Exuberance - A Novel
When Angelica invents a fictional alter ego, Elena, she is forced to admit that she is no longer happy with her perfectly ordinary life. Jimmy, on the other hand, is perfectly happy with his, and is horrified when his wife of eight years abruptly adopts the persona of the exuberant Elena and sets out to conquer the world... and his oldest friend, Tiger.
Young Sinead, newly arrived in Sydney, loves Angie's exuberant personality and cannot imagine that she could have ever been any different. And there's Norah, Angie's mother, whose precariously balanced world is shaken when her daughter's manic behaviour revives a past she has tried hard to forget.
Meanwhile Elena, more real than imagined, is biding her time...
Set in Sydney at the exciting time of the 2000 Olympic games, this life-affirming novel explores -with intelligence and sensitivity - the chemistry of 'madness', the anatomy of marriage, the volatility of lust, the power of resilience, and the importance of finding the right measure of exuberance in life.
Where to buy it:
Exuberance is available worldwide as an e-book for $2.99 at the following online stores:
Amazon Australia | Amazon US | Amazon UK (Kindle)
Smashwords (One-stop-shop for Kindle, iPad, PDF, epub, plain text)
Kobo (epub) | Barnes & Noble (Nook book) | iTunes store (iPad)
Praise for Exuberance:
Young Sinead, newly arrived in Sydney, loves Angie's exuberant personality and cannot imagine that she could have ever been any different. And there's Norah, Angie's mother, whose precariously balanced world is shaken when her daughter's manic behaviour revives a past she has tried hard to forget.
Meanwhile Elena, more real than imagined, is biding her time...
Set in Sydney at the exciting time of the 2000 Olympic games, this life-affirming novel explores -with intelligence and sensitivity - the chemistry of 'madness', the anatomy of marriage, the volatility of lust, the power of resilience, and the importance of finding the right measure of exuberance in life.
Where to buy it:
Exuberance is available worldwide as an e-book for $2.99 at the following online stores:
Amazon Australia | Amazon US | Amazon UK (Kindle)
Smashwords (One-stop-shop for Kindle, iPad, PDF, epub, plain text)
Kobo (epub) | Barnes & Noble (Nook book) | iTunes store (iPad)
Praise for Exuberance:
5 out of 5 - 'A wonderful journey of the power of the human mind'
I loved this book. It is full of real heart and feeling for the trauma of mental illness and how it touches a whole family in their struggle to recalibrate their lives after Angie (the book's heroine) is diagnosed with bi-polar. There is humour and warmth as well as the realistic darkness of the journey for Angie as a wife, daughter and friend.
(Amazon.com Customer Review)
5 out of 5 - 'Spellbinding'
Wow - what an amazing story! I could not put it down... The story although light hearted was full of meaning and your heart went out to the main character and her family.
(Amazon Australia Customer Review)
5 out of 5 - 'An excellent read'
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I cared for the characters and wanted them all to do well... I have a better understanding of mental illness as it became clear it was not so fearful.
(Amazon UK Customer Review)
5 out of 5 - 'Entertaining and uplifting'
This book offers a fascinating insight into bipolar mood disorder and how it affects not just Angie, but everyone whose life is touched and changed by the sudden manifestation of Angie's illness... At the same time, it tells an entertaining, uplifting tale with plenty of twists. (Goodreads Review)
4 out of 5 - 'Interesting and insightful'
An interesting and insightful story about mental illness and the impact on everyday life. A great read for anyone who enjoys the world created by the written word or for anyone trying to understand mental illness with a light, meaningful message.
(Smashwords Customer Review)
Acknowledgements:
My heartfelt thanks go to E. Cowell, who edited the manuscript. Varuna, the Writers’ House in the Blue Mountains, where I spent an unforgettable week as one of the recipients of the Varuna Awards Residential Masterclass in 2005, and where I completed the first draft of this novel under the mentorship of Peter Bishop. D. Golvan, who believed on this book, read it thoroughly and made many valuable suggestions. The Hon. Jeff Kennett AC, founding chairman of beyondblue, who took the time to read my manuscript and believed it to ‘offer a well-constructed account of bipolar’. M. Almiron, who gave me excellent suggestions from another writer’s perspective. And Mark, who proofread endless incarnations of Exuberance and whose relentless belief in its message of hope, healing and recovery motivated me to finally having it published.
Cover photograph by Maryia Bahutskaya | www.dreamstime.com
About the Author:
Please click here for a biography/bibliography or visit my blog to read my midnight musings on the creative writing process, the power of storytelling, travel, inspiration and more.
My heartfelt thanks go to E. Cowell, who edited the manuscript. Varuna, the Writers’ House in the Blue Mountains, where I spent an unforgettable week as one of the recipients of the Varuna Awards Residential Masterclass in 2005, and where I completed the first draft of this novel under the mentorship of Peter Bishop. D. Golvan, who believed on this book, read it thoroughly and made many valuable suggestions. The Hon. Jeff Kennett AC, founding chairman of beyondblue, who took the time to read my manuscript and believed it to ‘offer a well-constructed account of bipolar’. M. Almiron, who gave me excellent suggestions from another writer’s perspective. And Mark, who proofread endless incarnations of Exuberance and whose relentless belief in its message of hope, healing and recovery motivated me to finally having it published.
Cover photograph by Maryia Bahutskaya | www.dreamstime.com
About the Author:
Please click here for a biography/bibliography or visit my blog to read my midnight musings on the creative writing process, the power of storytelling, travel, inspiration and more.
