Ten Hail MarysFrank and funny, this memoir vividly recounts the first 17 years of the author's life in Sydney's slums and in New South Wales' countryside. Abandoned by her mother as a baby and by her volatile grandmother as a young girl, Kate Howarth was shunted between Aboriginal relatives and expected to grow up fast. It was a childhood beset by hardship, abuse, profound grief, and poverty, but buoyed with the hope that one day she would make a better life for herself and her child. Incredibly moving, this is the compelling true story of a childhood lost and a young woman's hard-won self-possession. |
Contents
1 Out of a bottle | 1 |
2 The new place | 10 |
3 A fresh start | 17 |
4 Out at the farm | 25 |
5 Bundles of trouble | 31 |
6 An unexpected visitor | 39 |
7 Sisters | 46 |
8 Be careful what you wish for | 52 |
22 Unwed mothers | 164 |
23 Light duties | 173 |
24 The sweat shop | 183 |
25 Refusing to buckle | 192 |
26 NitenDay | 200 |
27 Pain relief | 207 |
28 Turning up the heat | 217 |
29 If looks could kill | 225 |
9 Ward of the state | 62 |
10 The station | 69 |
11 Apartheid town | 79 |
12 Back at the lake | 88 |
13 An innocent mistake | 96 |
14 The childrens home | 105 |
15 A narrow escape | 112 |
16 Over the road | 118 |
17 Shattered dreams | 126 |
18 The dolls house | 132 |
19 Same old suitcase in another hall | 140 |
20 Facing the music | 150 |
21 Paperwork | 156 |
30 A shotgun wedding | 231 |
31 A girl a suitcase and a bassinette | 239 |
32 Change of address | 248 |
33 No use screaming | 258 |
34 The black dog | 266 |
35 Door to door | 272 |
36 A terrible mistake | 277 |
37 Fair game | 282 |
38 A girl a suitcase and a sewing machine | 288 |
Epilogue | 297 |
Acknowledgments | 303 |
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