I am by nature a private person. Secrets are different from privacy. They are things you are forced to keep to yourself, by family, friends, by your own shame. Secrets like these come to the surface one day and demand an airing.

Emerging from an unconventional, boisterously happy childhood, Mary-Rose MacColl was a rebellious teenager. And when, at the age of fifteen, her high-school teacher and her husband started inviting Mary-Rose to spend time with them, her parents were pleased that she now had the guidance she needed to take her safely into young adulthood.

It wasn't too long, though, before the teacher and her husband changed the nature of the relationship with overwhelming consequences for Mary-Rose. Consequences that kept her silent and ashamed through much of her adult life. Many years later, safe within a loving relationship, all of the long-hidden secrets and betrayals crashed down upon her and she came close to losing everything.

In this poignant and brave true story, Mary-Rose brings these secrets to the surface and, in doing so, is finally able to watch them float away.

About the Author
Mary-Rose MacColl's first novel, No Safe Place, was runner-up in the 1995 The Australian/Vogel's Literary award and her first non-fiction book, The Birth Wars, was a finalist in the 2009 Walkley Awards. Her international bestselling In Falling Snow was published to great acclaim in 2012. Her fifth novel, Swimming Home, won The Courier-Mail 2016 People's Choice Queensland book of the Year Award. Mary-Rose lives in Brisbane, Australia with her husband and son.

Reviews
One of the most remarkable pieces of writing I have read in a long, long time...Lots of stuff gets over-praised these days I reckon, and readers tire of superlatives, but in this case, I'm bringing out every superlative I've got. * Susan Johnson, author of The Broken Book *


Awards
Short-listed for Best Non-fiction - Queensland Premier's Literary Awards 2017 (Australia) and Work of State Significance - Queensland Premier's Literary Awards 2017 (Australia) and Courier-Mail People's Choice Queensland Book of the Year - Queensland Premier's Literary Awards 2017 (Australia) and Victorian Premier's Literary Awards - Non-Fiction 2018 (Australia).



Book Information
ISBN 9781760295233
Author Mary-Rose MacColl
Format Paperback
Page Count 280
Imprint Allen & Unwin
Publisher Allen & Unwin
Weight(grams) 400g
Dimensions(mm) 235mm * 155mm * 20mm