Born in 1926, Jack lived in a different time, but the way he sees it, they were better days. He loved his childhood growing up with his many siblings on a farm called Misery, and retells it with delight.
A Long Way from Misery takes you on a rollicking journey through the Australia of yesteryear with Jack Turner, the larrikin shearer, as he rescues his brother from being drowned by a kangaroo, rides a wild steer through the house, and leaps off a moving train. But these misadventures are nothing compared to his mother wielding a carving knife.
Jack Turner is an engaging storyteller who with the assistance of Jacqui, shares with us the adventures of his early life, and the prime of his life as a shearer.
The detail of his odd jobs, adventures and mischeivous times not only leaves rarely a dull moment for the reader but provides a window into the past of: various aspects of shearing jargon, Australian slang, and growing up in rural areas of Australia.
Not just another family memoir, this is a work with potential for use in Australian classrooms to look back at an era of Australian history.