FAVOURITE | LOUISE ALLAN

Letter To My Daughter On Her Leaving Home

by Louise Allan | Mar 1, 2014 | FAMILY AND PARENTING, FAVOURITE, WRITING

I sat on the plane feeling empty and bereft. It took off, up and westward, following the sun. The buildings below quickly became matchboxes, and the clouds drifted in and thickened into a matted carpet so I could no longer see the city below, the city where I’d...

Tribute to a Sister

by Louise Allan | Jan 18, 2014 | FAVOURITE, WRITING

This piece was first published as a series on my blog in September, 2013, which I’ve edited and pulled together to make this essay. After my sister died in 1987, I wanted to write about her and her death, but it has taken me over 25 years. There were many...

12 Good Things About Homeschooling

by Louise Allan | Aug 12, 2013 | FAMILY AND PARENTING, FAVOURITE, WRITING

I didn’t think I’d be able to homeschool. It seemed too huge a responsibility. What if I taught the wrong facts? What if I omitted a vital part of the curriculum? Plus, I hadn’t quit work to start teaching—I had a novel to write. But when one of our sons became really...

On Smacking Kids

by Louise Allan | Jul 28, 2013 | CHILDHOOD ABUSE & TRAUMA, FAMILY AND PARENTING, FAVOURITE, MEMOIR, WRITING

This post is about something personal and very important to me: the physical punishment of children. On Friday, the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) issued a Media Release with their Position Statement and brochure on the use of Physical Punishment...

On Squares and Pegs

by Louise Allan | Mar 28, 2013 | FAMILY AND PARENTING, FAVOURITE, WRITING

Oh, to be round and able to fit into that hole that society has for us. Round is neat and smooth and I’m surrounded by round pegs everywhere I look—at my kids’ schools, my old work colleagues, when I go to the shops. People who can slip into the peg holes society...