This image is the cover for the book The Willow

The Willow

Joe is an ‘ordinary’ Australian growing up in Western Australia. His journey takes place against a backdrop of significant social change from the 1950s to the 2000s when established values and political norms are challenged, injustices begin to be acknowledged and the roles of women and men are evolving. When his ‘number comes up’ Joe becomes a combatant in the Vietnam War; one of the more than 15,000 conscripts fighting in an unknown land to which the government commits 60,000 servicemen. More than 500 are killed and over 3,000 wounded in action. Joe is one of the many who return severely affected by the experience. We trace his journey from spirited boy to traumatised man searching for peace and a reconnection to those close to him, especially his treasured son.

Robbie Freia

Robbie Freia spent her formative years in Victoria and her early adulthood living and working overseas and in different parts of Australia. This included twenty years in Western Australia, where she specialised in counselling and community services. Robbie now lives and writes in Victoria’s idyllic Mornington Peninsula.

Austin Macauley Publishers