Some Girls Do . . .: My Life as a Teenager

351 Pages·2008·1.14 MB·English

by  Jacinta Tynan

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Some Girls Do ...
My life as a teenager
Jacinta Tynan
Edited by
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First published in 2007
Copyright © Allen and Unwin 2007
Stories are copyright of individual authors
All rights reserved.No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted
in any form or by any means,electronic or mechanical,including
photocopying,recording or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without prior permission in writing from the publisher.TheAustralian
Copyright Act 1968(the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or 10 per
cent of this book,whichever is the greater,to be photocopied by any
educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the
educational institution (or body that administers it) has given a
remuneration notice to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act.
Arena Books,an imprint of
Allen & Unwin
83 Alexander Street
Crows Nest NSW 2065
Australia
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.allenandunwin.com
National Library of Australia
Cataloguing-in-Publication entry:
Some girls do:my life as a teenager.
ISBN 978 1 74175 122 2.
1.Women authors,Australian–Anecdotes.2.Women authors,
Australian–Biography.3.Teenage girls–Australia–
Anecdotes.4.Australia–Biography–Anecdotes.I.Tynan,
Jacinta.
820.90352422
Internal design by Christa Moffitt
Set in 12/15.5 pt Bembo by Midland Typesetters,Australia
Printed and bound in Australia by Griffin Press
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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Contents
Preface Jacinta Tynan vii
Acknowledgements ix
Boobs Kathy Lette 1
The Life Lessons of Littlewing Bessie Bardot 7
A Distance of a Thousand Miles Nikki Gemmell 12
Still Stillness Kate Holden 17
The Message Larissa Behrendt 22
One Sunday Afternoon Cecilia Inglis 27
Dirty Stopout Clare Press 35
Always First Never Lasts Rachael Oakes-Ash 40
Rebels With a Cause Eva Cox 47
The Pirate of Paradise Waters Kate Morton 53
The Language of the Dead Antonella Gambotto-Burke 62
Lock Up Your Sons Emily Maguire 72
Nudist Nights Robbi Neal 77
The Group Liane Moriarty 86
Death to Disco Jessica Adams 92
The Bush Doctrine Lisa Pryor 102
The Adolescent Detective Diane Armstrong 108
New School Sofie Laguna 113
This Much I Know ... Sarah Wilson 120
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Football Groupie Libby-Jane Charleston 126
The Island of Lost Souls Kathy Buchanan 135
Finding My Voice Melinda Hutchings 142
‘The Boxer’ Brigid Delaney 150
Nude Photo Jo Dutton 159
Straight A’s to Double D’s Kathryn Eisman 165
Choosing Life Gabrielle Lord 170
My Glorious Teens Kelly Foulkes 178
The Power of Two Sue Williams 187
My After-Formal Party Lucy Lehmann 192
Who’s the New Girl? Rebecca Huntley 197
The Imaginary Life of Lucy Patti Miller 204
August the 27th Tobsha Learner 214
‘Dear Jacinta’ Jacinta Tynan 222
Humiliation and Lust Leigh Redhead 233
Starting Fresh Maggie Hamilton 241
Tenants Heather Rose 249
Poor Alice Jill Morris 257
Fire and Ice Lyn McPherson 263
The Waiting Room Debra Oswald 272
The Marks of Memory Tara June Winch 277
Confessions of a Drama Queen Bianca Dye 281
Fitting In Di Morrissey 285
There’s Light in the Darkness of Mental Illness Jessica Rowe 291
First Love Vanessa Gorman 295
A Black and White Picture Belinda Alexandra 302
Argentina Sarah Armstrong 310
Old School Ties Lisa Wilkinson 320
The Magic of Dance Cindy Pan 328
I Was a Teenage Misfit Kim Wilkins 332
Summer Lovin’ Tara Moss 336
To . . . Grace Whiting 340
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Preface
Everyone tells you that your teenage years are the best years of your
life. But try finding someone who really thinks that’s so.They’re
actually the toughest years and the most confusing.Your body starts
to change,friends are hard-won,your loins are full of longing but
your head is not,and you’re no longer sure if your parents really do
know best.
It’s also one of the most crucial times for a girl,when she starts
to decide who she is and what she wants.The choices you make
during adolescence can set the path for the rest of your life.
This book is for every woman who has been a teenager or is one
now. It features true stories of the teenage years of some of
Australia’s top female writers, women who’ve battled everything
from first crushes and lust to drugs, racism and sexual abuse.The
51 writers in this book have known angst, despair and not being
part of the cool group,yet all have lived to tell the tale.
And by doing that—by donating their stories—they are helping
a new generation of teenage girls.All royalties from the book are
going to the SISTER2sister Program—a mentoring program
connecting teenage girls from disadvantaged backgrounds (poverty,
abuse,neglect) with women who are older and,in most cases,wiser.
For the first time in their lives, these girls are given a role model,
someone who will listen to them without judging them and,
hopefully, help them to turn their lives around. To learn that
whatever has happened in their past does not have to define their
future.To break the cycle of destitution and abuse.
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Even though I have three sisters of my own,I decided to adopt
another one through the SISTER2sister Program because I’d
reached a stage in my life where I thought there’d be plenty I’d be
able to pass on to a teenage girl.But I failed dismally in my first task
as a ‘Big Sister’. My Little Sister texted me with,‘how d ya wash
curtains?’ I was mortified. How old did she think I was? I had to
consult a book on household hints before I could reply.
There’s nothing like a teenager to bring you back down to earth,
which is another reason to get involved.These girls have led lives
most of us—thankfully—will never know.
Imagine one girl’s distress after being forced to take out a
restraining order on her mother’s abusive boyfriend after he threat-
ened to kill her. How do you explain hope to two severely
traumatised teenage sisters, who witnessed their father brutally
murder their mother in their home? One Little Sister,whose parents
are both heroin addicts, worked at a fast-food outlet to support
herself through her HSC. Another moved out of her alcoholic
mother’s home so she could have a chance at a career.
With the support of their Big Sisters—an extraordinary group of
women, including a gynaecologist, a magazine editor, marketing
executives,mothers,a nurse,a lawyer,a mortgage broker,an aspiring
pop star and a psychologist—these girls are starting again.And in
the process, they remind us that dreams are still do-able, and the
future is up to us.
Allen & Unwin is also donating $1 from every book sale to the
SISTER2sister Program,so your purchase goes towards supporting
this life-changing cause.We could have sold lamingtons to raise
funds,but this way—through the words of these accomplished and
inspiring writers who have shared so much of themselves with great
insight, sensitivity and humour—we’re also reinforcing and cele-
brating the fact that you do come out the other side.
Enjoy.And thanks for making a difference.
Jacinta Tynan
The SISTER2sister Program’s website is
www.lifechangingexperiences.org
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Acknowledgements
I wasn’t expecting it to be the easiest of tasks:convincing some of
the country’s top female authors to write for free,especially asking
them to reveal intimate details about their own adolescence—an
awkward era many would rather overlook.But that turned out to
be the easy part.Much to my delight,most were as enthusiastic as
I was about the project,leaping at the invitation to reminisce and
so,in a mere twelve months,Some Girls Do...went to print.
It would not have been possible without:
Selwa Anthony, agent extraordinaire, who believed in the book
the minute I first pitched it to her,even though I was suggesting her
authors write for love.She threw her weight behind it,helping track
down authors and encouraging them to contribute. Also, a huge
thanks to Selena Hanet-Hutchins for her help with this endeavour.
Jude McGee, Publisher,Allen & Unwin, who ‘got it’ instantly
and treated the book with passion and commitment.
Angela Handley, Senior Editor, Allen & Unwin, who waded
through 51 stories from as many authors with great patience,
interest and perfect suggestions.
Fiona Daniels,external editor,who also toiled behind the scenes
doing all of the above.
Louise Thurtell and Annette Barlow, Publishers,Allen & Unwin,
who suggested a stream of authors I hadn’t thought of and helped
source them.
Literary agents including: Sophie Hamley (Camerons Manage-
ment) and Fiona Inglis (Curtis Brown) who also assisted greatly in
the author search.
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Those at other publishing houses who put rivalries aside for the
cause,including:Alison Urquhart (Harper Collins),Gemma Rayner
(Text Publishing),Sophie Higgins (ABC Books),Jane Novak (Pan
Macmillan), Anyez Lindop (Penguin) and Fiona Henderson
(Random House).
To the extraordinary Jessica Adams, who generously offered
advice on how it’s all done after she set a precedent inspiring a team
of busy authors to donate their time for the best-selling Girls Night
In series.
To my own private support team: my beautiful family, who is
always behind me:Mum (the best mum a teenage girl could have
had), Dad, Damian and Lucy, Cait and Michael, Ro, Justin and
Carolina,Bubs and Tom,Dominic,Patrick and Claudia.
My friends, who encouraged me on this project and persisted
with me through my absences, including: Bronywn Curran, Fr.
Jeremy Clarke SJ,Fiona MacGregor,Kelly Nestor,Elizabeth Powell,
Emma Rosenberg,Lauren Rose,Ellen Stanley,Michael Tame,Sarah
Wilson,Lynne Yu. . . and all the rest.
To Angelos Frangopoulos, my boss at Sky News, for rostering
me around my other passions.
To the phenomenal writers who all donated their precious time
to delve deep into their own teenage experiences, many for the
first time, and share their personal stories. I knew we were onto
something when Nikki Gemmell responded with an enthusiastic
yes.If Nikki could find the time and inclination to write a piece,
even in the midst of another novel, then the others would be a
cinch. Kathy Lette was next, then Jessica Adams, Belinda
Alexandra . . . and there was no turning back.
Finally, but most importantly, to the team members at the
SISTER2sister Program, especially its founder, my dear friend
Jessica Brown,who all do extraordinary work,turning around the
lives of teenage girls.
Hopefully this book will do the same.
Jacinta Tynan