Most Popular Books by Melissa Harrison

Presents an inspirational compilation of hundreds of practical tips and wisdom on the joys and responsibilities of motherhood, the relationship between mothers and daughters, teaching values and responsibility, and more, all divied into such sections as The Bonding Years, Girls and Boys, Girls and Spirituality, and Girls and Success. Original

An exquisite and intimate novel about four people''s lives and our changing relationship with nature, for fans of Jon McGregor and Robert Macfarlane.

The city is a strange place for Jozef. After living in a Polish village for much of his life, he is struggling to adjust to the tall, grey landscape of apartment living, and his job in a local deli serving french fries and fried chicken to brash, self-assured children makes him feel even more disconnected from the surrounding population. It is only when he encounters TC, a troubled boy running away from school, that Jozef finds a kindred spirit with whom he can share his fascination with the natural world. The two are noticed in a small litter-strewn park by a friendly local, the elderly and recently widowed Sophia, who has been attempting to spark an interest in nature in her granddaughter, Daisy. While Sophia sends Daisy letters each week about the growth of the flowers in the park, Jozef attempts to extract, over games of chess, the details of TC''s troubled home life-left broken by the departure of the boy''s father. Like leaves twisting in the wind, the lives of these four figures are blown together, defying the gravity affecting the world around them. That is, until the pressures of modern life intervene. A beautiful debut novel reflecting the destructive nature of humanity, and the indelible effects people can have on the environment and those around them, Clay poetically captures the delicate balances of life in the city, between young and old, between nature and development, between recklessness and caution.

"Boys are different. Boy, are they different. And so too is the mother-son relationship, whose depth and wonder are captured perfectly in one of the very first pages of MOTHER TO SON: Don''t forget that even as a baby, he will always be looking for your face. It will be this way forever. Woven out of wisdom, humor, experience, love, charm, and a poetic economy of words, here is one pithy, memorable lesson per page, beginning with the Beginning, and covering toddlerhood, the school years, sports, spirituality and, of course, girls. "

Warm and fuzzy, anchored in values, and filled with simple words of wisdom, this beloved, bestselling book for parents speak to the important business of raising daughters, and distill their timeless lessons into one nugget of wisdom per page—some lighthearted, some serious, some practical, and some intangible, and all supported by a strong moral backbone. Freshly updated, the book begins with the Five Keys of Parenting, a guide to navigating the extraordinary, even if sometimes exasperating, journey of parenthood. It’s filled with helpful reassurance: Tickle her, play with her, give her piggyback rides. She’s not breakable. And accepting bittersweet reality: When it’s time—Let her go.

April brings spring surging with it, giving rise, among many in the village, to a comforting illusion that all is somehow still right with the world, and that nothing will ever change. In the ancient Welm Valley, something is shifting: the river is behaving oddly, while the arrival of spring, with its familiar rhythms, is shadowed by an undercurrent of unease. A woman falls while out walking and hopes to be found before nightfall; a builder experiences sudden, overwhelming vertigo on a farmhouse roof; across the village, people are plagued by the same vast, strange dream. And alone in the converted priory, overlooking watermeadows unchanged for centuries, Clare Grey receives devastating news which will force her to reconsider her family''s past and the fresh weight of her solitary existence.

The first book dedicated to comorbidity of eating disorders and OCD, assisting clinicians in treating patients with both diagnoses.

Warm and fuzzy, anchored in values, and filled with simple words of wisdom, this beloved, bestselling book for parents speaks to the important business of raising sons, and distills their timeless lessons into one nugget of wisdom per page—some lighthearted, some serious, some practical, and some intangible, and all supported by a strong moral backbone. Freshly updated, the book begins with the Five Keys of Parenting, a guide to navigating the extraordinary, even if sometimes exasperating, journey of parenthood. It’s filled with the importance of nurturing responsibility: Teach him that the world will judge him by his actions, not his intentions. Fun stuff: Have tea with him in the afternoons. Serve cookies. And when he’s ready to go: Hug him fiercely.

Three tiny, ancient beings - Moss, Burnet and Cumulus, once revered as Guardians of the Wild World - wake from winter hibernation. But when their home is destroyed, they set off on an adventure. Can they find a way to survive in a precious, disappearing world?

A wonderful meditation on the English landscape in wet weather by the acclaimed novelist and nature writer, Melissa Harrison. Whenever rain falls, our countryside changes. Fields, farms, hills and hedgerows appear altered, the wildlife behaves differently, and over time the terrain itself is transformed. In Rain, Melissa Harrison explores our relationship with the weather as she follows the course of four rain showers, in four seasons, across Wicken Fen, Shropshire, the Darent Valley and Dartmoor. Blending these expeditions with reading, research, memory and imagination, she reveals how rain is not just an essential element of the world around us, but a key part of our own identity too.

The autumn of 1933 is the most beautiful Edie Mather can remember. In the fields and villages around her beloved Wych Farm, however, the Great War still casts a shadow over a community impoverished by economic depression and threatened by change. Change, too, is coming to Edie, who at fourteen must soon face the unsettling pressures of adulthood. Glamorous outsider Constance FitzAllen arrives from London to document fading rural traditions and beliefs, urging all who will listen to resist progress and return to the old ways - but some wonder whether there might be more to the older woman than meets the eye. As harvest approaches and the future of Wych Farm itself grows uncertain, Edie must somehow find a way to trust her instincts and save herself from disaster.

As autumn begins, Moss and the Hidden Folk friends travel to their former home in Ash Row, to find the rare mortal child who can both see and talk to them. Can they prove the Wild World still needs guardians?

Vor Tagesanbruch an einem Maimorgen: Das Schwarz des Himmels geht in Blau über, der Duft des Weißdorns liegt in der Luft und die ersten Vögel singen, als es auf einer Landstraße zwischen zwei Feldern zu einem schrecklichen Unfall kommt – und die Schicksale von vier Menschen kollidieren. Howard und Kitty sind nach dreißig gemeinsamen Jahren in London in das kleine Dorf Lodeshill gezogen. Während Kitty glücklich zu sein scheint, sehnt Howard sich nach dem pulsierenden Leben in der Metropole zurück. Der Einzelgänger Jack war einst ein Rebell, der seit jeher nur eines will: in Freiheit leben. Nachdem er eine Haftstrafe wegen Hausfriedensbruchs abgesessen hat, macht er sich mit seinem Rucksack auf den Weg Richtung Norden. Jamie ist vor neunzehn Jahren in Lodeshill geboren. Seine Kindheit hat er damit verbracht, mit seinem Großvater angeln zu gehen und durch die Wälder zu streifen; heute träumt er davon, der dörflichen Enge zu entkommen. Es sind vier Menschen, die unterschiedlicher nicht sein könnten und doch das gleiche suchen: einen Platz im Leben.

England in den 1930-Jahren: Die vierzehnjährige Edith Mather lebt mit ihrer Familie auf Wych Farm im ländlichen Suffolk. Das Leben auf dem Land ist hart, die Schatten von Weltwirtschaftskrise und Erstem Weltkrieg hängen über der verarmten Gemeinde, und die Farm wird noch mit Pferdestärken betrieben. Edith, genannt Edie, ist ein seltsames Kind: Als eines von vier Geschwistern in einer konservativen Farmerfamilie zieht sie Bücher der Gesellschaft von anderen Kindern vor. Als die Journalistin Constance FitzAllen aus London anreist, um eine Kolumne über und Lobrede auf das Landleben zu schreiben, empfindet Edie von Anfang an Bewunderung für die extrovertierte Frau in Männerhosen. Charmant, wissbegierig und glamourös scheint Constance zunächst die ideale Freundin und Mentorin für Edie zu sein. Doch die junge Frau aus der Großstadt will nicht nur dokumentieren, sie will missionieren. Und sie bringt politische Ideen mit, die bald zu einem Flächenbrand in ganz Europa führen. Atmosphärisch und bildstark erzählt ›Das Ende eines Sommers‹ vom Erwachsenwerden und ist zugleich packendes Zeitporträt und eine Verneigung vor der Schönheit der Natur.

Una talentuosa scrittrice inglese contemporanea paragonata a connazionali illustri come Thomas Hardy e Charlotte Brontë arriva per la prima volta nelle librerie italiane con un romanzo delicato e potente. Nell’Inghilterra dei primi anni Trenta, la quattordicenne Edith Mather vive con la sua famiglia in una fattoria. Il paesaggio rurale è di una bellezza mozzafiato, ma la vita in campagna è dura, e la Grande guerra e la Grande depressione si sono lasciate alle spalle una comunità impoverita e timorosa. Edith è «una strana bambina», si sente irrimediabilmente diversa da tutto ciò che la circonda e preferisce la compagnia dei libri ai giochi con i coetanei. A turbare la quiete di un quotidiano scandito dalle leggi della natura è l’arrivo di Constance FitzAllen, giornalista di Londra giunta in paese per scrivere sugli usi e costumi dei contadini del luogo. Fin dal primo incontro Edith è ammaliata da questa donna estroversa e libera, che indossa pantaloni da uomo. Constance sembra l’amica e la mentore ideale per lei, ma si dimostrerà molto diversa da come appare: porta infatti con sé idee politiche che si riveleranno insidiose. Con l’avvicinarsi del tempo del raccolto e l’aumentare delle pressioni sull’intera comunità, Edith dovrà riuscire a fidarsi del proprio istinto per salvarsi da un disastro imminente. L’aria innocente dell’estate è il commovente ritratto di una piccola donna costretta a diventare grande all’improvviso in un mondo arcaico e patriarcale, ma anche un prezioso monito sui pericoli della nostalgia. Soprattutto, però, è un inchino alla bellezza della natura, in cui toni lirici e meravigliose descrizioni paesaggistiche fanno da contorno a una vicenda umana dal finale imprevedibile, raccontata con grande dolcezza e intensità. «Un romanzo bellissimo e appassionante». Jonathan Coe «Potente e sottile, ricco di dettagli, questo è un libro che abita il suo territorio, conosce la sua gente e segue la sua logica inquietante. Affronta alcuni dei grandi temi della vita inglese – la divisione in classi, il patriarcato, il folclore e la psicosi, il fascismo strisciante –, intessuti nella narrazione con grande delicatezza e bellezza. Un capolavoro». Jon McGregor «Potente e scritto benissimo. Harrison è un tipo tradizionale, una scrittrice della natura con una conoscenza e un occhio per i dettagli che ricordano Thomas Hardy. Tutto questo lo rende un romanzo impossibile da dimenticare». «The Times» «Un’opera ricca di atmosfera, intrisa dei ritmi e delle tradizioni della campagna inglese... Mi sono spesso venuti in mente Tess dei d’Urberville e Shirley di Charlotte Brontë». «Financial Times» «Harrison è abile nel far esistere realtà diverse l’una accanto all’altra. Evoca la natura, con i suoi ritmi e la sua bellezza senza tempo, e la fa invadere dalla politica. Questo romanzo mi fa pensare a Middlemarch». «The Spectator»