AustLit

'These events, foretold, are of forty years ago. They were a surreal blur then and remain so. A fever dream that was tragically real. Even with the clarity of time, there is only distance. And the need to understand. I suppose it is a long overdue, long goodbye.

'Grief is a great theme of our times and this is a memoir of grief in action.

'On the tempest-tossed afternoon of 9 July 1982, Pan Am flight 759 crashed into a suburb of New Orleans shortly after takeoff. Eight people on the ground and all 145 passengers died, among them Peter's parents, Margaret and Brian Goers, aged 50 and 52. Peter, busy with his promising career as a director, had not said goodbye.

'Peter left for the US the next day, summoned to identify the bodies. These are his impressions of a strange and tragic journey full of potent memory, loss, poignant candour, wisdom and family redemption.' (Publication summary)

'South Australian broadcaster, columnist, theatre guru and critic Peter Goers has been known and loved for his sardonic wit and laconic flair for decades. This collection - which borrows its title from a review Goers once gave a Fringe show in the 80s, and now happily turns on himself - gathers the best of his Fringe shows, columns ('the very few I've taken a little pride in'), and a modicum of memoir. 'Like a bride's dress, these shows and this tome are something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. Plus the nostalgic and the poignant,' he says.

'This deliciously witty book features cameos from a who's who of the theatre and entertainment worlds, including anecdotes about Glenn Gould and Ethel Merman, friendships with Barry Humphries, Anne 'Willsy' Wills and Max Harris, close encounters with Angela Lansbury and Adriana Xenides, and fleeting moments with Tennesse Williams and Bette Davis.'

Source : publisher's blurb

Goers addresses an error contained in Luke Slattery's review of My Life as a Hoax. Slattery asserted that Max Harris had 'never worn' military uniform. Goers states that Harris was a private in the Militia Unit of the 10th Battalion of the Australian Army, serving from 23 April 1941 until receiving an honorary discharge on 11 February 1942.