Collection: Biography

From devout ten-year-old performing the part of Jesus in a primary school play to blaspheming, undergraduate atheist, Monica Dux and her attitude to the Catholic Church changed profoundly over a decade. Eventually, she calmed down and was just 'lapsed'. Then, on a family trip to Rome, her young d...

Women have been flying planes ever since there have been planes to fly, but, with a few notable exceptions, they have not been visible or well known. Tenacious, determined and sometimes fearless, Kathy Mexted shares the stories of ten extraordinary Australian women compelled to take to the skies....

'I am from a family of strong women.' Amani Haydar suffered the unimaginable when she lost her mother in a brutal act of domestic violence perpetrated by her father. Five months pregnant at the time, her own perception of how she wanted to mother (and how she had been mothered) was shaped by this...

From a victim of the 'stolen generations' comes a remarkable memoir of abuse, survival - and ultimately hope. Born in country NSW in the 1940s, baby Dianne is immediately taken from her Aboriginal mother. Raised in the era of the White Australia policy, Dianne grows up believing her adoptive Iris...

A fighter, a protector, a figurehead, a jailbird, a son, husband and father, who started a brotherhood and has stood by it ever since. Living by his own rules has always been the way of Phil 'Ugly' Mawson. A boxer, a soldier, a bikie, a killer, he has played many roles in his life. After a yearlo...

'For almost 30 years, Lynne McGranger has been entertaining TV viewers all around the world. As a veteran on the popular soap Home and Away, her much-loved character Irene Roberts has long been a font of wisdom, good humour and unforgettable lines. But Lynne's story goes far beyond Summer Bay. Fr...

Toni Tapp grew up on the massive Killarney Station, where her stepfather, Bill Tapp, was a cattle king. But there was no 'big house' here - Toni did not grow up in a large homestead. She lived in a shack that had no electricity and no running water. The oppressive climate of the Territory - eithe...

The definitive memoir of David Williamson, author of iconic dramas such as The Removalists, The Club, Don's Party, Emerald City and Travelling North, as well as more than fifty other plays, explores the life of the writer and the true stories and real lives that inspired his works. A defining for...

Lisa Millar has spent her whole life showing up, getting things done and making things happen. As a child growing up in country Queensland, she dreamed of a big life. Working as a foreign correspondent gave her that, but it also meant confronting the worst that humanity can bring. Three decades a...

'No one left behind' tells, for the first time in his words, of Keith Payne's remarkable life. His definitive autobiography reveals the story of a big-hearted, iconic Australian and the heart and heartaches of a man who continues to fight for his mates.