Nothing to Cry About

Nothing to Cry About by Joan Atherton Hooper
Published by Katherine Seppings (2015)

Nothing to Cry About, an unflinching memoir, begins with author, Joan Atherton Hooper, discovering a photo of the young man who, in 1939, murdered her father. Joan’s story, from age two in an orphanage, swings between fantasies of Hollywood and restraints from the Vatican. It is a test of everything she believes in.
Growing up in Colac as a Ward of the State, to deserted wife in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, to mother of daughters struggling with drug, alcohol and mental health issues, Joan has an astonishing sense of humour and an iron-clad will to ‘rise above her station’ and turn her life into a success.

‘This is no ordinary story. Nor is it a larger-than-life story. It is a story of extraordinary resilience, humanity and – against all the odds – both innocence and a capacity for laughter. It should be read by everyone who thinks they are a hard luck story and everyone else to remind them how lucky they are.’ Dr Paul Monk

Available from Stonemans Bookroom, Castlemaine, VIC, and http://joanathertonhooper.com/.

Bio –
Joan Atherton Hooper has written, directed and produced satirical reviews; provided the script and lyrics for Melbourne musical, Billie, and was a founding member of ‘Writer’s Cramp’, Community Radio 3BBB, Ballarat.
As a member of ‘Harvest Writers’, Bacchus Marsh, Joan won first prize in the Werribee Writers Performance Contest and was Highly Commended by FAW for their group anthology Allsorts. Joan received a Daffodil Arts Award Honourable Mention from the Australian Federation of Writers, 2007.
The Dinner Party, a short film by Karen McMullan, based on a story written by Joan Atherton Hooper, won third prize in the inaugural Castlemaine Local & International Film Festival, 2013.