“It was early morning and the deputation sent to kill us had arrived. The heat inside the tent was stifling.….. and the silence and tension were palpable. I crouched on the rough stony floor of our tent clutching my two tiny children.” (Somaliland, 1953)

This is the engaging and unusual life story of a woman of indomitable spirt, Dr Mary E. White: wife and mother, acclaimed scientist, writer, environmentalist and educator.

A love song to life, this captivating biography is a stunning portrait of the Australian environmentalist and writer best known for her books and publications including The Greening of Gondwana. Mary White was a brilliant and respected friend to many Australian palaeontologists, including those of us at the Australian Opal Centre fortunate to have benefited from her research, writings and inspirational life.

Mary, with her daughter Barbara Eckersley, who finished and published her mother’s biography after her passing, take us on a remarkable journey spanning two continents. At times poignant, sometimes hair-raising, always evocative and gripping, there is tragedy, warmth and humour, contentment and joy in unlikely places.

Mary’s African story gives an insight into life in outposts of the British Empire in the 1920s-50s. Her Australian story reveals her emergence from housewife and mother to scientist and writer, her conservation efforts and her eventual deterioration with ill health. The harrowing story of her death and its aftermath—a murder trial— raises questions about end-of-life care and laws around the right to die.

2024. Softcover, 317 pages, 23cm x 15cm.