Elaine Crabtree accidentally fell into her family writing project.
She recently published When We Were Very Rich after finding a collection of notebooks following her mother Isabel Donnollan’s death.
“I was searching through her papers for something and I came across a number of handwritten notebooks,” Elaine said.
“They were all in great detail of her early life growing up around Rockhampton (Central Queensland, Australia) during the Great Depression.
“I had known of the existence of one notebook but was delighted when I saw how much she had written.
“Having found all the notebooks, I found reading them fascinating and I decided that I would try to put them all together.”
Elaine has lived in the United Kingdom for over 50 years and said the biography of a late mother had helped connect her with her family back in Australia.
“My mother was one of 14 and I have 50 first cousins! There is a lot of family to share this story with,” she said.
“As I told my cousins: ‘My mum’s story is the family story for all your parents.’
“When my grandmother had her 100 birthday there were over 200 descendants at her party at Yeppoon (near Rockhampton).
“This was a life story that needed to be shared.”
Elaine said while her mother and maternal grandmother grew up poor they were rich in other ways.
“(Mum) named her story When We Were Very Rich,” she said.
“She felt they were rich in freedom, fresh air, nature and most of all family love and togetherness.”
Keep reading to find out how Elaine saw the book through to completion and what her top tips are for compiling a biography of a late mother or other family member. Continue reading Case study: Surprise find inspires biography of a late mother
