Books

Kenny has lent his charm, insight, and expertise to many books over the years. Covering topics from men's mental health, and pleasure to self-transformation, Kenny has contributed chapters, interviews, and editing to the umbrella of personal development and transformation.

What Would You Do?: A Survivor's Story

Angela Jones (2024)

One night a year after the attack my friend Kate and I were at home alone opening several bottles of wine and were merrily pissed. If I drank alcohol the whole experience was numb, this was fine by me at that point in my life. We were randomly phoning numbers in advents out of the back of a magazine, playing around as you do when you’re that age and drunk. I phoned one number and a man with a well-spoken voice answered. It’s strange because this was the first time I had actually had a conversation with a man other than my dad, since the attack. He had a very warm soft voice, caring and friendly and I immediately felt drawn to him. I was cautious at the same time that goes without saying, as he was a complete stranger. It didn’t help that I had this ‘No one gives me shit’ attitude, and it took him a while to get through that hard exterior but, strangely, he did.

He told me exactly how I was feeling inside, why I was feeling this, and what I should be doing now. The craziest thing about it was the stuff he was telling me was all true, this guy knew me better than I knew myself. Who was he, was it God on the other end of the phone coming through a human being?

The stranger on the phone brought these negative experiences out of me in a way I had only wished for. His name was Kenny, and he is one of my best friends now, my guru and guardian angel and always will be. You see I am convinced to this day that he was sent here for me, the way we met was so bizarre: it has to be true. I believe our lives are mapped out, but I believe you get to options along the way. If anyone has watched the film ‘Sliding Doors’ that’s exactly how I see life. I feel we have a destination but the journey there is our choice. Over the following seven years Kenny supported me, through all the times I felt scared, alone, fearful and suicidal. He has a wonderful way of communicating with people, and I can honestly say if it hadn’t been for him, I wouldn’t be alive today.

For an entire year I never met him in person, we spoke on the phone every night, but never met until one day I decided to meet him face to face for the first time. I was a nervous wreck, I was convinced once he met me, he would never ring me again, and how wrong could I have been.

Kenny took me into a different world, a world of peace and oneness. A world where no one hates or judges’ people by their appearance and past. He encouraged me to find my true self. He made me see that I am a wonderful person, who has so much to give, but most of all he made me see I could have, and be everything I had dreamed of, I could have the life I wanted and be happy. He never asked anything from me.

Don’t get me wrong though, for a long time I didn’t believe a word he said. Personally, I thought he was talking a load of crap! I felt like shit and my life was falling down around me. I was stuck in a deep hole with a view of light about one thousand foot up. I never got out of that hole, well not until 1997. I can’t tell you when it changed, it just did.

The progress was gradual, with Kenny’s trust and help I started to believe that life could be good. It took a lot of knock backs and falls to get where I am today but - I DID IT! Kenny went off travelling the world (lucky thing) and I was once again alone in the world.

Billy No-Mates by Max Dickins

Canongate Books (2022)

When Max Dickins decided to propose to his girlfriend, he realised there was no one he could call on to be his best man.

He quickly learnt that he wasn't the only man struggling with friendships. For decades, countless studies from across the world have confirmed that men have fewer close friends than women - and the problem gets worse the older men get. But what goes wrong? And what can men do about it? Dickins is going to find out.

His funny and charmingly candid search takes him to the doors of world-leading experts. It forces him to examine the friendships he's had over the years, and where they have foundered. And, briefly, it sends him to the website 'Rent A Friend', where he pays someone to hang out with him. But let's not dwell on that.

Join Max as he takes a defibrillator to his social life. As he ultimately discovers that if he wants a Best Man, then he needs to be a better man.

Times to Talk by Alex Holmes

Welbeck Balance (2021)

Starting with 'Real Man Myths' and features designed to encourage us to open up and share, Alex motivates us to move from:

• Ignoring to Acknowledging.
• Being Closed to Opening Up.
• Can't to Can.
• Avoiding to Embracing.
• Expecting to Accepting.

Sharing his experiences on his podcast and as a young British black man, Time to Talk is a love letter to all the men who have lost their way and to the women that love them.

Power and Pleasure by Shana Jamesm M.A.

Self Published (2021)

Power and Pleasure: A Man’s Guide to Becoming a Confident and Satisfied Lover and Leader is a potent guide for men looking to achieve greater success in their business and personal lives. From the physical to the psychological, from passion to productivity, this book is one-stop shopping when it comes to improving all aspects of all types of relationships. Shana James and the other experts featured in this book share valuable insights in a frank, no-holds barred conversation that will open your eyes to what’s really possible.

Not Being by Daniel H. Pink

LID Publishing (2021)

For too long, we have bought into the myth of separation: the story that we each win or lose through the relentless pursuit of self-improvement, achieving personal and organizational goals and increasing consumerism. This has led us to being more lonely, exhausted, and disconnected than ever, with a devastating impact on our personal lives, families, communities, organizations and the planet. Not Being invites us to be curious about a different way of life. It argues that beyond our actions and thinking, it is our very identities that need to transform. To be successful and thrive in this increasingly precarious, polarised, and interconnected world, we all need to become a bigger and bolder vision of who we are. Through a range of inspirational stories from people in many different walks of life, Not Being is the essential guide to a more dynamic, meaningful, and rewarding way of life. It completes the trilogy of Not Knowing and Not Doing by closing the gap on what we need to know, do and be.

Online Men's Groups Success by Kenny Mammarella D'Cruz

Self Published (2020)

Online Men’s Groups Success will give you everything you need to hold successful online men's groups straight away.

You’ll learn the basics with ground rules and clear boundaries, and you’ll pick up the advanced tools of holding a space with impeccable communication and listening skills. You'll know how to meet men where they are, turn issues into insights through rounds of questions, so men can learn from each other's life experiences.

Many men live in fear and fantasy, second guessing and surviving life, rather than meeting life with embodied presence, passion, purpose and personal power. Here’s to transforming lost boys into authentic men, adjusting our sails to harness the winds of change.

Equal Power by Jo Swinson

Atlantic Books (2018)

Equal Power holds a mirror up to society, showing the stark extent of gender inequality while making the case that everyone has the power to create change. Whether you are a teenage student, a global CEO or a taxi driver, there is much we can do as friends, consumers, parents and colleagues to create a world of Equal Power. In this inspiring and essential book, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats and former Government Minister for Women Jo Swinson outlines the steps we can all take, small and large, to make our society truly gender equal.

insideMAN by Dan Bell & Glen Poole

Troubador Publishing Ltd (2015)

insideMAN combines powerful first-person stories from everyday men on the street, with insightful writing from some of highest-profile journalists currently addressing men's issues in the UK, including Martin Daubney, of Telegraph Men and former editor of Loaded; Guardian regular Ally Fogg; Tim Samuels from BBC Men's Hour; Neil Lyndon, author of Sexual Impolitics and the seminal No More Sex War; and the man who coined the term "metrosexual" himself, the brilliant Mark Simpson. The book encompasses everything from a poignant insight into a fathers' experience of miscarriage, to an irreverent celebration of male-objectification, as well as fascinating explorations of subjects most of us simply take for granted - for example, why do men wear trousers anyway? The book also includes practical advice from leading advocates on the best ways to raise awareness of the issues faced by men and boys. If you're interested in the issues and experiences that effect half of the population, this book is for you.

The Descent of Man by Finlay Young

Newsweek Insights (2015)

Finlay Young lifts the lid on this quiet killer of thousands, taking the reader on a twisting journey through the history, psychology, sociology, and chemistry of male suicide. From those who have tried to kill themselves to those who try and stop them, from the old to the young and those in middle-age now most at risk, Young sensitively tells the personal stories of a wide cast of men he met on his quest to understand the ultimate question: why?

Why do men so often suffer in silence? Why do old expectations of masculinity still stubbornly endure in the modern world? Why aren't we doing more about it?

“The Descent of Man” is a nuanced and at times harrowing exploration of male suicide, one that explores the core assumptions of what it even means to be a man in the 21st century.

Illuminata: Thoughts, Prayers, Rites of Passage

Random House Inc. (1994)

The best-selling author of A Woman's Worth presents an inspirational compilation of contemporary prayers and meditations for people of all faiths, covering such topics as business, friendship, reconciliation, and anger.

Books

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