[hr]In this issue of The Retiree we bring you latest releases from some of Australia’s most inspiring people. These are real-life stories with meaning and all are available at most leading book stores. [hr]

The Day was Made for Walking 

– Searching for Meaning on the Camino de Santiago, Noel Braun

At 77 years old, Noel Braun found himself in a position where his long-held desire to walk the Camino, the ancient pilgrimage route that leads across France and Spain to Santiago de Compestela, is not just a possibility, but an important step in rediscovery. The suicide of Maris, his wife of 42 years, left him needing new direction in his life. So leaving the support of family and friends, he undertook the trip and used his writing talents to document the journey in The Day was Made for Walking. 

Noel, who raised four children and worked as a country school teacher and in the corporate arena has written two novels: Friend and Philosopher and Whistler Street. The Day was Made for Walking follows his memoir No Way to Behave at a Funeral, which describes his struggle following his wife’s death.

The Day Was Made for Walking merges the spiritual with the physical, the ancient with the contemporary. It’s an engaging travel memoir, but also a glimpse into history and a travel guide.

[hr]

Nurses of the Outback

– Annabelle Brayley 

Nurse turned writer Annabelle Brayley shares the stories of 15 nurses who have all lived exceptional, caouragious and adventurous lives helping Australians in remote areas of the outback.

From Bidyadanga to Broken Hill, from Mount Isa to Marree, these moving and often breathtaking tales are full of gutsy feats and classic outback spirit.

In Nurses of the Outback we meet Anna, who is on duty in Georgetown as the fury of Cyclone Yasi tears through inland North Queensland; Maureen in outback New South Wales who faces everything from a snakebite to a helicopter crash; Aggie, who overcomes her demons to help young people in the Kimberley; and Catherine, newly graduated and determined to make a difference in the Gulf Country.

Having trained herself Annabelle Brayley knows exactly what it takes to be a nurse in the outback. She believes ‘true nurses are called to their profession, even though many of them don’t necessarily recognise the initial summons.’

When Annabelle decided to retire from healthcare to pursue her passion for storytelling it wasn’t hard to find inspiration amongst the intrepid and spirited people of the inland. Nurses of the Outback is Annabelle’s second book following Bush Nurses published in 2013.

[hr]

A Tale of Two Titties

–  Tanya Curran Brown 

The true story of a quirky hairdresser who gave breast cancer the flick!

NSW hairdresser and mum Tanya Curran Brown is a master hairdresser who runs her own salon and listened to many a tale in the hairdressing chair.

Now in her 50s, with two husbands and a few de facto relationships behind her, she is sharing her personal story battling highly aggressive form of breast cancer, which ultimately resulted in making the brave choice to undergo a double mastectomy.

A Tale of Two Titties, is a warts and all account of her cancer fight, how it affected her and the people in her life, and at the same time provides women going through their own cancer battle with a hand to hold.

This is a story by a true Aussie battler with a fantastic sense of humor and optimistic attitude.

[hr]

You’re Still Hot to Me

–  Jean Kittson

If someone can make the subject of menopause engaging and funny, yet informative, then it’s going to be Jean Kittson.

As one of Australia’s most recognised and talented comedians, performers and writers having appeared in film print, television and radio, she certainly knows how to tell a yarn. 

Kittson came to fame in the ABC’s The Big Gig and went on to star in Flat Chat, The Great Debate Series, David Williamson’s play Siren, Blue Vinyl and Calendar Girls. Now, she has written You’re Still Hot to Me, breaking menopause out of the closet and creating discussion.

The book, while frequently funny, is a candid exploration of The Change and a celebration of the tough women who go through it. It tackles difficult questions about common symptoms, how to seek help, what treatments work, and how to maintain relationships when you emerge.

[hr]

Love in the Outback

English born Deb Hunt is a woman used to packing boxes. She’s worked as a librarian, teacher, event manager, PR executive, actress and journalist and lived in France, Spain, Saudi Arabia, London, a small village in Gloucestershire and Sydney.

She’s even had a stint in Broken Hill. 

Love in the Outback tells Jane’s story of travelling from her familiar English lifestyle to work as a PR assistant with the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

In the most unlikely place it was here she encountered a land she never imagined and met a man unlike any other – and the polar opposite of Deb.

It’s a story of frustration and fulfilment, and like her first book Dream Wheeler, is a story which proves it’s never too late to look for love.

 
[related_ad category=”998″ max_size=”3″ title=”Related Offers”] [related_ad category=”8″ max_size=”3″ title=”Related Stories”]