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Issue Details: First known date: 2009... 2009 The Inconvenient Child : An Abandoned Australian Child Struggles to Survive and Find Her African American Father
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'An unacceptable liaison, a secret birth, a mother's silence and her black child's journey to discover the truth. The story begins in 1948, Sydney, Australia. Pretty, blonde Grace discovers she is pregnant to a visiting black American serviceman. The White Australia Policy is in place and society's judgment matters; so what will Grace do with this baby.

This is the extraordinary true story of Sharyn Killens - the inconvenient child.

The baby Sharyn, is rescued from squalid foster care by a visiting African American champion boxer and taken to live in a 'party house' in Sydney's red light district of Kings Cross. But her absent, elegant mother then abandons Sharyn in a convent-orphanage at age five, where she suffers abuse at the hands of a demented nun.

By fifteen, discrimination within her family, resentment and clashes over her father's undisclosed identity see the troubled runaway teenager arrested in the streets of Kings Cross. She has committed no crime but she is sentenced to the notorious juvenile detention centers of Parramatta and Hay, during the 1960s. Sharyn Killens' solace is her love of music but can she realize her dream to become a singer if, by twenty-four, she is caught up in the Kings Cross lifestyle?

Determined to find her father, Sharyn sets out in search of her roots, a quest taking her across the world and eventually to America's Deep South. But will she find the loving family and belonging she has yearned for all her life?' (Publisher's blurb)

Notes

  • Dedication: For my father.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • St Leonards, North Sydney - Lane Cove area, Sydney Northern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales,: Miracle Publishing , 2009 .
      Extent: viii, 391p.p.
      Description: illus., ports
      Note/s:
      • Includes author's note pp 389-390
      ISBN: 9780646487823 (pbk.)

Works about this Work

"One of Us” : Orphaned Selves and Legitimacy in Australian Autobiography Jack Bowers , 2015 single work criticism
— Appears in: Antipodes , December vol. 29 no. 2 2015; (p. 393-405)
Jack Bowers investigates Australian autobiographies. He examines 'orphaned' selves in which the autobiographer is both orphaned in the sense of not knowing one or both birth parents, and orphaned in the sense of being estranged from a fully formed and completed self.' (393)
Biennial Book Awards 2011 : Judges Comments Tony Moore , 2011-2012 single work column
— Appears in: Images , December - February 2011-2012; (p. 23-24)
Devil in the Detail Kate Holden , 2010 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , September no. 324 2010; (p. 27)

— Review of The Inconvenient Child : An Abandoned Australian Child Struggles to Survive and Find Her African American Father Sharyn Killens , Lindsay Lewis , 2009 single work autobiography
Stepping Stones : Mentorship and Being Mentored Mark Rossiter , 2009 single work column
— Appears in: Newswrite : The NSW Writers' Centre Magazine , December 2009 / January 2010 no. 188 2009; (p. 20)
The Writing Journey of The Inconvenient Child Lindsay Lewis , 2009 single work column
— Appears in: Newswrite : The NSW Writers' Centre Magazine , December 2009 / January 2010 no. 188 2009; (p. 19)
In Short : Nonfiction Bruce Elder , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 17-18 October 2009; (p. 31)

— Review of The Inconvenient Child : An Abandoned Australian Child Struggles to Survive and Find Her African American Father Sharyn Killens , Lindsay Lewis , 2009 single work autobiography
Devil in the Detail Kate Holden , 2010 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , September no. 324 2010; (p. 27)

— Review of The Inconvenient Child : An Abandoned Australian Child Struggles to Survive and Find Her African American Father Sharyn Killens , Lindsay Lewis , 2009 single work autobiography
An Innocent Found Guilty for Living Rachel Browne , 2009 single work column
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 13 September 2009; (p. 7)
The Writing Journey of The Inconvenient Child Lindsay Lewis , 2009 single work column
— Appears in: Newswrite : The NSW Writers' Centre Magazine , December 2009 / January 2010 no. 188 2009; (p. 19)
Stepping Stones : Mentorship and Being Mentored Mark Rossiter , 2009 single work column
— Appears in: Newswrite : The NSW Writers' Centre Magazine , December 2009 / January 2010 no. 188 2009; (p. 20)
Biennial Book Awards 2011 : Judges Comments Tony Moore , 2011-2012 single work column
— Appears in: Images , December - February 2011-2012; (p. 23-24)
"One of Us” : Orphaned Selves and Legitimacy in Australian Autobiography Jack Bowers , 2015 single work criticism
— Appears in: Antipodes , December vol. 29 no. 2 2015; (p. 393-405)
Jack Bowers investigates Australian autobiographies. He examines 'orphaned' selves in which the autobiographer is both orphaned in the sense of not knowing one or both birth parents, and orphaned in the sense of being estranged from a fully formed and completed self.' (393)
Last amended 30 Nov 2015 15:03:36
Settings:
  • Sydney, New South Wales,
  • Townsville, Townsville area, Marlborough - Mackay - Townsville area, Queensland,
  • c
    South Africa,
    c
    Southern Africa, Africa,
  • New York (City), New York (State),
    c
    United States of America (USA),
    c
    Americas,
  • Los Angeles, California,
    c
    United States of America (USA),
    c
    Americas,
  • 1948-2007
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