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y separately published work icon Ugly : My Memoir single work   autobiography  
Issue Details: First known date: 2013... 2013 Ugly : My Memoir
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Robert Hoge was born with a massive tumour, severely distorted facial features, legs that were twisted and useless, and a mother who didn't think she could take her son home. His life could have been achingly sad, but with his family he filled it with joy, optimism and the naughtiness of boyhood.

''One Saturday morning in early August 1972, my parents sat my two brothers and two sisters down and explained the situation. Then came the big question. One by one my parents asked my siblings whether they thought they should bring me home. In turn each of them said, "Yes, bring our brother home".'

'Home for the Hoges was the bayside suburb of Wynnum, Brisbane. Mary knew that her son's life would be filled with challenges but together with his dad Vincent they did everything they could to give Robert a typical Australian childhood, full of pranks, school camps and bad haircuts. But behind the smiles Robert, and his family, endured gruelling, dangerous operations that made medical history to give him a better life.

'Ugly is Robert's account of those years, from his birth to the arrival of his daughter in 2002. It is the story of an extraordinary person achieving great things by living an ordinary life.' (Publisher's blurb)

Adaptations

y separately published work icon Ugly Robert Hoge , Sydney : Hachette Australia , 2015 9051462 2015 single work autobiography young adult

'A beaut story about one very ugly kid.

'Robert Hoge was born with a tumour in the middle of his face, and legs that weren't much use. There wasn't another baby like him in the whole of Australia, let alone Brisbane. But the rest of his life wasn't so unusual: he had a mum and a dad, brothers and sisters, friends at school and in his street. He had childhood scrapes and days at the beach; fights with his family and trouble with his teachers.

'He had doctors, too: lots of doctors who, when he was still very young, removed that tumour from his face and operated on his legs, then stitched him back together. He still looked different, though. He still looked ... ugly.

'Ugly is the true story of how an extraordinary boy grew up to have an ordinary life, and how that became his greatest achievement of all. ' (Publication summary)

Affiliation Notes

  • Writing Disability in Australia:

    Type of disability Malformed legs, facial tumour.
    Type of character Primary.
    Point of view First person.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Sydney, New South Wales,: Hachette Australia , 2013 .
      image of person or book cover 3455873248854019682.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 304p.
      Note/s:
      • Published: September 2013
      ISBN: 9780733630163

Other Formats

  • Sound recording.
  • Braille.

Works about this Work

Review : Ugly Jo Burnell , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: Good Reading , December/January 2013; (p. 55)

— Review of Ugly : My Memoir Robert Hoge , 2013 single work autobiography
Challenging Our View of Difference Helen Crompton , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: The West Australian , 5 November 2013; (p. 6-7)

— Review of Ugly : My Memoir Robert Hoge , 2013 single work autobiography
Ugly 2013 single work column
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 17 September 2013;
Ugly Thuy On , 2013 single work column
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 15 September 2013; (p. 13)
Inside Account of the Pain of Being Different on the Outside Paul Donoughue , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 31 August - 1 September 2013; (p. 24-25)

— Review of Ugly : My Memoir Robert Hoge , 2013 single work autobiography
Inside Account of the Pain of Being Different on the Outside Paul Donoughue , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 31 August - 1 September 2013; (p. 24-25)

— Review of Ugly : My Memoir Robert Hoge , 2013 single work autobiography
Challenging Our View of Difference Helen Crompton , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: The West Australian , 5 November 2013; (p. 6-7)

— Review of Ugly : My Memoir Robert Hoge , 2013 single work autobiography
Review : Ugly Jo Burnell , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: Good Reading , December/January 2013; (p. 55)

— Review of Ugly : My Memoir Robert Hoge , 2013 single work autobiography
Ugly Thuy On , 2013 single work column
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 15 September 2013; (p. 13)
Ugly 2013 single work column
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 17 September 2013;
Last amended 2 Sep 2020 12:46:34
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  • Wynnum, Manly - Wynnum area, Brisbane - South East, Brisbane, Queensland,
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