown-to some- and unexplored forces around us. So what more could I possibly give to my future generations than the key to how it all became so, the way of life, in A Message to my Family: Believe In Yourself.

This book offers a sincere look at the Supported Housing sector through the eyes of a former drug and alcohol addict, and prisoner, turned front line worker: Zayne is gripping the rail of a balcony on the 24th floor of the Pegasus hotel. His thoughts take him to his efforts of supporting vulnerable adults and the impact that Austerity has on these vulnerable people, and front line workers, in this sector of our society. He gives a hands on theoretical introduction of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Motivational Interviewing techniques to staff and puts theory into practice, working with real caseloads such as; Zachariah, an apparent racist and one time 'angriest person in Britain, ' who finds his understanding of confrontation an excuse for excess violence, and TJ, with the vacant look of depression; despair in his eyes, unable to utter his own name, and suffers panic attacks to the point of chronic agoraphobia. A fascinatingly true story, entwined with parables and tales of his turbulent past; this book also offers Brief Intervention for drug and alcohol addiction, and an introduction, with easy to follow instructions to Mindfulness Meditation which is becoming increasingly popular in the western hemisphere as a stress reduction tool.