Books by Janis Spehr

Ladies, a plate please charts the life of Elizabeth Macguire, from childhood to middle age, in her quest for identity and selfhood. Activist, lover, sister, friend, Elizabeth follows her own rebellious star, beginning in rural sixties Australia in a family fractured by a child's death and the damaging silence of unexpressed grief. Her journey takes her through youthful romances to a complex and volatile relationship with Sarah, who seeks to reconcile her own family history of loss in a way which inevitably conflicts with Elizabeth's desire for autonomy. Wry, evocative and humorous, Ladies, a plate please is about struggle, change and the secrets people keep, from themselves and each other.