Ruth Howes

Ruth Riby Howes lived in North Yorkshire till September 2019 when she left her professional 'self' as an NHS specialist therapist/manager in the NHS to move to Central France. She now lives in what is sometimes called 'France profonde' in a village called Chassignolles in the Indre in Centre, Val de Loire. The locals still call it South Berry which was it's Medieval name. In some ways it isn't that different to Yorkshire where we remember the Ridings.

Ruth lives with her husband Nigel and a medium-sized cross breed dog (part Jack Russell and who knows what else!) called Pliny. Originally from the seaside town of Scarborough (you can hear the sea from her parents house). A homeless cat called at the house one day and has stayed and Sybil is now part of the family.

Ruth has drawn on family background and the "stories passed down through the generations" in compiling the 'surviving and thriving at Christmas' books. Ruth's daughter now lives in South London, researching and lecturing in Medieval Literature. This means the stories are extending and developing depth of content every year. Ruth's Grandma and Nanna were born storytellers and kept the memories (family sagas) of past generations alive by talking about family and experiences.

In recent years Ruth has strengthened her interest in mindfulenss, positive therapy & effective communication skills. The work of Penn State University in Positive Psychology is inspirational in focusing on what maintains health and wellbeing and makes people feel "as happy as they can be".

The books all focus on mindful-wellbeing and have a theme. The content combines strands of mindfulness, positive therapy, experience from clinical /leadership ... and life experience. As Ruth is a Speech & Language Therapist 'by trade' there is always an emphasis on practical ideas and strategies.

On Ruth's Author Bookshelf you will find:

Making Christmas Mindful

Exploring Venice Mindfully

Coping in the Corona-Crisis- Sharing Mindfulness, Positive Therapy & Common Sense Strategies

The Books:

Coping with the Corona-Crisis was written in a 10 day period. It was written as a way of coping with the news and the hope that some of the coping strategies might be worth sharing. It is hoped this book has a very short shelf life and the pandemic situation will soon ease.

Christmas is a special time of year and Ruth's parents always made it an exciting and magical time for Ruth and her brother. That memory of coming down the stairs and seeing the 'front room' door open and a glimpse of a green bike was in Ruth's mind as she wrote Part 3 and 4.

Life can become routine and busy and we can miss so much, without noticing,as time ticks on so quickly. Making Christmas Mindful is a guide to pausing, noticing, reflecting on life and relationships and by utlising some of the varied mindful and positive therapy strategies making a Happy Christmas more likely.

Exploring Venice Mindfully

Use this Guidebook to discover a different way of 'seeing the sites' of Venice. You will strengthen yout holiday experience and memories.

Venice is a place Ruth has been able to visit many times. The last 12 months have been so difficult for Venetians it is difficult to find words to describe. The floods continued through November till after Christmas. Now the Corona-Crisis means the city is in seclusion and many will be worried about their livelihood.