CS-2016-txt-ART.indd 31
My family happened to live in a suburb of
Ipswich in Queensland called Goodna at the
time when I was born.
There also happened to be a rather large psychiatric institution in Goodna. It was known as
‘The Goodna Asylum’. As you can imagine, facilities for mental health care in 1961 were nothing
like they are now, and yes, there was a massive
stigma attached to that place.
My older siblings made sure that I understood
the stigma perfectly as I grew up. Whenever we
would fight or argue, the clinching comment
that was always marshalled to ensure my defeat
was “Well at least I wasn’t born at the Goodna
LYING IN A FOOD BIN
31
Review copy only—not for distribution.
LYING IN A FOOD BIN
12/09/2016 1:02 PM