Caroline Baum

Author

Caroline is an engaging, entertaining  and brutally honest speaker about her experiences as an only child growing up in a privileged European family burdened with hidden trauma. She talks with insight and humor about the complex dynamics of difficult parents and what it means to become a Good Daughter despite conflict, estrangement and illness.

Where were you born?

I was born in London, to a French mother and a Jewish Austrian father. Which means that I grew up with lots of very good European food. But also because of my parents’ traumatic childhoods, there was a lot of tension in the house, and secrets.

What other jobs have you had?

I’ve been a recipe translator, a cookbook researcher, a TV documentary researcher, a chicken plucker on a kibbutz, a radio producer, a magazine editor.

What themes are recurring in your work?

among other things, my work explores what it takes to be a good daughter, only children, parents with traumatic pasts, dementia, and gambling addiction.

What have been the highlights of your career?

The publication of my memoir, Only, co-founding Good Reading Magazine, producing and co-writing  a documentary for SBS TV, hosting  on ABC TV, and winning the Hazel Rowley Fellowship 2015 (to write a biography).

What are you passionate about?

People, books, food, travel, learning, creativity, social justice, animals, dance, textiles,  where I live.

Haven’t I seen you before?

Maybe: on TV years ago (ABC/Foxtel) or as a media by-line or at a literary festival interviewing other writers.