Confessions of a Barista on Platform 1

Set in a tiny coffee shop on the London-bound platform of St Leonards Warrior Square station and told by the female owner, Confessions of a Barista on Platform 1 is a current portrayal of an eccentric community, a how-to business book, and an uplifting story of healing. It's about how the narrator (Jo Murray) unwittingly became a therapist to her customers - and how in turn - they changed her life for the better. Coffee, trains and travellers prove to be a powerful combination. The narrator, the customers, the vignettes are all real people and their stories are true, some funny, some incredulous, some simply heart-breaking.

The coffee shop is still very much 'business as usual' - new customers have become regulars - old regulars have remained loyal - the door opens promptly at 6am - as do the conversations.

The narrator writes as she is: practical, straight talking, compassionate, and with a dry sense of humour. A middle-aged single mother of three, she was broke and broken-hearted when she threw her all into starting up her coffee shop. With no entrepreneurial experience, within a year she'd made it a great success. Part of the reason was her coffee and work ethic - but the other part was the amazing trust and human interactions that happened across the counter in the time it takes to pull a flat white before the Charing Cross train. And also, the extraordinary true stories that people shared with her.

We all know how we become anonymous strangers when we travel - and this funny compassionate book reveals just how much we all share, how we all have our private struggles and joys - and how the most unlikely looking person might actually be a hero.