#ShowUsYourShelfies!-Weekend reads from @EyeAndLightning

Hurray! We made it through to another weekend!

And as usual, here is what is waiting on my bookshelf…don’t forget to share what’s on yours, and if you have any time to read (I hope that you do).

First up is ‘Frigid Women’ by Sue and Victoria Riches Published by Eye Books.

In 1997, a group of twenty women set out to become the world’s first all-female expedition to the North Pole. Sue and Victoria Riches were surprised to find themselves among them.

Travelling to the most isolated and forbidding regions of the globe and facing the bitterest hardships, both were seeking a new beginning. For Sue, these were the first steps following treatment for breast cancer. For her daughter Victoria, abandoning the security of her career was the sole way to test her self-belief.

This is Sue and Victoria’s personal account of their trials and survival in the Arctic. Honest, shocking, but never too serious, ‘Frigid Women’ is a celebration of the positive, ‘anything is possible’ attitude that can transform life’s tribulations into its most rewarding experiences.

Next is ‘Jasmine & Arnica’ by Nicola Mayer, also published by Eye Books.

Nicola was born with a congenital disorder that left her blind in one eye. It was only a matter of time before she lost sight in the other. She shone at school and after graduating from university secured a job with the BBC, followed by a place at Journalism College. Less than a year later her world collapsed as she lost her sight completely.

Institutionalised and misunderstood, she spent the next seven years coming to terms with an issue she had spent her life denying. Eventually she started to piece together her shattered life. She found a flat, was given a guide dog and started day classes where she developed an interest in massage.

What started as an excuse to get out of the house and exercise her dog, turned into a lifeline. She set up a clinic specialising in muscle massage and soon had a client base that included many celebrities. Having established a career she decided she would travel India alone, researching Indian massage techniques and holistic therapy. ‘Jasmine and Arnica’ is the story of this seminal trip. She has rediscovered her passion for writing. Nicola is now living in London with her husband and baby daughter Poppy.

Finally, we have‘Cry From The Highest Mountain’ by Tess Burrows 

In 1999, driven by the desire to address the plight of the Tibetan nation, Tess Burrows decided to climb to the point furthest from the centre of the Earth to broadcast thousands of peace messages she had collected from people of all ages.

Gathering together a small expedition team, including Mig, a young Tibetan refugee who had never climbed a mountain before, Tess set off on her spiritual mountaineering mission. She recounts her inner and outer journeys, including the multiple synchronicities that seemed to validate her quest in mysterious ways.

For Tess, it becomes a struggle of body and mind, as she is symbolically compelled towards the highest point within herself.

So it’s a non-fiction weekend for me,3 books from 4 powerful women making physical as well as spiritual journeys. All of these books are available from Eye Books

*During August there is a 30% discount on books being ordered with the code RACHELREADIT so what are you waiting for, knock yourself out!*