Showing results by author "Di Morrissey" in All Categories

The valley is nestled between rugged peaks, divided by a magnificent river. Within its peaceful green contours are held the secrets of generations of tribes, families and loners who have come under its spell.

After an election upheaval, Dominic Cochrane decides it's time to leave his 20-year political staffer career behind. He opts to stay in a friend's converted waterside boatshed in a quiet Sydney backwater. The long-time neighbours take Dom into their fold, but his peaceful retreat is quickly upended as he becomes embroiled in a tragic mystery a family has never solved – 25 years ago a schoolteacher, husband and father, beloved by all, disappeared without a trace. Was it a walkout? An affair? Or was it foul play?

Downtown New York City in the 1970s and '80s is a dark and dangerous place for Janie Thompson. Her indifferent parents give her little guidance, and leave her older brother, the only person who truly loves her, no choice but to run away. Her working-class Queens neighborhood offers too many opportunities to fail, and several of her closest friends fall victim.

It seemed like a good idea.... Genetically engineer a species of humanoid workers - strong, tireless, minimally intelligent - to become laborers for humans. What could possibly go wrong? For a thousand years, humans have had to fight for their survival against the mute, feral “Ants”, created as workers but now gone rogue, scavenging and slaughtering everything in their path.

After an election upheaval, Dominic Cochrane decides it's time to leave his twenty-year political staffer career behind. He opts to stay in a friend's converted waterside boatshed in a quiet bay in a Sydney backwater. The long-time neighbours take Dom into their fold, but his peaceful retreat is quickly upended as he becomes embroiled in a tragic mystery. As money sharks circle treasured family homes in the secluded community, tensions mount as their way of life is threatened, secrets are exposed and old wounds reopened.

When people die, are they ever truly gone? I had heard the saying "pennies from heaven" before, but my coins from heaven seemed to be dimes. Was my father actually sending me dimes to show me he wasn't really gone? My mother seemed to be sending pennies all the time, but my dad was pretty clever.

A young Australian woman leaves Sydney for a new world, Guyana, South America. Captivated by Guyana's wild, unspoiled beauty, Madison Wright joins the native Amerindians struggling to preserve their culture against corporate exploitation. But her new-found commitment soon plunges Madison into a mire of murder, drug smuggling and political corruption, and finally, an unexpected love that pits her heart against her beliefs.

Early care and education for many children in the U.S. is in crisis. The period between birth and kindergarten is a critical time for child development, and socioeconomic disparities that begin early in children's lives contribute to starkly different long-term outcomes for adults. Yet, compared to other advanced economies, high-quality child care and preschool in the U.S. are scarce and prohibitively expensive for many middle class and most disadvantaged families.

In the 1930s, in an isolated and beautiful corner of southern Tasmania, a new young wife arrives at her husband's secluded property - Arcadia. Stella, an artist, falls in love with Arcadia's wild, ancient forest. And when an unknown predator strikes, she is saved by an unusual protector.... Two generations later, Stella's granddaughter, Sally, and her best friend, Jessica, stumble over Stella's secret life in the forest and find themselves threatened in turn. What starts as a girls' adventurous road trip becomes a hunt for the story of the past....

Monsoon is a journey into the hearts and memories of those caught in a certain time in a particular place. Sandy Donaldson has been working for a volunteer organisation in Vietnam for the past four years. As her contract nears its end, she is reluctant to leave so she invites her oldest friend, Anna, to come for a holiday and discover its beautiful tourist destinations. Both girls have unexplored links to this country.

Welcome to the "Next Insights Podcast," where we delve into the transformative power of insights and their practical application in business amidst the continuous disruption brought forth by the AI revolution. Hosted by Michael Morrissey, the founder of Next CoLabs and a strategic futurist, this podcast stands at the nexus of science, technology, and consciousness, exploring the future as it unfolds through the lens of generative AI and other next-gen technologies. Michael invites listeners into a realm where the "Aha moment" is not just celebrated but deeply analyzed for its potential to ...

Swept up by Hollywood in the 1950s, larrikin Australian actor Randy Storm had the looks, charm and talent to take on the world. But by the 1990s he's forgotten, burned out after a life of movie star excess. When producer Michael Matthews meets the once-great Randy Storm, he is surprised to find a man who is at peace with himself. Both he and researcher Janie Callendar set out to discover the source of this inner peace. Meanwhile his agent Ariel Margoles sees a chance for Randy to be a star once more in the hottest Hollywood film of the year.

After being double-crossed by a devious colleague, career woman Ellie Conlan quits her job on principle. With no idea what to do next, she retreats to Storm Harbour, an idyllic Victorian beach town. Ellie's grandfather runs The Storm Harbour Chronicle, the trusted local newspaper. As Ellie is drawn into a story about a development which could split the coastal community - and involves her with the influential O'Neill family - an event she has long suppressed threatens to overwhelm her.

Laura grew up too quickly, burdened by her ability to see the hidden damage inflicted upon others. Her father, classmates, and strangers were both victims and perpetrators, filling her with hatred and sorrow. Years later, uncertain if she could help those in need, Laura embarked on a journey of discovery, seeking love, hope, and encountering more tragedy. The world connected to her "gift" was larger and more dangerous than she ever imagined.

I am a board certified general surgeon and a garage gym athlete. In my shows, I will cover one aspect in medicine and one aspect in health and fitness. This will be a wide array of topics. I will also encourage and take suggestions for a show to help people learn more about any topic in medicine and fitness. This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy

The Kimberley, a land that cradles Australia's ancient treasures, is sanctuary to the mysterious spirits reflected in the oldest rock art in the world. It is also home to a people whose powerful secrets could unlock the future for a modern mankind. Four people are tied up in a mystery so powerful it could change their lives forever.

Blaze exposes the new order of women and power in the cut-throat arena of up-market magazines. The idealistic baby boomers have been pushed aside and it's every woman for herself. An intimate look at four women coping with their private and public lives in the world where scheming and fox cunning seem to beat skill and talent, where sexism and ageism in office politics label women over 30 over the hill. Blaze is the story of women trying to survive, to compete, while maintaining friendships and finding happiness. In this pressure-cooker world, something has to give and for some women it isn't worth the fight.

Di Morrissey returns to the red earth of the Kimberley with a passionate story of resistance and resilience under its soaring blue skies. After the upheaval which separated Jacqui Bouchard from her beloved son, she has finally settled in Broome, a magical remote town on the northwest coast of Australia. But when a proposed mining development is unveiled, the town begins to tear itself apart. Rifts run deep as friends, families and lovers are faced with a battle that could change their lives irrevocably.

The Bay is a beautiful and peaceful town on the Australian east coast; a melting pot of city escapees, alternative lifestylers, feral dropouts, lost souls, backpackers, and men and women in search of love and a new sense of identity. When Sydney corporate wife Holly Jamieson turns 45 she shocks her husband by buying an old house in The Bay with plans to transform it into a charming B & B. What began as a gesture of independence changes her life.

This is a collection of the letters I wrote to Noam Chomsky and L.Fletcher Prouty, and a few others, over a period of six years (1989-1995), along with some essays that derive from this correspondence. Opinion is still divided on the question of whether President Kennedy was assassinated because he had decided to withdraw from Vietnam. Chomsky is the primary advocate of one point of view, and I know of no one who has challenged him on it to the extent that I have, as documented in this book.