The Promise

The story of The Promise begins at a launch of my previous children’s book, The Flying Angel in 2021.  It is my second book written about a nurse in WW2. 

The Flying Angels tells the story of a group of RAAF nurses who were handpicked to rescue injured soldiers from the frontline of Papua New Guinea in WW2, and transport them safely back home to Australia. These nurses where known for their courage and compassion, and this story was inspired by the life of one of these remarkable nurse’s, Sister Marie Craig.

At the launch of The Flying Angels, I was seated next to Terry O’Neill, who during his 50 years of living and working in Papua New Guinea and the Asia Pacific, had the desire to support vulnerable communities which have been impacted by war and social disruption. He placed a silver Kina in my hand as a gentle reminder of the local Papua New Guinea people who also assisted, and helped our Australian soldiers in WW2. They were called the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels.

Immediately I thought of my father Henry George McGregor, who was stationed in PNG during WW2 in the Signals Corp. He told me that without the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels that he, and indeed I, would not be alive. With care and love, these PNG natives became the Australian soldiers’ unsung heroes, rescuing injured Australian soldiers and bringing them to safety.

Terry’s passion about these PNG’s unsung heroes, encouraged me to start my journey to find this amazing story about Maiogaru Taulebona. A Papua New Guinea Mission Nurse, who was one of those brave locals who took enormous risks to help injured Leading Aircraftsman, John Donegan, and with the risk of grave personal danger to herself, cared for his wounds and secured him away from the enemy. 

Maiogaru Taulebona was awarded the loyalty medal by the Royal Australian Air Force. The Promise, is a celebration of the bond between Australia and Papua New Guinea. 

This is the story of courage, resilience, kindness and hope. It is the first of a series of books I have been asked to write about Papua New Guinea heroes.

What’s this gratitude thing all about?

I walk in gratitude every day for my creative spirt, for the ability to continue on my creative journey of writing, painting, learning and loving. By that I mean I am thankful for everything I create and experience. I don’t wait for greatness to happen to be grateful, I’m happy for the smallest things; sunshine, my morning chai, a paragraph written with ease or bother, this blog, the way my legs move when I get out of bed, my family, hot water; you can see where I’m going with this. (more…)

How Can I Be More Creative?

People often tell me they aren’t creative, as if creativity is some lofty practice. If you are a problem solver, you’re already highly creative. Every time you come up with a new idea or solutions to a problem, the creative process is activated. (more…)

Joy for 2018

Having just been through the season of joy, I ask the question: How did you go with unleashing your joy over Christmas?

For some, joy can be terrifying because as soon as we start to feel it we self-sabotage saying, ‘What can go wrong?’ or ‘I’d better knock on wood.’ Indicating that it may not last. When we lose our vulnerability, joy becomes foreboding. If the fear of joy rises in you, be alert that this may be an old pattern of letting yourself down gently, of protecting yourself.

I first heard about foreboding joy in an interview with Brené Brown. She talks about using the practice of gratitude as an antidote for the fear that rises around joy. Feeling gratitude about joy rather than fear that it can’t last.

Letting it in, leaning hard into moments of joy.

In a culture of scarcity, we look for extraordinary things to fix us, rather than being grateful for the small things. Recognising those small, lovely things that we can be thankful for all around us, every day. That’s the trick.

I lean into this extract from a poem by Kahil Gibran on Joy and Sorrow for more inspiration.