This is not a how-to book — because who really knows how to live a life?

Fleeing to Australia as a “Ten Pound Pom” in the 1970s, Kate didn’t expect her demons to follow her. It took facing her truth to break free of the drugs and alcohol that had controlled her since her teens in a desperate attempt to escape the shadow of sexual trauma.

Finally in recovery and stepping into her own, a 26-year-old Kate embraces her sexuality against the backdrop of the first Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras — and is promptly swept into the political and social tensions of the time.

As she builds a new life on the rocky foundations of her beginnings, Kate learns to find the lighter moments, and starts to write. From a kidney donation, to a love letter to her cats, tackling ten Ironman events, and learning ukulele, this collection of stories illustrates a determined woman finding her way through the mess of life with a smile.