Alison de Vink lives in country Victoria, Australia. Born in 1963, Alison has been a mother since 1981, and a grandmother since 2002. She left school at 15 to work in the office of the local newspaper. She married at the age of 17 and had two children by 19. Her first born, a son, was born with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. He sadly passed at the tender age of 16 years, due to complications of his illness. Her daughter currently lives close by and is a mother to four healthy boys.Alison returned to study in her late twenties and has a Certificate IV in Disability from Chisholm Institute, a Degree in Sociology from Monash University, and a Graduate Diploma of Counselling from the University of Notre Dame.Despite having had Scleroderma from the age of 20, Alison spent many years working for the Department of Human Services, Victoria, within Disability Accommodation, has taught English in South Korea, ran her own private practice in the counselling profession, been a co-owner of a women's gym in partnership with her daughter, and also spent three years as a foster carer with Uniting Care.Retired since 2018, Alison enjoys spending time with her friends and family, concentrating on her writing, and other creative pursuits.Read more about this authorRead less about this author