Showing results by narrator "Kate Hood" in All Categories

Gynaecologists Catherine and Reg Hamlin left Australia in 1959 on a short contract to establish a midwifery school in Ethiopia. Almost 50 years later, Catherine is still there, running one of the most outstanding medical programs in the world. Through this work, thousands of women have been able to resume a normal existence after living as outcasts. The Hamlins dedicated their lives to women suffering the catastrophic effects of obstructed labour - a problem easily dealt with in the developed world by assisted delivery or caesarean section, but disastrous without medical intervention.

When English actress Vanessa Forsythe falls in love with Bren Selby, her life changes forever. Leaving behind her London apartment, she becomes mistress of Amaroo Downs, a remote cattle station in Western Australia. Not only does Vanessa have to adjust to a vastly different lifestyle in the outback, she must establish her place in the Selby family.

Barrister Jessica Pearce is brilliant in the courtroom until a personal tragedy tears her life apart. To help her recover from her trauma, husband Dr Simon Pearce decides they will move to Norfolk Island. Here amidst the idyllically serene landscape Simon hopes that Jessica will rebuild her life. But strange, inexplicable things have Jessica questioning her own sanity on an island scarred by dark secrets from its convict past.

Laura McRae is beautiful, gifted, and madly in love, until at 18 her life is shattered in a few brief moments. Soon it is wartime, a time of racketeering and high stakes...and impulsive marriages. Falling into the arms of Eddie Ashworth seems to be the love Laura has dreamed of, but is her new husband really the man he seems?

When Nikki Stern left suburban Melbourne for Europe in the early 1980s, little did she know that her life was about to change dramatically. Adopted into a well-connected family and educated at an exclusive school, she fell instantly and hopelessly in love with a charming and charismatic cartoonist in Amsterdam. Paul and Nikki embarked on a passionate love affair, enjoying the hedonistic days of the '80s before eloping and returning to Australia. But soon Nikki found herself in a world she never imagined. Descending into the depths of the sex industry - as a dominatrix, stripper, prostitute and porn star - there was almost nothing she didn't do.

When Brooke Hastings and her new husband, Doctor Jason d'Winters, stop off at the small town of Bindi Creek - they have no idea that the small township will end up having such a dramatic impact on their lives. Lured by the peaceful town and its need for a doctor, the young family decide to settle at Bindi Creek and make friends with the locals, including Jason's old mate Wes, who admires Jason and Brooke's perfect life. But Brooke is not all she appears to be, and the guilty secrets of her tragic past are tearing her apart.

Father Chris Riley is a maverick priest with an extraordinary mission: helping kids in desperate trouble who have no one else to turn to. They're some of the toughest kids in Australia, but he refuses to give up on them. And the results are astonishing. An 11-year-old boy, labelled a 'solo crime wave', with 137 offences. A 16-year-old who stabbed a man to death. A heroin addict aged just fifteen, forced to sell herself on the streets. When everyone else failed them, Father Chris stepped in - and now they're all happy, healthy teenagers, looking forward to long and fulfilling lives.

Someone is trying to sabotage Ashworths, the exclusive department store set up by Laura Beaumont. Is the company about to be taken over? The timing is bad for the Beaumont family because Laura's health is declining and they desperately need to find a successor to the business. Caroline, Laura's eldest daughter, is a concert pianist in search of a new career; perhaps at Ashworths. But her ambitious sister Michaela has her eye on the top job and is suspicious of Caroline's motives. Meanwhile, Joel, Laura's son, has to deal with his own problems before he can pursue his career as a doctor.

With serious indebtedness on the increase in Australia, the time has never been better for a guide to help you avoid debt or break free of it. Australia's best-known financial adviser Paul Clitheroe explains in his typically clear, straightforward fashion how to control your money and escape the pitfalls of debt.

Kelly is 17. She's a scholarship girl, her dad drinks too much and her mom lives in another city. Her house isn't renovated like those of her friends. But Kelly has one thing her friends are envious of: Phil. Rich, devoted, handsome Phil. And it looks like their future together is all mapped out. Then, on a hot afternoon in a dingy little pizza shop, Kelly meets Con. He's unlike anyone she's ever known before.

Hundreds of kilometres without a car, a house, or a person in sight. The dome of clear blue above and the occasional group of roos startling off into the scrub. Then emus, bolting off in a mad panic on the other side. I was finding something that had been lost inside me and I wanted to weave in and out on that straight white ribbon of road for the joy of having found it again. Cross My Heart is the story of Mick and Michelle, chasing a dream, crossing their hearts for the future; a vibrant, passionate, sprawling novel set in outback Australia.

Managed funds are mushrooming, with now more than 3,000 funds on offer to Australian investors. But what are managed funds all about, and which ones are right for you? In his clear, straightforward fashion, Paul Clitheroe, Australia's best-known financial adviser, explains all you need to know about managed funds: what they are, how they work, and how they can generate wealth, so that you can decide which fund or funds will best help you reach your financial goals.

Sydney, 1942. Pearl is 18, beautiful and impetuous. She plays saxophone in an all-girl jazz band at the Trocadero and occasionally sits in on underground gigs with her twin brother Martin, who also plays the sax. On one such evening black GI and jazz legend James Washington blows into her life, and nothing is ever the same again, especially not Pearl. A love story begins to unfold against the blacked-out nights and rumour-filled days of a city in the grip of war.

Lured by the peaceful town and its need for a doctor, the young family decide to settle at Bindi Creek and make friends with the locals, including Jason's old mate Wes, who admires Jason and Brooke's perfect life. But Brooke is not all she appears to be, and the guilty secrets of her tragic past are tearing her apart. When Jason is seriously injured in a motorcycle accident, Brooke has to confront her past and rediscover herself in order to survive. Meanwhile, Wes begins to make his move.

Australian street kids are the forgotten underclass of society, an ever-increasing pool of children who are often abused, frequently in the clutches of drug dealers, and usually engaged in crime just to make enough money to stay alive. Their childhood dreams of a happy, loving future are lost forever. This audiobook tells of Father Riley's faltering first steps towards helping such children, and his determination to pledge the rest of his life to giving them back their dreams.

Laura McRae is beautiful, gifted and madly in love—until at 18 her life is shattered in a few brief moments. Soon it is wartime, a time of racketeering and high stakes—and impulsive marriages. Falling into the arms of Eddie Ashworth seems to be the love Laura has dreamed of but is her new husband really the man he seems? All she can cling to is her talent for fashion and her determination never to be poor again. As her business climbs from success to success, her creations become the toast of the town. Then Captain Jack Beaumont walks into her life.

Barrister Jessica Pearce is brilliant in the courtroom until a personal tragedy tears her life apart. To help her recover from her trauma, husband Dr Simon Pearce decides they will move to Norfolk Island. Here, Simon hopes that Jessica will rebuild her life. But strange, inexplicable things have Jessica questioning her own sanity on an island scarred by dark secrets from its convict past. To help uncover the truth behind Jessica's problems, Simon enlists the help of psychologist Marcus Hunter, a native Norfolker.