Former columnist for Executive – Highland's leading business magazine – publishes book to help people stuck in lockdown due to coronavirus restrictions
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A former columnist for Executive magazine has used time in lockdown to write and publish her first book.
Laura Bruce – who previously contributed opinion pieces for the monthly business magazine published by Highland News and Media – has penned Lockdown Living: 101 Ways to Stay Positive during the Pandemic.
The light-hearted guide is aimed at helping people stuck at home who may have run out of ideas.
The 128-page book features 101 tips, tasks and tactics to keep readers “physically active and mentally agile”.
The book has already garnered praise from readers in the US, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand.
From encouraging readers to pick up a musical instrument in their sitting room to tidying the junk drawer, and from developing material for a stand-up comedy debut, to having “lock-tails” with friends via Zoom, the book promises to have something for everyone.
Ms Bruce is a Canadian who lived in Inverness for seven years prior to emigrating to New Zealand last summer.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if people are feeling like they have done everything they could think of,” she said. “I’m hoping there are a few more things to get them over the hump, and stay engaged and positive until we get back to some semblance of normalcy.”
Prior to lockdown, the writer and public relations consultant, had been performing stand-up comedy almost nightly at open mics in Christchurch.
“Suddenly this pandemic changed everything, and I wondered if there was some way I could help,” said the director of Bruce Public Relations, a past president of Inverness Toastmasters and former vice president of Highland Business Women.
She is donating $1 from the sale of each book to New Zealand women’s refuges.
“Being in lockdown is bad enough if you’re in a happy relationship," she added. "I can’t imagine what some families are going through, stuck inside with a violent or abusive partner.”
The book is available from Amazon and Apple Books.
