From the AuthorThe writing of The Vine Bleeds was a curious process and indeed, initially, I never intended to write a book. My past often haunted me and a counsellor suggestedthat when memories surfaced, I should jot them down in a journal - just a fewlines. I found this liberating. Once the memories were on paper it just didn't seem so bad. Lacking confidence with my writing I attended a writing class and later enrolled in a diploma course that prompted me to consider working on a book.The little snippets in my journals became paragraphs which became chapters.I decided if I wanted to write this book well I needed extra skills, so I commenced an Arts Degree at sixty-nine and over the next three years I used parts of my book in my assignments. Workshopping was a part of all writing assignments. When my writing was being workshopped I'd sit and squirm. The students didn't hold back. I took on board what they, and my tutors said which resulted in a much improved book.After graduating I continued working on the book and eventually had it assessed resulting in another six months work. The voice wasn't right in places, chapters needed to be moved around and soon. Finally I felt the book was ready to be edited. This took another three months with more changes. Two years after I graduated The Vine Bleeds was publishedMy memoir commences when I was four and ends soon after the death of my mother. It reveals the profound impact domestic violence has on two children and the differing life choices they make. My brother and I embarked on different journeys and lead vastly different lives. It shows the repercussions of the silly errors of judgement my brother and I made. It also illustrates that everyone's journey is different and that difficult situations can create positive outcomes. Although sad in places the book definitely presents lighter moments for the reader. Set in Melbourne and spanning fifty years from the 1940's this true story provides delightful and graphic descriptions of several eras. Life in the eastern suburbs, hotel life in Collingwood and visiting Pentridge prison are some of the anecdotes.The results of both physical and emotional abuse affect the way you feel about yourself, the way you trust, your self-confidence and self-esteem. It becomes your reality. It terrorises and changes your life. So my life has been a mixture of vulnerability and strength.I read somewhere that 'the little kid that lives inside us won't leave us alone until we give them a voice.' I've given the little kid a voice and know now it's not what happens to us, that matters, it's what we do about it.Domestic abusers have a perceived sense of entitlement and view women and children as possessions they control. This was certainly the case in my childhood home. It has taken courage to tell my story and confront my past but it has released me and allowed me to rest my mind.