The unique and inspiring story of a boy born with the odds against him and the family whose love and support helped him overcome incredible hardships.Robert Hoge was born with a giant tumour on his forehead, severely distorted facial features and legs that were twisted and useless. His mother refused to look at her son, let alone bring him home. But home he went, to a life that, against the odds, was filled with joy, optimism and boyhood naughtiness.Home fo...

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...

Robert Hoge was born with a giant tumour on his forehead, severely distorted facial features and legs that were twisted and useless. His mother refused to look at her son, let alone bring him home. But home he went, to a life that, against the odds, was filled with joy, optimism and boyhood naughtiness.Home for the Hoges was a bayside suburb of Brisbane. Robert's parents, Mary and Vince, knew that his life would be difficult, but they were determined to give him a typical Australia...

Everything to Live For is the story of one young womans survival against extraordinary odds, a testament to the human spirit. In September 2011, Turia Pitt, a beautiful 25-year-old mining engineer working her dream job in the far north of Western Australia, entered an ultra-marathon race that would change her life forever. Trapped by a fire in a gorge in the remote Kimberly region, Turia and five other competitors had nowhere to run. Turia escaped with catastrophic burns to 65 per cent of...

'Mary's book is a reminder that we don't have to be alone with grief. Her heartbreak and inspiring story is a lesson to all of us on how to live life to the fullest even in our most difficult moments. I loved it.' Naomi WattsStarting with a colourful childhood in Collingwood and Doncaster, under the shadow of her father's mortality, and ending in sunny Bondi, supported by a tight circle of girlfriends who got her through a death even more painful, Mary Coustas takes us on a journey...

'Samantha Barlow doesn't stand a chance. As she walks briskly past the start of Arthur Park on her left, she can't see a dark figure slinking out of the shadows towards her. The first she knows of his presence is when she feels a blow, hard to the back of her head, delivered with such force, it actually dents her skull.'Samantha Barlow's life changed the day she was brutally attacked on the way to work in Sydney's notorious Kings Cross. The popular, confident young woman was left f...

On 12 October 2002, the beautiful island of Bali was hit by a deadly terrorist attack. It claimed the lives of 202 people and left 240 others severely injured. Nicole McLean had been in Bali for just six hours when she was caught in one of the explosions. That night she lost her arm and was left fighting for her life.This is Nicole's extraordinary journey. Shown through her eyes, and through the eyes of friends and family who watched helplessly while the horror unfolded before them...

"My body is shaking, uncontrollably shuddering. Everything's rattling, crashing down. I'm choking on dust. I can't breathe... I'm coughing, choking. Sal's screaming ..."On the night of July 30th 1997 a landslide shattered the tranquility of Thredbo Village, sweeping away two ski lodges and burying 19 people beneath tonnes of concrete and mud. In the days that followed, the world mourned as rescuers dragged body after body from the rubble.But out of tragedy ...

It was the case that shocked the nation.On the evening of 20 April 2011, Tina Nash's life changed forever. After suffering months of beatings and domestic abuse at the hands of boyfriend Shane Jenkin, she was subjected to a barbaric and prolonged attack during which Jenkin beat her unconscious and gouged out both her eyes. When he was jailed in May 2012, people struggled to comprehend the scale of the violence endured by this attractive mother of two at her home in Cornwall.

A heartbreaking account of enduring suffering and loss.When Cindy Gambino dropped her three boys off at their dad's on Father’s Day 2005 she had no idea she would never see them again. By day’s end, their bodies lay at the bottom of an icy dam, a tragedy that sparked one of the most controversial and prolonged murder cases in Australian history.Award-winning author and journalist Megan Norris followed the case for eight years, chronicling Cindy’s heartbreaki...

Goon of Fortune is one of those games that people cracked out at parties when everyone is already too maggot to realise what a pointless game it is. A bunch of people circle the Hills Hoist and you peg a bladder of cheap wine to the line. People take turns spinning the clothes line and whoever the wine sack lands in front of has to scull for five seconds.Jez is seventeen and lives with her alcoholic single mum in in a government rental in Canberra's outer-suburbs, with lit...

In this heart-rending book, Jacqui Kirby tells of the devastating impact Colette's murder had on her life. It robbed her not only of her beautiful daughter but also of her marriage and, at times, her own sanity. This is the remarkable story of a mother's loss, but also of her hope - hope that she would one day get justice for Colette.On 30th October 1983, 16-year-old Colette Aram left the family home to walk to her boyfriend's house. She never arrived. Her mother, Jacqui Kirby, knew instin...