Ghost Wife

Michelle Dicinoski has found the love of her life, and now she just wants to get married and live happily ever after. The only problem is, she’s in love with an American woman, Heather, and neither Australia nor America recognises same-sex marriage. What to do when love and the law collide? For Michelle, the answer is clear: go to Canada and get hitched there.

Ghost Wife is the deep, funny, heartwarming and brave story of that trip. Along the way, Michelle reflects on why anyone would want to get married anyway, on the power of acceptance, and on the startling stories she uncovers in her family’s past. She investigates the hidden worlds of people who live their lives outside social norms, sometimes illegally. Michelle doesn’t want to disappear, not from her family and not from society. But living in Australia, will she always be a ghost wife?

‘The story of two young women who love each other, Ghost Wife makes their love visible and uncovers the lives of hidden lovers on the two continents over which they travel. Moving, irresistible and new, this memoir will inspire readers to honour all that is hidden in the past — and within ourselves.’ —Gloria Steinem

‘Ghost Wife is a revelation in every sense of the word. It not only illuminates the struggle for equal marriage in the most intimate possible way, but also tenderly examines the meaning of love and commitment. Insightful, supple and gorgeously written, this book left me humbled and moved.’ —Benjamin Law 
‘A powerful and deeply moving book.’ —Australian Book Review

‘Ghost Wife is a contemplative memoir, but it is also funny and warm-hearted. A paean to the ritual of marriage, Ghost Wife goes to the heart of what it is to be human: love and commitment, friendship and intimacy, shared values and shared struggle.’ —Australian

‘Resonant and engaging’ —Big Issue

‘Poignant and moving, the prose clear-eyed and affecting all at once.’ —Age

Michelle Dicinoski’s poetry collection Electricity for Beginners was published in 2011. Her poems and essays have appeared in the Australian Literary Review, The Best Australian Poems, Meanjin, the Australian and Cultural Studies Review.