Lifestyle
Book club: 10 extraordinary true stories you won’t believe are real
Allison Tait uncovers must-read memoirs and brilliant biographies that will leave your jaw on the floor.
By Allison Tait
There’s no doubt that some of the best stories ever written are the remarkable stories of real people – and Australian readers love them. A recent report from the European and International Book Federation, which investigated the consumer habits of Australian book buyers (among other nations), found that fiction is our favourite genre, followed by biographies and memoirs.
And the great joy of seeking out a wonderful life story to read is that there are so many to choose from, from the inspiration to the eye-opening to the awe-inspiring.
We’ve put together a list of 10 to add to your To Be Read pile this month.
No Time for Makeup by Elizabeth Green
“It was 1988. I had no time for makeup and wore a crushed heart on my sleeve. My life was up in the air. Being a flying doctor grounded me.” Dr Elizabeth Green’s story begins with her childhood growing up in outback and rural Australia, the daughter of a teacher and an Anglican priest, and takes flight after she qualifies as a GP in Melbourne and, finding city doctoring unfulfilling, joins the Royal Australian Flying Doctor Service. Told in 4 parts, the memoir details some of the hair-raising situations she found herself in, but goes beyond the personal to provide insightful first-hand observations of Australia’s rural health care system.
Outrageous Fortunes by Megan Brown and Lucy Sussex
From 1855 to 1910, pioneering female journalist and detective writer Mary Helena Fortune wrote for Australian magazines and newspapers, as well as writing crime novels and short stories. Yet she has almost vanished from literary history. Outrageous Fortunes is a dual biography, taking in the lives of Fortune (who wrote 500 published stories under various pseudonyms) and her criminal son, George. Drawing on everything from obscure penitentiary records to personal letters, the research is thorough and revealing.
Chinese Parents Don’t Say I Love You by Candice Chung
Appearing at this year’s Sydney Writers’ Festival, journalist, editor and memoirist Candice Chung’s memoir evokes family dynamics, food and what it means to show care when you come from a culture where saying ‘I love you’ isn’t the norm. Growing from Chung’s article of the same title, which was published in The Sydney Morning Herald in 2014 and generated more than 2 million page impressions, the memoir dives into dining rituals in delicious detail, as well as unscrambling the unspoken.
Gutsy Girls by Josie McSkimming
Trailblazing Australian poet Dorothy Porter published nine poetry collections and five verse novels, including 1994’s acclaimed The Monkey’s Mask, before her death in 2008. In this memoir, Porter’s (much) youngest sister, Josie McSkimming, covers the childhood of the Porter sisters, but also offers personal insights into Dorothy’s trajectory as a writer and a woman. Featuring extracts from Porter’s poems, this memoir captures Dorothy’s humour and spirit and offers an intimate glimpse into her life and work.
Murriyang: Song of Time by Stan Grant
In part response to the Voice referendum, Murriyang is also a personal story, woven through with memories of journalist Stan Grant’s father, a Wiradjuri cultural leader. In May 2023, Grant left his role as host of ABC’s Q+A, and this book is a heartfelt and vulnerable response to the events that led to his resignation – and what’s unfolded since. Exploring themes of identity, colonisation and belonging, Grant writes about his country through the lens of his Wiradjuri descent and Christian faith. Ultimately, he invites readers to move beyond anger and embrace kindness.
Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks
On Memorial Day 2019, Geraldine Brooks received a phone call that changed her life. Tony Horwitze, her partner of more than 30 years, had collapsed and died on a Washington DC footpath, at the age of 60. Three years later, having not had proper space to grieve, she booked a flight to a remote island off the coast of Australia where she pondered the various ways in which cultures grieve and what rituals of her own might help to rebuild a life around the void of Tony’s death. This book, which topped the bestsellers list at the recent Adelaide Writers’ Week, is the result.
The Bank Robber’s Boy by Peter Norris
When Peter Norris was about 5 years old, his family home was raided by police and his father was arrested. It was the first time he realised his father, Clarence ‘Clarry’ Norris was a criminal. By the time he was 6 years old, Peter had committed his first break-and-enter at a local school, determined to help his father provide for the family.
Over the years, Peter spent time in a remand centre, foster care and then, ultimately, went on the run with his father at the age of 11. When his father escaped from prison again, Peter had to make a choice – go with him again or stay in foster care for a different life. From a violent childhood to courage and transformation, this is a remarkable story.
Groomed by Sonia Orchard
In 1985, when she was 15, Sonia Orchard met her first boyfriend, S, at a Melbourne nightclub. He was 26, and the relationship lasted almost a year. Three decades later, now in her 40s and a parent herself, Orchard realised that though her teenage self had viewed the relationship as ‘romantic’, what had happened to her had, in fact, been grooming and sexual abuse.
Groomed is an unflinchingly honest account of then and now, including the difficulties she faced in reporting the abuse to the police and the legal loopholes and other issues that eventually stymied her case.
The Legend of Albert Jacka by Peter Fitzsimons
Albert ‘Bert’ Jacka was 21 when Britain declared war in Germany in August 1914. On 26 April, 1915, Lance Corporal Albert Jacka landed at Gallipoli and, one month later, single-handedly held off a full-scale frontal attack by The Turks. For his bravery, Jacka was awarded the Victoria Cross, the first for an Australian soldier in World War 1 – but this was just the start of his wartime exploits.
Told in Peter FitzSimons trademark storytelling style, this biography brings to life the many courageous acts and sacrifice of one extraordinary soldier.
Eternal Flame by Jennifer Otter Bickerdike
If you ever ‘walked like an Egyptian’ or experienced a ‘Manic Monday’, you’ll want to dive into this biography of 80s all-girl pop band The Bangles. Drawn from interviews with founding members Debbi Peterson, Susanna Hoffs and Vicki Peterson (Michael Steele declined to participate), the author doesn’t shy away from tensions in the group (there are lots of footnotes…), though fans might have liked a few more pages of detail on the band’s break up.
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