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Image courtesy of publisher's website.
y separately published work icon Parting Words single work   novel  
Issue Details: First known date: 2017... 2017 Parting Words
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Daniel Whittaker has left some unusual instructions in his will: in order for his three children to collect their generous inheritance, they must hand-deliver letters addressed to strangers from their father’s past. Who are these people and what was their significance to Daniel?

'For his eldest son, Richard, there are hidden motives for his impatience to settle the will. His sister Evonne is still hurting from decades of her parents’ disapproval. The youngest sibling, Kelly, believes she knew her father best.

'As Daniel’s children carry out his last wishes, each of them must confront their entrenched ideas about their father, and reconsider their own lives. What they discover is beyond anything they imagined.'

source: Publisher's blurb.

Notes

  • Dedication: To my children : each of you holds a piece of my heart in your hands.

  • Epigraph:

    The tragedy of life is what dies inside a man while he lives. - Albert Schweitzer

    There is a strange charm in the thoughts of a good legacy, or the hopes of an estate, which wondrously alleviates the sorrow that men would otherwise feel for the death of friends. - Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

  • Author's note: The character of Margaret Sonnet in Parting Words was inspired by Moshlo (Morrice Shaw) a passionate and talented musician who first introduced me to the doina. While we met only once and corresponded a mere handful of times before he sadly took his own life, Moshlo's influence is testament to the truth that from little things, big things grow. I hope this story is a small tribute to his extraordinary life. You can listen to doina and find out more about Moshlo (31 December 1935 - 11 April 2015) http//wwww.youtube.com/watch?v=ChH1zx8Bqkec or here: Last portrait of Moshlo https:// vimeo.com/131606113. Thanks also to Carla Thackrah for generously sharing both her memories of Moshlo and her knowledge of doina.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • St Lucia, Indooroopilly - St Lucia area, Brisbane - North West, Brisbane, Queensland,: University of Queensland Press , 2017 .
      image of person or book cover 7192450201520985863.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 248p.
      Note/s:
      • Published 28 August 2017.

      ISBN: 9780702259531, 0702259535

Works about this Work

Journeys beyond the Point of Departure Phillip Siggins , 2017 single work column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 1 October 2017; (p. 20)

'Do we really know our parents? When Daniel Whittaker, a prosperous real-estate agent, dies at 88, his will includes a surprising demand: ­access to his estate is denied until his three ­middle-aged children deliver a dozen letters.' (Introduction)

Journeys beyond the Point of Departure Phillip Siggins , 2017 single work column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 1 October 2017; (p. 20)

'Do we really know our parents? When Daniel Whittaker, a prosperous real-estate agent, dies at 88, his will includes a surprising demand: ­access to his estate is denied until his three ­middle-aged children deliver a dozen letters.' (Introduction)

Last amended 16 Nov 2017 11:37:54
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