If you live north-west of Melbourne, this is your chance to hear Dr Robyn Rowland AO read from her twelfth book of poetry, Steep Curve, without having to travel to the big smoke.
. This captivating book of skillfully crafted poems explores the complex emotional landscape of Robyn's care for her father during the final years of his long life.
When Norm Rowland OAM (the founder of Warrigal Care, the pioneering provider of aged-care services on the NSW South Coast) is almost 100, Robyn returns to Australia from Ireland. Initially his companion, then his carer during Covid, she lives with him in the house he built 65 years before. Their relationship grows through physical and emotional challenges, anger, frustration, grief and love. Poems for Norm from previous years, interwoven with poems written during this period, enrich and enliven this depiction of a profoundly loving, but not always easy, relationship between father and daughter.
If you have grappled with, anticipate grappling with, or simply wish to understand what it feels like to grapple with, the demanding, fulfilling, frustrating task caring for someone you love as they edge towards the inevitable final destination, these are poems you need to hear
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