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Heartlines

Jo Abraham

"It actually doesn't matter where or how you start, just that you do and you don't give up. What may look pathetically embarrassing one day, may make for great editable material the next day, at nothing else, it may make you laugh one day."

Heartlines explores what it means to write – from the heart and soul – and where that writing takes us. Every writers’ journey is different, so we invite you to take a moment to read, pause and reflect on what it means to shape stories for the page.

Jo Abraham is a Ngarluma woman living in Boorloo (Perth). When she’s not writing, Jo is working hard in the corporate sector providing reconciliation walks and education, cultural safety audits, governance guidance, and one-on-one coaching for leaders of organisational reconciliation.

Centre for Stories: What do you do outside of writing? What is your most surprising passion?

Jo Abraham: I do wifey things; motherly things (umm, disclaimer, this  involves the removal of random smells from my home, far more frequently than I ever expected); and teachey things. I love to educate people on unconscious bias, white privilege and the Stolen Generations. To give space for difficult conversations and topics and to make it safe for people to speak freely.

CFS: What is your most surprising passion?

JA: I love hunting and finding the tricky spaces that are dangerous in between the safe known spaces. In a world of increasing fear of being socially annihilated for saying or doing the “wrong thing”, I love to find the space of unity and commonality between us all. 

A portrait of Jo standing outside in front of a lovely lake with reeds and native trees and plants.

CFS: Why do you write?

JA: I write because I relate to so many different mindsets and approaches to life and I want to provide space for incorporation of those who want to find the common ground.   

CFS: That’s beautiful. When did you decide to pursue writing and what triggered that decision?

JA: I’m not sure. Certainly, I’ve been encouraged by numerous people to write my story and journey of reconnection to true identity. 

CFS: What are you currently reading?

JA: I am reading Atomic Habits by James Clear. 

CFS: Is that also an inspiration for your current work?

JA: No, it isn’t the inspiriation, but it is helping me be more consistent in a daily habit of writing. So whilst not inspiring creativity, it is inspiring output.

CFS: Did you have any ‘aha’ moments while you were on the hot desk?

JA: My ‘aha’ moment was when I realised I had unknotted a really gnarly section of my book that had been troublesome for a while. The hot desk program required me to turn up each week, and as I’ve kept that commitment, this gnarly ball of unsightly words became a little less unruly, and a little more likeable.  To the point of now, just about finishing off the editorial fixes for that entire chapter. Woohoo!

CFS: Based on your experiences in the writing industry, including your hot desk at Centre for Stories, what advice would you give to writers who are starting out or are unsure where to start?

JA: It actually doesn’t matter where or how you start, just that you do and you don’t give up. What may look pathetically embarrassing one day, may make for great editable material the next day, at nothing else, it may make you laugh one day. Just keep going, and remember don’t compare your first draft with someone else’s finished manuscript. And if you really become stuck, go and read something that will inspire you.

A photo of Jo sitting on a wall next to a sign. On the sign it says 'this property was donated to the Salvation Army by Mrs E A Pearse. For the purposes of Maternity Hospital.' This hospital is where baby Jo was taken from her mother.

CFS: Agreed, it doesn’t matter when or where you start – just start! Centre for Stories is about taking things at your own pace, working with others, and providing a safe place for all. How has this space enabled you to think and explore your work?

JA: I felt an external responsibility to keep going, and that external responsibility than enabled me to keep on turning up irrespective of how I felt about the words being put on paper, that mattered less than the fact someone else saw something in my writing that was worthy of encouragement and so to keep going. 

CFS: It’s been such a pleasure to have you in our space, Jo. Now that your hot desk has officially ended, what will you be working on next?

JA: The next chapter in this book…

A portrait of Jo Abraham

Jo Abraham is a Ngarluma woman living in Boorloo (Perth). When she’s not writing, Jo is working hard in the corporate sector providing reconciliation walks and education, cultural safety audits, governance guidance, and one-on-one coaching for leaders of organisational reconciliation.

Writing Change, Writing Inclusion is Centre for Stories’ signature writing program for 2021 to 2023. Generously funded by The Ian Potter Foundation, Australia Council for the Arts and Centre for Stories Founders Circle, this writing program features mentoring, hot desk, and publication opportunities for emerging writers from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and/or Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander backgrounds.

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We wish to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land the Centre for Stories is located on, the Whadjuk people. We respect their culture and the continuing contribution they make to the life of this city and this region.