The Tattooist of Auschwitz | August 2018

(I will be talking about some bits of the book that may give away spoilers)

I spend most of my year reading books about children's laws, curriculums and other things Id rather not read in my spare time, but thats Uni life for yah! Ive started reading for my own pleasure again over the summer and its been sooooo great. I cant wait to share with you some of the books I have been reading.

The first book I wanted to share with you guys  is The Tattooist of Auschwitz which is also hands down one of the best books I have ever read. Having visited Auschwitz myself, much of the books scenes hit me hard as I was able to imagine myself in many of the places the characters were. Much of it is based in areas of Auschwitz which is now open to the public, a trip Id say everyone should see at some point in their lives.

The book itself is a true story and follows a young jewish man called Lale. Lale finds himself imprisoned in Auschwitz during the second world war, promising to himself when he first arrives that he will leave one day. He learns to keep his head down, stay quiet and do what he is told. He then begins to earn the trust of soldiers which leads to him becoming the Tattooist of Auschwitz, a job he realises in the end may help him to survive this horrible place.        
Lale meets Gita, a young girl also imprisoned within the camp and instantly falls head over heels for her. There love blossoms and it becomes a sense of joy and hope in such tragic circumstances. They face many challenges just simply trying to see each other but there love cannot keep them apart. They are each others hope of a much brighter and happier future.

The book is not only heartbreaking and eye opening but sweet, romantic and a love story you can't help but getting completly involved in. Lale is a character I became so fond of, his cheeky charm and the love and compassion he has for other people. Its a story where I personally grew really attached to the characters and I couldn't put it down, I needed to know how the story went and Id finished it over just a couple of days. When writing the novel, Heather Morris grew a friendship in real life with Lale and told his story how he wanted. She did such a beautiful job in the way she wrote it, she helped you to see the best and the worst of such a terrible situation.

I would highly recommend picking up a copy of The Tattooist of Auschwitz if you haven't already. Its a story that will stick with you, make you realise how lucky we are in our generation and what little things we take for granted. It still blows my mind that these things actually happened in our history and not even that long ago.

Let me know if you have read this book too, I would love to know what your thoughts and feelings about it. Ill link below some places you can find a copy of the book online.
As always, I hope your all having a lovely day,

Amy x




Amazon £6.47 (Paperback)
Amazon £2.63 (Kindle)
Waterstones £12.99 (Hardback)
Amazon (Audiobook)

Make Time for Friends | August 2018 ♡

Over these summer holidays Ive been soooo busy. Trips away, festivals, Shinty and giving our home a little summer makeover. It wasn't until I was at the gym yesterday and my brain went off on a wee tangent that I realised Ive not spent much time with my friends lately. I literally live 2 minutes, 3 streets away, from one of my girls and we rarely have a chance to see one another. It got me to thinking about how much I appreciate my friends and how much fun we have together. That includes my boyfriend, he's my absolute world and also my best friend.

Now that were all hitting our mid twenties we get busier and busier with life. Were all working on our careers, our relationships and our families are starting to grow. Were becoming the women that our younger selves looked up too. Thats scary!

When you go through things in life, its true when they say you realise who your true friends are. Losing my mam was the hardest thing Ive ever been through and I was so lucky to have friends who surrounded me with so much love and support. They knew what to say, what message to send and what to bring when they called over. They were like a little army shielding me from the hurt I was going through. To these girls, I owe so much.

A few days ago my group of girlies and I went down to the beach close to us. It was 24 degrees, we all brought drinks and snacks and had the place pretty much to ourselves. It was absolute perfection. We chatted for hours, paddled in the water, laughed and lost track of time. It reminded me that we must do it more often. We did nothing groundbreaking, we talked about complete rubbish but we all left smiling and feeling content. Another night I had recently was having dinner at one of our houses and played a beer pong tournament. What a laugh. With our friends who live further away from us we went on a little weekend trip altogether to a holiday home we hired. It was perfect.

Having friends is like having your own group of therapists, they listen, they chip in if its needed, they make you realise what it is you need. I couldn't be without my friends. They are literally the family I have chosen for myself. Yes I have lost some, I may lose some in future (I hope not), but right now the friends I have mean everything to me. I encourage anyone who is reading this to make the effort to spend more time with them if you feel its been a while. Even drop a little text or a face time if you are away from one another. One of my best friends travels the world playing golf but we never lose touch, we make sure to drop a message every few days just to say hello. Be there for them like they are for you.

I hope this wasn't too rambly, I wanted to get out what was floating about in my head.

Hope your having a lovely day,

Amy x