My Father’s Suitcase, by Mary Garden

Published May 2024 | Pages 288 | Paperback  

Sibling relationships are the longest-lasting relationships in most people’s lives. They are not always loving and can become fraught and even toxic. 

This deeply personal and heart-breaking memoir explores the troubled relationship between Mary Garden and her younger sister Anna. Mary unpacks her life of growing up in a dysfunctional family in New Zealand in the 1950s and 60s, before making Australia home.

She reveals complex layers of intergenerational trauma ‒ especially the baggage of her eccentric pioneer aviator father, Oscar Garden ‒ and deals movingly with her sister’s long battle with mental illness and how she once saved Anna’s life. As she unravels these narratives, Mary touches on the guilt and shame familiar to anyone who has had to deal with strangeness, violence and ‘madness’ in their family. 

My Father’s Suitcase is a gripping tale of resilience and survival that offers hope to others who have suffered at the hands of a sibling.