The first line in this memoir is a good indicator of what’s to come: ‘There’s a photo of my mother in a coffin’. This is a heady mix of binaries – of darkness and light, of horror and humour. Lawrinson separates her un-happiness into six chapters, before searching for and finding a chink of light through the dark curtain of her life.
Lawrinson’s family history is one of poverty, gendered violence and (not always welcome) surprises. She supplies a family tree, which is helpful, as the branches are not straightforward. When her mum, Gwen, was young and naïve, she became pregnant to what she describes as a ‘family friend’. Gwen’s mother, Violet, was married to a policeman, Frank, who was both a psychological tormentor and physically violent husband. Gwen’s husband, Derek, was a ten-pound Pom, but also had domestic violence in his family. Lawrinson’s parents separated in 1979 and Gwen turned to alcohol and casual sex. Julia’s home life was textbook dysfunctional.
Lawrinson seemed to pinball between different life paths. She sought solace in the church, drinking, shoplifting and musical theatre. She became estranged from her best friend… then found out she’d been murdered. Her sexuality was fluid and ended up marrying her ex-girlfriend’s brother (and having a daughter, Annie, named after that same ex). Her daughter remains her anchor point.
This memoir is written with heavy doses of black humour. This is understandable, otherwise the book is a laundry list of calamities. While jocular, this façade of comedy is a thin veneer. Sometimes people, having undergone significant trauma, try to cover that hurt with laughter. That’s laudable – as is the writing – but it’s often too sad to be funny.
Reviewed by Bob Moore
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Julia’s first novel, Obsession, published with Fremantle Press in 2001, won the WA Premier’s Book Award for Young Adult Writing. Since then, she has published fifteen more books for children and young people. Several of her books have been Notable Books in the Children’s Book Council Awards, and others have been shortlisted for various awards, including the Queensland Literary Awards, WA Young Readers Book Award, the Australian Association of Family Therapy Award for Children’s Literature, and the Educational Publishing Awards Australia.
After leaving school in a huff at the age of fifteen, Julia has gone on to get several degrees, including a PhD in Writing and a Bachelor of Laws with Distinction.
Julia has worked in many organisations, from the public sector to private language teaching to Parliament (fun fact: she was both Sergeant-at-Arms and Usher of the Black Rod). She works as a consultant on legislation and policy as well as presenting to people of all ages on how to put things into words and explaining why this is a good idea.
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