Cirrus@Austlit

'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)