Local Life - Wigan - July 2020

12
Books for Bedtime
Clean sheets, a mug of hot chocolate, a new book… Bliss.
The Foundling
Stacey Halls
Bess leaves her newborn daughter
at the Foundling Hospital. It’s 1754
and as a single woman living on the
poverty line, she has no means of
supporting a child. Six years later,
Bess returns to claim her daughter,
only to be told she’s already been claimed. So begins
a tale of two mothers and the lengths they’ll go to
for their child. Gripping historical fiction at its best.
The Wives
Tarryn Fisher
Thursday loves her husband,
Seth. But she’s pretty sure his
other wives love him too. She’s
agreed to be one of three,
never meeting the others, but
always aware of their presence
in her husband’s life. Then one day Thursday has the
opportunity to meet the third wife, and sees her
bruises. Is Seth hiding more than she realised? An
enjoyable read with plenty of twists and turns, The
Wives will keep you on your toes until the end.
Body Positive Power
Megan Jayne Crabbe
The strapline for this book is ‘How
to stop dieting, make peace with
your body and live’, which is exactly
what it sets out to do. Megan
recounts her own struggles with
eating disorders and experiences
with weight-loss clubs, while delving into diet
culture and the Western world’s obsession with the
‘perfect body’. If you’re fed up of the endless dieting
cycle and ready to try something different, this book
could be just what you’re looking for.
The Water Dancer
Ta-Nehisi Coates
Hiram is born into slavery. He
finds himself an agent of the
underground. While the people
he works with are focused on
ending slavery, they have little
interest in helping him to rescue
the people he loves who are still trapped. They want
him to move on, but as Hiram comes to realise, it’s
crucial that he doesn’t forget the past. The Water
Dancer isn’t an easy read, but it stays with you.
Coming up for Air
Sarah Leipciger
Three very different stories, one
common thread. First we meet
a young woman, driven to end
her life on the banks of the River
Seine in 1899. Years later, Pieter, a
toymaker by trade, is called on to
create the prototype for a resuscitation doll. And
then there’s Anouk, who wages a daily battle against
cystic fibrosis in present day Toronto, while finding a
sense of freedom in open-air swimming. Vividly real
characters and an engaging plot.
Can You Hear Me?
Jake Jones
If you enjoyed Adam Kay’s
This is Going to Hurt, then this
memoir needs to be next on
your reading list. Jones reveals
some of the cases he’s dealt with
as a paramedic, interspersing
the stories with his own life events. Humorous and
sobering, Can You Hear Me? will give you a newfound
appreciation for the people on the front line
of medicine.