The Half Made Whole

Being an identical twin meant being treated as a pair not a person, until Julie set out to find her unique self. Julie was born as the younger identical twin in the early 1950s. Little was then understood about the emotional complexities of two people who were physically identical. It was normal to treat the two as one - same clothes, same activities, same classes at school. Yet invariably comparisons were made and Julie's twin sister was judged as more talented and therefore was more popular. Julie began to question her self-worth. Who was she when she was apart from her sister? Did she have to be like her talented, popular twin or was she truly a different person, even though to everyone else she looked the same. Was she as valuable to the world as her sister? The yearning to discover her true self led Julie to travels in Papua New Guinea, India and Europe, and to work in the remoteness of outback Australia. Through some unusual experiences, Julie began to consider her spiritual side, which added a deeper dimension to her identity search. Marriage and motherhood brought a new fulfilment but the journey towards her unique identity continued. A number of years living and travelling in the USA, China and Singapore provided unexpected pieces to the puzzle and eventual fulfilment. Join in one person's unusual and at times amazing experiences on the journey to find her meaning as an individual and her unique place in the world. About the Author: As one who has always pondered the meaning of life Julie's life journey has taken her to many places and is an unusual story. Trained as a youth worker, the first journey was a three month stay in a remote Papua New Guinea village in 1973 followed by a time in Alice Springs working with cyclone Tracy refugees from Darwin and Central Australian Aboriginals. After further training as an Orientation and Mobility instructor she spent some years working with the blind, followed by two years in Europe as an actor in a travelling play. Marriage and three children was her next "career" during which she developed her interest in writing In mid-1999, the family moved to America for four years. On returning to Australia the thought of settling at home was interrupted by a four year stint in China with her husband It was there that she joined an international writers group. While part of this group she realised her story might be worth telling as a result of the enthusiastic interest she received in her short pieces on travel, culture and spiritual searchings. China was followed by a year in Singapore where she began to put her stories together. Returning to Australia in early 2011 she is now training others in home decoration and organisation and giving talks to groups on her spiritual journey. Typical of the sandwich generation she provides support and encouragement to children, seven grandchildren and a mother in her nineties.

About the Author :
As one who has always pondered the meaning of life Julie's life journey has taken her to many places and is an unusual story. Trained as a youth worker, the first journey was a three month stay in a remote Papua New Guinea village in 1973 followed by a time in Alice Springs working with cyclone Tracy refugees from Darwin and Central Australian Aboriginals. After further training as an Orientation and Mobility instructor she spent some years working with the blind, followed by two years in Europe as an actor in a travelling play. Marriage and three children was her next career during which she developed her interest in writing In mid-1999, the family moved to America for four years. On returning to Australia the thought of settling at home was interrupted by a four year stint in China with her husband It was there that she joined an international writers group. While part of this group she realised her story might be worth telling as a result of the enthusiastic interest she received in her short pieces on travel, culture and spiritual searchings. China was followed by a year in Singapore where she began to put her stories together. Returning to Australia in early 2011 she is now training others in home decoration and organisation and giving talks to groups on her spiritual journey. Typical of the sandwich generation she provides support and encouragement to children, seven grandchildren and a mother in her nineties.

Review :
"I have just finished your book. I must say from the first few pages I couldn't put it down until I had finished reading it. Thank you for sharing so much with us. What a busy life you have led, and so many incidents that have come your way to challenge you! You make me feel so lazy with my faith. Like you I came to Jesus in my teens and read a lot of books and tried a lot of churches looking for my place. Alan was a devout Catholic and when we married we became part of his church. I have never converted though. I have always had a very simple view of religion, You believe unconditionally. My belief is to treat others as you would have them treat you, and that is, I hope, how I have lived my life. After our daughter's car accident where she was the driver, and her friend was killed we have drifted away from the Church and Alan has lost his faith. Slowly it may come back." Ramona "Congratulations on such a well written and interesting book. I finished your book during my lunch break today and felt all along that it was as if I was sitting on your shoulder and experiencing your journey of rediscovery and fulfilment with you. Thank you for sharing the part of your life that I knew so little about and I am so glad that the Wiseman family is part of our family too. Julie your book was beautifully written with touches of humour, sensitivity and humility....and I loved it. Well done and all the very best and wishing you heaps of book sales." Poppy