It’s the beginning of new school term in 1973 and Kathy Johnson needs a fresh start. Thirty, unmarried and an overworked teacher in a primary school on a run-down council estate, she is beginning to feel that life has passed her by. She needs to move on, but is still haunted by a tragic secret from her past. However, the disadvantaged people of Becklefield have problems of their own and it’s not long before Kathy is irresistibly, compassionately and sometimes unwillingly drawn into their tumultuous lives. A devastating fire; mice and marigolds, parental abuse and apathy, community poverty and passion, plus knights, castles, cub scouts and hilarious days out to the seaside all become entwined into yet another hectic school year. Kathy needs faith and hope to get through and perhaps with the help of the loving church community she can. Add to that a boy obsessed by Beethoven, a girl who finds hope through a love of flowers and the confusion of several children from the estate all sharing one father exquisitely wrapped up in two poignant love stories, one delightfully her own, and the heart-warming tale of Kathy’s life turns prejudices and assumptions upside down and tells just how it is in the chaotic neighbourhood surrounding an inner-city primary school. ''We are great admirers of Joyce Worsfold's writing. This book is filled with love, and we know that it will be enjoyed by many, many people.' Adrian and Bridget Plass 'If you enjoy a warm-hearted, life-affirming and penetrating read then 'A Fistful of Marigolds' is for you. Written in a lively, accessible and entertaining style, the story captures the joys, misfortunes, the pleasures and the heartbreaks of an inspirational teacher who clearly loved her work with children.' Gervase Phinn

How can the literary imagination bring us closer to a better world? The world is always changing. But there are also inflection points in history when the world feels changed. Art has the prophetic power to imagine where we are going. It is perhaps no surprise, then, that in a world-historical moment of global upheaval and transformation, speculative literature and other futurist arts are enjoying a renaissance. Boston Review believes that the arts must have a voice in the conversation about how we heal. In this new anthology of poetry, fiction, and essays from renowned writers and newcomers, contributors share with readers their feats of imagining the past and future that help us better understand what it means to be present in the world. Speculation can lead us to collectively imagine better futures, or better ways of understanding our past. Abolition, civil rights, and Black Lives Matter all speculate about a future free of racial violence, just as #MeToo imagines one free of gendered violence. In some of our most joyful private moments, we speculate about what will be delicious and pleasurable, about what notes will sound good played together on an instrument, about spirits and the afterlife, about what we wish a lover would say to us, about what aliens might be like if we ever met them. Such works of the speculative imagination are, thankfully, almost boundless, though we imagine them within the bounds of who we are and what we assume to be true about the world. Where will speculation lead us next?

The most comprehensive handbook ever written about vitamins, herbs, supplements, and holistic healing—everything you need to feel better, live longer, and look great doing it THIS BOOK MAY HELP YOU SAVE A LIFE—YOUR OWN. With health care costs rising, insurance systems in flux, doctors and hospitals overwhelmed, the only person who can really take charge of your health and the health of your family is you. This is your guide. For more than 40 years, Natural Health has been the leading authority on holistic, alternative, and natural healing. Now, for the first time ever, all that science-based, expert-driven, research-intensive information has been distilled into one must-have, authoritative guide to healing the self. In these pages, you’ll find stunning new research, unparalleled expert advice, how-to health guides, and a scientific, myth-debunking approach to natural remedies. Search for your symptoms. Find your cure. The power is yours. A clean life for you—and your family—starts now. Lose Dangerous Belly Fat, Fast: And keep it off for good. Our all-natural, 10-step program tells you what to eat, drink, and do—with immediate waist-shrinking results. Discover which probiotics help you burn more calories when you eat, which popular, “healthy” nut actually slows your metabolism, and the stealth toxin in your kitchen that activates fat cell growth (eliminate it and slash your risk of obesity by 75 percent!). Look Younger, Feel Younger: Discover the astonishing, inexpensive (and natural!) supplements that tighten skin, increase fat loss, and help build muscle. And learn some simple recipes for building anti-aging smoothies that turn fresh fruit into wrinkle-erasing superfoods. Sleep Easier Tonight: Conquer fatigue with our 9-step plan to fall asleep quickly—and stay sleeping soundly throughout the night. (Hint: A subtle scent in your bedroom could be part of the problem!) Re-energize Your Love Life. One supplement alone made a whopping 70% of women feel “more satisfied” after sex. Plus: How plant protein can re-energize your ovaries. Turn Up Your Mood Meter. This one green, leafy vegetable has been shown to improve the effects of both Prozac and talk therapy. Cure that Cold or Flu: Stop them before they start, with the newest natural options—one magical berry alone can reduce symptoms by 50 percent. Plus: A homeopathic “flu shot” that’s proven 88% effective. PLUS! THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO HERBAL REMEDIES! A-Z Guide to Healing Herbs: Cure yourself with these 30 essentials, from aloe vera to white willow bark, nature’s relief for migraines, eczema, menopause, UTIs, anxiety, depression, and many more. It’s your new medicine cabinet, fully stocked. The Get Happy Herb Guide: The serenity savers (lemon balm, kava kava) and bliss boosters (chocolate, milk thistle) guaranteed to raise your spirits. The Best Herbs for Women: These 12 will ease your mood swings, headaches, menstrual cramps, menopause, with no nasty side effects. A must-read for husbands, too. AND! Yoga, meditation and Ayurvedic therapies: The latest science on treatments and classes, with complete how-to guides for at-home use. The Doctor’s Book of Natural Health Remedies—in a world of questionable cures, it’s the one book you can trust.

Peggy Cambell, 27, meets Mahmoud Allam, 29, an Egyptian surgeon at a disco in London. They fall in love and sail off to make a new life in Zagazig, a provincial city on the Nile Delta. Peggy finds herself imprisoned in a world of hostile and hysterical women, deprived of her birthrights in the west. Learning ugly truths about Mahmoud’s past, she wants to leave but becomes involved with a commune of women weavers. Supporting Mahmoud’s mother and sisters in their attempts to achieve freedom, Peggy sets loose the force that even Mahmoud cannot stop. His nemesis, Sami, risks intimacy with Mahmoud’s mother. Though Mahmoud’s heart is in the future, one foot remains planted in the past.

Offers advice on herbal healing, includes an encyclopedic review of health conditions that herbal medicine can help, and discusses 180 herbs with information on dosages, food and drug interactions, benefits, and side effects.

This impolite, aromatic, and incredibly erudite flatulence compendium will astound you with: • The recent discovery of the world’s oldest joke, a proverb from the Old Babylonian period, that turned out to be—that’s right, folks—a fart joke. • A new reading of Emily Dickinson’s poetry that “reveals” the true meaning behind “They Have a Little Odor.” • A harrowing account of Apollo astronauts getting inner-space gas from hydrogen bubbles in their drinking water on their way to the moon. • The other Tiger Woods scandal—this one involving a mysterious cheek-squeak recorded while Tiger sized up an approach shot at the 2009 Buick Open. • A scientist who built the world’s biggest whoopee cushion and lived to tell about it . . . . . . and many more wacky but true tales from the fart historian who brought you the best-selling Who Cut the Cheese? and its combustible sequel, Blame It on the Dog. In this incomparable collection you’ll experience firsthand the Jungian implications of farting, the environmental import of “flatulence cards” in the carbon-offset market, and the brutally honest social commentary of a man whose office chair broadcasts his farts on Twitter. After reading this book you’ll proudly proclaim, “I fart, therefore I am.”