Poking Seaweed with a Stick and Running Away from the Smell

Alison Whitelock dreamed of shooting her father with a sawn-off shotgun. Her brother planned to use the longest knife in the cutlery drawer, and her mother tried to poison him with out-of-date tranquillisers. This wee book is a bittersweet account of growing up in Scotland in the strange and brutal kingdom we call home. But Poking Seaweed with a Stick is anything but a tale of childhood suffering; it is an enchanted Scottish tale that will have you smiling through your tears and laughing till you cry.

Praise for Poking Seaweed with a Stick and Running Away from the Smell:
'Remarkably life-affirming.' - Sydney Morning Herald

Born and bred in Scotland, Alison Whitelock left behind the mountains and rivers and ballads of bonnie Morag when she was thirty years old. A fan of Patsy Cline and the occasional pineapple tart with a cup of PG Tips, she lives with her endlessly patient chain-smoking French husband Thomas in a trendy suburb of Sydney they simply can’t afford. While she enjoys brown rice, tofu and organic produce, she continues to shave her legs and refuses to wear Birkenstocks, especially with black ankle socks and khaki shorts. She has no children to speak of unless you count her cats Angus and Nellie. Poking Seaweed with a Stick and Running Away from the Smell is her first book. Her da hopes it will be her last.