Grinding Grandma's Axe

When Lisa Upfield is offered a part in a film to be shot in Alice Springs, she is excited at the chance to escape the boredom of her life in Melbourne and bit parts in TV soap operas.


Her sister Julie, loath to return to the same teaching job after travels in Spain, is encouraged by Lisa's adventures to also seek a new direction in Alice Springs.


In the Northern Territory, both young women find release from restlessness. Here the impact of the red centre: the vast emptiness, the colour and the calm of it inspire new perspectives that lead to life-changing decisions.


Their evolving story is interspersed with chapters on events dating from 1880 in the lives of their mother Helen, her mother Alice, grandmother Elizabeth and great-grandmother Emily.

The title Grinding Grandma's Axe symbolises the strength that 21st century women have inherited from their female forebears, how they have honed it and used it as a weapon in their pursuit of satisfying lifestyles and fulfilling careers.