A Life on Pittwater

Susan Duncan came to Pittwater when she impulsively bought a tumbledown, boxy little shack in Lovett Bay. The move changed her life forever, as she describes in her bestselling title, Salvation Creek. Now Susan lives in Tarangaua, the gracious house built for Dorothea Mackellar in 1925, and is a well-loved member of the small Pittwater community. A Life on Pittwater takes us on a memorable trip to this beguiling place and presents all aspects of its distinctive way of life. There is Susan's lovely home with its gorgeous verandah; the lush surroundings, the bush and the bays; the wildlife and the ever-present dogs; the tinnies, the ferries and the peculiarities of living somewhere without cars; the boatsheds and the working boats; the bushfires; and, above all, the close community life. Welcome to Pittwater, where neighbours stop their tinnies to have a quick chat. It's a place like nowhere else in Australia; and it's also quintessentially Australian.

After a 25-year career spanning radio, newspaper and magazine journalism, including editing two of Australia's top selling women's magazines, THE AUSTRALIAN WOMEN'S WEEKLY and NEW IDEA, SUSAN DUNCAN woke up one morning and chucked in her job. The decision followed the deaths of her husband and brother. After struggling to begin again, she finally found her own patch of paradise on earth only to discover it might already be too late when she was diagnosed with cancer herself. Today Susan lives with her second husband, Bob, on the shores of Pittwater at Tarrangaua, the beautiful home built for poet Dorothea Mackellar in 1925. Susan's bestselling memoir, SALVATION CREEK, won the 2007 Nielsen BookData Booksellers Choice Award and was shortlisted for the prestigious Dobbie Award, part of the Nita B Kibble awards for women writers.