Ten Steps to Nanette is a sharp, candid memoir that traces a life shaped in remote Tasmania and transformed on stage. The narrative follows early years when queer identity collided with local norms, years of drifting after art studies, and the unexpected start in stand-up comedy.

From winning an amateur contest to creating a breakthrough show, the author examines the decision to abandon self-deprecation and prioritize truthful, ethical storytelling in performance. The book also confronts the effects of homophobia and sexual violence on personal and creative life.

Later-life diagnoses of autism and ADHD are woven into an account of reinvention: how diagnosis, memory, and honesty reshaped a comedic voice and public career.

Themes

• Queer identity and coming-of-age
• The craft and ethics of stand-up comedy
• Trauma, resilience, and neurodiversity
• Memoir, memory, and artistic reinvention

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