Table of Contents

CONTENTS
1. Speaking out 7
2. Tamarillo chutney 16
3. Babies 27
4. Portfolios 36
5. Wonderland 45
6. Circle the wagons 53
7. Different mothers 64
8. Silver weddings 76
9. Driving test 84
10. Therapeutic fibbing 92
11. Role models 100
12. Wise old woman 109
13. Ladylike behaviour 120
14. Hair cuts 133
15. Party over 138
16. Boarding school blues 147
17. A new friend 158
18. Home visit 169
19. A prayer 177
20. Acts of kindness 184
21. Alive inside 190
22. The star 199
23. Hole in the hallway 206
24. Toothache 214
25. Alone is lonely 223
26. Fortisip 232
27. Going home 239
Epilogue 247
Bibliography 252
Acknowledgements 253
About the author 255

About the Author

Pip Desmond is a Wellington writer, editor and oral historian. She is the author of the award-winning Trust: A True Story of Women and Gangs and The War That Never Ended: New Zealand Veterans Remember Korea. Pip has an MA in creative writing and runs communications company 2Write with her husband Pat. They have three children and four beautiful grandchildren.

Reviews

`Song for Rosaleen is a beautiful, honest and deeply moving memoir. I have no doubt this book will resonate with a huge portion of readers - especially anyone who has watched a loved one decline due to a degenerative illness.' - Mandy Hager; `This book is an outstanding example of memoir -creative non-fiction at its best. Its compelling narrative flow creates a moving and enriching work that will be an important addition to this country's literature.' - Alison Parr.;‘Song for Rosaleen is gripping. It is at one level a personal account, at another a meditation on memory itself, and at yet another an erudite critique of how our society treats the frail, dependent and voiceless. For this latter reason alone it should be essential reading for everyone who works in health: management, non-clinical and clinical staff alike.’ — Sue Wootton, Corpus