When It Rains

by Maggie MacKellar
0 stars 1 comments

The heart-wrenching but triumphant story of rebuilding a life and a family

Available Formats

Synopsis

'My body, suddenly, carries two stories of loss ... One is easy for people to recognise. My mother died of cancer. I watched her age twenty-five years in eight weeks ... My other story marks me as different. It is more silent and more savage, it is not pure and no one knows how to approach it. Somewhere I lost my husband.' When Maggie's vibrant young husband, father to a five-year-old daughter and an unborn son, dies tragically, Maggie is left widowed and due to give birth three months later to their second child. Then her beloved mother, backbone of the family, mother to three children, grandmother to two, dies suddenly of aggressive cancer. In two short years, Maggie's life has shattered. After a year, she gives up trying to juggle single motherhood and the demands of an academic career and returns with her children to the family farm in central western New South Wales to take stock and catch a breath. The farm becomes a redemptive, healing place for Maggie and her children as they battle the heat and drought that only the Australian landscape can offer. She throws herself into the horses, sheep, ducks and chickens and slowly, finally, realises she has found a new shape for herself. Written by a brilliant new talent, When It Rains is a meditation on grief and the vagaries of the human condition, and a stunning memoir about piecing back together a life, and moving forward, one step at a time.

News & Blog

More News & Blog
Jan 26

My Favourite Australian Books for Australia Day

by Meredith Curnow on 26 January 2012

My Favourite Australian Books for Australia Day 0 comments

I thought it would be a breeze to write about ten of my favourite Australian books for Australia Day, but each time I have thought about bringing my fingers to the keyboard, I change the books I want to include. One solution is to restrict myself to fiction only. Of course this means I won’t be able to mention Recollections of a Bleeding Heart by Don Watson (but this would be perfect to get...

Aug 23

2011 Queensland Premier's Literary Awards

by Random House Australia on 23 August 2011

2011 Queensland Premier's Literary Awards 0 comments

Over 50 authors included in this year’s shortlist

Click to rate 0 stars

Your Reviews

  1. GeckoGirl5 stars

    6 January 2012 at 11:56am

    Report

    A very moving book and and while it covers some deep issues it flows so well it is very easy to read. Makes you realised how strong we have to be sometimes

Comment

Comments as a guest, or become a member - Log in or Register

Others Also Viewed