Jacqueline Dinan

Tarah’s dad has gone away, and she doesn’t know where. She imagines he is doing all the things he loves – at the rodeo, fishing or shearing. Reality hits when her mum reveals that Tarah’s dad has gone to prison. With many questions in her head, Tarah feels let down and anxious about an impending visit to her dad in prison.

Tarah, the main character is a primary-aged Indigenous girl. At the first prison visit, she enjoys catching up with her dad and befriends Johnny, a non-Indigenous boy, of a similar age, who is there visiting his father. Tarah feels strengthened by making a friend of someone else who also has a dad in prison. She awaits the next visiting day with enthusiasm.

This heartfelt, honest and sensitively told story explores the challenges that a child faces when a parent is incarcerated. My Dad’s Gone Away sheds light on an unspoken issue and gently encourages children and families to talk about how they feel, prepare for visiting day and then to bolster resilience to help pass the time. A subtle underlying educational theme emphasises the need to cope with a period of separation from a loved one by finding a focus away from the main trauma.

This age-appropriate story will help in encouraging such children to have safe conversations with a trusted adult – family member, caseworker, teacher, social worker, coach or carer. For children, whose lives are not affected by parental incarceration, this insight should promote empathy and compassion, as they become aware of different life experiences.

Underpinning the girl’s journey are positive themes of the benefits for social, mental and emotional health in communicating about her feelings and building resilience, while showcasing the new friendship between an Indigenous and non-Indigenous child.

As an Australian-first on the topic of parental incarceration, My Dad’s Gone Away is written through a child’s perspective and is illustrated with care and complemented by soft, warm tones. The evocative visual story captures the confusion, curiosity and heartache of dealing with missing a parent.

The book is a collaboration between co-authors Jacqueline Dinan, the late Andrew Krakouer, and illustrator Paul Seden.

Andrew was thirteen when his father, a pioneering footballer, was sentenced to eight years in prison. As a distinguished Australian Rules Footballer, Andrew has achieved numerous accolades and played in an AFL grand final team before his career was interrupted in 2008 by his own incarceration. At the time, his daughters were nine and seven. Andrew’s partner, Barbara Garlett, was also a primary-aged child when her father was imprisoned.

Jacqueline and her family hosted an Indigenous teenager from a remote community, giving him the opportunity to complete year twelve in Melbourne. She was also a former accredited foster carer and several of these children trusted her with the knowledge that their father was in prison.

Paul, is regularly engaged by Magabala Books, Australia’s leading Indigenous publishing house. The result is a tool to help children feel that they are not alone and to break down stigmas surrounding their circumstance.

Published by Magabala Books, My Dad’s Gone Away’s main character, Tarah, an Indigenous girl, was chosen to help shine a spotlight on the disproportional incarceration rates incurred by First Nations people in this country. First Nations people account for 3.2% of the Australian population, but for 32% of Australia’s incarcerated population.

Australian, singer and song writer, Paul Kelly, has generously endorsed My Dad’s Gone Away as a “strong, direct and important story, beautifully told and illustrated”.

Teachers’ notes and further information is at:

https://magabala.com.au/products/my-dad-s-gone-away

The book is available in bookstores, libraries and on the StoryBox Hub app.

Image credit 1: My Dad’s Gone Away book cover, by Jacqueline Dinan, Andrew Krakouer, and Paul Seden.

Image credit 2: Left to right, Andrew Krakouer, Paul Kelly and Jacqueline Dinan. Photo taken by Cole Baxter.

 

Posted by Elyssa Sykes-Smith.
  • Elyssa Sykes-Smith is a multidisciplinary artist, educator and climate psychology researcher, and Media Officer at AHNNA
  • Jacqueline Dinan is a funeral celebrant, author storyteller, emcee