I Knew You'd Have Brown Eyes (18 page)

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank my niece Emma Rose Smith, a poet, wise counsellor and finder of a title. Her belief that I could write my story sustained me. Sam and Alex – for their support and encouragement. Michael – of course. Ellen Hawkins, from the Santiago Writers group who not only introduced me to hiking and the trails around the foothills of Santiago, where I did most of my thinking, she showed me how to put a character in the centre of the story and not just tell what happened. Eileen Smith – for her invaluable insights. She has the knack of crystallising a situation.My writers group – Eileen Smith, Jenny Perez-Genge, Marianne Urth, Nichole Meyer, Silvia Fernandez-Carla and Jennifer Pardini – who shared their stories with me and helped to pull apart the threads of my own story. Kerry Davies and Anthony Reeder – for editorial input. And Rex and Samantha from Finch Publishing for their support and guidance.

A conservative Catholic family in Queensland in 1974 is no place to be a pregnant teenager. With an authoritarian mother and facing enormous societal pressures, Mary Tennant must make a decision to save her future … but it is one that will haunt her for the rest of her life.

After putting her baby son up for adoption, Mary tries to return to her old life and her studies to be a nurse but finds that she cannot escape thoughts of her son or feelings of guilt. The situation is made worse because her mother and family completely ignore what has happened and Mary cannot talk to anyone about how she feels. Even after travelling throughout remote Australia as a nurse and health advisor, eventually marrying and having two daughters, Mary feels incomplete and restless.

Then the adoption laws regarding contact between birth mothers and their children are changed. Mary decides that the time might be right to see if her son wants to meet her. But nothing is ever as simple as it seems and Mary’s life and world is about to be turned upside down all over again.

Spanning forty years and set against a backdrop of changing social attitudes in Australia, this is the story of a young girl searching for meaning, coming to terms with her guilt and grief, and learning that breaking the silence brings empowerment.

‘This is a powerful memoir about shame, guilt, regret and growth. It tells the all too familiar story of teenage pregnancy and adoption … the author is to be congratulated on turning her pain into a story that many people will relate to and recognize themselves within.’
MAGGIE MACKELLAR,
AUTHOR OF
WHEN IT RAINS

‘A standout memoir, told with clear-eyed grace and nicely controlled passion … This is written with great confidence and clarity, is moving but not sentimental, and is an absorbing read from start to finish.’
DEBRA ADELAIDE,
AUTHOR OF
THE WOMEN’S PAGES
AND
LETTERS TO GEORGE CLOONEY

‘This is just lovely … it’s that rare thing – a personal memoir that feels thoroughly universal.’
DOMINIC KNIGHT,
AUTHOR AND FORMER ABC RADIO BROADCASTER

Mary Tennant is a retired registered nurse. She completed her general training at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, midwifery at the Mater Mother’s in Brisbane and Community Child Health certificate at Curtin University Perth. Later she obtained a Bachelor of Applied Science (Nursing) and a Masters in Public Health and Tropical Medicine. Mary has worked in hospitals in Brisbane and Perth but the majority of her career has been in Aboriginal Health.