Mary Garden Mary Garden i(A17069 works by)
Born: Established: 1950
c
New Zealand,
c
Pacific Region,
;
Gender: Female
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

Works By

Preview all
1 2 y separately published work icon My Father's Suitcase Mary Garden , Victoria : Justitia Books , 2024 27677030 2024 single work autobiography

'A gripping tale of resilience and survival that offers hope to others who have experienced family violence and suffered at the hands of a sibling.

'A deeply personal and heartbreaking memoir that explores the troubled relationship between Mary Garden and her younger sister, Anna, who died in 2023 after a short illness.

'Mary unpacks her life of growing up in New Zealand in the 1950s and ’60s, before making Australia home. She reveals complex layers of intergenerational trauma, including the baggage of her eccentric, deeply flawed father and the secret her mother kept from all of them, revealed only after her death. Mary deals movingly with her sister’s long battle with mental illness and how she once saved Anna’s life.

'As she unravels these narratives, Mary touches on the guilt and shame familiar to anyone who has had to deal with secrets, violence and ‘madness’ in their family. And she shines a light on sibling abuse, the most common form of abuse in the context of family violence - occurring up to five times as frequently as spousal or parental child abuse - although it is often dismissed as ‘sibling rivalry’. It causes far-reaching, long-lasting harm.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

1 Book Review : Unfinished Woman, Robyn Davidson Mary Garden , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: ArtsHub , November 2023;

— Review of Unfinished Woman Robyn Davidson , 2023 single work autobiography

'A memoir by the best-selling author of 'Tracks', revisits an eventful life, including the death of her mother and the fractious relationship with her sister.'

1 Robyn Davidson : Unfinished Woman Mary Garden , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , November 2023;

— Review of Unfinished Woman Robyn Davidson , 2023 single work autobiography
'Robyn Davidson’s memoir delves into her family relationships and provides a window onto the ongoing trauma of sibling abuse.'
1 Cynthia Dearborn : The Year My Family Unravelled Mary Garden , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , August 2023;

— Review of The Year My Family Unravelled Cynthia Dearborn , 2023 single work autobiography
'Cynthia Dearborn’s memoir recounts a confrontation with painful memories and a chance at redemption.' 
1 Robyn Flemming : Skinful Mary Garden , 2022 single work review
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , February 2022;

— Review of Skinful : A Memoir of Addiction Robyn Flemming , 2022 single work autobiography
'Robyn Flemming’s memoir encompasses the adventure of being a global nomad within a story of addiction and healing.'
1 Michael Burge : Tank Water Mary Garden , 2021 single work review
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , December 2021;

— Review of Tank Water Michael Burge , 2021 single work novel

'In Tank Water Michael Burge brings a fresh dimension to crime fiction set in small Australian towns.' (Introduction)

1 1 y separately published work icon Sundowner of the Skies - The Story of Oscar Garden, The Forgotten Aviator Mary Garden , Chatswood : New Holland , 2019 17022827 2019 single work biography 'In the early morning of 16 October 1930, Oscar Garden taxied his tiny Gipsy Moth across London’s Croydon aerodrome and, with a wave of his hand to the only person there to farewell him, took off. His plan was to fly to Australia, which was sheer madness as he only had a mere 39 flying hours under his belt. When he landed at Wyndham 18 days later no one was expecting him. However, his flight – the third fastest after veteran aviators Bert Hinkler and Charles Kingsford – captured the world’s imagination. With a lack of fanfare, he had given the impression he had just set out on a short pleasure trip, instead of the most formidable feat in aerial navigation. The press dubbed him ‘Sundowner of the Skies’. Unlike most of his contemporaries who died in crashes, Oscar survived and went on to a career in commercial aviation. He ended up as Chief Pilot of Tasman Empire Airways, the forerunner of Air New Zealand, but left suddenly in 1947. He never flew a plane again.' (Publication summary) 
 
1 A Perfumed Invitation i "When the serpent", Mary Garden , 1993 single work poetry
— Appears in: The Naked Pomegranate: Collected Women's Writing , no. 2 1993; (p. 40)
1 y separately published work icon Coming Together : A Journey Through Passion Mary Garden , Maleny : Mary Garden , 1992 Z327194 1992 selected work poetry
2 2 y separately published work icon The Serpent Rising : A Journey of Spiritual Seduction Mary Garden , Fortitude Valley : Manna Publications , 1988 Z12224 1988 single work novel

'In the late 80's there were a few scandals associated with several Christian born-again groups but there was little talk of any perils or problems with some of the Eastern gurus or groups. The Serpent Rising was a very early attempt to 'lift the lid' so to speak. In recent decades there has been continued reporting and exposes of the misuse of power, money and sexuality by Zen masters, yogis, swamis and Tibetan lamas. In the seventies this interest in Eastern religions and practices was thought of as a passing fad. But it hasn't; if anything the interest is growing stronger.'  (Publication summary)

X