True North: A Memoir

Buy here

A bombshell of honesty and hope. This book has the power to heal hearts.’–Clare Bowditch

‘Catherine Deveny is a blazing light in a world that is often grim. She brings her immense generosity of spirit to this beautiful memoir, and we are blessed to have her.’–Clementine Ford

An uplifting, heartfelt memoir about surviving life’s upheavals – and how to live authentically
Breaking up isn’t a conscious decision, it’s more of a revelation … In the first few moments after waking each day I needed to remind myself who I was and what had happened. It was like pulling a compass out of a drawer and watching it adjust, the needle swinging around to find true north and quivering before staying there.

When writer Catherine Deveny faced the end of a seventeen-year relationship with the father of her children, she had no idea what lay on the other side of the months of tumult: she just knew she had to create space for a new life.

But this wasn’t the first time she’d taken a plunge into the unknown or let go of conventional assumptions. In this heartfelt and moving memoir, Deveny shares how she learnt to live life on her own terms. From her oppressive Catholic upbringing in Melbourne’s working-class inner-north, through growing independence in her teenage years and university sharehouses to life in Melbourne’s thriving cultural scene, Deveny’s life is at once highly relatable and utterly unique.

True North is a cathartic and uplifting read that will resonate with anyone who has gone through – or is currently living through – a major life change.

‘Catherine Deveny has magic in her, and so does every page of this book. There are no words left to explain how I feel about the extreme truths and candid self-knowledge shared in these pages, because Deveny has used them all. Breathtaking.’
Chrissie Swan

Go Back

Mental: Everything You Never Knew You Needed to Know about Mental Health

Go Back

A Myth-Busting, No-Fear Approach To Writing.

Buy here

Want to write? Got a memoir, novel, screenplay or blog in your back drawer? Need to get ‘unstuck’? This is the magic pill you’ve been looking for.

Read some lovely things about the book here, here, here and here, a fab piece about the launch and check out the launch photos and audio of the fabulous speeches.

In Use Your Words writer and comedian Catherine Deveny reveals the secrets that have made her ‘Gunnas’ Writing Masterclasses sell-out successes around the country. With humour and passion, she explains the struggles all writers face and reveals how to overcome them.

Whether you’re already published or just starting out, writing for others or purely for self-expression, Use Your Words has the tips, tricks, techniques and honest truths to get you writing. You’ll learn how creativity is like a vending machine, how writing is like a magnet and how not to die with your light inside you.

You should come to a Gunnas Writing Masterclass, check out my 100 Writing Prompt Cards here.

Wait no longer – smash through procrastination and fear and get those words on the page.

You can…

1. Buy here

2. Message me here and I will send, sign and stamp for $40

3. Kindle here

Praise for Use Your Words:

‘Everyone has a book in them. Before you write yours, however, read this. It’s brilliant. The world will thank you.’ —Clare Bowditch

‘Finally the truth about writing! Buy this book if you want to get the job done.’ —Chrissie Swan

‘An insightful, funny, honest how-to, go-do, firecracker-up-you bible for the emerging and established author alike. Buy it, read it, and WRITE.’ —Maxine Beneba Clarke

‘Catherine Deveny’s no-nonsense attitude and comedic genius make learning fun. If you’ve always wanted to write but never thought you could, banish those thoughts right now.’ —Clementine Ford

‘As practical and profane as the woman who wrote it.’ —Benjamin Law

‘The most readable book on writing ever written.’ —Dee Madigan

Buy here

Go Back

Stories From Peter Mac

Go Back