Writing Lives into History with Kathleen O'Reilly Johnston

Chances are that you've never heard of Norman Johnston, aka Johno. It's rare to hear about quiet heroes, but he's a man who has lived a hundred lives. Born in the Second World War, he was ten months old when taken by a priest and passed to the nuns at Nazareth House in Scotland. At the age of six, he walked from Scotland to England. At the age of seven, he was trafficked to Australia. At the age of fifteen, he was used as slave labour. At 18 years, he joined the military. At 22 years, he was pronounced dead in Vietnam. Not until his 60s, in 2009, Australia's then prime minister, Kevin Rudd, made a national apology to all the British child migrants. Johno is based on a true child migration story. The narrative follows the life of a boy deported from Scotland to Australia at the tender age of seven. It is a story of betrayal, abuse of power and war. It is also a powerful story of resilience, of overcoming and reckoning with the past. The work has been described as a moving, and profound account of human resilience. Kathleen O’Reilly Johnston is an author who writes with insight gained from holding space for the vulnerable. Her prose reminds us of the reasons we are drawn to story: to connect, to learn, to experience and to hope. Books will be available for purchase on the evening, courtesy of Boundless Books You can pre-order Johno from Hawkeye Publishing