Alannah Hill will speak about her memoir, Butterfly on a Pin, twhen she speaks at the Grand View Hotel on May 11.
The book is due to be released in May.
One of five children from a poverty-stricken home in Tasmania, Ms Hill lived with fear and chaos her constant companions. She moved to Hobart as a teenager, her mother’s critical voice embedded in her brain, where she began to construct a brighter, shinier version of herself.
But it was only when she moved to Melbourne that her real reinvention would begin. Melbourne felt like home, a place where anything and everything was possible.
Ms Hill fell in love, and then couldn’t fall out of love; she teased her hair to cover her fear, and travelled to Tokyo, London, Paris, New York and London. She toured with U2 and BB King, acted in the cult movie Dogs in Space, and appeared in a play as a moaning, makeup-addicted chook.
She built a fashion empire, and was living her impossible dream, and at the height of her success also found herself a mother. With the end of her fashion label, a cancer scare and the loss of the rights to use her name, she found herself down a dimly lit path, asking all the wrong questions.
Ms Hill bares her soul in this memoir. In vivid, hilarious and intelligent prose, she reminds us that what doesn’t kill us doesn’t necessarily make us stronger.
Cost of the lunch is $45 (GV members $40) which includes a two-course meal. Book on 3884 3000 or functions@gvh.com.au.