Tiddas (41 page)

Dr Anita Heiss is the author of non-fiction, historical fiction, commercial women's fiction, poetry, social commentary and travel articles. She is a regular guest at writers' festivals and travels internationally performing her work and lecturing on Indigenous literature. She is an Indigenous Literacy Day Ambassador and a proud member of the Wiradjuri nation of central NSW. Anita is a role model for the National Aboriginal Sporting Chance Academy and an Advocate for the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence. She is an Adjunct Professor with Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning, UTS and currently divides her time between writing, public speaking, MCing, and being a ‘creative disruptor'.

Anita was a finalist in the 2013 Australian of the Year Awards and in the 2012 Human Rights Awards. She has recently been listed in the Top 20 Women Shaking things up on Twitter. Find out more about Anita on her website at
www.anitaheiss.com
, on Twitter at @AnitaHeiss, on her Facebook page, and watch her 2013 presentation at TEDxBrisbane:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1f8ew23tLl0

Cover design by Christabella Designs

Cover photograph by Shutterstock

Author photograph by Amanda James

authors.simonandschuster.com/Anita-Heiss

I
n
Tiddas
, the main characters Izzy, Veronica, Xanthe, Nadine and Ellen discuss a diverse list of books by Australian authors at meetings of their monthly bookclub. You may like to read them, too:

Legacy
, Larissa Behrendt

The Old School
, P.M. Newton

Butterfly Song
, Terri Janke

The Boundary
, Nicole Watson

Aunty Rita
, Rita and Jackie Huggins

Triptych: an erotic adventure
, Krissy Kneen

Mullumbimby
, Melissa Lucashenko

My Hundred Lovers
, Susan Johnson

The Tall Man
, Chloe Hooper

If you would like to explore other titles by Australian authors, Anita's Black Book Challenge at
www.anitaheiss.wordpress.com/2013/12/03/anitas-black-book-challenge-2/
offers 99 titles by Aboriginal authors, covering children's picture books and fiction, young adult, fiction, non-fiction, memoir, autobiography and biography, drama, poetry and anthologies.

Happy reading!

1. A group of ‘tiddas' is a group of good female friends who may or may not be blood related. The women in this story have a shared history. What other qualities and attributes do you think are important to a friendship?

2. Izzy finds herself in an unexpected situation when she discovers she's pregnant. Many women in society today who are focussed on their careers would have made a different decision. What do you think Izzy's story would be like now if she'd chosen not to have the baby? How would it be different?

3. Veronica, a devoted wife and mother, has her life turned upside down when she gets divorced and her sons leave the nest. Her story is of a strong woman who, after a time of immense grief, rediscovers her sense of self and recreates her identity. If you could create a new identity for yourself, what would it be?

4. Xanthe is desperate for a baby and many women would relate to her journey, whether it's through her experience of trying for a baby, unexplained infertility, exploring the possibility of IVF and even miscarriage. Can you relate to Xanthe's story, or part of it?

5. Nadine struggles with addiction, which affects her life, her family and her friends. Each of the other characters
coped with and dealt with her addiction in a different way. Which character could you most relate to in their reaction to Nadine's troubles?

6. Ellen loves her life and enjoys being single, footloose and fancy free. How does this affect the way the other characters treat her?

7. The New South Wales town of Mudgee is featured in the novel as a place where the women attended high school. Have you ever visited Mudgee? What can you share of your experience?

8. The Vixens choose a diverse range of quality Australian literature for their bookclub. Have you chosen any books by Indigenous authors for your own bookclub? If you are interested, please feel free to peruse the list of books discussed by the Vixens and other quality Indigenous titles in Anita's Black Book Challenge.

9. By the end of the novel, which character do you think has grown the most?

10. Each of the five characters has a very different personality and life. Who do you relate to most and why?

11. 
Tiddas
covers a range of controversial subject matter. Are these issues and themes ones that you would discuss with your friends and ‘tiddas'? Or are these topics still taboo?

A
LSO BY
A
NITA
H
EISS

Fiction

Not Meeting Mr Right
(2007)

Avoiding Mr Right
(2008)

Manhattan Dreaming
(2010)

Paris Dreaming
(2011)

The Tightening Grip
,

written with the students of St Laurence's College, Brisbane (2012)

Nonfiction

Sacred Cows
(1996)

Dhuluu-Yala: Publishing Indigenous Literature
(2003)

I'm Not Racist, But –
(2007)

Am I Black Enough For You?
(2012)

Young adult and kids

Who Am I? The Diary of Mary Talence
(2001)

Yirra and Her Deadly Dog, Demon
,

written with the students of La Perouse Public School (2007)

Demon Guards the School Yard
,

written with the students of La Perouse Public School (2011)

Poetry

Token Koori
(1998)

Anthology (ed)

Macquarie PEN Anthology of Aboriginal Literature
,

edited with Peter Minter (2008)

Life in Gadigal Country
(2002)

TIDDAS

First published in Australia in 2014 by

Simon & Schuster (Australia) Pty Limited

Suite 19A, Level 1, 450 Miller Street, Cammeray, NSW 2062

This edition published in 2015

www.SimonandSchuster.com.au

A CBS Company

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Visit our website at
www.simonandschuster.com.au

© Anita Heiss 2014

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher.

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry

Author: Heiss, Anita, 1968– author.

Title: Tiddas/Anita Heiss.

ISBN: 9781922052261 (paperback)

ISBN: 9781922052285 (ebook)

Subjects: Female Friendship – Fiction. Women – Australia – Fiction. Friendship – Australia – Fiction. Friendship – Fiction. Secrets – Fiction. Australian Fiction.

Dewey Number: A823.3

Cover design: Christabella Designs

Cover image: Firelia/Shutterstock

Internal design and typesetting: Midland Typesetters, Australia

The paper used to produce this book is a natural, recyclable product made from wood grown in sustainable plantation forests. The manufacturing processes conform to the environmental regulations in the country of origin.

ISBN 978-1-9220-5228-5 (eBook)