Blue Wolf Reviews

Tag: separation

  • Bitter Sweet

    Bitter Sweet

    Beautifully written Bitter Sweet is a gentle and yet rich walk through life from esteemed author Amal Awad, who says writing this novel of family life had her digging deep within herself as she created Palestinian Australian Zeina, her friend Noor and the challenges that come with simply ‘growing up’ no matter the age.

    Zeina is beginning to think her life is unfolding like a seriously bad dream. Her father is in failing health and the flooding of his restaurant seems to be the final straw for the ailing business. She has separated from the love of her life Ray, who will not even return her messages. Her best friend Noor seems to be on a pathway to destruction, filled with grief she simply can’t seem to let go.

    The only solace in the entire mess is her work at Salud as the head Chef, a place where she can immerse herself in creation; a place where she can let the troubles of the day flow away and she can enjoy the moment for what it is; preparing exceptionally good food.

    In a world of broken pieces she feels the only thing she can fix is her father’s restaurant, Casablanca. She decides a slight change of direction may be a good thing, so makes the decision to take leave from Salud which Julien, her boss and long time friend agrees to reluctantly.

    Her back story, which runs in tandem, adds a depth of perspective to what is happening in her life and how this almighty mess has occurred. It also shows the deep bonds of family and friends in the lives of so many who have made a home in a country far from the land of their birth.

    As Zeina slowly puts her life back together again, one little step at a time, she begins to learn some valuable lessons about love, letting go, acceptance, friendship and most importantly, resilience..

    Bitter Sweet is an entertaining read and as it is also based around food, the tantalising aromas of Palestinian foods served at Casablanca, the upmarket dishes of Salud, the completely unique food served at Isabella’s restaurant in Spain by food genius Alejandro, all seem to waft up from the pages.

    Gracing the final pages of the book is a delicious menu from Suffra and a list of Arabic Cooking Classes which rounds out a most enjoyable book very nicely.

  • The Guys’ Guide to Separation and Divorce

    The Guys’ Guide to Separation and Divorce

    Divorce or separation is never an easy choice to make, but once the decission is made there are a raft of issues waiting to catch the unaware, no matter how amicable or otherwise the divorce or separation.

    Siobhan Mullins has spent many years working in family law, helping to guide people through the trauma and emotion of separation. The Guys Guide to Separation and Divorce is her second book created from interviews with many of her male clients who have contributed the ‘guy insights’ they found helpful.

    But why did a young woman, unmarried and never having experienced first-hand the sadness of separation, decide to write such a book is interesting. She realised over the course of her time spent with men going through divorce or separation that they have no idea how to cope with separation, where to go to get sound advice, how to handle their emotions and how to try to understand what the other partner is going through during this time.

    Mullins also states very clearly that there is no such a thing as 50/50 no matter what is agreed and therefore, for everyone’s benefit realistic expectations need to be established in regard to housing, money, parenting and much more, which is an issue that needs to be addressed by both parties early in the process.

    Set out in easy to understand language, she lists all the legal terms and definitions that need to be understood before getting into the nitty gritty of what happens next. Issues such as the simple thing of looking after yourself and the statistics that go with this, as well as many helpful tips and pointers to making sure caring for self is a normal part of your daily routine, has been clearly and carefully presented.

    Parenting is an area full of issues and emotions: regardless of what happens, care needs to be taken to establish a good parenting agreement that does not have a detrimental effect on the children.

    Child Support, Financial Split, Maintenance, Divorce, Thinking Ahead, Getting to an Agreement, all areas everyone has to contend with and importantly, the section of Coping, which has been created by 10 guys who offered their experiences for the book, have been clearly explained.

    Many of the chapters are set out, often in a question and answer style which is very helpful, or in dot point which helps to clarify some of the trickier sections of the Law. Although the book is aimed primarily at men, the information is sound, legal advice, laced with a common sense approach for anyone going through this emotionally testing time.

    Definitely a must read by anyone who is facing separation or divorce The Guys Guide to Separation and Divorce is full of common sense about a situation which is often or definitely anything but what was expected.