Ten Doors Down is Robert’s personal memoir of meeting his birth parents. It is a testament to the significance of all forms of family in shaping us — and to the potential for love to heal great harm.
“I think it is not possible to separate or disentangle the forces of nature and nurture, which interact with each other in such complex ways. I am the combination of my genes and my whole life’s-worth of experience […] It is one of the delightful and beautiful mysteries of life.”
The story of a federal minister’s remarkable reunion with his birth parents.
Robert Tickner had always known he was adopted, but had rarely felt much curiosity about his origins. Born in 1951, he had a happy childhood — raised by his loving adoptive parents, Bert and Gwen Tickner, in the small seaside town of Forster, New South Wales. He grew up to be a cheerful and confident young man with a fierce sense of social justice, and the desire and stamina to make political change. Serving in the Hawke and Keating governments, he held the portfolio of minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs. Among other achievements while in government, he was responsible for initiating the reconciliation process with Indigenous Australians, and he was instrumental in instigating the national inquiry into the stolen generations.
During his time on the front bench, Robert’s son was born, and it was his deep sense of connection to this child that moved him at last to turn his attention to the question of his own birth. Although he had some sense of the potentially life-changing course that lay ahead of him, he could not have anticipated learning of the exceptional nature of the woman who had brought him into the world, the deep scars that his forced adoption had left on her, and the astonishing series of coincidences that had already linked their lives. And this was only the first half of a story that was to lead to a reunion with his birth father and siblings.
EXPLORE
When Robert met Maida
ABC Radio
Conversations with Richard Fidler
5 February 2020 | Listen
Robert Tickner's moving story of reconciliation
Sydney Morning Herald
Debra Adelaide
21 February, 2020 | Read
When political became personal
The Canberra Times
Penelope Cottier
25 January 2020 | Read
The Discovery of a Lifetime
The Australian
Caroline Overington
1 February 2020 | Read (subscription)
Robert joins Alex Sloan in this Meet the Author Event
13 February 2020
Australian National University | Listen
Ten Doors Down audiobook now available
Ten Doors Down, Robert Tickner’s personal memoir of meeting his birth parents is now available to enjoy in audiobook format, read by Robert himself. Discover
Published by SCRIBE. Click here for more information or to purchase.
Authors at Abbey's 131 York Street, Sydney - The story of a federal minister's remarkable reunion with his birth parents.
Praise for Ten Doors Down
‘This book confronts aspects of our shared historical past, some of which are horrible and shameful. I wept in parts. I felt sad and angry in other parts. But this book is also about happiness and hope. It is a story all Australians should read.’
- PROFESSOR MICK DODSON AM
‘An emotional and deeply personal account of the complexity of family and the need to understand your origins. A great Australian story, which leaves the reader feeling positive about the triumph of humanity.’
- ANTHONY ALBANESE
‘Tickner’s sensitive portrayal of the woman at the heart of his story is a powerful refutation of an inhuman system that doomed generations of single mothers (described as ‘of low intelligence if not actually retarded’ by doctors) and their children (the so-called ‘clean slates’) to the unimaginable misery of forced adoptions. Hundreds and thousands of families were touched by these policies. This moving memoir tells the exceptional story of one of them.’
- JULIA TAYLOR, BOOKS+PUBLISHING