Twenty-five years as a psychologist has lent Helen's writing both insight and compassion. She writes about ordinary people dealing with the deep questions she struggles with herself: Where is home? What does family mean? Are my beliefs worth the pain? Who am I?

She lives in Earthsong Eco-neighbourhood (Auckland, New Zealand) alongside chickens, organic gardens, and lots of compost. Her passions include sustainable living, participatory democracy and living in community.

These are the questions compelling this story set in small-town New Zealand. In 1956, Sandra McLeod and her British immigrant family came to Kawerau seeking a new life. But it was not an easy journey… When Sandra returns twenty years later, she must confront ghosts of her past.

Amongst blooming pohutakawas, a pragmatic woman must confront the indignity of death.
Illustrated by Robin Charles.