AustLit

'When Samuel Johnson unicycled around Australia, he met some awesome people. And before we had to lock down, he and his other sister, Hilde, were travelling the country talking at schools, community groups and at the side of busy streets to spread their message about how to kick cancer in the face hole. But in the process they connected and listened as people shared their own stories - not just about how cancer impacted them, but about love, fighting fires, making families out of choice not blood, knitting, being there and being surprised by life and finding solace from strangers. They decided those stories should be shared and the idea for Heroes Next Door was born. The result is a moving, funny, irreverent, inspiring and big-hearted book that shows us all that resilience and kindness are what make the difference, and that you don't have to travel far to find good people ... often they are right next door.' (Publication summary)

'Miss Kaye works at The Institute. A place for the damaged, the outliers, the not-quite rights. Everyone has different strategies to deal with the residents. Some bark orders. Some negotiate tirelessly. Miss Kaye found that simply being herself was mostly the right thing to do. She would try not to smile, but her eyes did.

'Susie was seven, and already she knew she'd had her fill of character building. She'd lie between her Holly Hobby sheets thinking how slowly birthdays come around, but how quickly change happens. One minute her Dad was saying that the family needed to move back to the city and then, shazam, they were there. Her mum didn't move to the new house with them. And she hated going to see her mum at the mind hospital. She never knew who her mum would be. Or who would be there. The older she gets, the louder the growing pile of unsaid things become.

'When their paths connect, Miss Kaye and Susie will learn that character building is just part of life and surviving requires patience.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.