Showing results by narrator "Fiona MacLeod" in All Categories

Women's brain health is no longer a niche topic. Neuroscience is uncovering answers to questions women have pondered for generations - demystifying everything from puberty, periods, contraception, pregnancy, sex and love to menopause, hormone therapy and dementia. Understanding how the brain is shaped by genetics, hormones and life experiences is vital for women to maintain their health and embrace their unique strengths at every stage of life.

Books bring them together - but friendship will transform all of their lives. Five very different women come together in the Northern Territory of the 1970s, by an exceptional new Australian author. In 1978 the Northern Territory has begun to self-govern. Cyclone Tracy is a recent memory and telephones not yet a fixture on the cattle stations dominating the rugged outback. Life is hard, and people are isolated. But they find ways to connect.

Fran hates Ash Mountain, and she thought she’d escaped. But her father is ill and needs care. Her relationship is over and she hates her dead-end job in the city, anyway. She returns to her hometown to nurse her dying father, her distant teenage daughter in tow for the weekends. There, in the sleepy town of Ash Mountain, childhood memories prick at her fragile self-esteem, she falls in love for the first time and her demanding dad tests her patience, all in the unbearable heat of an Australian summer.

For many years, Newcastle was the centre of an extensive paedophile network run by members of the Anglican church – and protected by parishioners and community members who looked the other way. In this gripping audiobook, Anne Manne reveals how this network was able to avoid detection for so long, and how its ringleaders were finally exposed and brought to justice. At the centre of the story is a survivor, Steve Smith, who endured years of childhood abuse but refused to be silenced.

Emily Webb, co-host of the popular Australian True Crime podcast, details chilling cases of murder and crime that have happened in the quiet streets of Australia's suburbs. Featuring contemporary cases as well as some shocking historical murders you've probably never heard of, Suburban True Crime proves you shouldn't say 'it could never happen here'. This collection of cases that are hard to believe, except they really happened—and all in the streets and homes of the Australia many of us know and live. The suburbs.

After the violent death of her husband, Callie Jones retreats to a cottage in the grounds of an old mansion in Tasmania. The relative remoteness of the place and the wild beauty of the Tasmanian landscape are a balm to her shattered nerves and the locals seem friendly, particularly horseman Connor Atherton and his siblings at the nearby property, Calico Lodge. But all is not well.

Noosa Heads, 1987: Newly divorced Cynthia has returned to her home town from Los Angeles to reconnect with her 19-year-old daughter, who is pregnant and determined not to listen to her mother's advice. Cynthia's former best friend, Lorraine, has been stuck mowing lawns as part of a business she shares with her husband - his dream, not hers. When Cynthia convinces Lorraine to join the local Sunshine Gardening Society, they meet young widow Elizabeth, and rootless, heartbroken Kathy.

With its old-world glamour, sprawling seaside grounds and air of possibility, the Duchess Hotel might just be the place to help four women rediscover who they are and bring some spark back to their lives. When Joan decides to pick up a brush and start painting for the first time in decades, she inspires Frances and Kirrily - and, eventually, Alison - to join her. Over canvas, conversation and creativity they will learn that you should always hold onto your dreams and that new friends can give you the courage to live life on your own terms.

The chilling true story of the heinous murder of Karlie Pearce-Stevenson and daughter Khandalyce and how the case was cracked. How did two girls go missing for seven years and nobody noticed? In August 2010, dirt bike riders discovered human bones in the notorious Belanglo State Forest, where Ivan Milat had so cruelly tortured and slain seven young backpackers. The remains were those of a young woman, who the police dubbed 'Angel' after a T-shirt emblazoned with the word 'Angelic' that was found near the body.

Sex workers in 19th-century Melbourne were judged morally corrupt by the respectable world around them. But theirs was a thriving trade, with links to the police and political leaders of the day, and the leading brothels were usually managed by women. While today a popular bar and a city lane are famously named after Madame Brussels, the identities of the other ‘flash madams’, the ‘dressed girls’ who worked for them and the hundreds of women who solicited on the streets of the Little Lon district of Melbourne are not remembered.

Alexandra Collier was a writer living in a light-filled Brooklyn brownstone in New York with the man she loved. But when she woke up to a ravenous hunger to have a baby that her partner didn't share, she had to make a choice between love or a future family. From defying her family's expectations to searching for sperm and navigating pregnancy alone, Ally deftly takes us through the ecstatic, complicated and demanding path to becoming a solo mother by choice.

If you think baby brain is bad for you, think again - because neuroscientist Dr Sarah McKay (author of The Women's Brain Book) has looked at studies and talked to experts from all over the world and the proof is in: giving birth is one of the best things to ever happen to a woman's brain. Baby Brain contains the ultimate good-news story about mothers' brains, backed up by scientific research from leading experts and presented in highly digestible bite-sized sections by one of Australia's leading science communicators.

They say a change is as good as a holiday. Joey Miles is hoping so after leaving the city behind, his stockbroking career in flames, to embrace a brand-new challenge: farming. But while returning to his hometown somehow feels right, he's got a long way to go to get back on his feet financially and the last thing he needs is the townsfolk meddling in his love life (or lack thereof).

The road to love is a rutted dirt track for the other vet from Snowy River ... An unmissable, funny, feel-good romance from the author of The Vet From Snowy River, Stella Quinn.

Maddy Wolfe's first day out with her newborn takes a Kafkaesque turn when she's wrongfully arrested in Harrods for shoplifting. The only person she can turn to is her hot-to-trot ex-lover Alex, who proves himself to be as useful as a solar powered vibrator on a rainy day. When will he realise that a paternity suit is not the latest look in men's leisurewear?

Dr Anna McBride’s life is starting to unravel. The mother of two boys and a dedicated GP, she is being sued for medical negligence—a case of delayed diagnosis. Deeply ashamed of her mistake, she doubts her abilities at work and retreats into family life, only to find that her husband seems preoccupied with a younger colleague. As the date for mediation draws closer and the lawyers’ demands become ever more pressing, Anna also senses someone else’s cries for attention—someone who wishes her harm.

They say a change is as good as a holiday. Joey Miles is hoping so after leaving the city behind, his stockbroking career in flames, to embrace a brand-new challenge: farming. But while returning to his hometown somehow feels right, he's got a long way to go to get back on his feet financially and the last thing he needs is the townsfolk meddling in his love life (or lack thereof). To the townsfolk of Clarence, Joey has always been the ultimate tragic romantic hero - and it's time this hero had a happy ever after...

Vera De Rossi no longer believes in love...and thanks to her ex-boyfriend­, she's also broke, jobless, and staring down the barrel of a court case that could land her in prison. Turning to her talent for baking, Vera opens a cafe in Hanrahan, a cozy tourist town in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains. Josh Cody, once Hanrahan's golden boy, escaped 16 years ago with gossip hard on his heels and a pregnant girlfriend in tow. Now he's back: a qualified veterinarian - and a single dad with a lot to prove

The road to love is a rutted dirt track for the other vet from Snowy River ... An unmissable, funny, feel-good romance from the author of The Vet From Snowy River, Stella Quinn.

The wild and desolate expanses of Antarctica have been the setting for many famous exploits and misadventures: a place where every decision has life-or-death consequences. Legendary explorers such as Shackleton, Mawson and Scott continue to inspire to this day, and their faithful ships, the Endurance, Aurora and Tera Nova are vivid characters in their fateful voyages of discovery. The first and only Australian-built Antarctic flagship, Aurora Australis, and her crews have likewise secured a place in Antarctic history.