I would have been lost without the village: David, Nemo, Jappa, Bill and Chris, and Dana. Without them there would either be no book, or small children wandering the streets. And thanks to Rowena Kostos for helping me look smarter than I am by lending her excellent nursing expertise to the book.

Thanks also to Simmone Howell for the reading and the enthusiasm, as well as Martine Murray, Anna Hedigan, and Libby Angel for the chocolate and the opinions.

I would also like to thank Gillian Nieman, Mum, for her white-hot dedication, obsession, artistry, and her search for The Truth right up to the end: she set a glowing ember that still burns in me, even after she has gone out.

And lastly, I acknowledge and pay my respects to the Dja Dja Wurrung people and their Elders, past and present, whose land inspired this book, and on whose country the book was written. Always was, always will be.

About Christie Nieman

Christie Nieman is an author, essayist, editor, parent and librarian. She lives and works on Dja Dja Wurrung country. Where We Begin is her second novel.

Also by Christie Nieman

As Stars Fall

This is a work of fiction. Characters, institutions and organisations mentioned in this novel are either the product of the author’s imagination or, if real, used fictitiously without any intent to describe actual conduct.

First published 2020 in Pan by Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Ltd
1 Market Street, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 2000

Copyright © Christie Nieman 2020

The moral right of the author to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted.

All rights reserved. This publication (or any part of it) may not be reproduced or transmitted, copied, stored, distributed or otherwise made available by any person or entity (including Google, Amazon or similar organisations), in any form (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical) or by any means (photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise) without prior written permission from the publisher.

This ebook may not include illustrations and/or photographs that may have been in the print edition.

The author and the publisher have made every effort to contact copyright holders for material used in this book. Any person or organisation that may have been overlooked should contact the publisher.

Cataloguing-in-Publication entry is available from the National Library of Australia
http://catalogue.nla.gov.au

EPUB format: 9781760982881

Typeset by Midland Typesetters, Australia

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this book may contain images or names of people now deceased.

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