As she releases her highly anticipated new novel, Holding Her Breath, Eimear Ryan reflects on mental health, sport, and why Irish women are dominating the literary world.

As a captivating voice in Irish literature, a co-founder of Banshee Press, and a dedicated camogie player with St. Finbarrs in Cork, Eimear Ryan is a unique force defying easy categorisation, and challenging preconceived notions and tropes both on and off the page.

The Co. Tipperary native, now based in Cork City, made headlines late last year, as Sandycove, the Dublin-based imprint of Penguin Random House, announced the acquisition of her novel, Holding Her Breath. Its a gripping, yet tender, read telling the coming-of-age story of Beth Crowe, a first year Psychology student in a Dublin university, whose life is shaped by the suicide of her grandfather, a famous poet, decades before.

This book has been with me for so long, Ryan reveals. I started writing it in late 2013, and its gone through so many different iterations. Im just really happy that other people get to read it now.

Despite having died in the 80s, Beths grandfather, Benjamin Crowe, is an omnipresent force in Holding Her Breath with his legacy serving as the catalyst for the novels entire sequence of events. As well as crediting Scottish poet Don Paterson as an influence behind Benjamins poetry, Ryan reveals that plenty of other figures also went into the fictional poet.

Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes is an obvious one, she says. Theres a lot of Heaney in there, and theres a dash of Kurt Cobain, in some ways. And when I was starting to write the book, one of my favourite actors, Philip Seymour Hoffman, died. I started thinking about the death of an artist and how complicated and multi-layered that is. It ripples out to so many different groups of people. Youve got the fans who are mourning the loss of the art. Then youve got the wider art world, who mourn the figure himself. And then youve got the family and their grief is on another level altogether.

I started thinking about how it would impact on future generations. Even his granddaughter, who never knew him, but is still impacted by his life and death.

The novel contains another clear nod to Cobain, with a reference to a 90s rock star who signed off his own suicide note with lines from a Benjamin Crowe poem, before picking up the gun resulting in a bump in royalties for Beths family, as the poem experienced a morbid surge in popularity as a result.

In my head I was like, God, its usually only female artists that we do this to romanticising their deaths, and particularly deaths by suicide, Ryan reflects. I was thinking of the likes of Hemingway. Nobody remembers the manner of his death. When we think of him, its more about his life and his work.

But then I was thinking about Kurt Cobain, and how we have really romanticised his death, in a way thats highly problematic. So there are male figures we do that to as well its not just the Plaths and the Woolfs.

Although Benjamin looms over much of the book, its ultimately a story celebrating women as forces of strength, support and resilience. Beths friendship with her roommate Sadie is particularly powerful, as the two girls set off on their journey together as young adults, at a university based largely on Trinity College Dublin.

When I started writing the book, it was the year after Id done a Creative Writing Masters in Trinity so I was kind of high on the setting, Ryan explains. I really loved my year there, and wanted to write about it. But even at that stage, I knew it was already very well-worn territory, going back to The Ginger Man by J.P. Donleavy. All Names Have Been Changed by Claire Kilroy is a brilliant novel also set in Trinity, and The First Verse by Barry McCrea is another one that was really influential for me.

In recent years then, theres just been more and more brilliant iterations of Trinity in fiction, she continues. Its that classic set-up, and one of the seven basic plots voyage and return. The young person leaves behind their family, strikes out on their own, learns some things, and then comes back. That idea of being young, and able to move away from the influence of your parents and your homeplace to figure out who you are, is always going to be a compelling thing that a lot of people can identify with.

The connection to Trinity also places Ryan among a movement of acclaimed millennial alumnae of the college, who have been dominating Irish literature over the last few years.

Theres a really strong wave of young Irish female writers coming together, she nods. Its really nice to be spoken of in the same breath as authors that I really admire like Niamh Campbell, Megan Nolan, Sally Rooney and Naoise Dolan. I love all those authors work. And its nice that there is this moment, for stories about young Irish women. In past generations, people who wrote about young women and coming-of-age stories wouldve been on the back foot a little bit. They wouldve been accused of not being literary, and would have had to defend why these stories matter. Thats not something we have to do now stories about young Irish women are culturally relevant now. Long may it continue!

What does she think sparked that change in attitude?

It was an accumulation of a lot of things, she considers. From #WakingTheFeminists, to the introduction of Tramp Press. And there was Sinad Gleesons brilliant anthologies of Irish women writers, which promoted new writers, but also unearthed writers who had not been anthologised, or written about, in the same way that their male peers were. Myself, Claire Hennessy and Laura Cassidy set up Banshee Press around the same time, and we were able to be part of that wave, which was great. But I definitely think that Sally Rooney coming along, and having the popular appeal but also the critical acclaim, was a big boost to it.

And the fact that the Kardashians were tweeting about Normal People... she laughs. I mean, thats a cultural reach that is almost unheard of!

Like Rooneys Normal People, and more recently, Louise Nealons Snowflake, Holding Her Breath also features young characters accessing counselling services something Ryan hopes to see normalised further.

I wanted to make the point that Beth is taking steps to get better, Ryan points out. Shes taking this seriously, and shes not suffering on her own. Hopefully its increasingly normalised for young people especially. It would be great to think that we could get to a point where its just seen as your dental check-up, or your doctor check-up. Just checking in, and making sure everythings fine.

Theres an interesting parallel in the novel between the attitudes towards mental health during Benjamins lifetime, and present-day attitudes with the implication that things havent changed as much as they should have.

I want to be positive, and think that we have come a long way but we really havent, Ryan admits. Its still so difficult for people to vocalise that they need help, or are struggling and then for that to be received in a way thats useful. If you vocalise that youre struggling, a lot of peoples first instinct is that they want to give you a pep-talk. People just want to rescue you straight away with their words and that doesnt cut it.

Its still really difficult for people to access help as well, she continues. Universities are better equipped than some places, because they probably will have a therapist or a counsellor on staff. I know from working in UCC, we had access to a counsellor as staff. And I definitely used that, which was brilliant I wouldnt have known how to find a therapist otherwise. Having those access points is so helpful.

As an active camogie player herself (Im one of the oldest on the squad now Im 34! she laughs. Theres a lot of really fast young ones who run rings around me in training.), Ryan also offers a unique perspective into the impact high-level sport can have on young peoples mental health. Its explored in the novel through Beths involvement with competitive swimming.

I wanted to write about sporting failure because you never really hear those narratives, she muses. If theres a narrative of sporting failure, its only in the run-up to how the athlete turned it all around, and ultimately triumphed. You never hear the story of the failure and then they just stop!

Over the course of my playing career, Ive definitely had those moments where Im really struggling, and just not performing, she continues. Sport is ultimately supposed to be about fun and enjoyment and play its literally played. But if youre doing it, and its just making you sad and miserable, you feel like youre doing everything all wrong. It can really impact young players who have a lot of pressure and expectations on them, but maybe dont have the mental maturity to handle that. I definitely didnt at that stage. It can become really problematic.

Elsewhere in the novel, she emphasises the point that monogamy isnt the answer for everyone.

Maybe its because were in a Catholic country, but when people talk about a failed marriage, I just think its so wrong, she reflects. A marriage that ends obviously worked for a long time otherwise they wouldnt have stayed in it for that long. And that idea that theres one person out there for you is absolutely untrue. You can have several great loves of your life, and maybe some of those will overlap! Obviously there are choices you can choose not to pursue that person who comes along, or you can choose to pursue them. It was really fun to explore all those thorny issues and overlapping loves.

However, the next book shes working on is, by her own admission, totally different.

Its a book of sporting essays, she reveals. Its a loose memoir, about growing up as a woman in the GAA. In the novel, I got to explore a lot of my sporting feelings, but through a fictional character, and through the medium of this other sport and Im actually a very bad swimmer! So now to be exploring something much more personal to me, and be revisiting old memories, is really interesting.

Holding Her Breath is out now.

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Eimear Ryan: "I started thinking about the death of an artist and how complicated and multi-layered that is..." - hotpress.com

No doubt Steve Bruce will spend this coming season wondering if he will have a job at Newcastle United beyond it.

Because Bruce is entering the last year of his current contract and whether or not he remains here may well depend on whether Mike Ashley does.

Yet this is the man who will have to wrestle with another decision which will impact greatly on United.

READ MORE: Four Newcastle United stars on how they became legends of the club

He has to sort out the futures of Karl Darlow and Freddie Woodman - one to go, one to stay.

I cannot see either goalkeeper being willing to remain on United's books beyond this coming season.

Darlow celebrates his 30th birthday during the upcoming campaign and having proved he can play at the top level when Martin Dubravka was injured last term he will be seeking regular football before it is too late as it became with Steve Harper.

On the other hand Woodman is 24, he has starred for the last two seasons in the Championship with Swansea, and he will be looking to push on towards a full England cap.

Having played international football with great success at every level from Under 16 upwards Woodman has every right to believe he can go all the way. But not as a No 2 or No 3 with his club or as a loanee.

Both Darlow and Woodman need first-team football and Dubravka is not the only one standing in their way. They are in each other's way.

So it is not just a matter of who keeps goal for Newcastle on the opening day against West Ham but long term who stays and who goes.

Maybe Woodman will have his final loan move to Bournemouth this season but that sort of temporary transfer cannot continue indefinitely.

What will also come into play will be Darlow's mental attitude. Having been sickened by not only being dropped to allow Dubravka back into the side but the way he found out through the Press his faith in Bruce might well be rocky.

I know that when I was a player I wanted to hear everything first-hand form the boss and I carried that philosophy into management.

I felt dreadfully sorry for Darlow when he was axed because I felt he had done exceptionally well and deserved his place in the side.

Dubravka is brilliant but Darlow was the man in possession and had a case to stay there.

The dilemma with Darlow and Woodman reminds me of the situation with England when I first joined the national squad.

Sir Alf Ramsey was manager and England possessed two keepers of supreme talent Peter Shilton and Ray Clemence. So what did Sir Alf do? Controversially he alternated them!

Shilton is England's record appearance holder but I believe without Clemence and Ramsey's policy he would have had 200 caps.

Me? I was always grateful to Shilts. After training Ray would shoot off home but Peter always wanted to stay with a winger and a couple of forwards to practice shot-stopping for at least an hour.

As someone who also liked to stay behind for shooting practice it suited me fine.

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The Newcastle United decision that could have big implications for the future - Chronicle Live

Naomi Osaka exists in a liminal space between cultures. She grew up primarily in the United States, yet gave up her American citizenship. Her parents are Haitian and Japanese, and she identifies fully with both. In the last few years, her international tennis exploits have catapulted her to celebrity status in the U.S. alongside her longtime fame in Japan.

It is undoubtedly difficult to manage all of these different gravitational pulls at once. But much of this was intentional; it started with a fateful decision made by her father, Leonard Francois.

Francois settled on tennis for Osaka early on, according to a 2018 The New York Times profile. Watching Venus and Serena Williams defeat Martina Hingis and Anna Kournikova in the 1999 French Open was a life-changing moment. He looked at his own two daughters who were toddlers at the time and decided tennis was in their future.

Osaka spent her childhood training against her sister in Long Island, N.Y. They moved to Florida hoping to catch the attention of the United States Tennis Association, to no avail. So Francois went with a bold strategy, leveraging his daughters command of the Japanese language: The family moved to Japan and forged their path to international competition from there.

Francois strategy obviously worked. While a shoulder injury has kept one daughter at lower levels of the sport, Naomi is at the apex of the sport. According to BuzzFeed News, she is the first Asian tennis player to top the international rankings.

Her career certainly hasnt suffered from choosing to prioritize her Japanese roots at the international level. With a net worth estimated at $25 million, shes doing more than well for herself. But when it came to the Tokyo Olympics, the top name in tennis, with all her cultural ties to the U.S., is unapologetically representing Japan.

According to Insider, the build up to her Olympics decision was met with some controversy among U.S. fans. There was a push for her to represent the country, and some of those involved were instead met with disappointment at her choice to represent Japan. To do so, she had to definitively relinquish her U.S. citizenship. Beloved in Japan as much as in the U.S., it will be her longtime Japanese supporters who will enjoy her representing them at the Olympics.

When Osaka bested the great Serena Williams at the 2018 U.S. Open, the two were physically matched. Osaka crafted her approach to the game to mirror her childhood idol. It paid off, putting her atop the world of womens tennis. As with Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, imitation often becomes something more than mere flattery. For Osaka, it gave her the tools to carve her path to dominance in the sport.

Her attitude, however, does not match with Williams take-no-prisoners approach. The Wall Street Journal reports that she tends to be reserved, soft-spoken, and undemanding. That comes, in no small part, from her connection to the culture of Japan and the tone of the tennis community there.

This approach to life has harmed Osakas rise in international tennis, to an extent. Her distaste for western press habits took a toll on her mental health, leading to her withdrawal from several majors. She will next appear in a more comfortable setting: playing for Team Japan at the Tokyo Olympics.

RELATED: Naomi Osaka Altered All of Her Tennis Training to Tour With Her Boyfriend, Rapper Cordae

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Naomi Osakas Decision to Play for Japan Has Had Major Repercussions in Her Tennis Career - Sportscasting

Related video above: Wilburforce University cancels student debt The University of Atlanta states that it will liquidate student account balances from spring 2020 to summer 2021 so that students can continue their education through the COVID-19 pandemic. Clark Atlanta University is just west of downtown the city. Said in a news release on Friday that it received a significant amount of support from the federal government under the CARES Law Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund, which allowed students to be assisted. The Covid-19 pandemic has created financial difficulties for students and their families. Therefore, we will continue to do everything we can to support our efforts to complete CAU education, said George T. French Jr. The president said in the release. Their academic and professional future is important to me and the entire family at Clark Atlanta University. We care for our students and want to brighten their individuals. Clark Atlanta University said it was able to provide urgent financial assistance with federal support, as well as reduce tuition fees, and refund a proportionate amount of homes. Buy 4,000 Dell laptops for each economically enrolled student for meals in the spring of 2020, and buy hotspots for students with restricted or no internet access at home. According to the universitys website, as of 2019, the university had nearly 4,000 students. In a letter to Clarks students who announced their move on Thursday, the French praised them for overcoming the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 1918 our country and the world experienced the effects of such illness, weakness, and death, he writes. I personally appreciate your resilience, patience, and find a way or make one attitude. Clark Atlanta University is not the first school to financially support students for a pandemic. In May, Wilberforce University in Wilberforce, Ohio announced that it would cancel the debt of 2020 and 2021 graduate students. The president of the Historically Black College said at the time that the total amount of debt cleared would be over $ 375,000.

Related video above: Wilberforce University cancels student debt

The University of Atlanta has stated that it will liquidate student account balances from the spring of 2020 to the summer of 2021 so that students can continue their education through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Clark Atlanta UniversityLocated just west of downtown the city, said in a news release on Friday that it received a significant amount of support from the federal government under the CARES Law Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund.

We understand that the Covid-19 pandemic has been a mental and financial challenge for students and their families over the last two years, so to support efforts to complete CAU education. We will continue to do as much as we can, said President George T. French Jr. in the release.

Their academic and professional future is important to me and the entire Clark Atlanta University family. We value our students and continue our journey to pursue and achieve our educational and professional goals. We want to reduce the financial burden on individuals and families so that we can do it.

Clark Atlanta University, apart from tuition reductions, provides emergency financial assistance with federal support, prorated housing and meal refunds in the spring of 2020, and 4,000 per economically enrolled student. He said it is now possible to buy a Dell laptop and the hotspots it offers. Students with restricted or no internet access at home. As of 2019, the university had nearly 4,000 students. According to the website..

In a letter to Clarks students announcing their move on ThursdayThe French praised them for overcoming the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the 1918 influenza pandemic, our country and the world have experienced such effects of illness, weakness, and death, he writes. I personally appreciate your resilience, patience, andfind or pave the wayattitude.

Clark Atlanta University is not the first school to financially support students for a pandemic.

In May, Wilberforce University in Wilberforce, Ohio announced that it would cancel the debt of 2020 and 2021 graduate students. The president of the Historically Black College said at the time that the total amount of debt cleared would be over $ 375,000.

Heres how one university is clearing account balances to help students during the pandemic Source link Heres how one university is clearing account balances to help students during the pandemic

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Here's how one university is clearing account balances to help students during the pandemic - California News Times

While I have been hiking in Maine, I have spent a lot of time reflecting on the last couple of months. This hike has gone by fast and slow at the same time with lots of ups and downs.

I left off my day by day blog entries just as I entered New Jersey so I decided to pick up there with an overview of New England. I know New Jersey and New York arent considered New England but in my head they are so Im including them in the overview.

I left Delaware water gap on a rainy and cold morning. It was such a bummer to get soaking wet right after a zero but thats how the trail works. I hiked ahead of my tramily to get to a road to meet my dad the following day. I was so excited to see my dad since it was the first time on trail seeing him.

My dad and I hiked 13 miles in the cold rain. It was the first time I wore gloves in over a month and I was not happy about it. Having him to hike with made the day so much better and I definitely wouldnt have made it 13 miles without him.

Although my mental game was strong after leaving Pennsylvania behind me I was longing to reunite with my tramily as soon as possible. I felt so accomplished to have left rocksylvania still in one piece and could see my home state of Massachusetts in sight which kept my spirits up.

After three cold and rainy days in a row, I arrived in Unionville where I resupplied and finally reunited with Lady Bird, Shaun, Lindsey, and Shades. I picked up new Oboz boots from the post office (I had my first pair since Neels Gap at mile 30!!) and we hiked five miles out of town to a shelter before deciding to stop for the day.

The next day we woke up bright an early with big miles and ice cream on our minds. Our goal for the day was 24 miles with a farm stand eight miles in and an ice cream shop 22 miles in. The farm was everything I had dreamed of. I ate a whole danish which was the size of my face. I then hiked up the stairway to heaven which was hard but manageable. The terrain started to get more rocky and before I knew it I had completed another state!

Around 4pm we entered into New York. It was so fun having the tramily all together to celebrate. With five more miles to ice cream, we tried to pick up the pace.

The terrain was extremely rocky and everyone was low on energy. Shaun and I got ahead of the group and we had a great conversation about what we wanted out of our futures. The last few miles went by fast since I was so involved in the conversation. The ice cream shop was delicious but I was so exhausted it was hard to enjoy the treat.

We did the last two miles to camp just as it was getting dark out. I set up my tent in the dark with moths flying at me from every direction. I had trouble falling asleep because my feet were throbbing so much, but finally after taking Advil I drifted off to sleep.

In the morning as we were packing up our tents, Shades announced that he was getting off trail. We all got quiet and stared around, unsure how to react. I had known that his ankle had been bothering him, but it had never occurred to me that he would quit. We said a tearful goodbye, and me, Lindsey, Lady Bird, and Shaun continued on without him.

I spent the next four days hating New York. The constant ups and downs combined with annoying rocks and roots made me really tired and grumpy. The climbs were steep, and the days hot. The only upside of New York were all the delis. I was able to stop and get a cold drink and a sandwich almost everyday.

On the final morning of New York, Feather offered to slack pack me. It was my first time slack packing and it felt amazing! Not having a weight on my back was amazing and I was able to keep up with Shaun going uphill.

As I crossed from New York into Connecticut, I gave a sigh of relief. The sign said gateway to New England. I was now one state away from home territory!

A huge thunderstorm rolled in on the first afternoon of Connecticut. Shaun and I ran to a shelter. We were able to smell the ozone from the lightening and the sound of the thunder was deafening. We passed by another hiker who was sitting on the side of the trail under his umbrella. As we hiked by he said Im trying to decide if god prefers a stationary or moving target today. It made me laugh but I was ready to get away from the lightening. Once safely in a shelter, we waited for Lindsey and Lady Bird.

Once we regrouped, we decided to split a motel room in Kent. All I wanted was a washing machine and a warm shower. My wishes were granted when we got a ride from the cousins grandmas sisters daughter to the motel!

The next couple three days through Connecticut were hot and mentally challenging. I spent a lot of time crying and annoyed at myself for not hiking fast enough. I was so happy to be with my tramily because their encouragement and positive attitude made each day so much more bearable.

One of my favorite memories from Connecticut was all the caterpillars. While sitting in a shelter, I thought it was raining but it turned out just to be caterpillars pooping. Later that day, I had to pick off 14 caterpillars before sitting down on the privy. While hiking with Shaun, he dared me to eat caterpillar poop. Of course I did it.

When I finally reached the Massachusetts border, I was ecstatic. The next 90 miles were all going to be familiar!

I spent Massachusetts seeing friends and family, and hiking alone. It was just the mental boost I needed after Connecticut and New York.

My friend Arielle picked me up on my first day in Massachusetts and we spent the evening catching up and eating ice cream.

The next day my twin brother Seth and other friend Simeon surprised me and I got to spend the whole day hanging out with them. They hiked with me back to the campsite that evening. It was such a fulfilling day full of laughter and fun.

I then spent two days hiking alone. It was fun being able to get up with the sun and then find somewhere to stealth camp when I got tired. I found some beautiful campsites just by looking around whenever I got to a water source.

My mom picked me up in Lee and I spent the day zeroing with her. It was so fun hanging out and eating lots of food. I also enjoyed getting dinner with her and my tramily.

My mom hiked with me for a mile before leaving me to continue on solo. I was sad when she left but knowing I was going to see her in New Hampshire made it easier. The rest of Massachusetts went by fast.

Before I knew it, I was on top of Mount Greylock, the highest point in Massachusetts.

I hiked into North Adams and went to Mass MOCA with Lady Bird, Shaun, and another hiker I had never met before named Booca. It was fun using my brain in a different way and bonding with my tramily over the art. It was the perfect way to end my home state.

With only three states left, the trail was flying by! I was excited that I had the beautiful hiking still ahead of me. Although New England was hard mentally, it was full of beautiful rolling hills of pine forests, amazing friends, and great memories. The crying made me stronger, and as I crossed into Vermont I felt prepared to take on the hardest hiking yet.

My body and mind are changed, and I am ready for my soul to go through the same transitions on the last leg of my journey.

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An Overview of New England on the Appalachian Trail - The Trek

To fight the climate change fight, you need to feel positive, confident and optimistic (Photo: iStockphoto)

Sometimes, it all gets a bit much. Parts of the Amazon are now giving out more CO2 than they are absorbing; parts of Germany and Belgium have been devastated by catastrophic flooding; wildfires rage across the western United States. Thats just the planet.

Then theres the global health crisis, Covid, which also seems to be spiralling with no end in sight if all countries cannot simultaneously get on the front foot with vaccines that work against all variants. This seems like a battle that can never be won.

Ive coined something called the doom sigh. Its the sound I make when reading any article or listening to any report that has an apocalyptic undertone, which is currently, many. Sometimes I doom sigh so much theres hardly any breath left thats an entry point into anxiety and in that state, nihilism wins and I feel unable to cook my own dinner, let alone act as a soldier in the global fight against climate change and pandemics.

Im sadly old enough to know this pattern of media-induced despair and where it leads. For me, this is the path to defeatism a big internal enemy. The its all too much attitude soon enough takes you to a place of I may as well be selfish and just enjoy myself then, because we are screwed anyway. This is not helpful.

Another internal enemy is wilful ignorance. Not reading the news might save you stress and I have huge sympathy for those suffering mental ill health as a result of too much bad news consumption. But not being informed isnt an option if you want to be part of the solution. Controlled consumption of news may be a sensible strategy. For example, during the worst of the first wave of the pandemic, I would only get my information from Channel 4 News one hour a day. For the rest of the day, I focused on my immediate loved ones and work.

Despondency is not going to stop climate change.If you are experiencing it, like in John Bunyons Slough of Despond the thick bog of the careworn and guilt laden inPilgrims Progress, you have to get through it to survive.

To fight the climate change fight, you need to feel positive, confident and optimistic. We have to believe we can create positive change, even in fact especially, when things seem dire. Thats becoming increasingly hard when the bad news is raining down. But like that psychological trick you can play on yourself to make you feel happy forcing a smile if one doesnt naturally occur every day to boost your joy hormones, an artificial boost of can-do spirit is necessary sometimes, especially in the face of such odds.

I often wonder if, in advocating for the power of our personal finances and investment to change the world, I am backing the right horse. Should I instead be working on systems change, regulation or policy? Changing things from the inside rather than placing yet another burden on the shoulders of normal people who must do something, like switch pensions, to feel like they have done their bit? As Ed Gillespie, author of Only Planet, said in a recent podcast, consumer-led change can only take us so far.

But then maybe there are no magic bullets here even regulation and policy have their limits. Planet-saving strategies are all just pieces of a puzzle, with everyone trying to find the right place for their piece. As with the fight against Covid, we all have a part to play in stopping the spread.

The limitations of the investment world are also becoming apparent, with claims last week that the burden of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) box-ticking is becoming too much for publicly-listed companies, costing them time and resources. To private equity investors without the same reporting requirements and fierce external scrutiny from stakeholders, ESG is fat to be trimmed and profit to be made. This, it has been suggested, is a looming threat to the ESG endeavour.

Another is the apparent impotence of investors to preserve and rescue so-called natural capital: nature to you and me, but if you are an investor, its nature that might have some economic value in addition to its hopefully fairly obvious value in and of itself.

Peter Michaelis, fund manager for the Liontrust Sustainable funds, said recently that while the UN Sustainable Development Goals are a useful framework for sustainable investors, the goals for life in water and life on land are difficult to support with profitable investments there are simply not enough companies both making money and meeting these goals for us to support these SDGs meaningfully with our bank accounts, ISAs and pensions. My hope is that a convincing and genuine way to invest in nature will emerge one that doesnt devalue it. But it might be that nature remains something uninvestable and we will have to rely on alternative ways to preserve it that do not depend on capital markets.

Over the last six weeks, Ive had a broken wrist and a Covid infection. Despondency levels were high I was drowning in Bunyons bog. Doom sighing at the news, doom sighing at my own inability to function.

Im feeling better now. The planet can too. Healing, regeneration, renewal. Even now, after so much damage has been done. But we have to believe it is possible and feel that sense of optimism about solutions if we are going to create the ways to make it happen.

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My hope for a convincing and genuine way to invest in nature one that doesnt devalue it - iNews

If constant stress has you feeling helpless, disillusioned, and completely exhausted, then you may very well be experiencing burnout. Whilst many may still take a flippant attitude towards the concept of burnout, it can actually be a serious medical issue. Burnout is essentially a state of physical, emotional and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. Burnout tends to surface when you are feeling overwhelmed and unable to meet constant demands.

This state of mental and physical exhaustion can zap the joy out of your career, friendships, and family interactions.Burnout reduces a persons productivity and saps their energy, leaving them feeling increasingly helpless, hopeless, cynical, and resentful. Eventually, you may feel like you have nothing more to give and, left unaddressed, burnout can make it difficult for you to meet the demands of daily life.

Burnout can also cause long-term changes to your body that make you vulnerable to illnesses like colds and flu. Because of its many consequences, its important to not only deal with burnout right away, but take preventative measures. Although it is becoming a much more common occurrence, burnout isnt always easy to spot, particularly in the case of medical professionals.

Medical professionals are undoubtedly pillars of our community. Working longer hours than most and constantly stretched thin, our doctors and nurses are always putting the health of their patients first. But what about their own?

Many medical practitioners are routine sufferers of burnout, reporting experiencing feelings of exhaustion, isolation and inadequacy. Author of The Heart-Centredness of Medicine, Dr. Olivia Ong states that over 40% of doctors and almost 50% of female physicians feel burnt out. A dual-trained Specialist Pain and Rehabilitation Medicine Physician, Keynote Speaker and Medical Leadership Coach, Dr. Olivia is making it her mission to aid every frontline healthcare workers be recognised and valued for their true self-worth.

Knowing first-hand the struggles that doctors endure as an occupational hazard, Dr. Olivia draws upon her own experiences to help fellow medical doctors everywhere lead more balanced and inspired lives without burnout. A new young doctor having to learn to walk again after being hit by a car moving at high speed, Dr. Olivia states, My spinal cord injury taught me a very important lesson: self-compassion. Routinely being told it would never happen, Dr. Olivia remained focused upon her goal, finally able to walk again after 4 brutal years of rehabilitation.

When I returned home to Melbourne, Australia in 2012, I continued my studies and I managed to advance my career as a dual-trained rehabilitation medicine and specialist pain medicine physician., Dr Olivia states. I stepped up as a clinical leader at work using my compassionate leadership skills. I became a mum to two beautiful children whom I adore, and I had a very supportive husband, close family and friends.

But the combination of living with a spinal cord injury, motherhood, full-time work, and studying for fellowship exams had exhausted her. Ignoring the warning signs, and viewing burnout as a sign of vulnerability and weakness, Dr. Olivia just kept pushing through until all at once, it became too much. Experiencing the devastating effects of burnout for the first time, Dr. Olivia realised that the only way forward was to implement a well-balanced lifestyle.

On a path to re-discover the passion in her work, restore her mental and emotional wellbeing, and reconnect with family, inner self, and identity beyond the physician, Dr. Oliva discovered the true power of self-compassion and creative development

tools. They helped me thrive at home and at work, and helped me learn how to take ownership of my thoughts to gain a whole new perspective, Dr. Olivia says.

Determined to create change within the medical industry, Dr. Olivia is now focusing her efforts on helping medical entrepreneurs and leaders live heart-centered lives and live their life and business by design, not by roster. Through her program Life Transformation for Doctors, Dr. Olivia offers 1:1 and group coaching, workshops and speaking engagements on burnout, compassion, fatigue and various traumas in doctors so they can stay in the game longer as a compassionate leader and leave a positive legacy for the upcoming generation of young doctors.

As a medical leadership coach, Dr. Olivis also helps medical entrepreneurs and leaders become more confident in public speaking and have more certainty and clarity in their core message so that they can amplify their voice, establish their authority and thought leadership and impact their circle of influence. Her aforementioned book, complements this, helping doctors to find their way

back home to their heart and re-discover their passion in all aspects of life. .

If you are, or know, a medical professional tired of feeling overworked, overwhelmed and out of balance, Dr. Olivia Ong is the person to help you navigate the symptoms of burnout and guide you toward a more fulfilling, heart centred life.

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Dr. Olivia Ong - The Heart-Centred Doctor Tackling Burnout In the Medical Industry Head On - LatestLY

Everyday meetings have become a little more Le Carr due to the pandemic.

Previously journalists like me would enjoy lunches, beers, coffees with contacts to catch up, share stories and gossip and generally have a good time and pretend it was work.

Now, with necessity for outdoor living and an obsession with ventilation, an appointment I had last week was typical. We met in a park, social distanced, sipped our coffees from either end of a bench. It felt a bit more Spy Who Came In From the Cold than State of Play.

But it also demonstrated a too oft overlooked element of the pandemic experience the politics of parks.

Although weve all be isolated and siloed this past year many, if not most, of the population have actually been sharing the same space: the local park. Green spaces previously taken for granted have suddenly become a lifeline a boon for mental and physical health.

And as we emerge from restrictions its important that we continue to value our public spaces that belong to everyone.

The changing attitudes towards our parks speaks to bigger alterations in public attitudes.

The Victorians got it. Waterlow Park in north London that I visited last week was gifted to Londoners by the then lord mayor. He dubbed it a garden for the gardenless. Lord Mayor Waterlow could not have foreseen just how vital his gift would prove 130 years later when a virus hit that toppled everything bar outdoor life.

Not all London mayors are so wise.

Boris Johnsons grandiose infrastructure is well known. His failure to bring most of it to fruition too often overlooked

Near my home in south London is another park that illustrates that Victorian can-do attitude and foresight.

When the judges gathered to choose a design for the pavilion that would house the 1851 Great Exhibition they decided they were all a bit rubbish.

During the deliberations one of the panel, garden design guru Joseph Paxton, was bored enough to sketch a massive glasshouse. Everyone decided this was a winner and so the Crystal Palace was born. Its a tale that begs the question how much better the Millennium Dome wouldve been if wed given Charlie Dimmock a shot at designing it.

Comparison with the doomed Dome is worth sticking with. The Dome was mocked, exhibited tat (to be fair, in part because nicking global treasures was out of favour by the 1990s not everything the Victorians did was entirely worthy) and now stands stuffed with capitalism.

The Crystal Palace, on the other hand, was lauded as a modern wonder of the world and after the Great Exhibition it was dismantled and moved from its Hyde Park home to a park in south London for the benefit of ordinary folk.

The park is still in use, and loved for its unique cement dinosaurs, but the Crystal Palace itself tragically burned down in the 1930s. Ever since then a variety of chancers, dreamers and do-gooders have hoped to rebuild it. The most recent episode involved a Chinese developer who promised the palace would rise again. But crucial to the plans was a conference centre and assorted money-making enterprises.

Opponents pointed out that to succeed the proposal relied on the Mayor of London giving away land that belongs to everyone so a Chinese enterprise can spin a profit.

The Mayor of London who expressed no qualms about such a scenario? Boris Johnson. Its a telling episode in the Prime Ministers backstory.

His love of grandiose infrastructure is well known. His failure to bring most of it to fruition too often overlooked.

As well as the the Crystal Palace plan, which collapsed when the local council refused to hand over the land, there was the London garden bridge which was canned only after upwards of 40 million had been spent on getting it off the ground, and the bizarre idea of a floating airport in the Thames.

History suggests that when Johnson talks of a bridge between Scotland and Northern Ireland or even just a decent train line across the north of England, he wont be able to make it happen.

Many of us took parks for granted before the pandemic. If we are to keep them, then its up to us to value them

And as we move forward looking to retain what gains there have been in the last year such as valuing our public spaces and more generally putting wellbeing, shared experience and public assets at the core of government philosophy its instructive that the man running the show did not quail at privatising public space for the sake of a half-cocked vanity project when given the chance.

Many of us took parks for granted before the pandemic. If we are to keep them, then its up to us to value them. Not, as government and developers might see them, as opportunities to generate cash, but for the vital good they provided during the pandemic and can continue to do into the future.

James Millar is a political commentator and author and a former Westminster correspondent for The Sunday Post

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James Millar: If we take our public spaces for granted again well live to regret it - Press and Journal

Finding success in an industry as competitive and cut-throat as professional sports is never easy. Its a profession that requires a lot from people, and even many of those that have the raw ability necessary dont manage to make it in the professional world because they dont have the other skills and attributes that are needed in order to make it at the highest level. Were going to talk today about some of the things it takes to succeed in a sports career.

The Right Attitude

In order to have a successful career in sports, you really need to have a good attitude. That attitude, of course, has to be a winning attitude and a drive that helps you to carry on and push through. Being able to get through the bad times and move towards the good ones is something that almost always comes down to having the right mental attitude, and elite athletes have it.

The Ability to Self-Motivate

The ability to motivate yourself and to persist is huge in the world of professional sports. Its not enough to rely on other people for motivation. In order to have the desire to win and progress, you need to train hard and motivate yourself to do so day after day. That in itself is a lot harder than it might sound, and its a challenge that shouldnt be overlooked.

Teamwork

Teamwork is another skill that often cant be taught. You need to be the kind of person thats capable on some level of working well with others; thats the case for most sports anyway. Even in solo sports, working with coaches is something youll need to be able to do. Only the very best of the best can get by on their individual talent, and even then a certain level of teamwork is required.

Taking it One Step at a Time

Anyone looking to make progress in sport and make it to the highest reaches of their chosen game needs to understand that it comes one step at a time. Youre not going to go from the bottom to the top in no time. It takes time and learning. Maybe you one day want to have Andres Iniestas salary, but becoming the best in the world only happens after hundreds of small steps, so focus on those.

The Ability to Deal with Pressure and Rejection

Theres a lot of negatives that a person has to live through before they can reach their end goal. Even the best athletes have often dealt with rejection along the way. And theres always a lot of pressure to perform on the shoulders of individual athletes, especially as theyre in the public eye.

Theres clearly a lot that goes into making it at the highest level of the sporting ladder. So next time you watch professional athletes battling it out at the highest level, keep in mind what theyve had to go through and experience in order to get where they are. Its not an easy position to reach.

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What it Takes to Succeed in a Sports Career MyrtleBeachSC News - myrtlebeachsc.com

GREEN LAKE The last time Grace Suter played a tournament round on the Links Course at The Golf Courses of Lawsonia, she shot an 87.

That was two years ago. Suffice it to say shes a different golfer today.

Suter, 18, fired a 3-under 69 and was the only player in the field to break par Tuesday in the first round of the Sentry Wisconsin State Womens Open. She finished off the round with birdies on Nos. 15, 17 and 18 and takes a three-shot lead over Mia Seeman of Milton into the final round Wednesday.

Four golfers shot 1-over 73s and were tied for third: Ashley Kulka of Beaver Dam, Isabelle Maleki of Mequon, Gabby Tremblay of Hayward and Jessica Guiser of Hartland.

Suter graduated from Oconomowoc High School in January 2020, months ahead of her graduating class, and headed to Florida to refine her game at the Mike Bender Golf Academy.

I learned a lot, actually, she said. I really improved down there, just being able to play through the winter, being able to have great coaches. They taught me a lot about my game, about my personality and how I could flourish with what I have to work with. They really helped me with my game and a lot with my short game.

Between her ongoing work with Bender, local swing coach David Roesch and Florida-based sports psychologist Bill Nelson, she has made remarkable strides.

Really, to be honest, all of it, she said when asked which parts of her game were most improved. I had the ability to hit the ball well, but I couldnt really do it on the golf course during tournaments. Id get too nervous. So, Im working on that still today. But I think being able to execute what Im trying to do on the golf course is the biggest thing thats helped me.

Suter, who will start her freshman year at Loyola University Chicago this fall, made the turn in 35, with birdies on Nos. 2 and 7 and a bogey on No. 6. She bogeyed the difficult par-3 10th hole to fall back to even-par but finished with the three-birdie flourish.

She was so deep into the zone that she had a hard time recalling the shots she hit on those last few holes, or the length of her putts.

Honestly, I dont even know, she said. I was just kind of in this zone. Ive been working a lot on having a really good mental attitude with my coach and it really paid off. Just staying in the moment and hitting every shot like its the only shot youll hit on the golf course.

On 17, I made a 30-footer, which was the longest (birdie putt). The others were all 15 feet or shorter.

Seeman, who will be a senior at South Dakota State but has two years of eligibility left, bogeyed the first hole but made birdies on Nos. 3 and 6 to turn in 35. She bogeyed all three par-3s on the back nine but birdied two of the three par-5s, including No. 18, to get in at even-par.

I hit a few pulls with my iron shots, she said, explaining how she missed the green on the par-3 10th, 12th and 14th holes. I was in some tough spots in bunkers and then I got some tough lies in the rough. All my misses with my irons were left.

Kulka was tied for the lead at 2-under through 11 holes, but bogeyed No. 13 and then finished with a pair of three-putt bogeys on Nos. 17 and 18.

Its not exactly how I wanted to finish, she said.

Kulka completed her fourth year at UW-Green Bay this spring, but because of COVID has two years of eligibility remaining she redshirted after having ankle surgery her sophomore year and plans to use both of them. Her game plan for the final round is to try to repeat what she did Tuesday and make a few more putts.

I think I just want to play the same golf that I played today, she said. Ill have opportunities, Im sure, to make a birdie here and there. Hopefully, I can get those. I just really want to play the same solid golf.

Just before the start of the tournament, the Wisconsin PGA Section announced a three-year agreement with Sentry Insurance to be the title sponsor of the State Womens Open.

Thats awesome, said Carolyn Barnett-Howe of Appleton, one of six professionals in the 67-player field. I think thats really nice of Sentry to do that. Its awesome for golf.

The low professional, no matter where she finishes, will earn $2,000, with the second-low pro earning $1,000.

Barnett-Howe, a four-time State Womens Open champion (1998, 2005, 2006, 2007), is the only former champion in the field this year. She opened with a 79.

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Grace Suter is only golfer to break par and leads by three shots after opening-round 3-under 69 at Wisconsin State Women's Open - Wisconsin.Golf