Geraldine Brooks Biography

Geraldine Brooks is an author and journalist who was born in Sydney, Australia, in 1955. Brooks also worked as a reporter for ‘The Sydney Morning Herald’ for three years. The Order of Australia marked her ‘essentially Australian’ because she made great contributions to writing. This essay will discuss her life, namely childhood, education, career, greatest contribution and who influenced her deeply.

Catholicism and books played a very powerful role her early childhood. She was educated in the Roman Catholic school in Sydney. Every Sunday her mother would take her and her sister to mass. The Catholic Church was an old fashioned place which was filled with mysteries. Therefore, this wonderful place impressed her and inspired her later creations. In addition, books were the essential things in her family. Her parents went to the library every Saturday and came home with an armful of books each (ABC iview 2008). All of these were very meaningful for Brooks because it provided a good educational foundation for her later studies.

Brooks was lucky to have a good education. She studied in a fantastic high school, Bethlehem College in Ash field, where it was a place to grow up in and those women teachers were quite wise. For example, they would refute her on her logic as well as hear her out. Thus, Brooks believes they really respected women’s minds and rights (ABC home 2008). Later, she studied at the University of Sydney during the 1970s. In 1982, after winning a post-graduate scholarship, Brooks moved to New York and obtained her Master’s degree in journalism at Columbia University. Five years later, she got a decent job as a reporter for the Wall Street Journal (Grade Saver 2018). Hence, getting a good education is one of the most essential parts of Brooks’ life.

After graduating from University, she started her writing career in her hometown of Sydney from 1994 to 2013 (Preceden 2018). Brooks’ first book, ‘Nine Parts of Desire’, was published in 1994. It was an International bestseller, based on her experiences among Muslim women in the Middle East. It is well-known for providing a good material for readers who were interested in researching Islam and Muslim women’s life (Davey 2016). In addition, her second book, ‘Foreign Correspondence’ won an award for women’s writing in 1997. This book is a fascinating and heartrending record about traveling adventures and following the childhood of pen pals from all over the world. Brooks found that a majority of her readers had the similar dreams. It is easy to touch readers’ hearts (ABC RN 2009).

Brooks believes that her greatest contribution is as an ambassador to help Indigenous children to advance their literacy. She recognized the fact that merely 40% of Indigenous children had a chance to study at high school. Thus, she spent much time on improving literacy among Indigenous children through her English ability (Guardian News 2018).

Last but not least, Brooks would not be here without her mother and Muslim women. Her mother had an obvious influence on her life because she involved Brooks in the most creative way. When she was a child, her mother’s vivid imagination infected her deeply. For instance, she picked up a stick to compare it to a fairy wand and left it there for her (ABC iview 2018). Thus, her mother gave her an imaginary soul and had a profound effect on her writing. Besides her mother, Muslim women in the Middle East played significant roles in her writing. Brooks believes it is useful to listen to what Muslim women have said and what they support. As Brooks lived in the Middle East for 6 years, she learned more about how Muslim women handled and confronted reality. This understanding has affected Brooks in creating her first controversial novel ‘Nine Parts of Desire’ (ABC iview 2018).

In conclusion, Geraldine Brooks had a fantastic early childhood and got a good education. As an ambassador, her works made a significant contribution to the development of Indigenous children. She is lucky because her mother set a good example in her life as well as Muslin women in the Middle East. It is likely that Australian children will continue to be inspired by her writing in the future.