Back Home

Steve Thompson woke up in Wollongong Hospital soon after his fifth birthday, trying to understand what life was about, while drifting in and out of consciousness. Privately, he feared a nagging obsession that he didn't belong there. Back Home is set in Australia and against a backdrop of English cultural history. Steve Thompson looks back at a childhood filled with family secrets. His family began emigrating from the United Kingdom to Australia in 1926 when the British government granted his uncle free passage to the continent. Over time the rest of the family followed, with the author arriving in 1951. Once there, he found his British and Christian background were considered handicaps by the Frogs Hollow working-class community. Almost a decade later, his parents' marriage ended, and the family scattered. The author sunk into a deep depression and the damage echoed down to the next generation, contributing to his own divorce. Then, family secrets emerged. In this memoir, he reveals how he overcame obstacles, came to terms with the past, and sought to reconcile with loved ones.