Hearing stories about your forebears is “grounding”, Wendy Harmer said on the ABC Radio Sydney Breakfast show this morning.  Wendy has just arrived back after a road trip through the small towns of Melbourne visiting her Auntie Pat from Ballarat and many other “rellies”.

“The Browns were pretty ordinary!” Wendy said disparagingly but with a proud tone to her voice.  Ordinary or not, her Auntie Pat has compiled her family history and the wealth of stories grounds Wendy and gives her that powerful feeling of being connected to something larger.