A few years ago, a friend who had to attend a work party asked me if I would mind taking care of her children for the night. I gladly said yes, unaware of what I was getting myself into. Her two children, aged nine and seven, turned out to be real horrors and I had […]

I once was employed as the cleaner of a big holiday home that was near where I lived in the country. It was a pleasure to look after such a nice place. The owners from the city would spend their weekends there. The house had spacious lounge rooms with enormous paintings on the walls, bedrooms […]

My grandmother on my mother’s side passed away before I was born, so I never had the privilege of meeting her. She died after a long battle with cancer and my mother and her siblings were devastated by her death. Just six months later, my grandfather remarried. The woman he married was a lot younger […]

My sister and I are two years apart in age so we have always had the same group of friends. When she was 18 she started seeing my boyfriend’s best friend and we spent even more time together. My sister and her boyfriend, Will, had been together for about six years when she confided in […]

Eight years ago my long-term boyfriend and I broke up under amicable circumstances. He seemed to move right on to a new relationship but I sat around the house wondering how I was ever going to meet anyone new. At the age of 40 I felt I was past my prime and I didn’t have […]

My main ambition in life is to become a TV newsreader or presenter — maybe the next Sandra Sully or Catriona Rowntree. I’m dedicated to achieving my goals. I recently graduated from Griffith University in Brisbane after completing an art and communications course. And what an eventful four years I had! I was forced to […]

Through my eyes, my sister Lisa had it all. She was beautiful, with a perfect figure, shiny blonde hair and an amazing, committed boyfriend, Harry. I’d always been jealous of Lisa while growing up, always wondering why I had not been blessed in the way she was. Compared to her, I was ordinary. I had […]

Just before World War II, I married my sweetheart, Daniel. We had a small ceremony and shared two weeks of wedded bliss before he was sent off to the war. I would get letters from my love nearly every week and I missed him terribly. Four months after Daniel had left, I received a telegram. […]

After going straight from university to a career in information technology, I was looking for a bit of a change in my life. I was making good money and had lots of friends, but something was missing – adventure! I’d always had a romantic fascination with the outback. With dreams of working hard on the […]

My boss Peter was a good-looking man. Forty years old, tall, muscular and with honey blond hair that hadn’t yet greyed, he had gorgeous sapphire blue eyes that made you buckle at the knees. He had plenty of charm and wit to match – a real ladykiller. Supposedly happily married, Peter had managed – at […]