David Brewster is a professional ghostwriter, editor and advisor on personal memoir, executive memoir, company history and business books.
Recent release
The Flying Vet by Dr Ameliah Scott, with David Brewster.
Ameliah isn't your average vet - flying solo over a staggering territory of 200,000 square kilometres of red dirt and bush to tend to animals of all shapes and sizes, she's a rare combination of female flying vet and fifth generation farmer in remote Australia. She brings much needed solace, care and reassurance to remote farming communities in the heart of the country, while also raising her own young family.
With charm, honesty and wit, Ameliah tells stories from a life on the road and the skies, from attending the School of the Air and becoming a vet, to operating her mobile service in some of the most remote parts of the country. Her story spreads as far as her clients are scattered across the outback, from far western New South Wales to northern Victoria, from the southwest of Queensland to eastern South Australia, treating valuable stock animals and beloved pets, and providing a precious lifeline for their owners.
Funny, moving and uplifting, Ameliah tells us about the diverse community she serves and the animals she treats, and celebrates the bush and the people of the outback - and Ameliah's passion for animal welfare. From treating animals in distress, wrangling hot blooded goats to gelding biting horses and treating pregnant and calving cattle, Ameliah also battles the changing conditions of the bush, and the scourge of feral animals and plagues - all while navigating vast distances from the air, and raising her own young family on her own 120,000-acre cattle and sheep farm.
Out now on ABC Books. Hear Ameliah speak with Richard Fidler on the Conversations podcast.
BUSINESS BOOK
Credibility is one of the strongest points of difference you and your business can develop. And there's no better way to build credibility than to write a book.
Capture your expertise in a book and suddenly you'll have the most powerful business card in the room. Use a good writer to help you and it doesn't even need to take much effort.
COMPANY HISTORY
Is your company about to celebrate a significant milestone? A twentieth anniversary? Fiftieth even? Perhaps it's just time to capture your organisation's story while the people with the memories are still around?
David can get this job done for you: from first idea right through to a finished book. Your story can be captured and published in as little as six months.
PERSONAL MEMOIR
Have you ever felt a yearning to capture your story for future generations, but have no idea where to start? Do you tell yourself you're not a writer and use that as an excuse?
The truth is there has never been a better time to write and publish your memoir, whether you only want to share it with the family or you feel it deserves a wider audience. And you don't need to be a writer in order to do so.
EXECUTIVE MEMOIR
Every experienced business owner and senior executive has learnt plenty of lessons along the way. Sadly, too many of those lessons are ultimately lost because they are never written down.
Why not tell your story and share what you've learnt with the next generation? David can help you do so with minimum effort on your part for maximum result.
In March 1942, twenty-five-year-old kindergarten teacher Magda Hellinger and nearly a thousand other young Slovakian women were deported to Poland on the second transportation of Jewish people sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp. At Auschwitz the SS soon discovered that by putting Jewish prisoners in charge of the day-to-day running of the accommodation blocks, camp administration and workforces, they could both reduce the number of guards required and deflect the distrust of the prisoner population away from themselves. Magda was one such prisoner selected for leadership and over three years served in many prisoner leader roles, from room leader, to block leader and eventually camp leader, responsible for 30,000 women. The Nazis Knew My Name is based on Magda's personal account and completed by her daughter Maya's extensive research, including testimonies from fellow Auschwitz survivors. Co-written with David Brewster. Published by Simon & Schuster Australia on September 1, 2021, in the UK on September 9, 2021 and the USA on March 15, 2022, with other markets to follow.
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“A poignantly illuminating Holocaust memoir.” – Kirkus Reviews
“[A] compelling and seamless portrait of a young woman who managed to survive and save others through cunning bravery and compassionate leadership… an extraordinary portrait of one woman who fought for others in the midst of unimaginable horror.” – BookPage (starred review)
“…an important perspective of the Holocaust, of a kind that we rarely see. A standout memoir that will draw the interest of readers of World War II history and women’s memoirs or biographies.” – Library Journal
“Anyone interested in learning more about the lives of Jews interred in Nazi concentration and death camps should find this book valuable, interesting, and thought-provoking.” – New York Journal of Books
“With polished writing, exceptional research, and an extraordinary story, this is an unforgettable read that will stay with you long after you turn the final page.” – Better Reading
“This is an excellent read for those interested in a more detailed history of the Holocaust. The rare and fascinating personal accounts of infamous SS guards and personnel help to make The Nazis Knew My Name unputdownable.” – Glam Adelaide
“My Mother Never Finished Telling Her Holocaust Story—So I’m Telling It For Her” – essay on Time.com by Maya Lee
Rating 4.5/5 on Goodreads, and selected as one of Audible’s best audiobooks of 2021.
Peter Newlinds worked for ABC Radio Grandstand for 18 years through the 1990s and 2000s. His name and voice will be familiar to cricket followers around Australia, and also to the followers of many of the various sports the ABC has covered over the years. In Around the Grounds, Peter shares memories and insights that will fire sparks of nostalgia in every Australian sporting enthusiast. From teenage years working inside the grand scoreboard of the SCG, to the pressure of auditioning for the ABC in front of a childhood hero, and then through a long career with the national broadcaster. It’s the story of the sporting fan who manages to live out the ultimate sporting fantasy: working as a commentator with one of the world’s great sporting broadcasters. Co-written with David Brewster. Published August 2018 and widely available.
Scattered Pearls opens in pre-revolutionary Iran, where Sohila Zanjani grew up under the threat of violence, intimidation and control at the hands of her father. Resolving never to tread in the footsteps of her mother and her grandmother, both survivors of domestic abuse, Sohila tried to find a new life for herself on the other side of the world. But to her horror she discovered that living with her father had been gentle in comparison to the reality of her new married life. Spanning more than a hundred years, Scattered Pearls tells the true stories of Sohila, her mother and her grandmother, and the injustice and abuse meted out by the men in their lives. It is a story of cultural misogyny in both Iran and Australia, and of an ongoing search for a loving, equal relationship. Co-written with David Brewster. Published April 2016; Second edition published April 2017.
