Catherine Anne Stuart was born in 1968 in Newcastle, NSW. Her parents were poor, but honest. At an early age, Catherine showed signs of emotional instability, which was to plague her the rest of her years.

Her youth was spent studying psychology, philosophy, English, women’s studies, and hanging around Gothic punk drug addicts of various persuasions. After completing both institutional studies and institutional psychosis, she achieved meagre acclaim in 1993-95 with the Newcastle rock band Skarekrow, despite the common misconception that they were neo-Nazis.

Since moving to Sydney in 1995, she went completely mad once again, and has performed her poetry, spoken word and songs regularly at the Friend in Hand Hotel, Glebe, and at National Poetry Day events. She has also performed in and co-produced the play, Van Gogh’s Boots – a guided tour through psychosis with writer and performer, Shauna Winram. She performed with Isthmus, a performance group of five women with various disabilities, at the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games. In 2001 she performed in the library of Balmain Town Hall during “Burning Lines - The 2nd Australian Poetry Festival”, and at a Buddhist monastery in the Southern Highlands.

This book is her first publication, and she is up for anything.