From pride to shame: a boy's fall from grace. The true story of my extraordinary childhood.
My early childhood brimmed with purpose and promise. As the only son after four daughters, the royal treatment was fine by me.
Dad and Mum made a popular match in our little town: the droll, athletic grocer and the stylish, industrious charity queen. On the surface at least, 1950's rural Australian life was safe and predictable. Crime occurred in the cities; wars were fought overseas.
Dad taught the girls and me to swim in the beautiful Broken Creek, a stone's throw from our weatherboard house. Mum whipped up delicious meals and cakes on a wood-burning stove.
Dad worked in a wonderful old department store, complete with skylights and cellar. There was nothing more exciting - or terrifying - than my sisters' guided tours of the cellar.
My father's routine declaration "We must be the 'buckiest luggers' on Earth" had some truth to it.
But his naivete would prove to be my downfall.
"Beautifully written, heartbreaking, yet funny" Elspeth McGregor 'Paragon'
"A gem. Sad, funny, uplifting, but above all, real" Andrew Stevens 'The Poet'