Many of you probably know of Barbara Else from her first, famous novel The Warrior Queen, or her careful editing of more than 30 New Zealand children’s story collections, or her timely Go Girl book of New Zealand Women. Now you can read about her own life in her beguiling memoir Laughing at the Dark. Perhaps a diagnosis of cancer like she has had (twice) spurs you on to look back at how you got out of a good but then bad marriage, found love again when not really looking for it, and built an impressive writing and editing career from a standing start as a slightly reluctant housewife. You can trust a writer with their own story and I found myself weeping several times in this book at different family sadnesses. She carries her success lightly and shows all her vulnerability making it a very sympathetic read.
— Laura