Tag: freedom

The Freedom of Birds

Stephanie Parkyn, in The Freedom of Birds has written an Historical Fiction of great accuracy and with many a fascinating sideline. She is passionate about ideas of “freedom and independence in times of societal change”. She has chosen to write a story during the time of the demise of Napoleon’s Empire. The scene in Europe at that time is one of distrust and poverty for many. Within that atmosphere, a group of young story tellers and an acrobat bring comfort and respite for those under threat.

Remi and his dear friend Pascal were both given away as babies. They were taken in by a kindly man who ran a theatre in Paris. Here they were trained in many arts; Pascal was a costume maker and designer, and Remi was a budding storyteller. An unfortunate event saw the pair leave the theatre and begin a journey to find a place of their own. Along the way they entertained people with story and song, earing just enough to keep moving. They were joined by Saskia, a runaway orphan, who added her talent to their troupe.

This is a time of distrust and fear. As they moved out of Paris, they find that anyone with a French accent is instantly suspected of evil deeds. The trio, who had grown closer during their travels, finished up in Venice. They discovered that their stories are not the only ones circulating through the masses. The brothers Grimm had begun to collect the tales they will eventually have published.

This Historical glimpse into a past world reveals that Napoleon banned many art forms, fearing they may incite national pride. In Venice, among other things, he banned the Carnevale. This was to no avail as his empire was doomed. The lives of these three young people in their time are fascinating.

December 3, 2021
Minimalism – Live a Meaningful Life

In a world full of excess, a world where we are encouraged to buy more, have more, must have a bigger house, larger, fancier car, the best clothing and so very much more, a breath fresh air has been injected into the madness through Josh Fields and Ryan Nicodemus, two guys known as The Minimalist’s, and their journey to the other side of excess, minimalism.

While minimalism was a catch word for some time, it is a word that does carry some serious clout in the consumer madness that pervades every level of modern society, where marketing is aimed at creating happiness in your life, which when you take a serious look at the un-happiness , distress and dis-ease caused by excess of everything, makes you wonder how we, as a so called intelligent people fall for this line, over and over again.

Josh Fields and Ryan Nicodemus share this pathway to excess in their lives, which caused both of them to come to serious point of distress, relationship breakups and huge debt, all in the name of happiness. Both were young men at the top of their career trajectories, earning huge sums of money, but discovering they were at the bottom of the artificial world they had created, sad, ill and disillusioned.

In this small but addictive book, they set out the pathway they travelled to regaining their health, and happiness while having everything they want and need for a happy, fulfilling and debt free life, offering a pathway to follow for anyone who is struggling with excess in lives, and a journey which will be different for each person.

Giving away the trappings of ‘happiness’ is no easy thing to do as they both discovered, because at the heart of it, they, like everyone else had been programmed, not just by their life journeys, but also by commercial market forces, to believe more is better.

Becoming once again a free-thinking individual, verses a conformist is challenging, comes with some seriously liberating tactics, such as dropping your massive, unwanted and unwatched TV from the roof (not recommended for everyone). Just considering such an action is liberating.

Once you have read the book there is a very exciting finale – Your 21 Day Journey Into Minimalism to encourage you to take the first step to freedom. Why 21 days though you ask? Well, it takes 21 days to form a habit, which is what you have done therefore it takes 21 days to break the same habit. Along the way some fun is built in, so that the journey to a new, happy, free and minimal life becomes liberating and enjoyable, and shows what life really is all about; freedom, good health and happiness.

February 28, 2019
The Restless Girls

Based loosely on many and varied classic fairy tales the story of the twelve daughters of Queen Laurelia and King Alberto, is a familiar, enjoyable and modern take on the meaning behind so many beloved tales written by the Grimm Brothers so many years ago.

On the death of their mother in an accident, the King grows so very worried that the lifestyle his twelve independent daughters are leading, will see them placed in danger as they go about doing what they do best, which for each of the twelve is something very different.

Their mother Queen Laurelia had always encouraged them to have a good education, think for themselves and be adventurous with their lives, something their father King Alberto is struggling to accept. He becomes so fearful he has them all locked into a special room where they can do nothing at all that will place them in any sort of danger.

Of course, being sensible, educated and inventive, they soon, under the leadership of their oldest sister Princess Frieda, discover a way into another world, a world which encourages them to fight for what they believe in, and the freedom to be able to live their lives in the manner they choose, not that of their sad and unhappy Father’s choosing.

Join the twelve sisters as they discover that there are choices to be made and considered as they grow up, and that often these choices do come with a little sadness, but with initiative and ingenuity anything at all is possible

Beautifully illustrated by Angela Barret and presented in traditional hardback format, this is wonderful coming of age story for every girl beginning to discover the rights and wrongs of the world in which we live.

November 19, 2018
Crossing Ebenezer Creek

When the American Civil war raged between the North and the South many slaves took the opportunity to leave their places of cruel bondage and join General Sherman’s march through Georgia. Many made the journey into a new life, many did not. History as is often the case records the journey and the men, many who were far from the status of the hero history now records them as having been.

Crossing Ebenezer Creek is the tale of freedom, the high cost of leaving slavery and all that had been familiar, through the eyes of young slave girl Mariah as she grabs an opportunity to escape, taking with her two much younger children in Zeke and Dulcina, both struggling to comprehend the world of everyday, for vastly different reasons.

As Mariah joins the caravan to freedom, she meets Caleb, a coloured man trusted by Captain Galloway, a true gentleman and believer in freedom and rights for all peoples, to drive the wagon and collect whatever supplies available as Sherman’s army moves steadily across the land.

Caleb and Mariah find they have much in common and enjoy each other’s company so much so, they both begin to dream of journeys end with a new beginning on a piece of land where they could grow their own crops and raise their children.

That is until the Army reaches Ebenezer Creek after days and days of torrential rain. The water in the creek is steadily rising requiring a pontoon bridge to be built to get wagons and troops across, but when it comes time for the huge army of coloureds to cross, the order is given for the bridge to be hauled up after the last wagon has crossed.

Today all that remains of this tragedy is a marker at Ebenezer Creek which captures only a small remnant of the cruel history of the area, but the locals do say “when a driving rain drenches an early December day, bald cypresses seem to screech, tupelos to shriek, Ebenezer Creek to moan. They say it is the ghosts of Ebenezer Creek rising, reeling, wrestling with the wind. Remembering.”

Tonya Bolden has captured brilliantly the hopes, dream and despair of the people who grabbed the chance to escape from slavery with dreams of a better future, only to discover more betrayal and tragedy lay waiting for them.

A spare and clever use of language, almost in a style of poetic metre, allows this tragic but little-known time in American history to be rediscovered, offering to a new generation an understanding of the people who did create history, as well as the myth and often incorrect legendary stature that surrounds them.

A brilliant walk through a small slice of history created from award winning author Tonya Bolden, designed to tell a tale which is suitable for both young readers and adults.

October 31, 2018