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Donna Mulvenna

Donna Mulvenna

About

Donna is a horticulturist and writer who lives on the fringe of the Amazon forest in French Guiana.

She left behind decades of corporate writing to begin writing about nature, health, passion, love, and living simply and sustainably — in essence, her code for living a good life. In her ramblings she hopes to offer a glimpse of the true wonder of the Amazon, reveal its profound effect on each of us and inspire readers to build a connection with the natural world.

It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to people who are not her kind of wild, but Donna refuses to own a mobile phone, rarely wears shoes, and is passionate about living on a whole food, plant-based diet. If she can’t be found swinging in a hammock with a laptop in hand or somewhere off the coast reading from her sea kayak, you will find her hurtling along the great Amazonian rivers in a sprint canoe.

“Happiness does find us,” she says. “We just have to slow down and lighten our load a little. Only then can we discover the wonder and awe in our world, and in the process gain a true sense of who we are, why we are here, and where we are heading.”

Godwine Kingmaker: Part One of The Last Great Saxon Earls

Godwine Kingmaker: Part One of The Last Great Saxon Earls

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Description

<p><span><span>Harold Godwineson, the Last Anglo-Saxon King, owed everything to his father. Who was this Godwine, first Earl of Wessex and known as the Kingmaker? Was he an unscrupulous schemer, using King and Witan to gain power? Or was he the greatest of all Saxon Earls, protector of the English against the hated Normans? The answer depends on who you ask. He was befriended by the Danes, raised up by Canute the Great, given an Earldom and a wife from the highest Danish ranks. He sired nine children, among them four Earls, a Queen and a future King. Along with his power came a struggle to keep his enemies at bay, and Godwine's best efforts were brought down by the misdeeds of his eldest son Swegn. Although he became father-in-law to a reluctant Edward the Confessor, his fortunes dwindled as the Normans gained prominence at court. Driven into exile, Godwine regathered his forces and came back even stronger, only to discover that his second son Harold was destined to surpass him in renown and glory.</span></span></p>

Story Behind The Book

This is a personal journey from a place she initially viewed as the armpit of the universe, a reflection of her lack of purpose in life, to the humbling and magnificent Amazon forest where she discovered a natural state of joy. It turned out to be a love story that shows just what can happen when you open your eyes to look beyond the surface, and what is possible when you make room in your life, every day, for nature. For those who dare, this is a story about how one journey can unexpectedly alter the course of a life.

Media Links

NatureWriting.com

🔗 http://naturewriting.com/author/donna-mulvenna/

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Green Reads Excerpts

🔗 http://eco-fiction.com/read/wild-roots-coming-alive-in-the-french-amazon/

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Reviews

<p>&quot;I was left stunned how the author lived through the true life adventures and then stunned more with the environment in which she lived. Her home was in the French Amazon which becomes real and has haunted me since reading this book of a fascinating personal journey from where a woman seeking change from the mundane of Western life rat race finds sheer joy in her soul felt freedom and at one with all that surrounds her in an amazing connection with nature, and her willingness to be open to all that has life. Absolutely 5 stars if not just for the courage and tenacity of the author's lived life but a riveting close up and personal understanding of the great French Amazon. Truly amazing.&quot; B Holmes</p> <p>&quot;Well, I loved it! From the first paragraph I was absorbed and my interest didn't wane all the way through. The writing is very descriptive and there is some lovely humor sprinkled throughout the pages. The writer has contagious passion for her new-found home. We learn of her initial struggle to adjust from living in &quot;civilization,&quot; where we take all for granted, to survival in a truly remote part of our planet. It is really the story of how this experience changed an Australian woman from what she was, and always had been, to what she has become and how contented she now feels because of those changes. She's learned to view the world and nature in a way she had never previously understood and to appreciate each new day for the joys it brings.&quot; A Howe</p>