Author(s): Karen Ingram (Memoir by, Original Author, Preface by)

Biography | Books about Newcastle & the Hunter | Books by Newcastle and Hunter Authors

Lifting the Lid - a memoir born of adoption is a compelling story told by a distinctive voice with heart and humour about identity, belonging and a woman's search for her biological truth. It is an exploration by the author, as an adopted baby girl, growing up in Newcastle, Australia in the 1970s and 1980s - of assimilating and clashing with culture, gender and societal norms. Anyone connected to adoption or interested in family history and Australia's social landscape from the mid-twentieth century to the present will love this book. Lifting the Lid explores identity through the author's experience as the product of a sexual encounter between a 'fine' protestant girl and a migrant Italian Catholic musician in the mid-sixties, traversing uncharted territory where truth and secrets live in parallel across Newcastle, Sydney, Tasmania and Melbourne. Growing pains from childhood to adolescence and the coming of age towards adulthood are vividly described through imagery of dreams and references to pop culture as the inner workings of a developing mind unfolds as the author searches for her place. Who is 'Condom Man'? Will the band get back together? Why does heartbreak feel like your heart is breaking? The answers unravel the memory threads of interconnected families and stories of social change that continues to affect families everywhere. Uniquely Australian, yet universal in thought, this memoir illustrates how identity is linked to heritage and the fallout from denial of the truth.