Ventura Press – förlag

From the outside, Seana Smith lived an enviable life. An Oxford graduate, a successful career with the BBC and Sydney’s Channel 9, a bestselling author, happily married. But behind this perfect life she had a secret: Seana was a drinker, and alcohol was slowly taking away her life, destroying her health, her emotional well-being, her world.  With engaging style and wit, Going Under reveals the true story behind Seana’s lifelong battle with drink. It lays bare a confusing childhood of Scottish sailing adventures and also brutal violence from her bullying, alcoholic father; where punches were thrown, broken bones hidden and her family lived in fear. Learning from the best, Seana drank her way through tutorials at Oxford University (which were held in the pub), through the sexual misadventures of her twenties and through the intensity and mundanity of motherhood.  It took the death of her parents and a tree-change to Orange in regional NSW for Seana to find the courage to break free; a new life in a new world. She had finally left the past behind. Growing up with an abusive alcoholic father and finding the courage to escape.  Crosses between Edinburgh, Oxford University, Sydney and Orange, NSW. Compelling combination of women’s quit lit and memoir.  The intensity and loneliness of motherhood laid bare. Explores the pain of emigration and finding belonging in a new world.   This is a memoir long in the making and is a powerful testament to resilience, acceptance and ultimately love.  A story of recovery and sobriety for fans of The Sober Diaries, Beyond Booze and A Thousand Wasted Sundays. LARGE SCALE PR CAMPAIGN BY PITCH PROJECTS "Going Under is funny, insightful and inspiring.  This is like hanging out with a really brilliant friend who, you know, will make you a better person. Seana Smith is the real deal - a truth-teller and a writer of immense integrity."Kathryn Heyman Author of Fury   "With a tender touch, Smith contemplates the two truths of her childhood: the wild island adventures and the brutal eruptions behind closed doors. Standing on the precipice of her own alcoholism, she realizes that reckoning with the past is the only way to shape the future."Jenny Valentish Author of Woman of Substances   "With sparkling, musical prose and unflinching generosity of spirit, Seana Smith lays bare the facts of a life stalked by alcohol. A life that ricochets ‘between privilege and terror, between adventure and fear. So much more than a book about the booze, Going Under is an intricate, often beautiful mosaic of family, the individuals caught inside its sharp-edged cracks, and the self-yearning to make sense of all it all. The story of a woman emerging from the brokenness of the past and the never-ending pressures of the present to reclaim joy.  Honest. Tender. Laugh-cry funny. Walking with Seana through her year of Going Under is to make a new and wise friend."Kim Kelly, author of Ladies’ Rest and Writing Room

Talk With Your Kids: Big Ideas is the second in the Talk With Your Kids series by Michael Parker. Once again Michael stirs up all of those tricky questions that parents often avoid such as ‘what is infinity?’ ‘What is democracy?’ Or even ‘can I own a gun?’ Big Ideas has over 75 conversations for parents to have with their children to try and tackle those large questions about life and the universe. Michael Parker promotes the use of the questions for a platform fordiscussion with children, which will engage them more than a simple read of a book. Michael uses varied formatting such as: the use of multiple choice questions, visual scenarios or open ended questions to engage both children and parents alike and stimulate discussion. Talk With Your Kids: Big Ideas is a tool for parents to help their children understand aspects of the world that they might not even understand in the first place.

Inspired by one Dad’s calamitous entry into the peculiar cosmos of arch parenting, SuperDad SpeedBible is truly a high-performance toolbox for men with young kids. It is a big fun, no-nonsense, fast-paced, effective source of information on child health and safety, your health and safety, diet and nutrition, entertainment, sleeping, behavior, milestones, balancing work and parenting, finding good childcare and plenty more. There’s even a chapter with (almost) foolproof techniques to help you keep your partner happy or pick up women if you’re single. Ryan Heffernan is a recognised Australian television producer, investigative journalist and writer. Ryan worked for News Limited before going behind the scenes as an investigative producer with the Seven Network’s Today Tonight and is now a freelance journalist. Ryan has flown headlong into a cyclone in a light plane, sat with the families of Bali bombing victims and roamed Queensland’s Palm Island with locals, following a riot in response to an Aboriginal death in custody. He was almost run over in a car after he questioned a man who sold his baby for $10,000. But in the end it was Ryan’s one-year-old son who brought him completely undone, tasking him with the greatest challenge he may ever face. Single parenthood.

So much of modern motherhood is targeted at looking good even when you feel crap and making your baby look good even though he or she won’t settle or feed or stop crying, all in the shortest time frame possible. The Miranda Kerr and Heidi Klums of the world make it look easy; have a baby and get back on the runway 2 minutes later with a flat stomach, silky hair and glowing skin. What about the mothers who get acne from pregnancy, or whose hair turns grey, or can’t loose their baby belly in 10 seconds flat? This book is for them. Heather Irvine, Clinical Psychologist and head of the R.E.A.D Clinic, appropriately balances clinical expertise with common sense “mother appeal” for mothers struggling in their baby’s first year. The Birth of the Modern Mum looks at the serious issues such as Postnatal Depression (PND), relationship changes and physical changes that mothers face in their first year with a new baby while still providing light-hearted quick fixes that any mother can implement in short period of time. Heather taps into the realistic image of motherhood leaving behind the doldrums of medical professionally written books. The Birth of the Modern Mum is a book that any mother can be proud of. It can be placed on the coffee table right next to the Women’s Day or Famous magazines without shame should guests drop by. Because whilst the book tackles the factors that underlie PND and related cognitive and affective dysfunction no mother wants to have a heavy PND-title book sitting around in her lounge room. And let’s face it, once a book is put away on the bookshelf, in the life of a busy mum it’s unlikely to come out again.

A testament to the power of female courage and strength, this intensely personal memoir reveals how one woman confronted her dark past and broke free from lifelong trauma bonds. Not content with only healing herself, author Martina Zangger has dedicated her life to helping other sexual assault survivors as they navigate both their healing journeys and the complexities of the criminal justice system. Her frankness in narrating her startling life choices displays the potency of shedding shame and the freedom that follows. Sexually abused by her grandfather and uncle as a small child, Martina's early years became the foundation for a life of struggles and wrong turns. Like many victim survivors, Martina kept her trauma a secreta suppression that led her into sex work and ultimately into the grip of the notorious cult of the Indian guru Rajneesh. For decades, Martina believed she was a magnet for abusers; that the sexual violence she endured was somehow her fault. But healing has allowed Martina to bravely face the tragedies she once buried, and to place the blame where it belongs. No longer silenced by shame, Martina's greatest discovery is that love doesn't have to be dangerous, that it can be respectful and kind instead. This is her story, and it is a story of hope for all survivors.

In the final week before a federal election, political adviser Francis McGuire is tasked with one job: launching the Opposition's flagship health policy.Every detail is in place.Until the party's ruthless campaign strategist decides to sabotage it.When his plan backfires, Francis is made the scapegoat. Publicly shamed and hunted by the press, she flees to a small town on Western Australia's south coast the same place she escaped after her father's fatal car accident years earlier.But what awaits her is far more dangerous than political betrayal: organised crime; corruption reaching the highest office in the land; a coldblooded contest for power and control; and a murder that threatens to fracture the nation itself.As enemies close in, Francis must decide how much she's willing to risk to expose the truth.Can she do that or will the truth remain Unspoken?

In a town scarred by floodwaters, the past refuses to stay buried.When a catastrophic flood rips through the rural town of Birradurra, a shocking cold case is discovered. Unearthed from the mud are the skeletal remains of a baby.Shaken by this and haunted by her traumatic past, journalist Bec Carter is consumed with getting justice for the victim.But when her friend Harry who vowed to help with the investigation vanishes in violent circumstances, authorities look to Bec for answers.Now the prime suspect in Harry's disappearance, Bec must fight to clear her name and uncover the facts before another flood hits.But nothing is straightforward, and someone will do anything to keep the past from resurfacing.Twisty, atmospheric and utterly gripping, The Rising is a heart-stopping thriller where every secret comes with a cost and some truths are better left hidden.

The Writer Laid Bare is a book for everyone who loves the craft of good writing. Be they a voracious reader wanting to know more or an emerging writer themselves, best-selling author and writing coach Lee Kofman has distilled her wisdom, insight and passion into this guide to writing and emotional honesty.A combination of raw memoir and a professional writing toolkit, Lee examines her own life, rich in story and emotion to reveal how committing to a truthful writing practice helped her conquer writer's block and develop her own authentic voice.';Show don't tell' has never been so compelling.Inspired by her popular writing courses, Lee also offers practical advice on drafts, edits and how to achieve a life/writing balance. How combining her writing with motherhood led her to recognise that '; the pram in the hall' issue is real.Plus the ultimate reading list of books you really should read, from Chekhov to Elena Ferrante and Helen Garner.';The Writer Laid Baretakes us on an intimate journey into the magical, and often challenging, terrain an author inhabits. Kofman courageously shares with the reader her own probing writerly journey of self-discovery.' -Leah Kaminsky

Ever had an itch you couldn''t scratch? Hairy-Nosed Wombat has one, and somebody has chopped down his favourite scratching tree! Join our marsupial hero on an itchity, scratchity adventure as he tries to find the perfect place to scratch his butt. Itchity, scratchity, grumble and groan. A shudder and shake, a snort and a moan. A grunt and a huff, and a spitterly splut. He said “I really need to scratch my butt.” This story, written by South Australian author Elizabeth Frankel, and illustrated by Garry Duncan, will charm children and adults alike.

Once regarded as one of the nation's leading schools, grand old St Jude's School for Girls finds itself on the brink of collapse after a number of public scandals damage its reputation.Rosie Gladshaw a dynamic and successful educator in her 40s is appointed principal to lead the school into a bright new future. However, when Rosie comes face to face with the nuns and old girls who rigorously guard the school's traditions, she soon discovers that her new role is much more than she signed up for.Rosie uncovers a web of secrets, abuse and illicit affairs and a murder which must be solved. But will Rosie be the whistle-blower, even if it puts her and family in danger?

"He was a single male alone in a small town with no family to care for him. By any criteria, he was a suicide risk.” Resurrection written by Patricia McDermott tells the tragic true story leading up to the death of her younger brother, Matthew, at just 28 years old. Matthew’s dream was not uncommon. The plan was to get out of Sydney and settle down in the small country town of Temora NSW. His dream was to eventually buy a little farm, start his career as a high school teacher in a small town, and have a family. A simple plan you would think. Matthew lasted in Temora for just 6 months. Patricia’s memoir reveals the untold stories from Temora. Using a collection of family and friends'' recollections, as well as witness statements and official reports, we learn the power of four young girls and an undersupported community

"I quickly swapped my ‘Ms Innocent, the world is tough but basically okay’ hat for the one of ‘Breast Cancer Patient’, madly trying to process everything that the doctor was saying.” An inauspicious encounter in a doctor’s surgery during a routine follow-up for IVF initiates a descent into a labyrinth of questioning and uncertainty. From those first words ushered out of the doctors mouth starts a year where the mind is consumed by medical research, medical terms, hospital visits, medication and explanations. The diagnosis was breast cancer. Filled with reflections on life, motherhood, friendship, and the future, A Year of Medical Thinking chronicles one woman’s ordinary life as it is catapulted into a quest for meaning and purpose. SK Reid has shared personal experiences in this book in a way that speaks to all. The book focuses on the shift that occurs in the brain after a potentially life threatening diagnosis; the loss of control, security and hope prompts philosophical and spiritual reflections on life, vitality and most importantly resilience. Guaranteed to strike a cord with those who have experienced the loss of a baby or any potentially life-threatening illness, readers are reminded about the importance of sharing stories, talking about grief and never giving up in the face of adversity. Author and renowned filmmaker, Paul Cox (Tales From The Cancer Ward, Transit Lounge, 2011) has described it as "a very courageous book" that will provide "comfort" and be of "help to others who face sudden twists of fate" in their lives.

How do you respond when someone you know and love is struck down with a rare life-threatening cancer? That person is still very much alive, and needs expert care, attention and support during years of adjusting, relearning and rehabilitation. This happens to thousands of Australians and their families every year. It is usually hidden and rarely talked about, but it is common, costly and devastating. How do we and the person involved handle it?Leading surgeon Dr. Chris O'Brien believed that the most aggressive and disabling cancers could be treated in ways that make it possible for people to live longer or at best be cured. His work led to the establishment of the Chris O'Brien Lifehouse in Camperdown NSW in 2013. The Lifehouse changed the way cancer care was delivered, all while Dr O'Brien was facing his own inevitably lethal brain cancer.Author Roger Rees' close connection with the Lifehouse began in 2018 when his dear friend Anne Marks was diagnosed with a rare type of salivary gland cancer. Dangerously Well is an elegant testament to Anne's journey - and those of other patients - from good health to end of life through the remarkable palliative care given by doctors at the Chris O'Brien Lifehouse.In this book Roger offers valuable insights for patients, medical professionals and families. He explores delayed diagnosis, that which Anne experienced for years, and raises questions at the heart of what should be best medical practice. He also bears witness to medicine at its finest and talks of the remarkable friendships between doctors and patients.Anne Marks passed away in June 2024. Roger writes Dangerously Well in her memory.

Do I buy eggs laid by free-range chooks or the cheaper ones from caged birds? Do I tell my best friend I saw her boyfriend kissing another girl? Do I lie to my mum by telling her I will wear the jumper she bought me, even though it’s the ugliest jumper in the world? Every day our lives are punctuated by points of decision. Some of these decisions will be momentous, remembered for decades: most will go unnoticed, by us and by others. Yet all our choices matter: taken as a whole, they shape our lives and contribute to the rhythms of the world. In Everyday Ethics, Australia’s leading authority on ethics, Simon Longstaff, provides a map to help you better navigate the landscape of daily decisions more ethically. Using a broad range of topics and examples to provoke eye-opening reflection and discussion, Everyday Ethics is a lesson in how even our smallest choices can matter, and an empowering guide that will help us discover what is ‘good’ and what is ‘right’.

Good daughters hold their tongues, obey their elders and let their families determine their destiny. Rebellious daughters are just the opposite. In Rebellious Daughters, some of Australia’s most talented female writers share intimate and touching stories of rebellion and independence as they defy the expectations of parents and society to find their place in the world. Powerful, funny and poignant, these stories explore everything from getting caught in seedy nightclubs to lifelong family conflicts and marrying too young. Beautifully written, profoundly honest and always relatable, every story is a unique retelling that celebrates the rebellious daughter within us all. Not every woman is a mother, grandmother, aunty or sister – but all women are daughters. Rebellious Daughters contributors: Jane Caro, Jamila Rizvi, Susan Wyndham, Rebecca Starford, Marion Halligan, Amra Pajalic, Jo Case, Leah Kaminsky, Michelle Law, Caroline Baum, Rochelle Siemienowicz, Nicola Redhouse, Krissy Kneen, Silvia Kwon and Eliza-Jane Henry-Jones.

In this compelling anthology of personal essays, curated by award-winning author Lee Kofman, some of Australia’s most beloved writers reveal, for the first time, powerful, occasionally funny and often heartbreaking stories of significant endings and their aftermath.   Graeme Simsion, author of The Rosie Project, shares how he discarded his past – perhaps autistic – self, while comedian Sami Shah writes about his public split from Islam, the religion of his birth. Ramona Koval delves into the bittersweet end to her career at the ABC and Fiona Wright explores how her anorexia has affected her romantic relationships. Whereas Kate Holden suggests that for some, splitting – whether from memorabilia, books or lovers – is unimaginable.   Join eighteen acclaimed storytellers in their candid and courageous reflections on the intrinsic human experience of loss and leaving, that acknowledge the price we can often pay for a much-needed end, or new beginning.

Within us all is the potential to lead a fulfilled and satisfied life. But how to achieve this, or even where to start, is the hard part. Leading psychologist Winsome Thomas believes that to achieve true happiness eight fundamental human desires need to be met. They are called heart hungers: basic needs that stem from security, service, esteem, enjoyment, love, limits, freedom and spirituality. When one or more heart hunger isn’t fulfilled, especially over a long period of time, we experience anxiety, despair or depression. Using remarkable true stories from the people she has treated, most notably the author of Madness: A Memoir, Kate Richards, Heart Hungers will help you uncover your own heart hungers, and inspire the confidence to fulfill them. Deeply poignant, honest and inspiring, Winsome weaves her own tale of heart hunger discovery throughout the book, supporting the belief that the therapist’s own lived experience is a vital component to each individual’s journey of discovery and recovery.

In desperation, I look up into mum’s face. A small face – a loving face — And the lights go out. Her face is the last image I will ever see in my lifetime. Blind since the age of seven, Nick Gleeson has spent his life learning to ‘see’ without seeing. Growing up in the working-class Melbourne suburb of Broadmeadows, Nick’s young life was defined by touch and smell: learning the shape of each shoe so he knew left from right. Holding the huge, rough hand of his father. Smelling the well-worn vinyl in the family car. Gently feeling the smooth top and soft underbelly of a mushroom he has picked. When Nick meets Peter Bishop, Creative Director of Varuna, the Writers’ House many years later, he has led an amazing life of physical adventuring. He’s scaled basecamp at Everest and the top of Kilimanjaro; he’s been a Paralympic athlete, a marathon runner, a skydiver. And, most recently, he’s been on an expedition to the Simpson Desert. In a unique blend of memoir, conversation and insights into the writing process, together Peter and Nick have collaborated to share Nick’s compelling life journey with its many challenges, loves and losses. The Many Ways of Seeing is an inspiring true story about determination in the face of hardship, the importance of trust and friendship and the wonderful relationship between a mentor and writer.

“I began to notice how everything out there, in the wild, seemed to move. Oceans. Sharks. Wolves. Elephants. Rivers. Nothing stayed in the same place. I wanted to be like them too, and the only way to do this was to keep moving.” When Kate Mathieson finds herself with nothing to show except a well-adorned house and too many business suits, she makes the sudden decision to leave everything behind, and begins an elemental journey across Africa. Weaving a personal tale of reflection, adventure and discovery, Kate beautifully details the lives we have marked for ourselves – school, university, careers, marriages, mortgages, children, school – and that other life, the one that calls to us from dreams, and out of books, that suggests the life we are living, may not be ours. Shortlisted for the 2017 Finch Memoir Prize, Ways to Come Home is a powerful memoir about the need to know who we really are, and what it means to find our way back home.

Kathleen Jordan was a vibrant businesswoman, mother and grandmother until one morning in August 2011, she suffered a massive stroke and her world was turned upside. Her memoir Standing Up! gives a detailed and compelling insight into the effects of major stroke and the vital support and advocacy needed when she could not stand up for herself. Kathleen Jordan, with Vicki Steggall, recounts her journey through stroke, from the acute trauma, through to the stroke ward, short and long term rehabilitation units and, finally, her amazing recovery to return to semi-normalcy and everyday life. Jordan and Steggall reinforce the powerful role advocacy, family support and determination play in recovery and give specific strategies and advice to families who are feeling under-supported by medical limitations.

Racing the Boys tells the incredible story of Granny McDonald, the first female to train a Melbourne cup winner, and her rise to the top of the horse-racing world. Feisty New Zealander, Hedwick Maher, has always been called ‘Granny’ – even as a child. Short, plump, bossy and old before her years, Granny grew up idolizing her horse trainer father in the stables and always dreamt of becoming a trainer in her own right. And she does, in her later years, becoming one of the first females to get a trainer’s license in New Zealand. Flash forward to 1938, 8-year-old thoroughbred Catalogue wins the Melbourne Cup, and Granny realizes that she has just become the first woman in history to train a Melbourne Cup Winner. However, the glory is not hers, but her husband who appears in the official records as Catalogue’s trainer. Despite all of Granny’s achievements, The Victorian Racing Club refuses to issue a training license to a woman. Racing the Boys is based on the incredible true story of Granny McDonald, an ordinary woman with an extraordinary passion for training thoroughbreds in her own, spirited way, during an era when racing was almost totally male dominated. Guaranteed to appeal to anyone who has ever struggled to own they credit they deserve and take their place at the top.

Australian journalist Helen Hutcheon has always had a way with words and words have taken her away on incredible journeys during a 60-year career with P&O Cruises, Woman’s Day, the Australian Women’s Weekly, Vogue Living and Travelweek. Travel from the fabulous ‘tent city’ near the ruins of Persepolis where the 2,500th anniversary of the founding of the Persian Empire was celebrated, to Saigon during the Vietnam war when Woman’s Day played Santa to thousands of orphaned and refugee children, to ‘brown bagging’ in North Carolina and a bloodied ending in a search for the best curry in Fiji. Helen takes the reader across the globe as they are introduced to icons like the Shah of Iran, Princess Grace of Monaco and Audrey Hepburn, encountering people and places now gone forever. Away with Words evokes a long-gone era of journalism when writers bashed out stories on clapped-out typewriters using carbon paper to keep copies, and photographers brought their film back from the other side of the world to process it in the office dark room. Many of the people and places in this book are gone forever. It is an entertaining read for all ages, from those who will ‘remember when’ to younger people curious about ‘the good old days.’

Mark and Susan have their future all planned out: a happy marriage, home and kids – but then they have a miscarriage. Suddenly their hopes and dreams come crashing down as it is revealed they might never have children. For Mark, a paediatrician who works with children every day, the concept that he might not have a family of his own is shattering. A Time for Grace is Dr Mark Nethercote’s deeply personal memoir, exploring the IVF journey to parenthood and the struggles that many couples face when life doesn’t go according to plan. When Susan’s ailing health leads to a seemingly endless run of hard luck, Mark struggles with his new role of patient and the vulnerability that comes with it. That is, until a chance encounter turns their luck around. Now the father of two beautiful girls, Mark offers his unique professional perspective on IVF, giving hopeful parents the chance to learn about the process, have the myths and mysteries explained, the medical terms made accessible and procedures more easily understood, through an uplifting story that provides countless laugh-out-loud moments.

When Sara Rose returns to live in her recently deceased grandmother’s Tasmanian cottage, her past and that of her mother and grandmother is ever-present. Sara’s grandmother, Nina Barsova, a Russian post-war immigrant, lovingly raised Sara in the cottage at the foot of Mt Wellington but without ever explaining why Sara’s own mother, Helena, abandoned her as a baby. Sara, a geneticist, also longs to know the identity of her father, and Helena won’t tell her. Now, estranged not only from her mother, but also from her husband, Sara raises her daughter, Ellie, with a central wish to spare her the same feeling of abandonment that she experienced as a child.   When Sara meets an Afghani refugee separated from his beloved wife and family, she decides to try to repair relations with Helena – but when a lie told by her grandmother years before begins to unravel, a darker truth than she could ever imagine is revealed.  Matryoshka is a haunting and beautifully written story about the power of maternal love, and the danger of secrets passed down through generations.