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Podcasts - Biography memoir
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Benjamin Gilmour has been a paramedic for the past twenty years. He has seen his fair share of drama. But the summer of 2008 remains etched in his memory for the very worst reasons.
The Gap is a vivid portrait of the lead-up to Christmas; an unflinching, no-holds-barred look at what happens after the triple-zero call is made – the drugs, nightclubs, brothels, drunk rich kids, billionaires, domestic disputes, the elderly, emergency births, even a kidnapping.
In this episode, Max Lewis chats to Benjamin Gilmour about the arduous process of writing The Gap, and reflecting on his month from hell over a decade on.
'I will always be sad when I read those chapters': Mary Moody on cancer, compost and cracking on
If you'd told Mary Moody when she was 21 that she was going to grow up writing columns about compost, she would have thrown her hands up in horror.
In 1971, off the back of a cadetship at Women's Weekly, Mary wanted to become a TV news reporter. Unfortunately for her, in those days, only men were afforded that gig. Instead she forged a diverse career as a 'show-biz' journalist, a 'hippy-dippy' stay-at-home mum, host of ABC TV’s Gardening Australia, bestselling memoirist and finally, an 'accidental tour guide.'
The latter is the inspiration for her latest book, a memoir and adventure story about leading botanical treks in France, Morocco, Spain, Mongolia and the Himalayas. In this episode, Mary talks to Gregory Dobbs about learning, loving and losing a life partner.
'We had no idea what life was going to be': Bernadette Agius on raising a son with Down syndrome
‘It was cathartic, it was sad, it was humbling, it was joyful. I feel very exposed. But I don’t regret it.’ – Bernadette Agius on writing I’m Staying at Richard’s, a heartwarming memoir on the joys and challenges of raising a son with Down syndrome.
In this episode, Bernadette breaks down misconceptions, shares some hilarious memories (like that time Richard unwrapped the entire family’s Christmas presents) and recalls how Richard reacted when he first read the book.
Jacqueline Kent on falling in love with the man behind Wake in Fright
Jacqueline Kent was working as a book editor when she was assigned a set of humorous short stories by Kenneth Cook, author of the classic horror novel Wake in Fright.
Her dealings with Cook resulted in a 'volcanic' relationship and a brief marriage between two lovers of words. Jacqueline writes beautifully about her time with Ken in her new memoir, Beyond Words.
In this episode, Angus Dalton asks Jacqueline about the enduring legacy of Wake in Fright, a butterfly farm, and the changes she's watched unfold across the Australian book industry.
BRI LEE, author of Eggshell Skull, is furious about the Australian legal system (and chickpeas)
Please note: This podcast contains discussions of sexual abuse.
BRI LEE is the author of Eggshell Skull, a bestselling memoir about Bri's time as a Judge's Associate in Queensland, witnessing institutional injustices faced by women, children and minorities in sexual assault trials. The book is also a devastating coming-of-age story, as Bri’s recounts her own journey through the legal system as a plaintiff in her own case.
In this episode, Bri talks to Good Reading about the frustrations and triumphs of writing such a book, the ongoing fight for legislative change, and ‘f***ing chickpeas.’
FRAUKE BOLTEN-BOSHAMMER on pink diamonds and red dust
In 1981 Frauke Bolten-Boshammer left her beloved Germany to begin a farm with her husband, Frederich, in the isolated town of Kununurra in the Kimberley.
Tragedy soon followed, and Frauke was left alone to run a farm and raise a family in the Western Australian outback. But a discovery of global significance made by geologists nearby changed the course of Frauke's life forever.
A Diamond in the Dust is the story of how Frauke pioneered an outback diamond empire and put a tiny outback town on the world map. In this podcast, Frauke shares her experiences contending with crocodiles thrashing through Christmas lunch and offers the wisdom she has gleaned from a life marked by sadness, perseverance, and love in the outback.
