Inspiring memoir of hope and love: This is a story worth writing

KELLYVILLE and Quakers Hill locals, Aduk Dau and Belinda Peoples, will release For Hope, Love & Life Itself this month.

The book is an inspiring true story about the life of South Sudanese Australian, Aduk Dau.

Co-authors of the fascinating memoir, Aduk and Belinda have worked together to capture Aduk’s life story since meeting at Kellyville Anglican Church 10 years ago.

“When Aduk shared just a snippet of her life story during a church interview one day,” Belinda said. “I knew immediately hers was a story worth writing.”

In 1999, Aduk and her family were granted humanitarian visas to live in Australia after spending more than 15 years fleeing conflict and surviving as refugees throughout northern Africa.

Now an Australian citizen for more than two decades, Aduk still has an amazing repertoire of fascinating anecdotes drawn from her life experiences.

Belinda has been a western Sydney local for most of her life and was enthusiastic to use her skill and passion for writing to see Aduk’s story come to life in a memoir for a worthwhile cause dear to both their hearts.

“Aduk has always been passionate to make the world a better place. When she told me that she hoped her memoir could one day be a fundraising tool for Lost Children of Jonglei Scholarships, the opportunity was too good to ignore,” Belinda says.

Sales of For Hope, Love & Life Itself will contribute toward the Lost Children of Jonglei Scholarship project that Aduk founded in 2017 to provide secondary school education to vulnerable South Sudanese young people displaced by war and living in Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya.

“Education is the key to bringing an end to the ongoing hardship suffered by generations of South Sudanese refugees. It’s been more than forty years since the Sudanese conflict first began,” said Aduk. “I hope my story not only enlightens and entertains readers, but changes lives by becoming part of the solution.”

The memoir has been a labour of love for all involved, including aspiring young artist, Lauren Jones, who spent countless hours painting the portrait of Aduk for the book’s cover.

The artwork is so exceptional, Lauren was recently awarded the honour of finalist for the portrait among five thousand entrants in the Eckersley’s Art & Craft Prize 2025.

For hope, love & life itself will be available on Amazon from Tuesday, October 14 and in Ariel Booksellers in Paddington.

A book launch is scheduled at Kellyville Anglican Church on Saturday November 1 at 2:00pm. Tickets are free and can be reserved through Humanitix.