Andrew Sneddon manages to imbue a palpable sense of humour into this memoir that reads like a car crash. A car crash with his despicable stepfather Philip at the wheel.

Growing up in the Gold Coast during the 1980s, Sneddon cannot remember how many times they were forced to move, usually with an irate landlord chasing their family for rent owed. However, not paying the rent is nothing compared to what Sneddon’s stepfather, Philip, did to his family. We will never know what Philip may have been like sober, as he is either drunk or hungover in Sneddon’s book. And being in this perpetual state, he was dangerous.

It is saddening to think that this man’s addiction drove his family into poverty. He abused his wife and thought only of himself and where his next drink was coming from.

This memoir shines a light on domestic violence. Sneddon takes you inside his childhood. At times I cringed when he could hear his father’s footsteps approaching knowing he would be drunk, and anything could happen.

With the childhood depicted in this memoir Sneddon must be commended for surviving and becoming a famous archaeologist and heritage consultant. He segues from the ancient world to his childhood using archaeological finds, a different one for each chapter. For example, the first chapter’s ‘find’ is a 3800-year-old hearth excavated in Cypress. The hearth in history was a symbol of safety, comfort, and stability, feelings Sneddon never felt because of Phillip and the constant changing of address. These comparisons and reflections add so much to his story.

Prehistoric Joy is wonderful memoir and debut.

Reviewed by Neale Lucas

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Andrew Sneddon is co-owner and a director of Australia’s largest specialist heritage consultancy. He has lived and worked in Melbourne and Sydney, and been involved in archaeological research excavations around the world, including in Cyprus, Syria, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Italy, Greece, Cambodia and Myanmar. Andrew was the Director of UQ’s Culture and Heritage Unit from 2009 to 2017. He currently lives in Brisbane with his wife and son. Prehistoric Joy is his first book.