Strange Little Girl

‘Every word in this considered and beautifully written memoir deserves its place on the page.’ – Graziher

My father tells it because he made it up. A little bedtime story of my origin. They are not really my parents, the people who I call Mum and Dad. Those are not my siblings, the kids who I know as my brother and sisters.

‘Rare is the memoir that is filled with such earnest faith, appreciation, and true love for a childhood that was not easy or simple. Jessica Knight writes with the clarity, humour, and depth as Jeanette Winterson, and there is not a smidgeon of self-pity in this book. I was deeply moved by Strange Little Girl, a resplendent book from a writer with a good heart but a wicked sense of humour.’ – Alice Pung, author of Unpolished Gem and One Hundred Days

I am not really human.
I am an alien from another planet in a far distant constellation.

Jessica Knight grew up on a dairy farm in rural Victoria, her crib next door to where the cows were milked. It’s a loving Mormon household, a God-fearing home. While they don’t have very much, it’s their values and good humour that allows them to laugh at what scares them.

All young Jessica wants is to be good and make her parents and her Heavenly Father happy. She cleans the house and helps out with her siblings; all the while being subjected to intensive medical tests and major surgeries. Doctors consider her a medical mystery.

But what if you decide you want to be open about your fears?

This is the story of how one young woman learned to move on from the life she was expected to have, embraced what she was scared of, and looked to her future with an open heart and mind.

Maybe you don't need heaven, maybe you just need to find yourself.