Woman of Substances: A Journey into Addiction and Treatment

Product Information

Mir is a successful, award-winning journalist, having worked first with a Bradford newspaper — the Telegraph and Argus — and then later with television news at the BBC, but she was able to develop professionally and find her voice only after she had survived two arranged marriages. She has written about this journey in a brave and insightful piece, ‘A Woman of Substance’, which was published in 2019 in It’s Not About the Burqa, a collection of essays on the issues that modern Muslim women face. She does all of this with reference to her own experiences which are honest (brutally so, at times), troubling but also relatable. Failure comes in the way of success. It is the proof that you’re doing something for yourself, and that’s how you become a woman with substance. At the time of failure, you may get motivation from various movies, books or articles but it is only you who can lift yourself up. 5.Live up to your standard of living

In straightforward, lively prose she relates even her darkest moments without self-pity or aggrandisement, and often with a streak of gallows humour, leading to more laugh-out-loud lines than you might expect.’ — SaturdayPaper For a child that has a home life that is sometimes nurturing and sometimes neglectful, she may become teenager/adult that learns to self sooth by overeating and/or binging on alcohol. Both of those things cause a rush of dopamine. In the short term, it works. So she does it again. If she’s an addict, she’ll do it again and again to disastrous results. Valentish’s passion lies in exploring the underlying causes and their effects and, in the most female of ways, offering companionship and reassurance for her readers.” The Monthly I found Emma was quite often a difficult heroine to always admire or love because she was stubborn, illogical and bore huge grudges. I also thought some of her decisions did not make sense. In 1970, Emma Harte is a wealthy, formidable businesswoman. Just about to turn 80, she has spent her life making a vast business empire, including the world-famous Harte's Department Store in London, as well as extensive holdings in property and oil. While on a business trip to Texas with her grandchild, Paula, Emma informs her that she will be her successor.

12. You give back

If you think that so far I’m painting a picture of a woman with substance as a bit of a badass, well you’d be right. Woman of Substances is] a startling and thorough investigation into the relationship between gender, trauma and addiction, and the women who fall through the gaps – with the writer offering herself up as the case study.’ —Steph Harmon, Guardian Australia

Some have been blessed with street smarts. Meanwhile, others have very high emotional intelligence.

3. You don’t judge a book by its cover

Part monograph, part memoir, part Ginsbergian howl of outrage at a culture in which gender bias is a tenet. It is a work of compellingly articulate anger.’ —Antonella Gambotto-Burke,the Australian A Woman of Substance is a novel by Barbara Taylor Bradford, published in 1979. The novel is the first of a seven-book saga about the fortunes of a retail empire and the machinations of the business elite across three generations. The series, featuring Emma Harte and her family also includes Hold The Dream, To Be The Best, Emma's Secret, Unexpected Blessings, Just Rewards and Breaking the Rules. A Woman of Substance was adapted as an eponymous television miniseries as were the sequels Hold the Dream and To Be the Best. She wears the things that she likes, regardless of whether they’re on trend or the height of fashion. Woman of Substanceswill resonate with women readers who have never really questioned the role that patriarchy has played in their drinking habits.’ —Katherine Gillespie, Vice She realizes that some things can be better left unsaid. And as for the things that do need to be spoken, it matters how they’re delivered.

A compelling blend of the sociology, psychology and physiology that drives female addiction, seasoned by the author’s self-serrating humour and remarkable skill.’ —Professor Marc Lewis, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto. Author of The Biology of Desire (2015) and Memoirs of an Addicted Brain (2011)

Drugs and alcohol are pain-killers. The pain that is felt might be emotional, but it’s still the anterior cingulate cortex – the area of the brain that responds to physical pain – that agitates the vagus nerve connecting the brain stem to the chest to the abdomen, manifesting distress as real pain in those regions. A strong woman understands that the gifts such as logic, decisiveness, and strength are just as feminine as intuition and emotional connection. She values and uses all of her gifts.” Nancy Rathburn Valentish, now 42, details the highs and lows of her first year without alcohol — including her time in the Alcoholics Anonymous program (AA), her marriage breakdown, and her experience with "hormonal uprisings" — in her new book Woman of Substances, part memoir, part research project about women's addiction. Addiction treatment: society is failing women

This helps them roll up their sleeves and get to work shaping their life the way they want it — without the excuses. 10. You’re not one to mindlessly follow the crowd

Engages readers with storytelling while presenting scientific findings and theories in a way that is accessible to a broad audience' Broadsheet. Valentish is a British woman who has lived in Australia for many years, and those countries have a different language for treatment than America. We all prefer to be right. But when you have sound enough self-esteem, it doesn’t pain you to accept that’s not always going to happen.