Warren FitzGerald

Laura has a calling from God. But, like many other twentysomethings, she also loves booze, sex and funny cat videos. Will this make her a bad priest? The crusty white male custodians of the ministry think so. But Laura has different ideas.At theological college, despite hard partying and frequent hangovers, Laura is a good enough student to point out where the scripture is a misogynistic 'crock of shite'.Threatened with expulsion, Laura is silenced. For now. But she finds empowerment in pole fitness classes, and as a fully-fledged priest, older and wiser, she installs a pole in the vicarage, leaving visiting bishops agog.Laura, an outsider herself, knows that outsiders are who the church is there for - from the old man barred from his lover's funeral to the young woman in need of a secret abortion. But even Laura's powers of inclusivity are challenged when she has to eulogise at a paedophile's funeral and is hit on by a randy undertaker.Confessions of a Pole Dancing Priest, one woman's true-life odyssey of outrage through the patriarchal world of the Church, is full of whip-smart comebacks, stinging one-liners and scalpel-sharp observations. Laura's story moves from episodes which are frank, crude, funny and rebellious to a traumatic conclusion of almost biblical proportions that speaks to the wisdom and humanity in all of us.

'It's the finish line, not the finish time.' In the late 80s, our Rachel was having a boss time as a podium dancer at the Pleasuredrome, Birkenhead. Fast forward several years and she's married, with the kids she's always dreamed of, but the body she's always dreaded. To make things worse, her husband Trevor begins to show his true controlling colours and Rachel blames herself, spiralling into depression. Until she discovers running. Buzzing from her epiphany, the 'Forrest Gump of the Mersey' is derided by Trevor, but catches the attention of some local women, all struggling and vulnerable in their own ways. These disparate women persuade Rachel to lead them in a running club, to get a bit of whatever she's on, where they all discover more than the mere chance to shed a few pounds in this burgeoning sisterhood. Dealing with the dark and many faces of depression with a refreshing lightness of touch unique to this working-class woman from the Wirral, Marathon Mum is an uplifting story of the healing to be found in community, and the corners we can turn when we push ourselves across the line.

The crew of the Norland were having a whale of a time in 1982, ferrying passengers between Rotterdam and Hull. Especially the 'girls' in the catering crew: Wendy, Frankie and Candy, all stewards and all gay men. So when their ferry was requisitioned by the government to transfer nine hundred paratroopers to Ascension Island for the war in the Falklands, the 'girls' jumped at the chance to be part of the crew. Shockingly, they were asked to carry on right into the heart of the Falklands, where they were to be the very first ship of the entire Task Force to make a landing. Untrained and unprepared, the crew faced heavy bombardment from the Argentinean air force. Miraculously, the Norland survived intact as many other ships were destroyed around it. And, just as miraculously, the paratroopers eventually looked on their camp catering staff as the heroes of their war. Written with the real-life protagonists, this book relates their incredible experiences in a war they never signed up for, while demonstrating how lasting bonds can be formed between the unlikeliest of people.

A powerful, heart-wrenching story of friendship and love ‘This is a story about me, Clementine, and my friends: a panther called Levi, a pelican called Lola and a turtle called Jimmy. It is about dragons and goblins, my Daddy the King, my Mummy the Queen and Prince Pio my brother. At least that is the way I tell it sometimes when thoughts of the blood, the machetes, the swamp and the fear of Uncle Leonard become too hard to describe. But that was all before I met Ashley, wonderful Ashley. Not that he would ever call himself wonderful in a million years. When he tells you his story you will see what I mean…’ Ashley Bolt – A middle-aged, loner for whom teaching singing is the only escape from his London life. In an attempt to forget a violent past he turns to self-harming but this provides little comfort. Clementine Habimana – A Rwandan child refugee who witnesses the 1994 genocide at first-hand and lives to tell her story. Delivered into the hands of an abusive uncle in the UK, Clementine remains undeterred in her hope for a brighter future. When their two worlds collide, nothing is ever the same again…