Wendy Holden (born 1961), also known as Taylor Holden, is an author, journalist and former war correspondent who has written more than thirty books. She was born in Pinner, North London and now lives in Suffolk, England.
Her bestselling title is ''Born Survivors: Three Young Mothers and their extraordinary story of courage, defiance and survival,'' a Goodreads finalist, published in over 20 countries. She is the
ghostwriter
A ghostwriter is hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are officially credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often h ...
of
Captain Tom Moore
Captain Sir Thomas Moore (30 April 1920 – 2 February 2021), more popularly known as Captain Tom, was a British Army officer and fundraiser who made international headlines in 2020 when he raised money for charity in the run-up to his 100th bir ...
's autobiography, ''Tomorrow Will Be A Good Day'', published by
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year. An
audiobook
An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements.
Spoken audio has been available in sc ...
edition is read by Sir
Derek Jacobi
Sir Derek George Jacobi (; born 22 October 1938) is an English actor. He has appeared in various stage productions of William Shakespeare such as ''Hamlet'', ''Much Ado About Nothing'', ''Macbeth'', ''Twelfth Night'', ''The Tempest'', ''King ...
.
Publications
Novels
*''The Sense of Paper: A Novel of Obsessions,'' about a former war correspondent running from the ghosts of her past, was published by
Random House
Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
, New York in 2006 and as an e-book in 2013;
*''Mr Scraps,'' 2013, a novella published as an ebook.
*''The Cruelty of Beauty'', about a female glassmaker in pre-revolution Czechoslovakia - published by Mlada Fronta in 2019 and as an ebook in English the same year.
*The novelisation of the film ''
The Full Monty
''The Full Monty'' is a 1997 British comedy film directed by Peter Cattaneo, starring Robert Carlyle, Mark Addy, William Snape, Steve Huison, Tom Wilkinson, Paul Barber and Hugo Speer. The screenplay was written by Simon Beaufoy. The film is s ...
'', which became an international bestseller in nine languages.
Non-fiction titles
*Her first book,'' Unlawful Carnal Knowledge'', about the controversial Irish abortion case, was banned across
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
;
*''10 Mindful Minutes: Giving Our Children and Ourselves the Social and Emotional Skills to Reduce Stress and Anxiety for Healthier, Happier Lives'' with Goldie Hawn, 2011, an international bestseller;
*''Born Survivors: Three Young Mothers and Their Extraordinary Story of Courage, Defiance and Hope'', published in 2015.
*''Uggie, The Artist: My Story'', 2012, a canine memoir published in five countries.
*''Shell Shock: The Psychological Trauma of War,'' which accompanied a four-part television documentary for Channel 4.
*''Shrink: The Diet for the Mind by Philippe Tahon
Biographies
*''Tomorrow Will Be A Good Day,'' 2020, memoir of
Captain Sir Tom Moore
Captain Sir Thomas Moore (30 April 1920 – 2 February 2021), more popularly known as Captain Tom, was a British Army officer and fundraiser who made international headlines in 2020 when he raised money for charity in the run-up to his 100th bi ...
, a number one Sunday Times bestseller
*''Captain Tom's Life Lessons'', 2021, by
Captain Sir Tom Moore
Captain Sir Thomas Moore (30 April 1920 – 2 February 2021), more popularly known as Captain Tom, was a British Army officer and fundraiser who made international headlines in 2020 when he raised money for charity in the run-up to his 100th bi ...
.
*''A Woman of Firsts: The true story of a midwife who built a hospital and changed the world,'' 2019, by Edna And Ismail, a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week.
*''In the Name of Gucci,'' 2016, by
Patricia Gucci
Patricia Gucci (born 1 March 1963) is an Italian businesswoman and member of the Gucci family. She is the only daughter of Aldo Gucci and granddaughter of Guccio Gucci who founded the company in 1921.
Biography
She is the daughter of Aldo Gucc ...
published in eight languages.
*''Lady Blue Eyes,'' 2011, a memoir of
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...
's widow Barbara, a New York Times bestseller;
*''
A Lotus Grows in the Mud
''A Lotus Grows in the Mud'' is a memoir written by Goldie Hawn in 2005, with author Wendy Holden.
The memoir was written about past episodes and encounters with family, friends, co-workers and complete strangers Hawn has met and known throughou ...
'', 2005, the autobiography of
Goldie Hawn
Goldie Jeanne Hawn (born November 21, 1945) is an American actress, dancer, producer, and singer. She rose to fame on the NBC sketch comedy program ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (1968–1970), before going on to receive the Academy Award and Go ...
, a New York Times bestseller;
*''Memories Are Made of This'', 2004, a biography of
Dean Martin
Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...
Marthe Cohn
Marthe Hoffnung Cohn (born 13 April 1920) is a French author, nurse, former spy and Holocaust survivor. She wrote about her experiences as a spy during the Holocaust in the book '' Behind Enemy Lines''.
Early life
On 13 April 1920, Marthe Cohn ...
;
*''Tomorrow to Be Brave'', 2001, an autobiography of
Susan Travers
Susan Mary Gillian Travers (23 September 1909 – 18 December 2003) was a British nurse and ambulance driver who served in the French Red Cross during the Second World War. She later became the only woman to be enlisted in the French Foreign Le ...
, the only woman in the
French Foreign Legion
The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, Armoured Cavalry Arm, cavalry, Military engineering, engineers, Airborne forces, airborne troops. It was created ...
during WWII;
*''Till the Sun Grows Cold,'' a mother's account of her daughter's life and death in war-torn
Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
Don Felder
Donald William Felder (born September 21, 1947) is an American musician who was the lead guitarist of the rock band Eagles from 1974 until his termination from the band in 2001. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 with th ...
, former lead guitarist of the
Eagles
Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...
;
*''Kill Switch,'' an account of a former British soldier wrongly jailed in
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
;
*''Central 822,'' her autobiography of Carol Bristow, one of Scotland Yard’s first ever female detectives, was serialised globally on BBC Radio.
*''Footprints in the Snow,'' the story of a paraplegic, was made into a television film starring
Caroline Quentin
Caroline Quentin (born Caroline Jones; 11 July 1960) is an English actress, broadcaster and television presenter. Quentin became known for her television appearances: portraying Dorothy in ''Men Behaving Badly'' (1992–1998), Maddie Magellan in ...
and
Kevin Whately
Kevin Whately (born 6 February 1951) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Neville "Nev" Hope in the British comedy drama ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'', Robert "Robbie" Lewis in the crime dramas ''Inspector Morse'' 1987–2000 and ...
;
*''Haatchi & Little B'', the tale of a boy with
Schwartz–Jampel syndrome
Schwartz–Jampel syndrome (SJS) is a rare genetic disease caused by a mutation in the perlecan gene (''HSPG2'') which causes osteochondrodysplasia associated with myotonia. Most people with Schwartz–Jampel syndrome have a nearly normal life e ...
and his three-legged dog published in twelve countries in 2014;
* ''One Hundred Miracles: A Memoir of Music and Survival'', an autobiography of
Zuzana Růžičková
Zuzana Růžičková () (14 January 1927 – 27 September 2017) was a Czech harpsichordist. An interpreter of classical and baroque music, Růžičková was the first harpsichordist to record Johann Sebastian Bach's complete works for keyboard, ...
, Holocaust survivor and world-famous harpsichordist, 2019, published in nine languages.