Helen Brown (née Blackman; born 1954) is a New Zealand-born author, best known for her memoirs about cats and the meaning of life. A Multi-award winning journalist and columnist, she has written 15 books, including her memoir "Cleo", a New York Times and UK Sunday Times bestseller that has been published in more than 18 languages in 73 countries, and sold 2 million copies around the world.

Personal life

Brown was born in 1954 in

New Plymouth New Plymouth () is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, in Devon, from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. The New Pl ...

. She studied journalism at Wellington Polytechnic. At age 18 she flew to England to marry her first husband, Steve, whom she had met three years prior. They returned to New Zealand and had two sons, Sam and Rob. Sam was hit by a car and killed on 21 January 1983, aged 9. Soon after, her family adopted a kitten, about which she wrote her best-selling book ''Cleo''. The book is about a small black cat who helped mend a family's broken hearts. Cleo lived to be 23 years old. Brown had one more child, Lydia, with her first husband before they divorced. Brown married her second husband, Philip Gentry, in 1991. Together they had one daughter, Katharine. They moved to

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

in 1997 and have lived there since. Brown underwent a mastectomy after being diagnosed with

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

. During recovery, her sister suggested she get another cat. She adopted a Siamese cat and named him Jonah, after Jonah Lomu the famous rugby player. Jonah became the subject of her next book, ''After Cleo''. When Brown fostered a rescue cat, Bono, in New York, her Huffington Post blog about finding a home for him had more than 26 million readers. Her book ''Bono, The Amazing Story of a Rescue Who Inspired a Community'' was translated into several languages. She has since published a version of Cleo for younger readers, ''Cleo and Rob'', illustrated by Phoebe Morris. Her next book will be ''Mickey, The Cat Who Raised Me.''

Awards

* 1991 Nuffield Press Fellowship –

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

of United Kingdom * 2005 Columnist of the Year – Magazine Publishers Association of New Zealand * 2007 Columnist of the Year – Magazine Publishers Association of New Zealand * 2008 Columnist of the Year – Magazine Publishers Association of New Zealand * 2009 Columnist of the Year – Qantas Media Awards

Works

* ''Don't Let Me Put You Off: How to Survive in New Zealand Suburbia'' (1981) * ''Confessions of a Bride Doll'' (1983) * ''Tomorrow, When It's Summer'' (1987) * ''Clouds of Happiness'' (1988) * ''Fresh Starts And Finishing Lines'' (1990) * ''A Guide to Modern Manners'' (1991) * ''In Deep'' (1996) * ''From the Heart'' (2001) * ''Florascope'' (2003) * ''Cleo'' (2010) * ''After Cleo'' (2013), published in the US as ''Cats and Daughters'' * ''Tumbledown Manor'' (2014) * ''Bono'' (2018) * ''Cleo & Rob'' (2019)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Helen 1954 births Living people New Zealand women novelists New Zealand columnists People from New Plymouth New Zealand women columnists New Zealand women memoirists