It is Have a nice week endlatest issue of 2021, which is the one we dedicate to reflections on the past year of novelists who have published a bestselling book in the past 12 months. I hope you enjoy their touching and whimsical pieces as much as we do in the office.
– Katrina Strickland, Good Weekend Editor
“The end of September of this year marked two full years since I quit drinking… My biggest achievement of 2021.”Credit:Illustration by Simon Letch
“It’s hard to beat the satisfaction of getting rid of a habit, whatever it is”
On second thought, Adam Thompson decides he leaves the alcohol behind.
“I am grateful for the incredible care I received, but I am rude about my cancer. “Credit:Illustration by Simon Letch
“When my general practitioner calls, I’m mad with panic”
Some people see cancer as a gift. Liane Moriarty? Not really.
“Dad showed me it’s okay to be sensitive, to be different, even when it doesn’t make sense.”Credit:Illustration by Simon Letch
“Mourning invites a kind of magical thought”
Normal life came to a halt when Mark Brandi’s father died. An urban fox offered a path through sadness.
“On the streets, especially during the lockdown, there is a pact among the night walkers. We look at the world and respect everyone’s privacy.Credit:Illustration by Simon Letch
“I am one of the hordes who have lost sleep because of the pandemic”
Reframing the nightmare of insomnia brings a new wake-up call for Jacqueline Maley.
“I realized how important a good doctor is to someone living with a chronic illness. They become your anchor.Credit:Illustration by Simon Letch
A strange intimacy can develop with a mass of linoleum, bricks and mortar, writes Maxine Beneba Clarke.
“I lived here in the eastern suburbs of Sydney. It’s a phrase I never thought I’d say.Credit:Illustration by Simon Letch
“I was anti-oriental. Yet I’m standing here now, Brendo de Bronte ‘
Waves of joy hit Brendan Cowell, a hard-core downtown alumnus.
“People who learn to share finite things – their home, their common space, their time, their food, their love – are happier people. “Credit:Illustration by Simon Letch
“You can have a rich inner existence despite outer circumstances”
Living on a college campus with three children gives Alice Pung her own classes.