We are incredibly excited that we have two recommendations for our December Book of the Month!
Rory Stewart writer, diplomat and former politician and Alastair Campbell writer, strategist & campaigner, host The Rest is Politics podcast. The podcast ‘lifts the lid on the secrets of Westminster, offering an insider’s view on politics at home and abroad, while bringing back the lost art of disagreeing agreeably’. Since his time as Tony Blair’s spokesman, Alastair has written 17 books and is involved in mental health advocacy and charity fundraising. Rory is the president of Give Directly, a non-profit that lets donors to send money directly to the poorest households. Rory’s book The Places in Between has also been enjoyed by some of our Prison Reading Groups.
In Love With The World by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche – an extraordinary account of a Buddhist abbot deciding to go homeless in India – enduring the most extreme poverty and changing his life along the way. – Rory Stewart
Life in the Balance by Jim Down – as well as being a fellow 7am cold water swimmer, who uses it as a mental health coping mechanism, Jim Down is a doctor in one of London’s biggest Intensive Care Units. His book is his account of that experience, including his involvement in some very high profile cases, like Alexander Litvinenko and the 7/7 bombings. But amid the remarkable work he does, he also struggles with enormous self-doubt and anxiety, and though you might not want to know that about someone making life and death decisions, it creates a sense of the deep humanity required for his work. – Alastair Campbell
Thank you, Rory & Alastair, for recommending these books!
Our BOTMs are sent to our projects with a bookplate sharing why it was chosen. You can order your copy of Life in the Balance and In Love With The World and our previous BOTMs from our affiliate list on Bookshop.org:
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To see our previous Books of the Month, click here.
Photo Credits: Jamie Lucas Photography