AustLit

'How do you begin your life again when you’ve lost everything you’ve worked for and your dreams have been shattered?

'That was the question beloved Australian author Belinda Alexandra faced one freezing winter night when she ran from her home in terror. She had only her wallet, her phone and her latest manuscript on a USB stick. She was wearing her slippers.

'To recover from the devastating emotional and psychological aftermath, Belinda turned to the real life women who had inspired her bestselling historical fiction: her own mother, Tatiana Morosoff, a White Russian who had fled a home on more than one occasion due to wars and revolutions; Virginia Hall, an American who lost her leg in an accident but went on to become one of the most revered Allied agents in World War II France; Carmen Amaya, who was born into abject poverty in Barcelona but used her inner spirit to rise to become the greatest Flamenco dancer of all time; Edna Walling, an Australian landscape designer and independent thinker, who lost her own dream home and artwork in a freak fire but created garden designs that celebrated the unique Australian landscape.

'They were women who had faced seemingly insurmountable challenges, and yet found ways to forge ahead and create new lives on their own terms. In a compelling and exquisite blend of memoir and history, Belinda shows readers that, no matter what challenge they might be facing, there is always the possibility of building a bold life full of meaning again from the ashes.' (Publication summary)