Books

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An intensely personal, highly educational and very funny exploration of ADHD. Adam Kay
A kind, helpful and hilarious guide to neurodiversity told as only Shappi can tell it - required reading for all Jenny Eclair

Scatter Brain

Some brains, through no fault of their own, pack a bag, turn the lights off and run away to the seaside the moment they are meant to be doing homework, paying bills or not putting the cat in the fridge. These are ADHD brains. I have one and believe they are as common as being left-handed, flat footed or genuinely enjoying anchovies on a pizza.

Undiagnosed Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder made my life a frustrating, maddening rollercoaster. I had very little focus except when I was hyper-focusing (and then it would always be on the wrong things), I made the same mistakes over and over again, regularly burning myself out until I was sobbing. When I finally was diagnosed in my 40s it felt like the lights had been turned on after a lifetime in the dark.

Join Shappi as she looks back on her life through the lens of ADHD and finally makes sense of the chaos. From discovering the joys of shoplifting through to finally understanding her attraction to toxic men, Scatter Brain will have you laughing (and crying) as you find out what it's really like to live a life out of control.

Whether you suspect you might have ADHD or you're here to enjoy the ride, let Shappi take you on her hilarious journey of self-discovery where you just might learn something useful about yourself too!

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Brilliant Bella

Kissing Emma

Emma and her mother are down on their luck. They’re taking turns sleeping on the sofa in her nan’s tiny flat - and desperately trying to come up with an escape plan.

Emma is struggling with her family, struggling at school where the girls are bitchy towards her and the boys only seem to want one thing, and struggling with never having enough money for anything, ever.

Just as she’s contemplating quitting school to get a real job, she meets two men who convince her that she has a shot at modelling. But their motives are far from innocent, and Emma is soon pulled into a dark world. And then she meets Con, who is rich, handsome and so romantic! Has Emma’s luck finally changed?

Kissing Emma is inspired by the real life and untold story of Emma Hamilton, Lord Nelson’s mistress. But Shappi’s modern Emma is going to get the happy ending her namesake never did - and stick two fingers up at the men who dare to take advantage of young women while she’s doing it.

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It’s absolutely bloody magnificent Marian Keyes
Breathtakingly honest and laugh-out-loud funny Red Magazine

Nina is Not OK

‘When your dad dies when you’re only nine, everything you fuck up after that ends up being because your dad died…’

Nina Swanson’s poor dad gets the blame for a lot of things: from her exam results to her turning up smashed in her Communications class.

Nina’s drunken exploits are the stuff of college legend. And if she sometimes wakes up with little memory of what happened the night before, then her friends are all too happy to fill in the blanks.

But then one dark Sunday morning, even her friends can’t help piece together Saturday night. All Nina feels is a deep sense of shame, that something very bad has happened to her…

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This very funny, acute book also makes me cry Emma Thompson
Funny…engaging, touching, and ultimately deeply rewarding Daily Mail

A Beginner’s Guide to Acting English

It’s 1977 and life in Iran is becoming unpredictable. The Shah will be overthrown and events are about to take place on the world stage. But for five-year-old Shappi Khorsandi all this means is that she must flee, leaving behind a mad extended Iran clan and everything she has ever known.

Shappi and her beloved brother Peyvand arrive with their parents in London - all cold weather and strange food - without a word of English. If adapting to a new culture isn’t troubling enough, it soon becomes clear that the Ayatollah’s henchmen are in pursuit. With the help of MI5, Shappi’s family go into hiding. So apart from checking under the family car for bombs every morning, Shappi’s childhood is like any other kids’ - swings in the park, school plays, kiss-chase and terrorists.