One Hundred Years of Dirt

"Morton is a crack storyteller and his words and stories are infused with genuine compassion. It's a magnificent book, the clarity of it is inspiring." – Christos Tsiolkas

Social mobility is not a train you get to board after you’ve scraped together enough for the ticket. You have to build the whole bloody engine, with nothing but a spoon and hand-me-down psychological distress.

Violence, treachery and cruelty run through the generational veins of Rick Morton’s family. A horrific accident thrusts his mother and siblings into a world impossible for them to navigate, a life of poverty and drug addiction

One Hundred Years of Dirt is an unflinching memoir in which the mother is a hero who is never rewarded. It is a meditation on the anger, fear of others and an obsession with real and imagined borders. Yet it is also a testimony to the strength of familial love and endurance.

About the Author

Rick Morton has escaped his past and become a leading journalist and social affairs writer for The Australian.