Simon Parke

Vinent Van Gogh

An imagined conversation between the author and Vincent van Gogh.

Conversations with Van Gogh

Abbot Peter has recently swapped his failing leadership of a remote monastery in the Sinai desert for retirement in the seaside town of Stormhaven. When the charismatic local vicar is discovered dead, Abbot Peter is invited to act as an investigator.

A Vicar, Crucified

A Private Session with the World's Greatest Psychologist

The Enneagram

Simon Parke has written satire for radio and TV, including Spitting Image, and was awarded a Sony Radio Award for his work on Simon Mayo's 'Big Holy One'. He was a priest in the Church of England for twenty years and then worked in a supermarket for three years. He had to: he needed the money. But a side-result was a full-page column in the Saturday Mail that's been running for months. It's warm, it's funny and it very gently describes the human foibles of the other people he was working with - and by extension, of course, our own. Shelf Life is the broader and deeper version of Simon Parke's column. Once you've read it, I guarantee that every time you go into a supermarket you'll look round, intrigued, wondering if it's the same as he says it is...and what this tells us about us all. He's a very talented man and his book will appeal not only to the thousands who've loved his column but also the thousands who want to make a bit of sense out of life, whether in the supermarket or out of

How I Found the Meaning of Life Stacking Supermarket Shelves

Shelf Life

‘Excellence by the Sea’ is the strap line in Stormhaven Towers school’s publicity, but when, at the end of the summer term, the hard-drinking, hard-smoking new Headmaster, Jamie King, is found dead at the bottom of the town’s famous white cliffs, this excellence comes under savage scrutiny. Suicide is assumed at first - King wouldn’t be the first tormented soul to hit those unforgiving rocks. But unanswered questions remain. Forensics find no phone by the body and the head always had his mobile with him: ‘I wouldn’t want to be out when Eton ring!’ he used to joke. Then there is a second death at the school. With the pursuit of excellence exchanged for the pursuit of a killer who is both clever and efficient, the long dark corridors of Stormhaven Towers become an education in fear. Who will be next? Leading the investigation is the attractive and ambitious Inspector Tamsin Shah, accompanied, rather unexpectedly, by Abbot Peter, recently retired from the deserts of Middle Egypt. Known locally as ‘the odd couple’, they have worked on cases together before - surprising though that the Abbot should wish to become involved again. The ruthless Shah has brought danger to his seaside door, and through events at Stormhaven Towers, will do so again. Reviews of previous Abbot Peter mysteries, A Director’s Cut (2014), A Psychiatrist Screams (2013) and A Vicar Crucified (2013, all DLT): ‘A nicely plotted, swiftly paced yarn, full of teases . . . Parke evokes the creepiness of the setting marvellously. He has a stunning ear for the way people actually speak, with pages of uninterrupted dialogue flashing by with the speed of a radio play.’ Church Times ‘Highly original . . . very different from most detective stories.’ Clerical Detectives ‘An engrossing page-turning thriller, propelling the reader through its multiple twists and turns and keeping one guessing until the final unpredictable - yet satisfying - denouement.’ Irish Independent

A (Very) Public School Murder

What does solitude mean to you? Albert Einstein once said: 'I live in that solitude which is painful in youth, but delicious in the years of maturity.' In his latest book Simon Parke, author of The Beautiful Life and One-Minute Mindfulness describes solitude as the active path to inner silence and takes us on an enthralling journey there. In a world of haste and distraction he commends the way of stillness and withdrawal where we can 'recover the power of alone'. 'It's a journey to our selves and a place we can call our own, ' he says. 'It's here, away from the crowd that we reconnect with our inner knowing - so different to our outer knowing.' A capacity for silence is what distinguishes us as humans, yet many of us fear to go there. But there is nothing to fear in solitude and everything to gain. If you want to be still but wonder how, this book is the perfect friend.

Solitude

The second novel in a series of macabre murders in a bleak English seaside town, each with cast of suspects with secrets of their own to protect. But who can hide from the man who sees our inner truths?As a Special Witness investigator, Abbot Peter, a retired monk in the town of Stormhaven, allies his gift for understanding our psychological and spiritual dimensions to the more prosaic crime-hunting talents of Detective Inspector Tamsin Shah. The Abbot Peter Mysteries are written by Simon Parke, formerly a scriptwriter for Spitting Image, a Sony award-winning radio writer, a supermarket worker, a Church of England priest and a Daily Mail columnist.

A Psychiatrist Screams

Meister Eckhart

In many ways, Meister Eckhart has had to wait seven centuries to be heard. Born in 13th century Germany, much of his life was spent in a monastery. 'Meister' means 'Master', and is an academic title from the University of Paris. An admired member of the Dominican Order, he was often sent to reform ailing priories. He was known as a spiritual counsellor; a safe haven for many who sought God in their life, but found themselves troubled by the state of the institutional church. He was best known, however, as a preacher - who used his native German language to startling effect. Eckhart preached a spiritual vision which distrusted both ritual and church dogma. Instead, he aimed at nothing less than the spiritual and psychological transformation of those given to his care. To this end, Eckhart made the disposition of the human heart the key to all things. 'Conversations with Meister Eckhart' is an imagined conversation with this 13th century mystic, around such themes as detachment, which he famously placed above love; spirituality, God, the soul and suffering. But while the conversation is imagined, Eckhart's words are not; they are authentically his own. One of his controversial claims was that God cannot be described. Indeed, in one sermon, he went so far as to say 'We must take leave of God.' 'The church became very hostile towards him, ' says Simon Parke, 'accusing him of heresy; and he spent his last days on trial before the pope. They also tried to ensure he'd be forgotten when he died, and nearly succeeded. But he's more popular now than ever.' Eckhart's teaching is an adventure, not a system; a call, not a creed. The depth and universality of his work means it can be contained by no established religion, but draws to itself seekers of truth from all backgrounds. 'Here we have a teaching open to all, but possessed by none, ' says Parke. 'And therefore free like a butterfly, in the garden of the soul. Its perhaps my most challenging and rewarding conversation.'

Conversations with Meister Eckhart

The Enneagram is a time-honoured way of understanding personality types and human behavior. It is both ancient and modern. Developed over 1500 years by Sufi and Christian mystics, it was revised and extensively expanded in the 20th century by the disciplines and insights of Western psychology. It identifies nine types of personality, nine ways of being, describes how they interrelate and is widely used today as a perceptive guide to self-understanding. In this original and thought-provoking book 'Enneagram' unveils her insights in the form of letters to and from enquirers. These finely-drawn portraits of the nine faces of humanity will not only give you a deeper understanding of who you are, but will also guide you through the complex inner world of others.

Leo Tolstoy

In 'Conversations with Leo Tolstoy', The conversation is imagined, but not Tolstoy's answers. This is Tolstoy is his own words, drawn from his extensive books, essays and letters; and the military, vegetarianism, marriage, non-violence, death, God and sex are all on the agenda.

Conversations with Leo Tolstoy

The day I was appointed Chair of the shop union was the same day the Pope was elected. There the similarities end, however. For while his elevation took place beneath the fine art of the Sistine Chapel, with the mysterious white smoke rising, mine took place in the cold store, with nothing more mysterious than the bacon delivery and yesterday's waste... A vicar for twenty years, Simon Parke trades in his dog collar for a job on the tills in his local supermarket. Among the vegetable aisles and dairy produce he unpacks the meaning of life with his fellow workers, a colourful bunch. Sonny the security guard hates conflict; shelf-filler Winston knows he is destined for something better; and voluptuous Faith is generous with her wares - but sadly not with Simon. You don't have to be off your trolley to work there, but it helps... From checkout charlies to banana rage, from short-changed lows to cold store highs, Shelf Life is a pick-n-mix of wit and wisdom for anyone who loves life and hopes for more - no matter where they find themselves.

How I Found The Meaning of Life Stacking Supermarket Shelves

Vincent Van Gogh

'Conversations with Van Gogh' is an imagined conversation with this remarkable figure. But while the conversation is imagined, Van Gogh's words are not; they are all authentically his. Speaking with Vincent was a privilege, ' says Simon Parke. 'He's endlessly fascinating, contradictory, moving, funny, insightful and tragic

Sometimes we can lose touch with ourselves so much that we don't even know we have done so, until suddenly we realize with a start that we have just been going through the motions, without really experiencing our lives. The simple fact is that in today's world, we spend so much time looking forward, rushing on to the next thing, or looking backwards, stressing and worrying about our perceived mistakes, that we rarely still ourselves and our minds enough to truly be in the present moment. In One-Minute Mindfulness, Simon Parke uses stories and simple thoughts to help us see through clear eyes how we can return to the present moment and remain there. This subtle change can be startlingly healing, bringing peace into every area of our lives, allowing us to live freely and fully, and to honour what is true for each of us. Both inspiring and practical, this book is for anyone who wants to come home to themselves.

How to Live in the Moment

One-Minute Mindfulness

Arthur Conan Doyle

'Conversations with Conan Doyle' is an imagined conversation with this remarkable figure. But while the conversation is imagined, Doyle's words are not; they are all authentically his.

Conversations with Arthur Conan Doyle

'Conversations with Meister Eckhart' is an imagined conversation with this 13th century mystic, around such themes as detachment, which he famously placed above love; spirituality, God, the soul and suffering. But while the conversation is imagined, Eckhart's words are not; they are authentically his own.

First century Palestine is a region glued together by hate. The Roman invaders rule, the Jewish authorities collude while the enraged and desperate plot violent revolt. Pilate lives with his nightmares, Herod makes guilty hay, the balance of power is delicate - and the last thing anyone needs is Yeshua, a man with a mind and heart of his own. He's going to suggest a shocking alternative for his homeland. And this is his story, told through his eyes; and through those of two different women in his life, Miriam of Magdalene and Mary, his mother - different women with very different dreams. The result is much more than an historical novel. It is an epic account of the nature of love; of Yeshua as a human being, a carpenter compelled to preach - a man whose intellectual, physical and spiritual strength lead him into conflict with family, friends and authority; and finally, with death itself. It is not to be doubted a man called Yeshua lived and died. The more interesting question is whether he died and lived. And how he believed and loved along the way. It is 1st century Palestine and no one needs Yeshua. It is said he arrived there like a sword.

Simon Parke

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