When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi (The Bodley Head, Penguin Random House UK, 2016) I finished this book in tears last night. I heard the long-silenced voice of Paul Kalanithi, how he weighed his internal and external moral dilemmas and tried to work and live...
Think Like An Artist…and Lead a more Creative, Productive Life by Will Gompertz (Penguin Random House UK, 2015) In this brilliant package of inspiration, BBC Arts Editor Will Gompertz challenges us to think differently about our art and our world. For anyone who...
Writing with Grace: A Journey beyond Down Syndrome by Judy McFarlane (Douglas & McIntyre, 2014) “Grace has changed how I see the world. She has opened my heart in a way I once would have thought impossible.” What happens when you meet someone who...
The True Secret of Writing: Connecting Life with Language by Natalie Goldberg (Atria Books, Simon & Schuster Inc., 2013) “Pick up the pen and face yourself.” During our family holiday in September — which actually turned into my month-long bronchitis holiday...
Many thanks to Lisa Southgate and Matthew Southgate for this guest post on Margi Brown Ash’s play Home Mother: I heard about Home accidentally. At the end of another Queensland Theatre Company event a woman with purple glasses and a mad fountain of white hair...
The Heart and the Bottle by Oliver Jeffers (HarperCollins Children’s Books 2010) The title of this book by artist Oliver Jeffers caught my eye when I was at Milpera State School. I was waiting for the bell to signal the end of class and the beginning of my...
Ignore Everybody And 39 Other Keys to Creativity by Hugh MacLeod (Portfolio, Penguin Group USA, 2009) Whether you’re writing, building a reputation in a new area, thinking of starting a creative business or organizing a platform for your thoughts, you’ll need friends...
Belonging by Jeannie Baker (Walker Books Ltd. 2004) Two friends gave me this aptly-titled book for my birthday last year. I have other Jeannie Baker books, or rather I’ve bought them for my children because of the beauty of the artwork and they way the art elicits...
”If you destroy the entire generation of people’s culture, it’s as if they never existed.’’ The Monuments Men (trailer) We skipped yoga the other night and went to see the movie The Monuments Men. That quote from George Clooney has been taking up space in my...
