A Good Shepherd From Mercy to The Long Paddock
About this audiobook
From the cold stone walls of the Sisters of Mercy orphanage to the red dust of the shearing sheds and finally the chalk dust of the classroom.
Ross Cooper’s journey is one of faith lost, wisdom found, and the raw poetry of the Australian outback.
A story where Banjo Paterson’s verses meet the grit of real men and one man’s search for purpose comes full circle beneath the wide southern sky.
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About the author
I was born in Blackpool, England, in 1949, a time when the world was still catching its breath after World War 2. In 1959, my parents made the bold decision to leave the grey skies of England behind and seek a new life in Australia. I was ten years old when we arrived, wide-eyed and full of questions in a strange, sunburnt land.
The first decade was restless, ten homes in ten years, as we carved out a place for ourselves. Eventually, we settled in Sutton, New South Wales, just outside Canberra. It was there, amid the dry grasslands and the calls of magpies, that I found my footing and completed my schooling at Lyneham High in the Australian Capital Territory.
Later in life, my wife and I journeyed across the continent, taking in the beauty and grit of the outback, the coast, and everything in between. We finally put down roots in Cairns, Far North Queensland, where the rainforest meets the reef. Now retired, I wake each day with gratitude, surrounded by nature and the easy rhythm of tropical life.
My path to writing came unexpectedly. At seventy-four, I sat down to record the story of my migration to Australia, just a personal reflection, I thought. But once I began, I couldn’t stop. One story led to another, and soon I was building entire worlds. Nearly twenty fiction titles later, I’ve discovered a passion I never expected to find so late in life.
With each book, I learn. I grow, not just in storytelling, but in voice and craft. Readers tell me they’ve seen the evolution, but I stand by every title, from the first to the most recent. They’re all part of the journey. And the journey, I believe, is far from over.
