{"product_id":"hard-joy-life-and-writing","title":"Hard Joy: life and writing","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eListen to Susan in conversation with Sarah Kanowski on \u003cem\u003eConversations (\u003c\/em\u003eABC-RN)\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/radio\/programs\/conversations\/susan-varga-wwii-holocaust-sydney-writing-love-stroke-survivor\/13985502\"\u003ehttps:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/radio\/programs\/conversations\/susan-varga-wwii-holocaust-sydney-writing-love-stroke-survivor\/13985502\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Book:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis compelling memoir of Susan Varga’s life across seven decades circles between Australia and Europe, activism and seclusion, everyday life and the writing life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eShe was born into war-torn Budapest, her family escaping loss and trauma to make a new life in Sydney. But Susan makes another escape, from the narrow confines of suburbia into the arms of the exciting and contradictory world of the Sydney Push.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs a young woman she lives in London, Paris, Bendigo and Holland, before returning to Sydney, keen to take part in Gough Whitlam’s reformist agenda, in a powerful time of change.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen she finally commits to the demands and joys of writing, and to a surprising love, her life assumes a new harmony. Fate then intervenes to throw up major challenges, testing her will to re-find the hard joys of life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the tradition of her acclaimed first memoir, \u003ci\u003eHeddy and Me\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eHard Joy\u003c\/i\u003e is an intimate, warm and incisive portrait of our times.\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author:\u003cbr\u003eSusan Varga\u003c\/b\u003e has worked in film and video and briefly as a lawyer. Her first book, \u003ci\u003eHeddy and Me\u003c\/i\u003e won the Christina Stead Award for non-fiction and was short-listed for several other awards. It was followed by the novel \u003ci\u003eHappy Families\u003c\/i\u003e, winner of the Vision Australia Talking Book of the Year and Braille Book of the Year. Then followed the non-fiction book \u003ci\u003eBroometime\u003c\/i\u003e (2001), co-authored with Anne Coombs. Her most recent novel was \u003ci\u003eHeadlong\u003c\/i\u003e (UWAP, 2009), which was short-listed for the Barbara Jefferis Award. \u003ci\u003eRupture\u003c\/i\u003e (UWAP, 2016), her first book of poetry, was named in the Australian Book Review‘s ‘2016 Books of the Year’. \u003ci\u003eRupture\u003c\/i\u003e was also commended in the 2017 Anne Elder Award.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Upswell Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42238582915127,"sku":null,"price":29.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0626\/7771\/2951\/files\/2283_UP_Hard-Joy-front-coverfinal.jpg?v=1779074715","url":"https:\/\/upswell-publishing.myshopify.com\/products\/hard-joy-life-and-writing","provider":"Upswell Publishing","version":"1.0","type":"link"}