Lives Less Ordinary
The Pacific odyssey of a runaway rebel
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February 26, 2024
41 minutes
Available for over a year
Ruth Shaw spent years on ships and islands, trying to outrun her past.
She left her home in New Zealand as a young woman, driven away by a traumatic attack that would shape her life for years to come. Ruth tried to find escape on sailing ships, in Tahitian gambling dens and in the bars and kitchens of Papua New Guinea. But ultimately she had to head home, to face up to deep adolescent scars, and to find the child she’d been forced to give up years before.
Presenter: India Rakusen
Producer: May Cameron
Editor: Munazza Khan
Photo: ‘The Bookseller at the End of the World’