Once in every lifetime, we should all see life through the eyes of a five year old child, hear their voice, sense the world through the unique perception of childhood. For to do this, is to perceive what they cannot know, protect them from what they cannot understand, so they don't have to hide. We are all guardians; every one. Georgia hides under the bracken fern. Her mother hits her to make her good. The nice man down the road gives her lollies that make her sleepy. Sometimes her brother, Jackson, hides her in his wardrobe. Her best friend, Mittens the cat, listens to all her secrets. On her first day at school her special pencils are stolen. Afraid she will be in very big trouble, she runs away to the bracken fern that grows tall by the whispering creek, where the bower bird struts with his prize of blue buttons and the magpie feeds her babies. It is her safe place. She doesn't know about real safe places and that these things shouldn't be happening to her. When Miss Nelson, her teacher, finds her hiding place, Georgia is even more afraid, until she learns that it's okay to tell. There are other safe places and people who will protect her. Things can get better.
About the Author: Linda Brooks is a writer, artist and former registered nurse. After living and working in many Australian towns, she now lives back in her hometown on beautiful Lake Macquarie, where she writes for the local Gazette, paints with oils, watercolours and pastels. Having come to terms with the fact that she will never be the "domestic marvel" that her mother was, Linda throws herself into life with joyous abandon. When she isn't writing, Linda spends some of her time lobbying for better educational opportunities for children with disabilities, and just to keep a good balance in life, occasionally does stand up comedy. To Linda, life is playing every key on the "piano of life" with passion. Linda is still writing furiously, supporting causes and painting landscapes and seascapes. With her background in nursing, and a lot of life in general, she feels she has plenty more to write about. She is currently working on her next novella; based on her nursing training and experience. She has also written "A Curious and Inelegant Childhood", a memoir of her childhood growing up in rural Australia, several children's stories and "I'm not broken', I'm just different", the story of her motherhood of a son with Asperger's Syndrome. Sometimes when life is too hectic, Linda threatens to write a romance.