This episode is another trailer for a session at the "Getting to Grips with Trauma" Book Festival which will be held at Cumbernauld Theatre on Sunday 6th September from 10.00 - 5.30. You can buy tickets here https://lanternhousearts.org/events/book-festival-getting-to-grips-with-traum/. Remarkably, a £15 day pass allows you to attend 6 sessions from a choice of 24 authors. It is the biggest literary bargain ever!!.

This time it is with Sara Cullen, whose novel "Blood Red Sky" features in the Criminal Justice section. That is a real tribute to Sara because she has not only written a gripping, engaging and highly empathetic story, she has also demonstrated remarkable insight into how our justice system operates. Her account raises questions about how far we fail young people despite our best intentions and structures and systems of which Scotland can be rightly proud.

This section from Jackie Galbraith's review of "Blood Red Sky" in the Scottish ACEs Action Community Newsletter captures much of the quality of the novel

"Blood Red Sky is categorised by booksellers as fiction for young adults, but it merits a much wider reach. Storytelling, whether fictional or factual arising from lived experience, is a powerful way to raise awareness, create empathy and accelerate action on the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences. The book helps the reader understand better the pressures young people face in handling difficult and alien situations, especially in getting their voice heard. Aaron(the central character) not being listened to was a theme that ran throughout the book. Very few adults were interested in hearing his view on what happened at the school, largely because they were sure of their assumption that he started the fire. While this situation was not helped by Aaron, who said little for fear of incriminating others, it was heartbreaking how easily all the adults he engaged with accepted his guilt"

It is an excellent read and will be a superb springboard for discussion in Sara's session.

You can find out more about Sara here https://www.sarajcullen.com/

Sara is published by Arkbound https://www.arkbound.com/ Arkbound is a charity publisher and mentoring organisation supporting underrepresented authors and publishing books that explore urgent social issues. They work across Scotland to make publishing inclusive and empowering.

Publishing has historically excluded many marginalised voices. They work to change that by supporting authors facing barriers, mentoring writers in the prison system and working with community leaders whose writing can drive real change. Through mentorship, workshops, events and publishing, we bring important stories into the world.

The goal is to publish writers from disadvantaged backgrounds, challenge injustice, and strengthen communities. We're guided by a simple principle: building futures, bridging divides. So they are taking action too!

Here is another of their books which we hope to have available at the Festival https://www.arkbound.com/bookshop/p/euphoric-recall

The episode trails Ross McKay's session at the "Getting to Grips with Trauma" Book Festival which will be held at Cumbernauld Theatre on Sunday 6th September from 10.00 - 5.30. You can buy tickets here https://lanternhousearts.org/events/book-festival-getting-to-grips-with-traum/. Remarkably, a £15 day pass allows you to attend 6 sessions from a choice of 24 authors. It is the biggest literary bargain ever!!.

Ross's book, "Daddy's Bad (bed) Day" is reviewed brilliantly by Lesley Frame Whitelaw in the Scottish ACEs Action Community's Trauma in the Arts Review. You can check out their Facebook page here https://www.facebook.com/p/Scotlands-ACEs-Action-Community-61578663712550/ As Lesley says - "The strength of this book lies in its honesty, its compassion, and its ability to open up conversations that are often hard for families. How do you know where to begin to talk about a parent’s mental health struggles? That means it is not just a story for children, but for us adults too. Its message is an important one. It may be about emotional struggles, but it is also about the love, resilience and small acts of connection that help families through difficult days"

You can get more information about Ross on his website here https://rossmackaystories.com/

We also mention the wonderful film "Love and Trouble" https://sonjahenrici.com/films/loveandtrouble/. The Scottish ACEs action Facebook page will offer details of screening.

We also mention Anam Alba https://anam-alba.com/ and their superb musical production of the children's book The Little Iceberg https://anam-alba.com/the-little-iceberg-story/. It's a packed episode and well worth your time

I love this episode with Claire and Zoe. It is free flowing, fun and full of laughter, radical political analysis, historical research and trenchant observations on the current political situation. Claire and Zoe are insightful, unassumingly articulate and fearless. This show is a must for anyone interested in Scottish history and what we highlight and teach about it. It is also for anyone wanting to understand the scale and intensity of the persecution that was conducted on the basis of alleged witchcraft. It is shocking.

There is also lots of discussion about trauma and its inter-generational impact.

The episode also trails their session at the "Getting to Grips with Trauma" Book Festival which will be held at Cumbernauld Theatre on Sunday 6th September from 10.00 - 5.30. You can buy tickets here https://lanternhousearts.org/events/book-festival-getting-to-grips-with-traum/. Remarkably, a £15 day pass allows you to attend 6 sessions from a choice of 24 authors. It is the biggest literary bargain ever!!.

If you need any further encouragement to listen to the podcast or attend the Book Festival, you can read a wonderful review of Claire and Zoe's book "How to kill a Witch" (https://www.witchesofscotland.com/book) by Mhairi Gilchrist in the Scottish ACEs Action Community's newsletter which you can sign up for here https://connectedbaby.net/scotlands-aces-journey/scotlands-aces-community/

They also have a Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/p/Scotlands-ACEs-Action-Community-61578663712550/ where you will find lots more information about the Book Festival

I really recommend this episode and all things connected to Witches of Scotland. Please check them out https://www.witchesofscotland.com/