Arnold Gilchrist lives in Melbourne with his wife, who is his caregiver in his terminal illness.
Arnold’s university course was interrupted by the Second World War and his deployment to Bomber Command in the UK where he completed thirty operations. Ten days before D-day, he was shot down in Northern France and became a POW. He coped with solitary confinement by analysing his dreams.
The first camp was quite a primitive one on the old Polish border. From there, in the depths of winter, the prisoners were moved deeper into Germany to escape the advancing Russians. They travelled by slow train and then on foot in snow and blizzards, so sleeping in a cow shed was luxury.
On his return to Melbourne University, Arnold switched from law to psychology. After graduation, he worked in various government mental health clinics until his retirement in 1985. In the following year, he conducted a private practice for a time and continued work on writing his manuscript and extended his interest in personal growth. A great reader, his main interest has been in spirituality and the search for enlightenment. Being a keen football spectator has added a touch of excitement to life in his eighties.