Stories of Belonging

‘But at night, lying in bed, troubled by death and overwhelmed by life, I find I can shut my eyes and whisper: ‘Take me there.’ That’s all I have to do. The magic begins. Gold light slides down a red canyon wall. A green river sings. I am a shining thing in a shining place, far from here. And I belong there.’ For many of us, finding a community or a place where we feel we belong is at the heart of our lives. Unexpected events, through choice or circumstance, can move us away from our roots. We leave our hometowns, we are torn from what we love, we build new lives in foreign countries. And through it all, whether we acknowledge it or not, we are searching for the feeling of ‘belonging’ that nourishes our souls. In this collection of beautifully written stories, fifteen writers from Australia and around the world reveal their own search to find where they belong. Experiences range from riding the rapids of the Grand Canyon, to living in a remote village of Tibet, to being confronted with sadness and loss, to being a member of the Stolen Generation.  Memorable and moving contributions from  

• Linda Ellerbee  
• Linda Hogan  
• Stephen Levine  
• Wayne Muller  
• Susan Murphy  
• Helena Norberg-Hodge  
• Bob Randall  
• Deborah Bird Rose  
• Ruth Rosenhek  
• Banafsheh Serov  
• Sobonfu Some 
• David Tacey
• Mark Tredinnick
• Kali Wendorf 
• David Whyte