The Fascinating Life of Karen Blixen!

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Hello! Having spent 3 nostalgic weeks in my country of birth (and where I spent most of my childhood) Kenya, Africa, writing away, I have just finalised some edits on a new book on Bibliotherapy which is out later this year. More details to follow soon so watch this space :)

Whilst there I had the opportunity to visit author Karen Blixen's home for the nearly two decades that she spent there, and the inspiration for her bestselling memoir 'Out of Africa'. The book tells the story of her life in Kenya, where she lived from 1914 to 1931, managing a coffee plantation. The book was adapted into an Academy Award-winning film of the same name in 1985, starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford.

Karen Blixen is also known by her Danish pen name Isak Dinesen.

She was also a prolific writer of short stories and novels, including "Seven Gothic Tales" and "Babette's Feast." Her writing style is often characterized by its lyrical prose, vivid descriptions of nature, and exploration of themes such as love, loss, and the human condition.

Here's a photo of her home in Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa and I would encourage a visit if you're ever travelling that part of the world!

She was a gifted storyteller who celebrated Africa, educating the locals and building a platform for education for them as well as integrating them into her community.

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A big hello and thank you for watching! Passionate about literature, psychology, and life I launched Book Therapy as an alternative form of therapy using the power of literature. I train mental health professionals, librarians, teachers as well as readers on using bibliotherapy in their own work through our online Bibliotherapy, Literature and Mental Health course (). We also curate reading lists/personalised book prescriptions for clients based on their individual needs. This is our signature personalised reading service:

You can also check out Book Therapy’s other free reading lists and A- Z of book prescriptions (covering both fiction and non-fiction). These suggest books based on your existing life situation (e.g. anxiety, job change, relationship heartache) as well as interests (e.g memoir, historical fiction, non-fiction, crime etc). There’s also a Children’s A — Z of Book Prescriptions. Feel free to check out the blog for more literary gems. There’s also a post on my personal story of how I entered the world of bibliotherapy and book curation.

In this role, I have had the opportunity to publish a book called The Happiness Mindset, and write various literary essays and pieces for newspapers and magazines. I have undertaken bibliotherapy workshops for The United Nations, various libraries in New York and corporate organisations in the UK and US. My book recommendations have featured in the Guardian, Marie Claire, NBC News, Asian Voice, New York Observer, Sydney Telegraph and various other publications. If you are a parent you might enjoy a podcast I’ve recorded with speech and language therapist Sunita Shah on Raising A Reader & Storyteller. And if you’d like to connect, email me at bijal@booktherapy.io or www.booktherapy.io.