The Beauty of Living Twice by Sharon Stone

$29.99 AUD

Category: Biography & Memoir

In The Beauty of Living Twice, Sharon Stone chronicles her efforts to rebuild her life, and the slow road back to wholeness and health. In an industry that doesn't accept failure, in a world where too many voices are silenced, Stone found the power to return, the courage to speak up, and the will to mak e a difference in the lives of women and children around the globe. Over the course of these intimate pages, as candid as a personal conversation, Stone talks about her pivotal roles, her life-changing friendships, her worst disappointments and her greatest accomplishments. She reveals how she went from a childhood of trauma and violence to a business that in many ways echoed those same assaults, under cover of money and glamour. She describes the strength and meaning she found in her children and in her humanitarian efforts. And ultimately, she shares how she fought her way back to find not only her truth, but her family's reconciliation and love. ...Show more

Far From Home: A True Story of Murder, Loss and a Mother's Courage by Rosie Ayliffe

$34.99 AUD

Category: Biography & Memoir

British mother Rosie Ayliffe thought her 21-year-old daughter, Mia, would be safe travelling around Australia on a gap year. But Mia wanted to extend her visa and in order to do that needed to find 88 days of work on a farm - a requirement that would lead to catastrophic events. Four short days after Mi a moved to a hostel in Queensland to take a job on a sugarcane farm, she was brutally murdered. Faced with every parent's worst nightmare, Rosie travelled to Australia to retrieve Mia's body. From the moment she landed, however, she started to hear stories about the terrible treatment of young workers like Mia - stories of exploitation, sexual harassment, rape. Mia was Rosie's only child and she brought her up as a single parent. Her death was traumatic and life-changing. In Rosie's memoir, she describes movingly how she has found the strength to come to terms with devastating loss, drawing on inspiration from her daughter's short life. She also explains how she has become the driving force behind an international campaign to press for change to the 88 days system. Part expose of the dangers facing backpackers in Australia, part call to arms, ultimately Far from Home is an inspiring and heartfelt story of a mother's love for her daughter and her fight to protect others from suffering a similar tragedy.   ...Show more

Mark Skaife by Mark Skaife

$45.00 AUD

Category: Biography & Memoir

When it comes to the masters of motorsport, Mark Skaife is without peer. The stats ordain him the most brilliant touring car racer in Australian motorsport history: his six Bathurst victories and five touring car championships place him in the rarefied company of Peter Brock. For more than three decade s across the Holden Racing Team's golden era, Skaife was the chosen one. Imposing, sometimes polarising and always revered, his legend is immeasurable and he remains a pillar of Australian motorsport today as a media ambassador and presenter. This unique and intimate illustrated autobiography recounts the thrills, heartbreaks and epic feats of an unparalleled racing career, on the track and behind the scenes. Featuring photos and memorabilia from his personal collection, a narrative as entertaining as a Bathurst bend, and fascinating insights from those who know him best, Mark Skaife is the definitive account of the man behind the helmet. ...Show more

Thanks for the Mammaries - I Had Cancer but It Never Had Me by Kate Gale

$24.95 AUD

Category: Biography & Memoir

Thanks for the Mammaries is an honest recount of author Kate Gale's journey with cancer. After being diagnosed at the young age of twenty-seven with breast cancer, she fought a hard, uphill battle, stared it in the eye, and won. Life was getting back to normal when tragedy struck Kate's young family aga in, when her husband was diagnosed with renal cancer five years later.What followed was the biggest curveball that Kate had been handed to date when roles were reversed, and she was sitting on the other side of a cancer diagnosis. It opened her eyes to life, what was important, who was important, and which direction she wanted to go in.Kate had now seen both sides of the disease, from two different perspectives, and knew that she had to break down the barriers that surrounded cancer. Her positive, inspiring, and honest attitude towards her battles are not only refreshing, but something that will leave you wondering what is important to you. Kate shows you how dreaming big, giving back, and having a never give up kind of attitude can turn a negative into a positive whilst continuing to smile. ...Show more

The 99th Koala by Kailas Wild

$32.99 AUD

Category: Biography & Memoir

In last summer's devastating fires, Kangaroo Island lost half of its koala population, with many more left injured and starving. This is the inspiring and sometimes confronting story of someone who went to help and ended up a koala dad.   When Kailas Wild - arborist by trade and conservationist at heart - heard that there were injured koalas on Kangaroo Island who could only be reached by a tree climber, he drove 1500 kms to volunteer.   Seven weeks later, he had crowd-funded sixty-five thousand dollars, participated in the rescue of over 100 koalas and had formed a special bond with a baby koala - Joey Kai. His social media postings gained tens of thousands of views and press attention around Australia and overseas, including the BBC, The Times (London), The New York Times and The Daily Mail.   The 99th Koala shares that experience, in words and pictures, and introduces us to some of the koalas of Kangaroo Island. Sometimes tragic, sometimes hopeful, Kai's story above all commemorates our unique wildlife, and demonstrates the power of one person trying to make a difference.   'At a time when many people have felt helpless to act against the immensity of the fires or the threat of climate change, Kai's daily descriptions and videos of saving helpless animals have been a welcome dose of personal courage and deep humanity.' ABC   ...Show more

Black and Blue by Veronica Gorrie

$32.99 AUD

Category: Biography & Memoir

The story of an Aboriginal woman who worked as a police officer and fought for justice both within and beyond the Australian police force. A proud Kurnai woman, Veronica Gorrie grew up dauntless, full of cheek and a fierce sense of justice. After watching her friends and family suffer under a deeply co mpromised law-enforcement system, Gorrie signed up for training to become one of a rare few Aboriginal police officers in Australia. In her ten years in the force, she witnessed appalling institutional racism and sexism, and fought past those things to provide courageous and compassionate service to civilians in need, many Aboriginal themselves. With a great gift for storytelling and a wicked sense of humour, Gorrie frankly and movingly explores the impact of racism on her family and her life, the impact of intergenerational trauma resulting from cultural dispossession, and the inevitable difficulties of making her way as an Aboriginal woman in the white-and-male-dominated workplace of the police force. Black and Blue is a memoir of remarkable fortitude and resilience, told with wit, wisdom, and great heart. ...Show more

One Italian Summer by Pip Williams

$29.99 AUD

Category: Biography & Memoir

Pip and Shannon dreamed of living the good life. They wanted to slow down, grow their own food, and spend more time with the people they love. But jobs and responsibilities got in the way: their chooks died, their fruit rotted, and Pip ended up depressed and in therapy. So they did the only reasonable t hing - they quit their jobs, pulled the children out of school and went searching for la dolce vita in Italy.One Italian Summer is a warm, funny and often poignant story of a family's search for a better way of living in the homes and on the farms of strangers. Pip sleeps in a woodshed, feasts under a Tuscan sun, works like a tractor in Calabria and, eventually, finds her dream - though it's not at all the one she expected.   ...Show more

Turns Out, I'm Fine by JUDITH LUCY

$27.99 AUD

$32.99 (15% off)

Category: Biography & Memoir

When the relationship Judith Lucy thought was The One broke down, her world fell apart. Not only was she single again and about to turn fifty but now that she didn't have a partner to buy gourmet sausages with at Farmers' Markets, she realised how much her relationship had enabled her to avoid dealing w ith: everything from her brother's death to her doubts about doing comedy in an increasingly serious world situation. Why was she so floored? Did all these problems have something in common? Judith went back to the start to try and work that out. In her most candid and insightful book yet, Judith looks at her family and relationships to understand how despite being a feminist, her hopes and expectations have been shaped by men – whether it was thinking that she needed Mr Right to 'complete her' or struggling for male approval in most aspects of her life, including her work. Having diagnosed the disease, Judith sets about healing. She explores other ways to get outside herself and make the most of the time she has left – community, volunteering, climate action and the natural world. And although things will doubtless keep going wrong (like covid!), it turns out she's fine. ...Show more

The Soul of a Woman by Isabel Allende

$22.99 AUD

Category: Biography & Memoir

The wise, warm, defiant new book from literary legend Isabel Allende a meditation on power, feminism and what it means to be a woman. 'When I say that I was a feminist in kindergarten, I am not exaggerating.' As a child, Isabel Allende watched her mother, abandoned by her husband, provide for her three small children. As a young woman coming of age in the late 1960s, she rode the first wave of feminism. She has seen what has been accomplished by the movement in the course of her lifetime. And over the course of three marriages, she has learned how to grow as a woman while having a partner, when to step away, and the rewards of embracing one's sexuality. So what do women want? To be safe, to be valued, to live in peace, to have their own resources, to be connected, to have control over their bodies and lives, and above all, to be loved. On all these fronts, there is much work to be done, and this book, Allende hopes, will 'light the torch of our daughters and granddaughters with mine. They will have to live for us, as we lived for our mothers, and carry on with the work still left to be finished.'   ...Show more

Shanghai Acrobat by Jingjing Xue

$32.99 AUD

Category: Biography & Memoir

For readers of Mao's Last Dancer comes the inspiring true story of a world-famous acrobat who escaped communist China to begin a new life in Australia. Jingjing Xue was born in China in the 1950s, during one of the worst times in the reign of communist leader Mao Zedong, or Chairman Mao. Mao's extreme f ive-year industrialisation plan - the Great Leap Forward - left much of the population starving, destitute and gripped with fear. Jingjing, abandoned to an orphanage as a young boy, was destined to a life of hardship before officials singled him out and enlisted him to train with the Shanghai Acrobatics School. This autobiography tells the moving story of his rise from poverty to become an admired performer in China and beyond - and of his extraordinary escape from Mao's repressive regime to secure his freedom. Set in China from the early years of the communist era, through the turbulent period of the Cultural Revolution, and to a new life in Australia, this is a story of hope and perseverance, of overcoming adversity and of finding a place to belong. ...Show more

The Hard Way - Adapt, Survive and Win by Mark 'Billy' Billingham

$19.99 AUD

Category: Biography & Memoir

'The SAS and all it stands for is exemplified in men such as Mark 'Billy' Billingham. They are the backbone of the British military and I for one am thankful he is on our side!' - Sir Ranulph Fiennes 'Billy is inspirational and always humble. A giant of a man!' - Bear Grylls 'The most experienced Specia l Forces soldier in recent memory. The Hard Way is brutally brilliant.' - Tom Marcus, Number One bestselling author of Soldier Spy Billy Billingham grew up tough; a grim future ahead of him offering little respite from the hostile streets he walked. Leaving school at eleven years of age, the threat of borstal hanging over his head, running with gangs in Birmingham, and almost being killed in a knife fight eventually led to Billy discovering the British armed forces at sixteen years of age. It would be the making of him.   Billingham would graduate from the Royal Marine cadets to enlisting with the Parachute Regiment in 1983, where he would serve with distinction as a Patrol Commander and expert sniper. In 1991 he took on an even bigger challenge - taking the SAS course - the fearsome and secretive elite special forces unit with a well-won reputation for excellence in operating in extreme and hazardous conditions. He excelled in this life, rising to the rank of sergeant major for the regiment, and undertaking dozens of classified and extremely dangerous missions. He would ultimately serve seventeen years with the SAS, serving in countless war zones, winning a commendation for bravery and being awarded the MBE. After leaving the army he would embrace the life of a bodyguard to Hollywood stars such as Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Sir Michael Caine, Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe, before being recruited as one of the lead instructors on SAS - Who Dares Wins for television.   Billy is a highly-decorated veteran; with a reputation for excellence, honesty and integrity not only supporting his comrades Ant Middleton, Jason Fox and Ollie Ollerton, but equally intimidating and inspiring the contestants who take on the gruelling challenges each week. The Hard Way details Billy's story thus far, but will also educate and enthral those wishing to seek a challenge and conquer it - the SAS way. ...Show more

Prince Philip Revealed: A Man of His Century by Ingrid Seward

$32.99 AUD

Category: Biography & Memoir

For more than 70 years, Prince Philip has been the Queen's constant companion and support, but his vital role in the monarchy has too often gone largely unnoticed. Now, in Ingrid Seward's superb new biography of the Duke of Edinburgh, we get the chance to read the full story of his remarkable life and a chievements.  Born into the Greek and Danish royal families in 1921, a descendant of Queen Victoria, Prince Philip's aristocratic credentials were second to none. But, only 18 months after his birth, the family had to be rescued by a British warship from the island of Corfu after his father was exiled. His nomadic childhood was spent in Germany, Paris and eventually England where he was sent to boarding school. At the age of 18, while studying at Dartmouth Naval College, he was asked to look after the King's two daughters, 13-year-old Elizabeth and her sister Margaret, during a royal visit. It was their first proper meeting and, only eight years later, their marriage in 1947 brought new light to the country after the perils of the war. But, within a few years, their lives were transformed when in 1952 she became Queen Elizabeth II, and he had to give up his naval career and learn a new role as consort, deferring in public to the monarch and even having to give up his surname. In Ingrid Seward's brilliant new biography, we see how such a man of action coped with having to spend the next seventy years of his life walking two steps behind his wife. His reaction was to create a role for himself, modernising the monarchy, campaigning to protect the environment, supporting the sciences and engineering, and inspiring the young through the Duke of Edinburgh Awards. But, above all, he proved himself to be the Queen's most valuable and loyal companion throughout her long reign. The TV series The Crown has helped bring Prince Philip to the centre of attention, but this superb biography not only examines the major influences on his life but is packed with revealing behind-the-scenes details and great insight. This first major biography of Prince Philip for almost 30 years shines new light on his complex character and extraordinary career.  ...Show more