True Stories – Hellobooks.co.za

Excerpts From An African Diary – Paula Draycon

Anna Howcroft — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 15:19:12 +0000

Paula Draycon is profoundly influenced by the sights and sounds of Africa, and continually reflects on her experiences. Paula is living proof that a very ordinary English girl s dream, was not only met, but transcended. Her life at 60 years is one of pure gratitude, and her religious and spiritual faith, along with her like-minded friends around the world, have enriched and fortified her life. She was able to find an unusual peace, when her beloved friend, mentor and travelling companion died just months before the book was published.

The end depends upon the beginning…

Edith Venter – Heather Dugmore

Anna Howcroft — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 15:45:54 +0000

Edith Venter is a celebrity divorcee, mother, events organiser and fashionista. Known for her style and impeccable taste, she is a regular face in the society pages of local newspapers and magazines. She first came into the public eye as the Sunday Times Best Dressed Woman of 1989, but who is the private person behind the public persona, and why has Edith Venter remained an enduring and popular presence in the world of celebrity when others have faded into obscurity? This title will dispel the myth that rich, famous people have everything their own way, or that money can buy happiness. From extreme wealth to near-bankruptcy, from happiness to despair and back again, Edith’s story proves that the art of good living is about much more than a hefty bank balance. As inspiring, warm and funny as the woman herself

The Eighth Summit

Anna Howcroft — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 09:50:08 +0000

Peter van Kets has done this and more – and yet he could be the average guy next door. A teacher in East London with a fondness for the ocean, Peter was given a rare chance to compete in the 2007 Atlantic Rowing Race. His decision to grasp this opportunity would change his life.
Together with Bill Godfrey, he rowed across the Atlantic and won against the odds. Then he came back two years later to row it alone – a truly epic feat. After that he joined forces with adventure runner Braam Malherbe to represent South Africa in the unique Scott-Amundsen Centenary Race to the South Pole, one of the most gruelling endurance events ever staged.
Peter’s feats of endurance in the face of endless ice, snow and saltwater are testament to the power of the human spirit and the greatness possible when an ordinary person sets out to do extraordinary things. In rowing the Atlantic and trekking the Antarctic, he has come to understand what it takes to conquer the limits of your mind – to conquer your Eighth Summit

From Whiskey to Water – Sam Cowen

Anna Howcroft — Tue, 12 Dec 2017 16:52:04 +0000

“Whiskey to Water” is the no-holds-barred memoir by one of South Africa’s most loved radio talk show hosts, Sam Cowen. Having kept her alcohol addiction well away from the public eye for over 14 years, in this tell-all tale Sam finds the courage to talk about her struggle with her addiction to whiskey, food and finally to a passion that saved her life – marathon swimming. Told in her characteristically hilarious dead-pan style, this is one of the bravest books you’ll read this year. “So this is a book on how I stopped drinking? No, it’s not. It’s how I stopped drinking, started eating, became clinically severely obese, stopped eating (everything that wasn’t nailed down) and swam my way to freedom. No, it’s not. It’s actually about addiction and learning and sadness and anxiety and love and drive. It’s about channelling the unchangeable into the miraculous. It’s about dragons and learning how to put them to sleep when you can’t slay them. It’s about being my own Daenarys.”