Graft: Motherhood, Family and a Year on the Land / Maggie MacKellar ; illustrations by Sarah Bird

Author:
MacKellar, Maggie (b. 1973)

Illustrator:
Sarah Bird

Publisher:
[Docklands, Victoria] : Hamish Hamilton / Penguin Random House Australia, 2023

ISBN:
9781742752488

Format:
Hardcover

Pages:
256

Condition:
Good – small tear to dust jacket and bumping to top and bottom of spine; internally near fine with clean, bright pages. Binding tight.

Description:
In Graft, acclaimed Australian writer Maggie MacKellar offers a tender and powerful meditation on motherhood, family, and the rhythms of rural life in Tasmania. Told in journal-style prose, this deeply personal memoir reflects on grief, growth, single parenthood, and the quiet labour of sheep farming — all against the backdrop of seasonal cycles and landscapes of profound beauty.

Enriched by delicate illustrations from Sarah Bird, Graft explores the fragility and resilience of life on the land. It’s an ode to caretaking — of children, of animals, and of the self — and a poetic examination of what it means to belong.

Why You’ll Love It:
Fans of Helen Garner, Hannah Kent, or Geraldine Brooks will appreciate MacKellar’s lyrical honesty and unflinching gaze. Whether you're drawn to contemporary Australian memoirs, women's writing, or slow-living reflections from the farm, Graft offers something intimate and enduring. A meaningful gift for lovers of literary nonfiction, rural heritage, and honest storytelling.

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