"I was born in 1944. A momentous event happened that year, D Day, which precipitated the end of the war in Europe and the subsequent defeat of Japan in 1945. It also, heralded the onset of the Atomic Age after the decimation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I knew nothing of this at the time. I was too busy sucking on a surrogate mother's boobs. I have been doing that for most of my life."
This is a memoir of a bush boy's recall of his life. It speaks of the plurality of all of us, the "We," though the eyes of the individual, the "me." It's a rollicking tale of childhood adventure raiding bird's nest, dodging bullets & snakes, circus acts, rugby league matches & boxing tent exhibitions shaped by a regimented Christian education and mentored by a classic bushman grandfather. It traverses the halcyon days of the 1950s when life was simple, mischief built character and even the dark side of life was, if not condoned, at least tolerated.
The autobiography takes the reader through events that lead to Doug's getting of wisdom through work and play in the 60s & 70s, a period, when jobs were plentiful and sex, drugs and rock n roll were the norm, at least for some.
The journey tells how a young man found through travel and adventure, a way of life that proved, after much experience of heartfelt sorrow not to be his true calling. The getting of wisdom comes at a price- it always does, and he sums it all up in this novel of the merit of it all. For the curious of mind, it is a worthwhile read for insight into a way of life once well lived but long since passed into the annuals of time.
