Bøger af Alda Sigmundsdottir

"Daughter is a work of bravery, an important and eloquent memoir about the fight to reclaim the self from those that seek to undermine and destroy our very existence. A must-read for anyone who has endured toxic familial relationships, and for those who seek to survive them." - Hannah Kent, author of Burial Rites "Daughter" is a powerful and moving memoir about transcending the trauma of growing up with a narcissistic mother, chronicling the author's journey from abuse and neglect to healing and spiritual freedom. Written for anyone who has experienced toxic family relationships, this memoir is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and will resonate with anyone who enjoyed "I'm Glad My Mom Died" by Jennette McCurdy and "Educated" by Tara Westover. As Alda is pulled into her mother's darkness, she loses her identity and sense of self, and struggles to form intimate relationships. Her mental health begins to deteriorate, until she is forced to confront the truth of her relationship with her mother and begins the work of breaking free from the longstanding pattern of gaslighting and denial. "Daughter, a Memoir" is a raw and honest account of the effects of growing up with a narcissistic parent and the journey towards healing and spiritual recovery. It offers profound hope, and will resonate with anyone seeking to transcend the trauma of toxic family relationships and find their own path to freedom. Get your copy today! Excerpt: Three days before I was to leave for Iceland, something extraordinary occurred. It was a Friday evening and I was strolling back to Jim and Klara's. The evening was warm and fragrant, the crickets chirped, and the wooden street lamps cast gentle circles of light on the cracked sidewalks. I had been out for drinks with friends and was pleasantly buzzed. Approaching the house, I glanced at the white brick building on the other side of the street where Erin and Kevin and Piper had lived-they had moved to Vancouver a few years back. My involvement in their family felt like another lifetime now. I was about to turn away when an object in the gutter caught my eye. It lay there among shrivelled leaves and other debris-black, vaguely resembling a shiny stone a little larger than my fist. I moved closer; squinted. No. Raising myself up I looked all around, half expecting someone to jump out of a bush, yelling surprise! But the road was deserted save for a woman getting out of a car three blocks away. Stooping down, I carefully picked up the object. It was in a black vinyl case that snapped shut at the back. Out of an opening in the side hung a loop strap. Across the bulging front was an inscription: MINOLTA. Glancing around once more, I opened the case and removed a camera. It was a newish model with a focus lens. I stared at it, unsure of what to do. Should I leave it there? Take it inside? Someone had lost it, for sure, and would eventually come looking for it. Yet, if I left it out here, a car might drive over it, or someone else would pick it up. That incident on that warm June evening in 1981 gave me my first inkling that a power beyond my own understanding existed, one that would quietly fulfil my most ardent needs, and lovingly bestow upon me gifts that I did not have to earn. It was almost as though, at this important juncture in my life, an omniscient entity was making its presence felt with a quiet assurance-manifested through a camera in a black vinyl case that lay in the gutter for me to find.

After a 12-year absence from Iceland, Frida returns home with her husband Damien, a suave and sophisticated British diplomat who has just been made Ambassador to Iceland. It is summer 2008, and the global economy is on shaky ground. As the Icelandic economy begins to spiral out of control, Frida and Damien's marriage starts to unravel. Seeking refuge, Frida travels to a small fishing village on Iceland's West Fjords, where a chance encounter with a stranger turns out to have greater implications than she could ever have foreseen. With Iceland and Britain locked in a bitter diplomatic dispute, Frida is forced to examine her marriage, her loyalties, and ultimately to answer the question: What exactly constitutes betrayal? (216 pages)

The Icelandic nation has a long and rich history of storytelling. Throughout centuries characterized by hardship, poverty, and dark winters, the Icelanders kept their spirits high and moral values intact by telling each other stories. In this collection of 15 Icelandic folk legends, we get a glimpse of the worldview of the Icelanders in centuries past as they endeavored to understand and cope with the natural phenomena around them. There are stories of malicious ghosts, outlaws living in carved-out boulders, hidden people residing in grassy knolls, trolls that are tripped up by their own stupidity, and much more. In addition, there is one story exemplifying a fairy tale motif that scholars have discovered to be unique to Iceland: that of the good stepmother (The Story of Himinbjörg). Throughout we get a powerful sense of the Icelanders' beliefs, values, and fears, as well as their strong need to cling to all that was pure and good. While this is the first time the book appears in electronic form, 12 of the stories were previously published in physical form on two separate occasions. The book has been out of print for about four years. In the digital edition, an introduction has been added, as well as a "field guide" to the various apparitions that appear in the book, and three more stories. What you will read about in Icelandic Folk Legends: - The kvöldvaka-effectively a national institution, responsible for the full literacy of an impoverished nation- Icelandic folk stories and the world: how various well-known folk tales became "Icelandicized"- Apparitions in Icelandic folk stories: elves, trolls, outlaws, and hidden people- How you knew you were dealing with a ghost, and the one word ghosts absolutely could not say- The wrath of the hidden folk (how to piss off an elf>Icelandic Folk Legends is a vivid portrait of pre-20th century Iceland-as much in terms of living conditions and landscape as of imagination, values, and belief. ... Each tale speaks to deep psychological issues-whether it be the lust for power (in þorgeir's Bull), loss and humiliation (The Vanished Bride), betrayal (Hagridden), the trickeries of the Devil (Satan Takes a Wife), fear of ghosts (The Deacon of Myrká Church), or the benevolence of the supernatural (The Outlaw on Kiduvallafjall Mountain)-but at the heart of each of these adventures lie the human choices that dictate outcomes. - Tobias Munthe, The Reykjavík Grapevine

Icelandic folklore is rife with tales of elves and hidden people that inhabited hills and rocks in the landscape. But what do those elf stories really tell us about the Iceland of old and the people who lived there? In this book, author Alda Sigmundsdóttir presents twenty translated elf stories from Icelandic folklore, along with fascinating notes on the context from which they sprung. The international media has had a particular infatuation with the Icelanders' elf belief, generally using it to propagate some kind of "kooky Icelanders" myth. Yet Iceland's elf folklore, at its core, reflects the plight of a nation living in abject poverty on the edge of the inhabitable world, and its people's heroic efforts to survive, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. That is what the stories of the elves, or hidden people, are really about. In a country that was, at times, virtually uninhabitable, where poverty was endemic and death and grief a part of daily life, the Icelanders nurtured a belief in a world that existed parallel to their own. This was the world of the hidden people, which more often than not was a projection of the most fervent dreams and desires of the human population. The hidden people lived inside hillocks, cliffs, or boulders, very close to the abodes of the humans. Their homes were furnished with fine, sumptuous objects. Their clothes were luxurious, their adornments beautiful. Their livestock was better and fatter, their sheep yielded more wool than regular sheep, their crops were more bounteous. They even had supernatural powers: they could make themselves visible or invisible at will, and they could see the future. To the Icelanders, stories of elves and hidden people are an integral part of the cultural and psychological fabric of their nation. They are a part of their identity, a reflection of the struggles, hopes, resilience, and endurance of their people. What you will read about in The Little Book of the Hidden People: - The fascination in the international media: why are they so obsessed with elves?- The meaning of elf: what do hidden people stories tell us about the psyche of the Icelanders of old?- The elves' badassery-they could make or break your fortune so you'd better be nice!- The ljúflingar ... hidden men who became the lovers of mortal women- Glamorous and regal: why were the elves so damn good-looking?- The grim realities: what do scholars believe about all those children abducted by elves?... and so much more!

Iceland in centuries past was a formidable place to live. Situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the edge of the inhabitable world, the nation was both isolated and abjectly poor. Centuries of colonization translated into oppression and subjugation from the colonial overlords, and a hostile climate and repeated natural disasters meant that mere survival was a challenge to even the hardiest of souls. In these 50 miniature essays, Alda Sigmundsdottir writes about the Icelanders in centuries past in a light and humorous way, yet never without admiration and respect for the resilience and strength they showed in coping with conditions of adversity that are barely imaginable today. Their ways of interacting with the natural world are described, as are their sometimes tragic, sometimes ingenious, means of dealing with maltreatment and injustice from the church and other rulers. These forms of oppression include a trade monopoly imposed by Denmark that lasted nearly two centuries, a ban on dancing that lasted for a similar length of time, the forced dissolution of households when the breadwinner of the family died, the tyranny of merchants granted exclusive right to trade with the Icelanders, and the dreaded decrees of the Grand Judgement-a court of law that was set up to punish various offenses, real or imagined. Yet it is not only the "big picture" that is described in this book, but also the various smaller aspects that shed light on the daily life of the Icelanders of old. These include their ingenious ways of coping with lack, of preserving food, of finding shelter, of creating or admitting light into their homes, as well as the innumerable and sometimes wacky superstitions attached to various life events, big and small. The hilarious customs of hospitality and visiting are also described, as are some of the sexual activates of Icelanders in the past, their belief in elves and hidden people, sexual interactions with hidden people (!), ways of dealing with grief, interactions with foreigners, and much, much more. Today's Iceland is a modern, cosmopolitan place, with one of the highest standards of living in the world. Yet less than a century ago, this paragon of equality and peace was the poorest society in Europe. The conditions of life described in this book are therefore not very distant from the Icelanders today, and many of the aspects described are still very much reflected in Iceland's unique culture. In short, The Little Book of the Icelanders in the Old Days is not only a funny, witty, and wise exposé on the Icelanders' daily life in the past, it is also essential to understanding the Icelandic national character today. Among the fascinating subjects broached in The Little Book of the Icelanders in the Old Days: - How Icelanders' housing developed from stately longhouses to tiny turf farms- The kvöldvaka: how Icelanders managed to live through the long, dark winters- Social structure among the common folk (farmers to vagabonds)- All the superstitions: how folks attempted to gain control over their lives- The elf belief deconstructed: why did those tales of hidden people develop?- No time to be a kid (being a child was tough in the Iceland of old)- Sex and the church (yep, Icelandic ecclesiastical authorities also meddled in people's sex lives)- Precious, precious food. How do you live on the edge of the inhabitable world, where hardly anything grows?- Welcoming guests: smooching and other etiquettes- Foreigners in Iceland. Think Iceland had no visitors back then? Think again!... and so much more!