Join us at Paperchain Bookstore for the launch of The Girl On the Roof, by Valerie A. Brown. To be launched by Niki Savva.

About The Girl on the Roof...

Nine decades, one life — a remarkable memoir by an Australian living treasure.

Valerie Brown was a bookish, rebellious child who had made an important discovery when she escaped to the roof of her large family home. As she watched the activities of her family down below, she found that they did not match the ideals her parents had taught to her. Nor did her family’s actions meet the ideals put forward in the books she was reading.

This simple observation led to a lifetime of concern about the damage done to a society when there are gaps between their community’s good intentions and their practices. She and her team delivered pioneering change programs to bridge such gaps — in partnership with a prime minister, each of the three levels of government, four universities, multiple communities, and several activist groups.

Her interests in health and the environment led her to design and deliver initiatives such as the first Australian science degree in health education; change an outdated public health department into the emerging New Public Health; design and deliver the country’s first national drug summit; and establish community health training for doctors and nurses at Tribhuvan University in Nepal. After a stroke in her eighties, she recovered to supervise doctoral students and co-author five books on social change, including the highly successful Tackling Wicked Problems.

Valerie Brown AO is still promoting, discussing, and thinking about positive social changes. After nine decades, she is still that girl on the roof.

Valerie A. Brown AO is an Australian scholar known for pioneering interdisciplinary and collective-thinking approaches to complex social and environmental problems. As the foundation director of the Local Sustainability Project at the Australian National University, she led research integrating science, policy, and community knowledge. The author of numerous books on collective decision-making and sustainability, she has advised governments, NGOs, and international agencies. Her work focuses on strengthening democratic processes, enabling community engagement, and supporting cross-sector collaboration to address global challenges.

Niki Savva is a highly acclaimed political writer. She was twice political correspondent for The Australian, and headed up the Canberra bureaus of both The Herald Sun and The Age. When family tragedy forced a career change, she became Peter Costello’s press secretary for six years and was then on John Howard’s staff for three. Her work has brought her into intimate contact with Australia’s major political players for more than 40 years. She is a regular columnist for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, and appears on ABC TV’s Insiders. Her most recent book is Earthquake: The Election That Shook Australia (2025)

This event is free but as space is limited please book to secure your place.

Contact the host of Launch of The Girl On the Roof, by Valerie A. Brown