Sandra Harris Writes

  SELF-HELP BOOKS: HOW MUCH DO THEY REALLY HELP? BY SANDRA HARRIS. © Millions of self-help books have been sold since the dawn of publishing, and I genuinely wouldn’t be surprised if most of the sales have been transacted since the recent COVID-19 pandemic, when it suddenly became vitally important that people be aware of and look after their mental health. The twin industries of ‘mindfulness’ and ‘self-care’ suddenly exploded and, now, here we are in 2024 and nearly every bookshop now has its own vast ‘MIND, BODY AND SPIRIT’ section. But do we really need all of these books in our lives? And how did we ever manage before them? Are they a load of old bollocks, or do they really work? As in, do they really help us to lead happier, more productive and fulfilling lives as happier, more confident people? I recently ‘self-helped’ by giving a big bag of self-help books away to charity. I had too many of the kind I just knew I would never read, books written by professors and scientists w...

  MY JOURNALING JOURNEY: THE STORY SO FAR. BY SANDRA HARRIS. © I started journaling in November 2020, without really knowing too much about it, because I really wanted to write words in a notebook with a pen again, after years of typing my work on my laptop. I actually had a real yearning for using a pen and paper again. So I found an unused notebook in a local second-hand bookshop that I liked the look of, and bought it for this exact purpose. I didn't realise at first that the journal was part of a series by a lady called Keri Smith, entitled WRECK THIS JOURNAL. The idea is that you find inner freedom and creativity by following the journal's prompts to do mad things to it, like rolling it down a hill, bringing it into the shower with you, poking holes in it with a pencil and even punching the pages, after first dipping your fist in something. Sweet Jesus. I knew I'd do none of these things to the poor, poor journal. I'd write things in it and carry it around ...