Trafficked Girl: Abused. Abandoned. Exploited. This Is My Story of Fighting Back. by Zoe Patterson; Jane Smith

$19.99 AUD

Category: BIOGRAPHY

When Zoe was taken into care at the age of 13, she thought she was finally going to escape from the cruel abuse she had suffered throughout her childhood. Then social services placed her in a residential unit known to be 'a target for prostitution', and suddenly Zoe's life was worse than it had ever bee n before. Abused and ostracized by her mother, humiliated by her father's sexual innuendos, physically assaulted and bullied by her eldest brother, even as a young child Zoe thought she deserved the desperately unhappy life she was living. 'I've sharpened a knife for you,' her mother told her the first time she noticed angry red wounds on her daughter's arms. And when Zoe didn't kill herself, her mother gave her whisky, which she drank in the hope that it would dull the miserable, aching loneliness of her life. One day at school Zoe showed her teacher the livid bruises that were the result of her mother's latest physical assault and within days she was taken into care. Zoe had been at Denver House for just three weeks when an older girl asked if she'd like to go to a party, then took her to a house where there were just three men. Zoe was a virgin until that night, when two of the men raped her. Having returned to the residential unit in the early hours of the morning, when she told a member of staff what had happened to her, her social worker made a joke about it, then took her to get the morning-after pill. For Zoe, the indifference of the staff at the residential unit seemed like further confirmation of what her mother had always told her - she was worthless. Before long, she realised that the only way to survive in the unit was to go to the 'parties' the older girls were paid to take her to, drink the drinks, smoke the cannabis and try to blank out what was done to her when she was abused, controlled and trafficked around the country. No action was taken by the unit's staff or social workers when Zoe asked for their help, and without anyone to support or protect her, the horrific abuse continued for the next few years, even after she left the unit. But in her heart Zoe was always a fighter. This is the harrowing, yet uplifting story, of how she finally broke free of the abuse and neglect that destroyed her childhood and obtained justice for her years of suffering. ...Show more

Where the Past Begins A Writer's Memoir by Amy Tan

$32.99 AUD

Category: BIOGRAPHY

From New York Times bestselling author Amy Tan, a memoir about finding meaning in life through acts of creativity and imagination In Where the Past Begins, bestselling author of The Joy Luck Club and The Valley of Amazement Amy Tan reveals the ways that our memories and personal experiences can inform our creative work. Drawing on her vivid impressions of her upbringing, Tan investigates the truths and inspirations behind her writing while illuminating how we all explore, confront, and process complex memories, especially half-forgotten ones from childhood. With candor, empathy, and humor, Tan sheds light on her own writing process, sharing her hard-won insights on the nature of creativity and inspiration while exploring the universal urge to examine truth through the workings of imagination--and what that imaginative world tells us about our own lives. Where the Past Begins is both a unique look into the mind of an extraordinary storyteller and an indispensable guide for writers, artists, and other creative thinkers.   ...Show more

Keith Murdoch: Founder of a Media Empire by R.M. Younger

$13.95 AUD

Category: BIOGRAPHY

Fifty years after Keith Murdoch's death his career and influence remain the measure of the man. Founder of the Murdoch media empire Keith Murdoch came from humble beginnings as the son of a Scottish minister. He began his journalistic career on a Melbourne paper and first made a name for himself when he was responsible for reporting on the withdrawal of troops from Gallipoli after reporting the dreadful conditions and failure of the operation. A dedicated journalist brilliant editor and a remarkable entrepreneur Keith Murdoch was also passionate in his support for libraries and the visual arts. This portrait of Keith Murdoch is based on impeccable research and highlights the remarkable extent of Murdoch's influence revealing the true face of the man behind the empire. ...Show more

Year of the Monkey by Patti Smith

$29.99 AUD

Category: BIOGRAPHY | Reading Level: near fine

From the National Book Award-winning author of Just Kids and M Train, a profound, beautifully realized memoir in which dreams and reality are vividly woven into a tapestry of one transformative year. Following a run of New Year's concerts at San Francisco's legendary Fillmore, Patti Smith finds herself tramping the coast of Santa Cruz, about to embark on a year of solitary wandering. Unfettered by logic or time, she draws us into her private wonderland with no design, yet heeding signs--including a talking sign that looms above her, prodding and sparring like the Cheshire Cat. In February, a surreal lunar year begins, bringing with it unexpected turns, heightened mischief, and inescapable sorrow. In a stranger's words, "Anything is possible: after all, it's the Year of the Monkey." For Smith - inveterately curious, always exploring, tracking thoughts, writing - the year evolves as one of reckoning with the changes in life's gyre: with loss, aging, and a dramatic shift in the political landscape of America. Smith melds the western landscape with her own dreamscape. Taking us from California to the Arizona desert; to a Kentucky farm as the amanuensis of a friend in crisis; to the hospital room of a valued mentor; and by turns to remembered and imagined places, this haunting memoir blends fact and fiction with poetic mastery. The unexpected happens; grief and disillusionment set in. But as Smith heads toward a new decade in her own life, she offers this balm to the reader: her wisdom, wit, gimlet eye, and above all, a rugged hope for a better world. Riveting, elegant, often humorous, illustrated by Smith's signature Polaroids, Year of the Monkey is a moving and original work, a touchstone for our turbulent times. ...Show more

Colourful Life by Sharon Bech

$25.00 AUD

Category: BIOGRAPHY

Steve Mcqueen: The Salvation of an American Icon by Greg Laurie; Marshall Terrill (As told to)

$27.99 AUD

Category: BIOGRAPHY

Join Greg Laurie as he takes a cross-country drive in his 1968 Highland Green Ford Mustang 390 GT through the canyons of Malibu, the alleys of Hollywood, the wide and open roads of the Midwest, the streets of New York, as he traces the wooly geography of actor Steve McQueen's life, relationships, care er and spiritual journey. This iconic muscle car was the vehicle McQueen drove in his most raucous and enduring film, Bullitt.  In the 1960s, McQueen was, according to box office receipts, the biggest movie star of his generation and one of the coolest men to ever walk the planet. Greg Laurie was a teen at the time and an ardent fan of "The King of Cool," first mesmerized by McQueen in 1963's The Great Escape. Like millions of cinema fans, Greg developed a lifelong fascination with the actor. Now he has a chance to tell McQueen's story. McQueen was a complex, contradictory man who lived the same way he drove his motorcycles and cars: fearlessly, ruthlessly and at top speed. After a lifetime of fast cars, women and drugs, McQueen took a surprising detour. In this book, Laurie thoughtfully interviews members of Steve McQueen's family, friends, co-stars, associates, widow and pastor to tell of the dramatic life-change for the actor in the spring of 1979 - six months before McQueen was diagnosed with terminal cancer.   What were the critical steps that led McQueen to make such a life-altering decision? Perhaps more importantly, why is that part of his story so rarely told? This book answers these questions. Greg Laurie will follow the seeds of Christianity that were sown throughout McQueen's improbable life where a Light finally shone into the darkness of his troubled life. These seeds miraculously germinated, allowing McQueen to see that redemption through Jesus Christ is a lasting truth more glittering and real than any magic of the entertainment industry. ...Show more

The Girl Who Climbed Everest: The Inspirational Story of Alyssa Azar, Australia's Youngest Adventurer by Sue Williams

$32.99 AUD

Category: BIOGRAPHY

"'I have shown myself that nothing is impossible. I'm just a girl from a small town in Australia, but I was always taught to believe in my dreams.' Alyssa Azar is unstoppable. When she was just eight years old, she walked the gruelling Kokoda Track alongside her father, Glenn. At twelve she climbed the ten highest peaks in Australia. Two years later she reached the top of Mt Kilimanjaro. Now, aged eighteen, she is climbing to the roof of the world: the summit of Mt Everest. The Girl Who Climbed Everest is the inspiring story of how an ordinary girl from Toowoomba in country Queensland has worked towards achieving her dream of climbing the world's highest peak. Through passion, determination, and immense hard work, and with the unwavering support of her dad, Alyssa plans to become the youngest non-Sherpa female in the world and the youngest female Australian ever to make it. She shares the extraordinary thrills and heart-breaking disappointments on the road to reaching her goal, and explains how she finds the courage and motivation to keep going in the face of overwhelming danger and adversity. Above all, Alyssa's story shows us that we can achieve anything if we dare to dream big. " ...Show more

Diana Her True Story (Fully Revised & Updated 25th Anniversary Edition) by Andrew Morton

$15.95 AUD

Category: BIOGRAPHY

A reissue of this classic title brought up to date with never-before-published material from the original taped interviews and with a new introduction by Andrew Morton that reflects on the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the original publication of Diana: Her True Story. 

I'm Talking: My life, my words, my music by Kate Ceberano

$32.99 AUD

Category: BIOGRAPHY

In her own unmistakeable voice, Kate Ceberano takes us on a very personal journey from her suburban childhood, her immersion in the Melbourne club scene of the eighties and her rise to stardom at the age of seventeen when she fronted the wildly popular funk band I'm Talking, to the life of a female perf ormer and recording artist in London, Los Angeles and New York. With parallel careers as a pop and jazz singer and songwriter, Kate has received the highest awards in the Australian music industry including the ARIA for Best Female Artist. She has delighted audiences in Harry M. Miller's hugely successful 'Jesus Christ Superstar', won a legion of fans when she won 'Dancing with the Stars', and made a triumphant debut for Opera Australia in 'South Pacific'. Now she reveals, for the first time, just what that was like.People have been talking about Kate Ceberano since she was a teenager: Hugh Jackman described her as having 'truly one of the great voices this country has produced'; for Rolling Stone she is 'pure, soulful and powerful'. Now Kate is talking for herself.Accompanied by never before published photos. ...Show more

Saga Land: the Island Stories at the Edge of the World by Richard Fidler; Kari Gislason

$32.99 AUD

Category: BIOGRAPHY

A new friendship. An unforgettable journey. A beautiful and bloody history.This is Iceland as you've never read it before ...Broadcaster Richard Fidler and author Kári Gíslason are good friends. They share a deep attachment to the sagas of Iceland - the true stories of the first Viking fam ilies who settled on that remote island in the Middle Ages.These are tales of blood feuds, of dangerous women, and people who are compelled to kill the ones they love the most. The sagas are among the greatest stories ever written, but the identity of their authors is largely unknown.Together, Richard and Kári travel across Iceland, to the places where the sagas unfolded a thousand years ago. They cross fields, streams and fjords to immerse themselves in the folklore of this fiercely beautiful island. And there is another mission: to resolve a longstanding family mystery - a gift from Kari's Icelandic father that might connect him to the greatest of the saga authors. ...Show more

Back, after the Break (PB) by Osher Gunsberg

$24.99 AUD

Category: BIOGRAPHY

Osher Gunsberg, one of Australia's most loved celebrities, opens up in a powerful, dark, funny and heartwrenching memoir about life, love and living with mental illness. It's hard to remember a time when Osher Gunsberg (or Andrew G as he was then) wasn't on TV - he's just always been there, looking at e ase in the spotlight, beaming a big smile, with a questionable haircut. He was there hanging out with The Offspring backstage at the Warped Tour on Channel V; announcing to a national audience of three million people that Guy Sebastian was our first Australian Idol; and later capturing the heart of the nation by hosting every season of The Bachelor, The Bachelorette and now Bachelor in Paradise. But while everything looks great from the outside, the real picture has not always been quite so rosy. Osher has always known he's different to most other people. Struggling with anxiety, panic attacks and weight issues since he was young, he tried for years to drink away the anxiety and depression. He ended up unemployed, divorced, suicidal and certifiable on the other side of the world, yet somehow he managed to put the broken pieces of his mind back together and make a life for himself again. He lives with a mental illness - and he's come to terms with it to live an authentic, rich and fulfilling life. A revealing, raw, funny and heartfelt memoir from one of Australia's most well-known and well-liked celebrities. ...Show more

Any Ordinary Day: Blindsides, Resilience and What Happens after the Worst Day of Your Life by Leigh Sales

$24.99 AUD

Category: BIOGRAPHY

As a journalist, Leigh Sales often encounters people experiencing the worst moments of their lives in the full glare of the media. But one particular string of bad news stories - and a terrifying brush with her own mortality - sent her looking for answers about how vulnerable each of us is to a life-cha nging event. What are our chances of actually experiencing one? What do we fear most and why? And when the worst does happen, what comes next? In this wise and layered book, Leigh talks intimately with people who've faced the unimaginable, from terrorism to natural disaster to simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Expecting broken lives, she instead finds strength, hope, even humour. Leigh brilliantly condenses the cutting-edge research on the way the human brain processes fear and grief, and poses the questions we too often ignore out of awkwardness. Along the way, she offers an unguarded account of her own challenges and what she's learned about coping with life's unexpected blows. Warm, candid and empathetic, this bookis about what happens when ordinary people, on ordinary days, are forced to suddenly find the resilience most of us don't know we have. ...Show more