Grief hurts. It hurts like hell. It’s only natural to want to run as far and as fast as you can in the opposite direction. Trouble is, the further you run, the greater the spectre of your grief becomes, growing into a terrifying monster, hot on your heels.

Don’t be afraid. Use this book to help you turn and face that monster of grief. Maybe you’ll find it’s not that scary after all. Discover ways to tame your grief and make it a wise friend to walk beside through life.

There is a way forward. You will feel better. You will learn to smile again. One day at a time. One step at a time. Breath by breath.

Whether you’re grieving the loss of someone you love, or the loss of a job, or money, or just struggling to find the joy in life, let Edwina take your hand and gently guide you towards healing. A new dawn is on its way.

To buy an ebook please purchase on AMAZON.

REVIEWS

‘Part-memoir, part-guidebook, this will serve as a comforting ally to those whose lives have been turned upside-down by grief.’

Dr. Warren Ward

Psychiatrist

‘Just wonderful – heartfelt and wise. A soothing balm for your soul. A comforting hug in a book.’

Favel Parrett, best-selling author of Past the Shallows

THE WORLD NEEDS THIS

‘Beautifully written and full of insights that help lift the spirits, this is an essential read for anyone and everyone in this crazy upturned world. From the personal to the universal, Edwina Shaw’s book is more than just a helpful guide – it’s a warm companion in the journey to understanding and acceptance.’

Veny Armanno.

‘Edwina Shaw understands grief in many ways – through devastating personal experience, in her work as a yoga teacher, and through facilitating workshops that explore emotions through writing. Brimming with wisdom, comfort and practical suggestions, A Guide to Grief is a tender and compassionate handbook for negotiating loss.’

Dr. Fiona Robertson, medical practitioner and writer.

‘This is a terrific book which offers excellent, down to earth tools for the healing journey.’ 

Vicki Bennett. Author of The Book of Hope – Antidote for Anxiety

THRILL SEEKERS

The Oxley Creek Boys are thrill seekers; young, invincible and willing to risk everything to feel alive. Drink, drugs, sex – it’s all theirs for the taking. But things change. Brian’s dad is dead and his little brother Douggie has started hearing voices. When the thrill is gone, is there nowhere left to go, no direction home?

Set in Brisbane, and told as a series of skilfully linked short first-person narratives, this fast-moving and gripping story deals with teenage issues and tough topics.

Here’s a recent review from Paper Lanterns.

‘Shaw’s spotlight-sharp portrait of teenagers growing up fast and loose, dazed and confused in 1980’s Brisbane is so real it hurts’ – New South Wales Premier’s Literary Award

Watch the fabulous promo HERE to get a good idea about what the book is about.

‘Edwina’s story sparkles like a diamond which can nevertheless cut very deeply indeed. Thrill Seekers is a memorable and thrilling debut’ – Veny Armanno author of The Volcano, Firehead, Black Mountain

“Sometimes I know a book is going to be special just by the feeling of the first line. The characters are already talking to me – already pulling me into their world and it’s too late for me to turn back, even if I want to. I’m in until the end.

Thrill Seekers is so real – so very true that you can’t help but be moved. Simple, beautiful writing with a massive heart – I just love this book.”
Favel Parrett author of Past the Shallows and When The Night Comes

“Edwina Shaw is a virtuoso in the school of gritty realism. Her writing has a raw visceral power that grabs hold of you and doesn’t let go. Edwina is a natural storyteller with an unfailing ear for the true speech of the everyday. She has a remarkable ability to get inside the heads of a wide range of characters and to portray them with a sympathetic but unsentimental realism.”
Amanda Lohrey author of the prize winning Reading Madam Bovary, Vertigo, and Camille’s Bread

Hard As

Bryan Hartas was only seven when he saw his father beat his mother so badly that she was taken away in an ambulance. He never saw her again. He thought things couldn’t get much worse, but then he and his brothers were sent to Neerkol, an infamous Queensland orphanage west of Rockhampton. He knew he was in trouble when on his first day he saw kids digging in the dirt and eating the roots of small weeds. 

Despite his difficult beginnings he has worked hard all his life and has four wonderful children. Through Lotus Place and The Alliance of Forgotten Australians, Bryan has been empowered to tell his story, in his own words, with the help of his friend, writer and editor, Edwina Shaw.

Edwina worked with Bryan over a number of years, scribing for him as he told his stories, organising them into a readable structure and then reading them back to him, for additions and changes. Bryan died in April 2022, but before he died, he held his book in his hands. 

Edwina Shaw is the contributing editor of Bjelke Blues – Stories of Repression and Resistance in Joh Bjelke-Petersen’s QLD 1968 – 1987 published by AndAlso Books in August 2019 – a collection of 45 essays, memoirs and stories from people on the wrong side of the Bjelke-Petersen regime. With a foreword by acclaimed Queensland author Matt Condon, pieces by Miles Franklin winner Melissa Lucashenko, the best-selling Nick Earls, respected Indigenous elders Sam Watson and Bob Weatherall, musician John Willsteed, journalist David Margan, UQ agitator Dan O’Neill, eminent historian Raymond Evans, cartoonist Matt Mawson, comedian Mandy Nolan and many many more, it’s a multi-faceted portrait of what it was really like living in Queensland when it was a police state.

REVIEWS

This fascinating collection consists of 45 stories, essays and memoirs of repression and resistance in Bjelke-Petersen’s Queensland. These diverse contributions are adroitly weaved together to form a compelling whole, with photographs and illustrations to boot.

In particular, as Matthew Condon writes in the prologue, “Bjelke Blues gives heart and soul to the remembrances of the men and women who were at the end of police batons … at the front line fighting for justice and decency”.

Ross Fitzgerald. The Australian 8 November 2019

See the whole review here.

A common sentiment expressed by supporters of the Bjelke-Petersen regime was, “Joh’s looking after that.” It encapsulates the childlike faith in Bjelke-Petersen that sustained his police-state premiership for 32 years, that sense of the surreal and the all too real coming off the pages of this collection of stories from those who were there. It kicks off with Matt Condon’s brilliant, almost poignant, coverage of the “hillbilly dictator’s” funeral in 2005 after decades of institutionalised violence, police-state authoritarianism and breath-taking corruption. Sam Watson, Robin Clarke and others recall police bashings and arrests for simply marching in the street, Nicky Peelgrane remembers “Sleeping with Joh” [mercifully, not what you think], while editor Edwina Shaw’s short story contribution has a suitably Marquezian air in describing the autumn of the patriarch. Will make you sad, reflective and bloody angry.

Steven Carroll, Sydney Morning Herald October 11 2019

Available for sale in good independent bookstores and direct from AndAlso Books.

IN THE DARK OF NIGHT

My children’s book for readers between 9 – 14

When Nina and Sam hold a seance in their local cemetery, they stir up more than they bargained for – the ghost of a 14-year-old girl and a whole lot of trouble. Can Nina solve the puzzle of the girl’s death in time to save her, and them all?

This book is part of the Breakouts series. It is perfect for readers who have gained a bit more confidence in reading and who are after a more challenging read, but who aren’t yet ready for longer, more demanding reads.

Watch the promo HERE

You can buy that online HERE or from any good online bookstore.

My latest effort as an editor – in collaboration with Caroline Gardam, Louise Martin-Chew and Nathan Shepherdson. OUR INSIDE VOICES – Reflections on COVID-19. Over 50 short stories, essays, poems and memoir pieces reflecting on Queensland’s experiences during COVID-19.

Get your copy at all good Brisbane Bookstore or ONLINE HERE! through AndAlso Books.

I’ve been writing and publishing since 2002 so my work has appeared in many anthologies and literary journals including these pictured below.