Life chances: stories of growing up in Australia

This book tells the stories of five young people growing up in Australia in the 1990s and 2000s. Their stories illuminate the continuity and the changes in their individual lives and in their families and how some of the changes in the wider world have influenced them. In doing so, the stories illustrate some of the important processes and issues that affect a much larger number of young people and their families. These range from financial disadvantage to career choices, from parents raising young children to young people making the transition from school to work and adulthood. The stories are of the lives of five young people who were all born in the same place at the same time and who all seem to be flourishing at age 21, but who have had very different life experiences along the way. To protect their privacy, their real names are not used and have been replaced with pseudonyms. The five young people are: 'Debbie', a manager at a bakery; 'Amy', a newly qualified primary teacher; 'Tom', an apprentice cabinet maker; 'Sally', a physiotherapy student; and 'Will', an arts/law student.

The book has grown out of a longitudinal study undertaken by the Brotherhood of St Laurence, which followed the participants over 21 years. It presents the findings in the form of family stories, drawing on interviews with both parents and children. It shows some of the complexity of the lives of the families involved. It also reflects on the social support system, its strengths and weaknesses in supporting families as they raise their children, and asks how can we better enable all our children to flourish.

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