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COSTER, DJ

Jun 22, 2023 | *, *Featured books, *listed, Australian, Autobiography, Memoir, Society, South Australia

Doug Coster self-published author A Boomers Ride book cover
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ISBN 978-1-922957-80-1
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A Boomer’s Ride

An unlikely journey through post-war Australia

‘Profoundly insightful with a good dose of wit… a light-hearted, nostalgic read’

D.J. Coster describes his life journey against the background of profound socioeconomic change in Australia in the 80 years since the end of WWII.

Coster is a perceptive observer of what has gone on around him and acknowledges the impact of national and international events on his life – and everyone else’s.

He describes the transitions that have tested him – from a working-class home into elite educational institutions, from medical student to junior doctor and the metamorphosis into a clinician scientist, and the tricky transition from doctor to patient. The story is told honestly and reflectively by someone not afraid to provoke. It is not a story of personal achievement against the odds, but a description of factors that made the baby boomer generation more privileged than any other generation before or since, and the way national and global events, chance encounters, and luck, shape lives.

Doug Coster author photo

About the Author

D.J. Coster AO, DSc, FTSE, is a retired ophthalmologist with a distinguished career in academic medicine.

He lives in Adelaide with his wife Marion.

CHI, Jenny

Jun 21, 2023 | *, *Featured books, *listed, Australian, Autobiography, Christian, Hill of Grace, Memoir, Music

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Jenny Chi self-published author A Simple Melody book cover

ISBN 978-1-922957-55-9
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A Simple Melody

Goes a long way

Someone wisely wrote that “where words fail, music speaks.” There is much more in music than any of us can ever imagine; and often we take music for granted. In this book, Jenny Chi has carefully brought her readers to an awareness of how music has the potential of positively impacting all of us in our everyday situations.

The title A Simple Melody came from an Irving Berlin popular tune in the fifties (around 1950) sung by Bing and his son, Gary Crosby. The message is that a simple melody can go a long way by its uses and benefits. Here, Jenny shares her personal experience with music, how it has impacted her own life and especially how she utilized it so effectively in various and numerous ways. The book also contains the stories of her friends and family members and what music meant to them and how it enriched their lives.

Up to the point of her departure to be with her Lord Jesus Christ, it had been Jenny’s hope that many will be personally inspired to allow both sacred and secular music to flow into their lives, and boldly explore the myriad benefits as to how music can so wonderfully bless them.

Hill of Grace quality Christian content
Jenny Chi Author Photo

About the Author

Jenny Chi passed away and went into Glory with her beloved Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, on May 15, 2022. She left behind her dear husband, Rev Dr Tony Chi, two sons Jonathan and Jeremy, and their respective wives, Sandra and Stephanie, and five lovely grandchildren, Michael, Lauryn, Lucie, Christoppher, and Norah. Jenny was born on June 16, 1941 in Melacca, Malaysia, and she grew up with six siblings. She was a secondary school teacher by training, but stopped her teaching career in 1968, when she went to Evanston, Illinois, USA to be with Tony who had enrolled as a graduate student at Northwestern University.

Tony completed his Master of Arts Degree and Doctor of Philosophy (Comparative Religions) Degree by way of a joint graduate study degree program between Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary and Northwestern University in 1973. While Tony studied, Jenny worked full time at the administration department of the United Methodist Board of Pensions. In their five years there, Jenny earned enough money to help pay for Tony’s tuition fees. Thus all her USA friends declared that Jenny had earned her “PHT” degree (putting hubby through).

Jenny lived an extraordinary life. She shared more than 60 years of church ministry together with Tony. Jenny gave unfailing support and encouragement to Tony as the untiring, self-giving Pastor’s wife, and also as a devoted mother and a much loved grandmother to her five grandchildren. On top of all these, she believed she had a God ordained ministry of her own. In answering God’s call to ministry, she started Sunday schools, set up youth ministry programs, organised choirs, initiated ladies’ meetings, prayer groups, and floral arranging classes. She also did a lot of home visitation, and conducted worship services in many of the church’s agedcare homes and centres.

She left a legacy which will never be forgotten by all who knew her. Jenny had an unfathomable love for people – any and every person in need. She loved being in service for others and gave herself completely to anyone who might undergo distress, discomfort, or any sojourner who might be spiritually lost, weary, or heavy laden with personal problems.

Someone wrote that Jenny had taught him the true meaning of love in Christ by her generosity, hospitality, and selfless giving of care to countless others. “I’m a better person for having known her.” Jenny’s extraordinary life is best summed up by another’s testimony of her: “Jenny, you are an amazingly lovely person, and the closest thing to an ANGEL Of GOD on earth.”

A timely quotation says: “IN JESUS, THERE IS NO LOSS.” God, in His Wisdom gave Jenny to live among us through decades of selfless giving ministry. In 2022, after over sixty years of total giving of herself in the service of God, Jenny found her place among God’s angels, and heard Him declare: “well done, good and faithful servant, enter now into the joy of thy Lord” (Matthew 25:21 KJV). Jenny, truly it can be said of you: You have fought the good fight, you have finished the race, you have kept the faith (2 Timothy 4: 7). 

RUSSELL, Dyson

Jun 14, 2023 | *, *Featured books, *listed, Australian, Autobiography, Memoir, Poetry, Victoria

Dyson Russel self-published author Marching with a Broken Shadow book cover
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ISBN 978-1-922957-87-0
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Marching with a Broken Shadow

The passage from birth to death is a journey that binds us all…

In this debut anthology entitled Marching with a Broken Shadow, readers are invited to embark on that journey; delving profoundly into their innermost thoughts and prevailing feelings – from the deepest and darkest layers of hurt and confusion, to the most hypnotic forms of happiness and dream.

Take the quest with the central character, and look forward to exploring, with reminiscence and wonder, the voyage that we call life, the ending we know as death, and all that lies in between.

About the Author

Dyson began writing poetry after studying William Blake in Year 12 Literature. By 2015 his poetry had become a means of catharsis and reflection as he cared for his sick mother.

Discovering her hidden poems after she passed away in 2017, Dyson began to write with the intention of producing a thematically linked and conceptually realised body of work – this work is what became Marching with a Broken Shadow.

Now, with a penchant for writing and storytelling, Dyson aims to continue to produce artistic and thought-provoking material, and is busily completing his follow up project entitled Stories Heard From the Hearts Whisper. 

WHITE, John

Jun 14, 2023 | *, *Featured books, *listed, Australian, Autobiography, Memoir, Victoria

Sandra Troise-Harrison self-published author Oh No! Mummy's cooking vegetables again childrens book cover
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ISBN 978-1-922957-81-8
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The Clock Keeps Ticking

Having to throw a lot of punches for protection was a way of life in the Navy! Survival depended on how willing I was to stand up to a culture that left many unable to defend themselves. I did a lot of the heavy lifting for them. My experiences in the Navy taught me about not backing down and letting others walk over me. Of course, this comes at a price, mentally, physically and emotionally.

I had to create ways to not only survive, but to prosper. The lessons learnt in the Navy certainly stayed with me through relationships and business and it came with good times and bad times.

This book is about coming from nothing and ending up in a reasonably good place. I’m not quite at peace with myself yet; I’m a work in progress and I’m looking to turn the next page and see what awaits. Read this book and learn how I survived, what drove me and how I keep moving forward.

The Clock Keeps Ticking. Tick, Tick, Tick.

John white self-published author the clock keeps ticking

CARROLL, Ivor John

May 24, 2023 | *, *Featured books, *listed, Adelaide, Australian, Autobiography, Justice, law and crime, South Australia

Ivor John Carroll self-published author We sweep the streets book cover
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ISBN 978-1-922957-33-7
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We Sweep the Streets

A police story based on fact

Ivor John Carroll—later to become known as ‘Chris’ short for ‘Xmas Carroll’ but affectionately called ‘Xmas’ by those that knew him well—a self-confessed ratbag—takes us on a sometimes comical and at times emotional journey through what it was to be a ‘copper’ during the 1940-50s.

The array of fascinating characters with whom he worked—some loved, some hated—the continually changing states of ‘the job’, and the many and varied ‘cases’ on which he worked, are related in a frank, politically incorrect and unfiltered manner—he pulls no punches.

These stories would almost certainly have been lost to time had Xmas’ youngest daughter, Vicki, not decided to dust off the hand-typed, yellowing, faded pages (remember typewriters?)—and retype, reformat, edit, and have published these intriguing, true telling’s of a hard but honest man. It could not have been done without the support and help of her husband, Tony, and his capable literary skills. It was a labour of love and a tribute to her father.

These stories are an important part of a legacy that Chris had always wanted to leave to his family—bringing these pages into the light have made that dream a reality.

We Sweep the Streets: A Police Story Based on Fact is the first in what was to be a duology, spanning IJ Carroll’s entire career. However, searches to date have yet to uncover a complete copy of the second manuscript… But the search continues.

RIGBY, Ken

May 23, 2023 | *, *Featured books, *listed, Adelaide, Australian, Autobiography, South Australia

Ken Rigby Self-published author Oddly Enough Autobiography
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ISBN 978-1-922957-21-4
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Oddly Enough

Oddly Enough is the story of an Englishman who emigrated to Australia in 1959 to work as a teacher, and, subsequently, as a psychologist, university professor and researcher, in which capacity he has established an international reputation for his work on how bullying can be countered in schools. This led to his becoming recognised internationally, travelling and lecturing worldwide, and receiving the Order of Australia Medal in 2021.

Oddly Enough is written as a flow of consciousness of events as they are remembered and reflected upon from childhood to old age. It is meant to amuse, as well as shed light on significant historical, social, and cultural issues of his time; such as social class; family life; schooling and education; Britain in wartime; National Service; emigration; university life; and adapting to the Australian culture. Finally, it addresses existential questions on the nature of self and the sheer oddity of existence.

Testimonials

‘This fascinating book succeeds in being three things: a personal document of a fulfilling life; a social history covering England and Australia; and a vivid description of the author’s research and practical work in the area of school bullying. Ken Rigby writes frankly and often amusingly about all these matters. This is a compelling read which will be of interest to anyone interested in personal biography, education, and indeed life in general!’

Peter K Smith
Emeritus Professor, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK

‘Oddly Enough is a refreshingly honest autobiography charting Ken’s journey from working class schoolboy to leading international academic, and the characters he meets along the way. It’s a fascinating insight into how his school years and national service helped shape his own approach to classroom teaching, and the inspiration for his research into bullying in school and effective intervention methods.’

Jo Earp.
Editor, Teacher magazine, Australian Council for Education Research

‘This book is captivating and interesting, not only for those who know Ken personally; but also to the bullying research community, which has become very numerous. A fascinating line goes from his own school days, and reflections on authority, to pioneering, world class research on school bullying, and further to the existential question about self and its becoming. And it is so well written, as usual.’

Professor Erling Roland
University of Stavangar, Norway