Little Girl Lost

From Red Dust to Ocean Shores — A Life Less Ordinary

I love my sunburned country — from the red dust plains of Central Australia to the sparkling shores of the west coast. My journey weaves through remote towns in the Gascoyne and Pilbara, past the vivid brushstrokes of Albert Namatjira in Hermannsburg, and into unexpected conversations — even with a French actor in his Paris restaurant.

My path has taken me to the Great Southern town where our ANZACs once departed through King George Sound, and where I married into a proud Italian immigrant family — a story I first told in Emilia and the Monument Builder.

This memoir is a tapestry of memories, experiences, and lessons — written not in perfect order, but in the way life unfolds: sometimes random, often unexpected, always meaningful. From being lost as a toddler, shell-shocked as a teenager, and eventually finding my voice through pen and paper, I ask myself: what do I have to lose by sharing my story?

Why Haphazard?

Because life rarely follows a script.

Blending memoir with five short stories — including The Chocolate Box, Walter’s Testimony, and Church Street — this collection captures a life lived fully, deeply, and on one’s own terms.Read less