The Pink Book - Henry von Doussa

In 1976 a young dyslexic boy makes a book for Book Week to be displayed in his primary school classroom. He calls it ‘The Pink Book’. It is a collection of softly painted pink pages with no words, no sentences, yet with a very strong story to tell. Forty years later, Henry von Doussa has written into those pink pages to free the waiting story.

The Pink Book is a memoir about family, sexuality, class, and fear and grief through the HIV/AIDS epidemic, highlighting life’s juxtaposing forces: beauty and suffering, freedom and constraint.

The Pink Book contains Henry von Doussa’s art, writing, and precious objects (including old family letters and photographs) to tell a story of growing up through the 80s and 90s, asking: What gives a family lift? What drags a family down? The Pink Book explores the power of creativity to understand and ease the mental ill-health that hangs as an ever-present spectre over multiple generations of an Australian family.

The Pink Book is an exceptionally crafted, beautifully presented publication designed by award-winning book designer Sean Hogan.

Published: April 2022
ISBN: 9780987403780
Imprint: Clouds of Magellan Press
Format: Hardback, clothbound