Vivien Stuart nursed at the Cancer Foundation Cottage Hospice in Perth, and then undertook a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Western Australia.  Her novel, Acacia House, follows the personal and professional lives of three nurses from disparate backgrounds who work at a Perth riverside hospice.  Her dissertation, Caring Texts:  Ethics, Literature and Care for the Dying, examines the ethics of care represented in fiction, memoir and poetry.

 

Because of its ‘commercially unviable’ subject matter, Acacia House, although shortlisted for the TAG Hungerford Award, never found a publisher.  In 2022, Vivien self-published the novel, sold 800 copies in a year, and has to date donated $8000 from sales to charity - to the proposed LJM Memorial Hospice in Yanchep, WA.  

 

In 2023, Acacia House was shortlisted for a Western Australian Premier’s Book Award, the first self-published novel ever to be shortlisted. 

 

When not promoting Acacia House (acacia-house.com) to libraries, community groups and palliative care events, Vivien works with Palliative Care WA on their Helpline.