Gathering sticks : lighting up small fires / Margaret Heffernan ; with Gerard Waterford and Frances Coughlan.

Includes bibliographic references.

The storylines of my birth -- Stories of first contact for the Arrernte tribes -- Campfire stories of my Anmatyerr grandparents -- Moving to town, the big drought and the Coniston Massacre -- My parents' story -- My early years at Middle Camp -- Living at Jervois, Aileron and Arltunga -- Living with family at Yambah Station -- Starting school at the Bunga lows -- Livign back in town at Middle Camp -- Growing up in the mission -- Best girls in the dormitory -- Leaving school -- My mother's death -- Working at Amoonguna -- Walking out with Tommy -- Napperby Station -- Back in Santa Teresa -- Working at Santa Teresa school -- Going to Batchelor College -- The Institute for Aboriginal Development -- Changing schools, changing jobs -- Dreams of our own school -- Living the dream -- Land claims and Ngkarte Mikwekenhe -- My diabetes and stroke -- The long road to recovery -- Grandmothers' rules surviving in hard times -- Aboriginal spirituality and the Catholic Church -- Reflections -- Postcript.

Margaret Heffernan's desire, in telling this story, has been to pass on to her children and future generations of her family, the story of her life, a life in transition from traditional culture to a very different world that is still unfolding.