Mount Gambier Library will host a live event with retired Jungian analytical psychologist and former speech pathologist Gillian Clezy on Thursday for the launch of her memoir ‘Switchback, An Inner and Outer Journey’.
In her memoir, Ms Clezy explores the beginnings of a long and eventful life.
Written in two voices – one of a child and the other a reflective adult – Switchback begins just before the outbreak of World War II.
Ms Clezy travelled to Istanbul on the Orient Express in her mother’s arms and what follows is a series of eventful and dangerous wartime journeys through Palestine, Egypt, South Africa and the North and South Atlantic Oceans, as the young family tries to flee Turkey and return home.
As Hitler and the Axis forces marched towards the middle east, Ms Clezy and her family managed to slip through the German naval blockade of Britain and eventually found themselves back in war-torn England – with air raids and severe rationing.
Throughout the unfolding story, Ms Clezy shares many of her intense experiences and reflects on their long-term effects, using her psychologist expertise.
Born in the UK in 1937, Ms Clezy studied at a specialised college affiliated with University College London.
She became well known for her seminal work in educating mothers and caregivers on how to facilitate the spoken language development of children, particularly those with a profound hearing loss.
With numerous academic papers to her name, which led to her to working in eight countries, this is her first novel.
“I have always loved writing, but because I was an academic, I have written on the more boring things quite a lot, but I wrote little stories and occasionally other articles, then I realised that I had rather a different sort of life to a lot of people so finally when I retired I decided I was going to write,” Ms Clezy said.
“It’s been such a wonderful thing – it’s made my time through COVID a lot easier for me, I just sat and wrote.”
The free event starts at 7pm.
To book tickets, contact Mount Gambier Library online at mountgambier.sa.gov.au/library or call 8721 2540.
