non-fiction
Non-fiction book of the month
The Desert Swimmer
Brendan Cullen, Paul Mitchell
Australian Author Paperback
$ 29.99 $ 34.99
Our Non-Fiction Book of the Month for March is The Desert Swimmer by Brendan Cullen and Paul Mitchell – an inspirational tale about showing up for yourself and building great support networks and healthy outlets.
A conversation with the author
Congratulations on being the Non-Fiction Book of the Month! Can you tell our readers a bit about your book?
The book parallels both my English Channel swim journey and my life’ s journey. As I start my EC swim, I take you back to my childhood growing up on a sheep and cattle station in outback NSW. This book will give you an honest account of what bush life looks like, and the hurdles that plague bush kids and families. Your readers will learn about the gravity of self expectation, trauma and the joys of mental and physical success.
Your nearest beach is over 600 kilometres away, yet you ended up swimming the English Channel. How did swimming become part of your recovery?
I have always loved the physical aspects of life, and sport has given me this in spades. You could say, sports are non-negotiable in my daily routine, regardless of when and where I am at the time. My brother entered the Bondi to Bronte open water swim in Sydney. I flew to Sydney from Broken Hill to watch him. Watching my brother sparked an internal flame to try my hand at swimming. Swimming opened my world up to not only the physical challenges but introduced me to a community of positivity. Swimming has allowed me to travel and connect with some amazing people, and in doing so it has enriched my life in a way that was totally unexpected.
Training in Menindee Lake before dawn, in murky and icy water, sounds brutal. What kept you going during those early morning sessions?
Acclimatisation to cold water is a non-negotiable when it comes to EC training. The fact that I had never attempted such a feat meant the fear of the unknown always played on my mind, and I knew if I wavered from the commitment to swim in cold water, I would have not only let myself down but let my team down.
biography & memoir
Bring Back Yesterday
Bob Carr Australian Author Paperback
$ 27.99 $ 32.99
‘ It was a warm October day when his life splintered down the middle. She was gone in a flash. Everything changed forever.’ Bring Back Yesterday is a deeply moving love story and grief memoir from one of Australia’ s most respected and longstanding public figures. An account of the author finding his footing again after the death of his wife, Helena, his life-partner of over 50 years and light of his life. Raw and compelling, the anecdotes and insights Bob Carr shares will resonate with anyone who has ever been in a long-term relationship or lost a much-loved partner.
Back On My Feet
Olivia Ong Australian Author Paperback
$ 34.99
When Dr Olivia Ong was struck by a car and suffered a catastrophic spinal injury, her prognosis was devastating. Experts told her she would never walk again. The future she had envisioned seemed to slip away. What followed was an extraordinary journey of resilience, requiring years of intensive physical therapy, unwavering determination and the relentless support of her loved ones. Against the odds, Olivia regained the ability to walk and returned to medicine, specialising in rehabilitation and pain management. Back on My Feet is for anyone facing adversity, anyone searching for meaning and anyone who loves a moving story of perseverance of the human spirit. Perfect for readers of Turia Pitt and Emma Carey.
She Who Tastes, Knows
Durkhanai Ayubi Australian Author Paperback
$ 34.99
She Who Tastes, Knows is an expansive history of Durkhanai’ s homeland and a vivid, moving story about what it truly means to understand another’ s culture. Each chapter draws on a particular ingredient important to Durkhanai’ s cultural identity and explores their life cycles to uncover unseen histories of Afghan culture, the complexities of migrant and refugee experience, and how we as a society might work towards unifying our disparate cultures and ways of seeing the world. In our modern world, which can feel so disjointed, this book shows us, with timeless prescience, how new possibilities for connection are just under the surface, waiting to bloom.
Raven Mother
Jane Messer Australian Author Paperback
$ 34.99
In Raven Mother, Jane Messer weaves together her Jewish family’ s compelling and tragic story. In this powerful, beautifully written and insightful book, Messer spends time in Berlin, Israel and Palestine and grapples with the effects of nationalism, both historical and contemporary. Along the way, she speaks with historians, activists, refugees and scholars, and constantly to her beloved father. Raven Mother is a powerful work of memoir and history, essential to understanding the impacts of the Holocaust and Jewish identity in the post-World War II era. Blending the personal and the historical with lyrical precision, Messer sweeps from the grand scale of global events to the intimate struggles of family and memory.
politics
Did writing this book change how you think about your own journey or what you’ ve been through?
Writing this book has unearthed a vulnerability in me that I never thought possible. In doing so, I’ ve been able tap into my subconscious and unearth the hurt, pain and trauma that has plagued me for decades. I now have a much greater understanding of why I am like I am and how I go about living a life without the weighted expectations of myself. I can thank Paul Mitchell for his empathic approach and guidance to my storytelling, Paul can certainly peel back the layers of life in a manner that is both respectful and heartfelt.
What do you want people, especially those in rural and remote areas struggling with their mental health, to take away from your book?
If you want to make a positive commitment to change your life, it’ s on you as an individual to take a leap of faith and commit to yourself. If you find the COURAGE to TAKE THE FIRST STEP and ask for help, you will find a community of like-minded people that will nurture you through the tough times. Take the shackles of self-expectation off and enjoy the time you have on this Earth. Life is short, and make a point of finding the time to enjoy yourself, because ultimately, you have all the time in the world, it’ s just a matter of making a commitment to yourself and doing it, excuses won’ t cut it. And remember, your story is just as important as the next person.
I’ m Not Mad( Anymore)
Bron Lewis Australian Author Paperback
$ 36.99
If you’ ve ever cringed as you watched your mum stumble dramatically through hot flushes, or soiled your pants in Kmart, or found yourself struggling through the seemingly unending chapter of becoming a new mum, then this is the book for you. I’ m Not Mad( Anymore) sheds light on the mental struggles women go through silently, from post-natal depression and anxiety to menopause and all the muck in between. You will laugh, cry and look at your mum in a whole new light. This book is a fiercely funny, feminist debut about mental health, motherhood and female rage, for fans of Caitlin Moran, Celeste Barber and Tanya Hennessy.
On Australia And Asia: Quarterly Essay # 101
Michael Wesley Australian Author Paperback
Available March 16
$ 29.99
Southeast Asia has never been more important to Australia – and Australia has never been more alienated from Southeast Asia and with so little idea of what to do about it. This illuminating, original essay reveals Australia’ s blind spot. What has our foreign policy elite’ s subservience to the United States stopped us from seeing and doing? What do our neighbours have to tell us, if only we could hear? This is an essay about values, imagination and a new way of seeing ourselves.
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