An Eventful Life

An Eventful Life is a social history describing the life of a boy who maybe never grew up. The story begins in Will Parkers childhood as he accompanies his mother and father (one of the first travelling picture-show men) through central-western New South Wales, Australia, as they present silent films, films accompanied by vinyl soundtracks, and finally sound films on celluloid. An Eventful Life then follows Will through his teenage years working on sheep and cattle stations and in a city apprenticeship. He joins the Royal Australian Navy, is hospitalized for months with tuberculosis, and undergoes extensive artificial pneumothorax treatments. He then leaves Australia, joins the British Merchant Navy as an engineer, teaches in New Zealand, and finally returns to Sydney, where he marries and has a family. Will completes his high school education and obtains a science degree from the University of New South Wales. He teaches secondary school in Sydney, with a sojourn into management training. He and his wife fully sample small farming and the many facets of animal husbandry before he experiences his wifes gradual decline from Alzheimers/dementia and her hospitalization.