All Over the Place

About the Book

As her mind decays, an old woman revisits her childhood, the trauma of her trek out of Rangoon, Burma and the challenges of life in an Australian migrant camp following the War. Death is elusive and in her search for release, Yolande's mind, like her life, hurtles 'all over the place'.

Linked by the bond between mothers, daughters and sisters in a range of poignant contexts, the narrative is subtly feminist and also surfaces sub-themes of multicultural and transcultural significance.

The strength of nurturing relationships is exposed in this kaleidoscope of fragments-all that remain of a rich life eroded and distorted by dementia.

Daughters who find themselves dealing with the emotional burden of caring for their mothers and their own daughters will find inspiration in the pathos and compassion generated among the characters.

Catapulted from the comfortable life of colonial Rangoon into the hardship of hunger fear, rejection and poverty, Yolande demonstrates the tenacity of unfailing love. The narrative has appeal for all who believe in the beauty, strength and vulnerability of women.

About the Author

Growing up in a post WWII Australian migrant camp Laura Keating witnessed the strength of men and women who were in so many ways dispossessed. As a writer she calls upon her studies in literature, her travels and her personal heritage to reflect on the human condition and the ravages of illness and age upon the mind.

She has been an educator and teacher of English in a number of countries. Currently Laura Keating lives in Brisbane, Australia where she provides occasional home to her two nomadic children.