Fabulous, forty and best friends forever: TIDDAS by Anita Heiss

Posted on 5 April, 2014

A good friend is a connection to life- a tie to the past, a road to the future, the key to sanity in a totally insane world.  Lois Wyse

Every month, five best friends come together in Brisbane to talk about books and share the ups and downs of their lives. There’s Izzy, on the verge of becoming the first Aboriginal woman to host a free-to-air mainstream TV talk show but who finds herself falling unexpectedly pregnant; Xanthe, who has the perfect life and the perfect husband but who just can’t seem to fall pregnant; Nadine, the best-selling writer with an alcohol addiction; Ellen, the funeral celebrant who enjoys being single, footloose and fancy free; and Veronica, who devoted her whole life to her boys and her husband but who now finds herself divorced and questioning her life’s purpose.

Izzy, Xanthe, Nadine, Ellen and Veronica are the main characters in award-winning and best-selling Indigenous Australian author Anita Heiss’ latest book, Tiddas (published by Simon & Schuster 2014, RRP $29.99). Tiddas means a group of close female friends, and in Anita’s newest novel, we follow the joys, challenges and sorrows of Izzy, Xanthe, Nadine, Ellen and Veronica, as well as their long-standing friendship and the tests such friendships that women who are forty-something or approaching their forties inevitably go through.

Tiddas is Australian author Anita Heiss’ latest novel

Anita says she was inspired to write Tiddas by her own age and life. “I myself am now in my mid-forties and the conversations and challenges we have in this age bracket are significantly different. The directions our lives take can change dramatically in our forties – by choice or otherwise – and I wanted to capture some of that drama. I also wanted to explore on the page how being fabulous and forty can also be fraught with disappointment, fear and painful realities.”

“I was also inspired by the concept of sameness,” Anita continues. “In Tiddas I wanted to talk about not only the differences that can exist between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal women, but more importantly, what connects us as women, as human beings.  Regardless of cultural heritage, as women in our forties we will be experiencing, talking about, struggling with, suffering from, rising out of, being inspired by many of the same things… children growing up and leaving home, or not being conceived at all. Partners who have left us, cheated on us, or better still romanced us and supported us. Friends who have helped us juggle hard times, rarely judged us, but always supported us. Identities that have made us stronger or somehow stifled us, and the physical changes that have impacted on our own bodies, and sometimes our relationships.”

In her own life, Anita has her special group of tiddas.  “My tiddas are those women who I can rely on through thick and thin,” she says. “Some have been in my life for 20 years, some 10, some only two. But I know I can call them at any hour with any issue and they will listen and support without judgement. For me, I believe that female friendships are essential because they provide that support base when there are no others – be it at work, in the home, and in life generally.”

A little bit about Anita

Belonging to the Wiradjuri nation of central New South Wales, Anita Heiss is one of Australia’s most prolific and well-known authors of indigenous literature. She has written and published historical fiction, non-fiction, social commentary, children’s fiction, a memoir, and commercial women’s fiction, or ‘chick lit’ as it is more popularly known.

With her writing, Anita aims to break down mainstream Australia’s stereotypes of Aboriginal people. She wants to reach audiences that haven’t previously engaged with Aboriginal Australia in any format, either personally, professionally or subconsciously. Such is the intention of her commercial women’s fiction. The heroines of her novels Not Meeting Mr Right, Avoiding Mr Right, Manhattan Dreaming, Paris Dreaming and Tiddas are urban, educated, articulate, career- minded, capable, savvy, sexy women, and like all human beings, they are flawed, especially in terms of their personal relationships. And what’s more, most of her heroines are Aboriginal.

“I want to reach other Australian women readers,” Anita says.  “I want them to realise that we are like them. That we want and have careers. That we desire companionship and value our friends. That we love reading and running and are conscious of world politics. And I want readers in this genre to understand that we can be culturally different, and have incredibly complex lives because of community expectations and responsibilities, but that doesn’t mean we can’t all be friends. I also use this genre to reach a wider audience who may never have thought about the issues that my characters experience and discuss: such as black deaths in custody, interracial relationships, social justice, identity and what defines the great Australian novel! There is a long way to go before Aboriginal voices are read widely. I know that one of the reasons my adult novels have done so well is because they have filled a huge void in Australian storytelling and readers want some diversity and reality in their reading experience.”

Don’t miss Anita’s Tiddas Canberra Book Launch!

Anita will be returning to Canberra this week to launch Tiddas at Paperchain Bookstore in Manuka at 6pm on Thursday 10 April.

Anita is no stranger to Canberra. In fact, she lived here over 20 years ago when she was a cadet with the Australian International Development Assistance Bureau (now AUSAID).  Since then she has returned on a regular basis to visit family and friends. Among her favourite haunts in Canberra are Manuka, the Diamant Hotel, Sammy’s Kitchen in the city (“the hotrock salted calamari is my favourite dish!”) and the ANU (“There’s nothing like a stroll through the ANU in autumn or spring when the grounds are just stunning”).

“I think Canberra is underrated,” Anita says. “There is a spirit of community there that is lost in other big cities. Many Australians who don’t appreciate the Capital think it’s just roundabouts and politicians, but I see a relaxing place to enjoy arts, culture and lots of open space.”

Even though Tiddas is set in Brisbane and Mudgee, Her Canberra readers will be delighted to know that our wonderful city features very prominently in two of Anita’s other novels: Manhattan Dreaming and Paris Dreaming.

Want to find out more about our talented Indigenous writers?

For those HerCanberrans who are interested in reading more Indigenous literature, there are over 5000 published Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers in Australia indexed in the BlackWords site of AustLit.

Anita has also compiled two Black Books Reading Challenges to help those interested get started on their reading journey – Reading Challenge 1 and Reading Challenge 2.

the essentials

What: Anita Heiss launches Tiddas
When: 6pm Thursday 10 April
Where: Paperchain Bookstore, 34 Franklin Street, Manuka
RSVP: 6295 6723 or email info@paperchainbookstore.com.au
Web: www.paperchainbookstore.com.au