by Shaun Carney
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
As a boy, lying in my bed at night and willing my mind to turn off, staring up at the shadowy outlines of boxes containing John Sands board games stacked on top of the wardrobe—always a new one each Christmas and birthday, and such marginal gifts for an only child, given that they all required multiple players—I would think: why am I here? What I’ve written is an attempt at finding part of the answer.
I am grateful to my parents for giving me a story. They did what they could to make it an interesting one and, really, what more can any child ask for? I thank my family, in its various incarnations, for putting up with me over many years. They deserve better and I almost certainly do not deserve them.
I am grateful to the Victorian state school system, especially two teachers who showed enormous faith in me when it counted: Ruth Bird and Marilyn Dallimore. Of course, without support and encouragement from Sally Heath and Louise Adler and the rest of the team at Melbourne University Publishing, there would be no book. They backed my idea from the start. This means so much to me. I appreciate Meaghan Amor’s thoughtful and helpful editing of my copy.
For help with various parts of the text, I am indebted to Paul Austin, Amanda Dunn, Ewin Hannan, Simon Mann, Caroline Milburn, Bill Shannon and Paul Strangio. Thanks also to Phil Beard for suggesting many times that I should write a book such as this.
Press Escape is dedicated to my two mates in the tent at the Form Four trip to Wilsons Prom, John Middleton and Andrew Scagliarini, faithful and reliable guides all the way through.