PROVIDING A SAFE place to talk about problematic family dynamics is a hallmark of author Mary Garden’s current book tour, and her visit to Glen Innes on Saturday June 15 promises to be no different.

Garden’s latest book My Father’s Suitcase: A story of family secrets, abuse, betrayal and breaking free begins with a heartfelt exploration of growing up in New Zealand in the 1950s and ’60s in the shadow of her father Oscar Garden (1903-1997), a pioneering aviator who had an emotional ‘crash landing’ once his high-flying career came to an end.

But it was Garden’s realisation that this dysfunction created fertile ground for sibling abuse which provides the centrepiece of her third work of non-fiction.

“I only became aware of the term a few years ago,” Garden, a freelance journalist, said. 

“It is the most common form of abuse in the context of family violence, yet it is the ‘forgotten’ abuse. 

“The problem is that sibling abuse is often dismissed as sibling rivalry, but they are very different. There is also this notion that you must get along with your siblings, they’re family, regardless of how they treat you.”

Described as, “a gripping tale of resilience and survival that offers hope to others who have experienced family violence and suffered at the hands of a sibling,” My Father’s Suitcase is Garden’s follow-up to her seminal biography of her father, Sundowner of the Skies.

But Garden’s latest book extends on Garden family dynamics, delving into the troubled relationship between Mary and her younger sister, Anna, who died in 2023. 

Garden confessed to be “very nervous” about sharing her story and the responses it might inspire.

“But I’m so relieved,” she said. 

“Every second or third person I talk to is either a victim survivor of sibling abuse or they know of someone who has experienced this kind of abuse. 

“I’ve had interviewers, photographers and readers share their experiences. A few have broken down in tears.”

‘Pretending everything was fine’  

Garden’s June 15 author morning tea at The Makers Shed will be her third visit to the Glen Innes region.

“I jumped at the chance to attend the High Country Writers Festival in 2020, and also again the next year, which was very exciting as my book, The Serpent Rising, won the High Country Indie Book Award,” she said. 

“I also love the area. Glen Innes is the kind of region I would have liked to have brought my children up in.”

In My Father’s Suitcase, Garden recounts the struggle she had attending the 2020 event, soon after her sister Anna released a second, secret biography of their father. 

“I had been looking forward to a holiday and being in my happy place, among writers and book lovers. How on earth was I going to cope with the long drive, then speaking at the festival, smiling and pretending everything was fine?” she wrote in her new book.

As is true of many literary events, putting writers together generates inspiration and insight, and it was memoirist Mary Moody who gave Garden clues about the true nature of her sister’s memoir, identifying it as a hagiography (a biography that treats its subject with undue reverence).

At this point in her narrative, My Father’s Suitcase becomes a gripping literary mystery as she peels back the layers in search of exactly how and why her sister embarked on a competing book so soon after her own.

It’s a searing journey, played out in the media, publishing and legal industries in Australia and New Zealand, yet Garden’s positive prose outshines every shadow in her search for the compelling truth.

Currently living at Chewton in regional Victoria, Garden has been resident of regional Australia for large parts of her life, and loves the affordability that comes with living outside major cities.

“I’m always hearing about full-time authors living in cities who are struggling to make ends meet,” she said.

“I can’t live in cities. I don’t even like visiting. They are too noisy. 

“I need peace and quiet to write.” 

Mary Garden in conversation with journalist Michael Burge on Saturday June 15 at High Country Books, The Makers Shed, Glen Innes. Book here.

My Father’s Suitcase is out now from Justitia Books.