Missing: He was brilliant and troubled and for thirty-five years he lived alone in the wild . . . then there was silence

by Tom Patterson

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WINNER OF THE 2023 NATIONAL BIOGRAPHY AWARD'S MICHAEL CROUCH AWARD FOR A DEBUT WORK


Hey mate, Pete and Steve have been talking to some people who live around the national park where Mark lives . . . nobody has seen him for months . . . We're about to head into the gorge . . . I'll let you know what we find . . .

In 1972 Mark May is eighteen. He is bright, beautiful and has a scholarship to study law. Ten years later he descends alone into remote gorge country in north-western New South Wales. He lives in rough camps and stays for thirty-five years. Then, on a feeling, his brothers go looking for him.

Missing is a true story of immense emotional force. It tells of a broken life and a ruptured family but is also a spare and eloquent story of survival that carries a deep humanity. It announces a significant new talent in Australian writing.


'This compelling, moving tale is unlike anything I have ever read. Intimate and vivid, Tom Patterson has found beauty and meaning amid the sorrow.' - Malcolm Knox


'An inside look into an outsider's world, tenderly and beautifully told.' - Greg Bearup


'brims with winning details . . .lean, pacy prose' - Sydney Morning Herald



'This fiction-structured true-life story beautifully captures the love and sorrow of a family divided by well-intentioned aspirations.' - Canberra Times





  • ISBN13 9781761066764
  • Publish Date 1 February 2022
  • Publish Status Active
  • Publish Country AU
  • Imprint Allen & Unwin