James Doyle

Goodreads Author


Born
in Australia
Website

Genre

Influences
Fredrick Courteney Selous, Arthur Upfield, Early Explorer Journals

Member Since
February 2026


James never set out to be a writer. His writing is shaped by the four seasons of a life lived far from ordinary. Born into a childhood marked by abandonment and institutionalisation, he learned early how to survive in silence, how to read the world without guidance, and how to carry dignity even when no one was watching. Those early winters carved resilience into him, not bitterness, but a quiet strength that would become the foundation of everything that followed.

As adolescence arrived, so did the restless pull of horizons. Spring carried him from Queensland dust to the vastness of Africa, where he found belonging in the bush, camaraderie in the military, and a sense of home in landscapes that pulsed with life. Africa did not just shape hi
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To Rise Above Your Fear: On...

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Lanterns of Light

Winter was not a season of happiness for me, but of betrayals. Yet even in the silence of an empty verandah and the cruelty of institutions, I found small sparks — a piano key, a teacher’s kindness, the breath of a horse or cow, a bird song, warmth in the paddock. They were fragile, but they reminded me that fear could be faced, and that even a forgotten child could carry dignity forward.

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Published on February 24, 2026 21:56 Tags: lanterns-of-light

James’s Recent Updates

" Hello, I am a first time author of a memoir. At first, I wrote mainly for family and friends, for whom I was a ghost for over 50 years. Feeling confid ...more "
26989
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A Checklist of Arthur Upfield by Christopher P. Stephens
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The Lion in South Africa by Frederick Courteney Selous
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Selous & the Bulawayo Field Force by Frederick Courteney Selous
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Sunshine and Storm in Rhodesia by Frederick Courteney Selous
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Murder on the rabbit proof fence by Terry Walker
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ludwig leichardt's journal of an overland expedition in austr... by Ludwig Leichardt
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Latitude by Nicholas Crane
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African Nature Notes and Reminiscences by Frederick Courteney Selous
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Quotes by James Doyle  (?)
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“From the memoir

As a child I planted seeds cracked soil, as a adolescent, I watered and tended that garden. For some they grow weeds, I grew flowering plants.”
James Doyle, To Rise Above Your Fear: One Season at a Time

“As a child I planted seeds in cracked soil, as a adolescent I watered and tended that garden. For some they grow weeds, I grew flowering plants.”
James Doyle, To Rise Above Your Fear: One Season at a Time

“A shared memory, is a living thing, shared between two souls. Even when one hand lets go, the memory lives on.”
James Doyle, To Rise Above Your Fear: One Season at a Time

“You can be forgotten, abandoned, wounded, and still choose to become someone kind, curious, and full of light.”
James Doyle, To Rise Above Your Fear: One Season at a Time

“When someone hurts you, they usually move on without giving you a second thought. If you don’t forgive and move on, the only person carrying that pain, is you. Forgiving is not forgetting.”
James Doyle, To Rise Above Your Fear: One Season at a Time

“As a child I planted seeds in cracked soil, as a adolescent I watered and tended that garden. For some they grow weeds, I grew flowering plants.”
James Doyle, To Rise Above Your Fear: One Season at a Time

“History is written by the victors, but it's victims who write the memoirs.”
Carol Tavris, Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts

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