Allen & Unwin – serie

The popular understanding of the 'mental load' often reduces it down to managing a list of household chores and logistics. Sociologist Leah Ruppanner reveals that for women, mental load actually goes much deeper: it's a complex form of emotional labour that requires thinking five steps ahead, keeping relationships intact, creating experiences that keep all members of the family happy and thriving, and more. In Drained, Ruppanner outlines the 8 distinct types of mental load performed across 7 unique stages, highlighting what makes the mental load so uniquely heavy for women. But what if we stop blaming ourselves and instead make practical, impactful changes to our lives to prioritize our energy? With eye-opening, research-based insights, Drained offers a powerful toolkit to help women create richer, less overwhelming lives filled with more meaning and joy.

Convicts and Aborigines, settlers and soldiers, patriots and reformers, bushrangers and gold seekers: bestselling author Thomas Keneally has woven their lives and their stories together in a vibrant history which does full justice to the rich and colourful nature of Australia's unique national character.Taking the reader from pre-settlement to European occupation through to the Eureka Stockade of 1854, Keneally tells the story of Australia through its people. Were the first European mothers whores or matriarchs? Was the first generation of Australian children the luckiest or unluckiest on the planet? How did this often cruel and brutal penal experiment lead to a coherent civil society? To answer these and many more questions Keneally has brought to life the high and the low, the convict and the free of early Australian society.

He looked into the Pacific and the Pacific looked back into him.Now bloated and paranoid, former champion surfer and legend Dennis Keith is holed up in a retirement village, trying not to think about the waves he'd made his own and the breaks he once ruled like a god. Years before he'd been robbed of the world title that had his name on it - and then drugs, his family, and the disappearance of his girlfriend had done the rest. Out of the blue, a young would-be biographer comes knocking and stirs up memories he thought he'd buried. It takes Dennis a while to realise that she's not there to write his story at all.Funny, heartbreaking and humane, The Life confirms what the Literary Review has known all along - 'Knox is, quite simply, a fabulous writer.'

'There is a boldness to Simone's writing, the fierceness and fearlessness of complete honesty that pushes into places that simply take the breath away.' The TelegraphA young marine returns from Iraq, blinded and scarred by a roadside bomb and harbouring a terrible secret. Called Black Jesus by his fellow soldiers on account of his name being Lionel White and his birthday being Christmas Day, he has returned to his decaying home town to sit in the back of his mother's junkshop, pop Oxycontin and try to forget what he's seen. Into his life one day rides Gloria, a mysterious young dancer fleeing darkness and violence of a different kind. Part love story, part protest at the broken promises lying at the heart of the American Dream, Black Jesus is a passionate, twisted hymn to the marginalised and forgotten.

Rukhsana, a spirited young journalist in Kabul, is summoned to the infamous Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice to face its terrifying minister, Zorak Wahidi. A cricket tournament is announced, with the winning team to travel to Pakistan for training and then represent Afghanistan at an international level. In reality, the idea is ludicrous. The Taliban will never embrace a game rooted in civility, fairness and equality. And no one in Afghanistan even knows how to play cricket, except Rukhsana. The tournament offers hope - a means of escape for her brother and young cousins. And for Rukhsana, escape is essential - Wahidi wants to marry her, a frightening proposition which will enslave her in his home.With the help of her cousins, Rukhsana devises an audacious plan that could ensure their freedom. All they have to do is learn to play cricket - and win. A soaring novel of resilience, strength, hope and tenderness, The Taliban Cricket Club reveals how love can overcome, and outwit, the power of tyrants.

Kitchen Coquette is a cookbook that will make you smile. It will feed ten hungry friends, the man of your dreams, your lovely gran; even providing a bite to eat for all those inspired in-between moments.Katrina Meynink knows that sometimes food is the only answer so Kitchen Coquette provides the recipes with the context. It is important to know why you are cooking - who it is for, why it suits the occasion and to embrace the failures just as much as the successes.This is not a breakfast, lunch, dinner cookbook - this is a book that knows what you cook to fortify the soul is vastly different to what you might cook to impress a first date. It's a cookbook with some lifeblood . one that is funny, real, approachable and challenging. A cookbook that makes you feel surges of culinary awesomeness. A go-to guide that gives you a sense of achievement, while embracing all those tear ruined, sweaty palmed and swear-word fuelled moments of life. All while providing the dish that suits.

For John Connell, the lambing season on his County Longford farm begins in the autumn. In the sheep shed, he surveys the dozen females in his care and contemplates the work ahead as the season slowly turns to winter, then spring.The twelve sheep have come into his life at just the right moment. After years of hard work, John felt a deep tiredness creeping up on him, a sadness that he couldn't shrug off. Having always sought spiritual guidance, he comes to realise that, in addition to the soothing words of literature and philosophy, perhaps the way ahead involves this simple flock of sheep. In the hard work of livestock rearing, in the long nights in the shed helping the sheep to lamb, he can reflect on what life truly means.Like the flock that he shepherds, this book is both simple and profound, a meditation on the rituals of farming life and a primer on the lessons that nature can teach us. As spring returns and the sheep and their lambs are released into the fields, skipping with joy, John recalls the words of Henry David Thoreau, reminding us to 'live in each season as it passes.'

'The best work I know on positive psychology and grief is Lucy Hone's' Dr Martin SeligmanGrief is not confined to bereavement. Yet society rarely recognises these non-death losses, leaving many feeling isolated and unseen.From bestselling author and TED speaker Dr Lucy Hone comes a timely guide to surviving living loss-the feeling that follows divorce, illness, estrangement, redundancy, infertility or any other life upheaval.Drawing on her own experience of multiple losses, decades of resilience research, and the voices of others navigating profound change, Hone offers a unique lifeline. Structured around twenty key questions, How Will I Ever Get Through This? gently assists readers to move from initial overwhelm (Why do I feel so physically exhausted?) to hopeful re-engagement (Who and what do you want to live for?).

In Why We Fight, relationship coach and couples' therapist, Kim Polinder reveals the real reasons those familiar arguments keep returning, no matter how small the trigger seems. Polinder shows that most conflicts aren't really about the dishes or chores, they're about core wounds, attachment styles and negative self-beliefs that formed long before you entered any relationship.Inspired by her years as a tech engineer, Polinder provides a systematic, root-cause approach, turning overwhelming feelings into a clear, step-by-step process to navigate arguments better. Through case studies, practical exercises and guided questions, you'll learn to troubleshoot arguments in real time, regulate your emotions, communicate effectively and reframe old patterns. Along the way, you'll discover not only how to improve your relationship, but also a deeper understanding of yourself and why you hurt the way you do.If you're sick of feeling out of control as the same old fights keep bubbling up, Why We Fight provides a path to understanding the real reasons we argue and how to finally change them, before it's too late.

In The Monk's Mindset, former Buddhist monk and renowned Peloton instructor Sam Yo shares the transformative lessons that helped him move from chaos to clarity. Drawing on his monastic training, meditation practice, and experiences as a performer and coach, he reveals how anyone can weave ancient Buddhist wisdom into modern life to find calm, focus, and purpose, even in a world that never slows down.Through vivid storytelling and reflective practices, Sam explores how to· align your four dimensions-body, mind, heart, and spirit-for lasting balance and well-being;· channel your energy wisely with Right Effort-learning when to move, when to rest, and when to simply be;· repair your story and free yourself from limiting beliefs;· calm a restless mind with his bubble practice for managing overwhelm and uncertainty;· listen deeply by emptying your cup-a mindful communication practice that nurtures true presence; and· live with intention through short monk's mindset moments that fit any schedule.Each chapter blends memoir and modern mindfulness with practical habits, reflection prompts, and affirmations to help you reconnect with your inner strength, deepen emotional awareness, and cultivate lasting peace.Whether you're seeking clarity, navigating change, or simply trying to slow down, The Monk's Mindset offers a practical tool kit for mindfulness, self-discovery, resilience, and spiritual growth and reminds you that the stillness you seek has been within you all along.

'A fantastic and varied collection of problems authored by some of the best puzzle setters around' - Alex Bellos'A book of delightful puzzles. It's just as good as you'd expect.' - Tim Harford'A marvellous miscellany of mysteries' - Simon Singh'Hours of arguing and puzzling. I loved it.' - Matt ParkerThis highly engaging collection of 70 puzzles comes from the popular weekly column in New Scientist magazine. You'll find puzzles that are great for sharing with friends at a pub, problems drawn from real-life situations, games with intriguing strategies, and puzzles with such creative and whimsical storylines that they need to be explained to be believed. With the solutions you'll read the untold back stories behind the puzzles, and a fascinating exploration of related puzzles and mathematical ideas. You'll learn why a particular puzzle adaptation involved talking to an expert in sheep genetics, which solution was thought up by the BBC Radio 5 Drive team, and outside-the-box solutions to apparently straightforward challenges. This book is a must for any lover of puzzles or recreational mathematics.