OC BOOK CORNER

BY TAMRA NATHAN (2007-2017)

Tamra’s Notes

After Chigwell, I headed to the University of Nottingham on my journey to becoming an Accident & Emergency Doctor.

Human Anatomy demanded an unbelievable amount of attention to detail, and the volume of work asked of us was not reflected in the number of credits and hours the University were allowing for it. I was working hard but not smart, and as a result struggled through the first set of exams. I had an extenuating circumstance for personal reasons but failed the Anatomy exam by 1%. I felt guilty but had two months before the resit to turn it around.

I decided to remake my notes, leaving nothing of importance out, whilst hand illustrating every diagram. I resat the exam and it became my highest exam mark to date. It wasn’t Anatomy I had found unbearable, but the way I had been learning it.

In year two I opted for the Anatomy optional module and retested the theory. I found working on my own prosection extremely enjoyable and equipped with my notes from the resit, scored highly again. Consequently, for my dissertation project in year three I elected to do an Anatomy project. As part of this project, I decided to teach all 250 of the year below for one Anatomy session, giving them an alternative booklet to the one provided by the Medical School formed of excerpts of my new notes. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

Herein lies the inspiration for my debut book ‘‘Tamra’s Notes – an undergraduate’s guide to Human Anatomy’’. The book launched 27/12/2020 and to date I have sold over 225 copies, with the manuscript recently accepted by Amazon for sale across the world. Furthermore, after gaining a social media following of customers the demand for further books became clear. I am currently working on the next in the series ‘’Tamra’s Notes – a pre-clinical guide to undergraduate Medicine’’, and I look forward to completing the trio with a final book in March/ April 2022 just before the end of my Medical School ride and graduation in July 2022.

When I failed that exam, I remember my Mum saying, ‘this will be the best thing to ever happen to you’’. I was so angry at the time, but now, I agree with her.

Tamra published on Amazon

I am currently working on the next in the series, Tamra’s Notes - A Pre-Clinical Guide to Undergraduate Medicine Medicine

BY CHARLIE LADERMAN (1994-2005)

Hitler’s American Gamble

Ariveting account of the five most crucial days in twentiethcentury diplomatic history: from Pearl Harbour to Hitler’s declaration of war on the United States.

By early December 1941, war had changed much of the world beyond recognition. Nazi Germany occupied most of the European continent, while in Asia, the Second Sino-Japanese War had turned China into a battleground. But these conflicts were not yet inextricably linked—and the United States remained at peace.

Hitler’s American Gamble recounts the five days that upended everything: December 7 to 11. Tracing developments in real time and backed by deep archival research, historians Brendan Simms and Charlie Laderman show how Hitler’s intervention was not the inexplicable decision of a man so bloodthirsty that he forgot all strategy, but a calculated risk that can only be understood in a truly global context. This book reveals how December 11, not Pearl Harbour, was the real watershed that created a world war and transformed international history.

BY SHARATH JEEVAN (1992-1994)

Intrinsic

What a challenge these past eighteen months has been for all of us. The incidence of full-on depression has more than doubled in many countries – but for most of us, it’s the “languishing” feeling that’s hurting us the most. It’s the motivational equivalent of treading water. But tread motivational water too long, and there’s the risk of drowning. We all deserve to live meaningful and flourishing lives. I wrote my book Intrinsic as a roadmap to help us find a way out of this motivational mess.

I’m not a psychologist by background (I studied Economics at university post Chigwell). But I became immersed in the topic of motivation through my work founding the charity STIR Education, which re-ignited the inner drive of 200,000 teachers and 7 million children in emerging countries. It was a wonderful experience to share my journey with students and parents at the 2018 Chigwell Speech Day.

In writing Intrinsic I tried to harness ground-breaking insights from a range of disciplines, and with engaging stories from all over the world, I wanted to look at how we can practically re-ignite our inner drive: as workers, managers, leaders, spouses and partners, parents and as citizens. Intrinsic is a profoundly optimistic book. It shows us how to practically use the pillars of Purpose (knowing how what we do helps and serves others), Autonomy (our sense of being in control of our life wheel), and Mastery (the journey of becoming the best versions of ourselves we can be).