In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Dr Josie McSkimming chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about the remarkable story behind Gutsy Girls: Love, Poetry and Sisterhood.
Gutsy Girls
Gutsy Girls is a hybrid of memoir and biography in which Josie interweaves her own life with that of her late sister, Dorothy Porter, one of Australia’s most celebrated and boundary-pushing poets.
Dorothy Porter
The genesis of this extraordinary book came in the most unexpected way. One day while walking to take a break from her PhD studies, Josie McSkimming encountered a kookaburra that seemed to speak directly to her: ‘Write my story’, she heard. In that moment, she felt Dorothy reaching out, years after her older sister’s death.
Structuring the narrative around Dorothy’s and Josie’s lives
What began as a straightforward biography of Dorothy Porter evolved into something far more complex and intimate, a parallel narrative of three sisters growing up in a volatile household on Sydney’s northern beaches, each finding their own escape route from a fraught family life.
Dorothy, Mary and Josie with the cocker spaniels in the Blue Mountains, 1964
The book’s title pays homage to Dorothy Porter’s own lyric ‘Gutsy Girls’, from her legendary collaboration with musician Tim Finn. For McSkimming, the phrase encompasses not just Dorothy’s defiance of literary conventions and her fearless pursuit of creative freedom, but also her own journey of finding courage, first within the confines of evangelical Christianity, then finally breaking free to claim her authentic voice. The title also honours their middle sister Mary because the three women had to forge their own paths beyond childhood trauma and family expectations.
Dorothy and Josie in 1994
McSkimming’s narrative approach proved revelatory. Initially planning to write 180,000 words purely about Dorothy’s life, she found herself compelled to include her own story as readers and friends suggested she write herself more fully into the text. Through comparing diaries—Dorothy’s voluminous daily journals and her own records—McSkimming discovered profound parallels and intersections in their lives, tracking how the sisters dealt with similar events in vastly different ways. This realisation transformed the book into a meditation on sisterhood itself: relationships that ebb and flow, drawing close then distant, marked by rivalry and deep loyalty in equal measure.
The centrality of sibling relationships
Dorothy Porter’s archive provided unprecedented access to her inner world. Her diaries, which she kept from the age of 14 until her sudden death at 54, served as what she called an ‘emotional sewer’, a place to drain off excess passion so she could write with clarity. These volumes, now housed at the Australian Defence Force Academy Library in Canberra, reveal a woman consumed by questions of love and desire, though they were quite distinct from Dorothy’s polished literary voice.
Dorothy, Mary and Josie, 2005
The structure of Gutsy Girls mirrors Dorothy’s literary career, with chapters built around her published works, from her childhood creation ‘My Pocket Book of Prayer (spelled P-O-K-E-T by young Dorothy), to her final collections. This framework allowed McSkimming to explore what was happening in both sisters’ lives during each creative phase, revealing how Dorothy’s art and Josie’s parallel journey of self-discovery were intimately connected.
By the book’s close, McSkimming has crafted not only a portrait of Dorothy Porter, but also a celebration of what it means to be gutsy: to challenge norms, pursue passion, find one’s voice, and support each other through sisterly love and creative freedom, however divergent the paths may be.
Gutsy Girls Online Reviews and Articles
Kill Your Darlings published a thoughtful review examining McSkimming’s complex portrait of her sister, praising the memoir’s clever structure with chapters corresponding to Porter’s works. The review is available at: https://www.killyourdarlings.com.au/article/gutsy-girls/
ArtsHub featured a review noting how the book examines family dynamics and sibling relationships, describing the prose as fluid, scholarly and evocative. Read it at: https://www.artshub.com.au/news/reviews/book-review-gutsy-girls-josie-mcskimming-2781097/
Inside Story published an extensive piece titled ‘Sister Lit’ exploring the memoir-biography hybrid nature of the work. Available at: https://insidestory.org.au/sister-lit/
Australian Book Review included a review by A. Frances Johnson in its April 2025 issue (no. 474). Access at: https://www.australianbookreview.com.au/abr-online/archive/2025/1014-april-2025-no-474/13819-a-frances-johnson-reviews-gutsy-girls-love-poetry-and-sisterhood-by-josie-mcskimming
Books+Publishing featured a comprehensive review by Heidi Maier, comparing Gutsy Girls to memoirs like Linda Gray Sexton’s Searching for Mercy Street. Available at: https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2024/12/10/262929/gutsy-girls-josie-mcskimming-uqp/
InDaily Queensland published ‘Twin Peaks: A Sister Pays Homage to a Great Poet’s Life Cut Short’. Read at: https://www.indailyqld.com.au/inreview/books-poetry/2025/03/17/twin-peaks-a-sister-pays-homage-to-a-great-poets-life-cut-short
HerCanberra featured ‘Five minutes with social worker, psychotherapist, university lecturer and author, Josie McSkimming’. Available at: https://hercanberra.com.au/life/five-minutes-with-social-worker-psychotherapist-university-lecturer-and-author-josie-mcskimming/
Justinian published ‘Daddy Dearest’, a review focusing on the family dynamics and Chester Porter’s impact. Read at: https://justinian.com.au/daddy-dearest/
Come the Revolution featured ‘Private life of Sydney barrister revealed’. Available at: http://cometherevolution.com.au/private-life-of-sydney-barrister-revealed/
ABC News Online published ‘Celebrating the life of this wildly passionate Australian poet’. Access at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-17/dorothy-porter-memoir-gutsy-girls-josie-mcskimming/105047364
Gutsy Girls Major Media Interviews and Features
The Guardian published McSkimming’s personal essay: ‘I was an evangelical Christian for 35 years until my transgressive big sister gave me the courage to break free.’ https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/mar/01/i-was-an-evangelical-christian-for-35-years-until-my-transgressive-big-sister-gave-me-the-courage-to-break-free
The Age, Spectrum featured the article ‘How my brave and brilliant sister rocked Australia to its core’.
Gutsy Girls Podcast and Audio Interviews
ABC Conversations with Sarah Kanowski– ‘Two sisters, Dod and Brattle—the lesbian poet, and the evangelical Christian’. This major interview explores the divergent paths of the two sisters. Listen at: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/conversations/josie-mcskimming-dorothy-porter-childhood-sisterhood-family/105100850
Also available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KAphimoA6E
ABC Radio National Late Night Live with David Marr: ‘The wild and talented poet Dorothy Porter and re-thinking privacy. The tumultuous and celebrated life of poet Dorothy Porter.’ Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/latenightlive/poet-dorothy-porter-josie-mcskimming/104901614
Divorcing Religion Podcast: ‘Dr. Josie McSkimming Gutsy Girls.’ This episode discusses religious trauma, family dynamics and leaving evangelical Christianity. Listen at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFU5vCCe-dY
Also on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dr-josie-mcskimming-gutsy-girls/id1645878058?i=1000701899119
I Was a Teenage Fundamentalist Podcast: Episode 121: ‘Gutsy Girls with Josie McSkimming.’ Hosts Brian and Troy discuss the memoir in depth. Watch at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19QQ9FkOz1I Also: target="_blank"https://podcasts.apple.com/no/podcast/121-gutsy-girls-with-josie-mcskimming/id1558606464?i=1000708667209
Social Work Spotlight – Episode 125: Josie. Available at: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/episode-125-josie/id1508305074?i=1000681169890
Don’t F*ck The Flock Podcast – ‘A Conversation with Dr. Josie McSkimming on Clergy Abuse and Recovery.’ This episode explores religious trauma and recovery. Available at: https://jaimesimpson.substack.com/podcast
Literary Festivals and Events
Words on the Waves Writers Festival 2025 (May 28 - June 1, 2025, Central Coast NSW) – McSkimming appeared on the "Trailblazers" panel. Event details: https://wordsonthewaves.com.au/2025-authors/josie-mcskimming/
The Women’s Club Sydney: ‘Gutsy Girls: Josie McSkimming in conversation with Bernadette Brennan’ (Thursday, May 8, 2025). Event page: https://www.thewomensclub.com.au/events/past-events/gutsy-girls-8may25-public
Kill Your Darlings Debut Spotlight:‘5 Questions with Josie McSkimming.’ This interview discusses McSkimming’s journey to publication and the challenges of writing about living people. Read at: https://www.killyourdarlings.com.au/article/debut-spotlight-5-questions-with-josie-mcskimming/
Josie McSkimming is a social worker, psychotherapist, university lecturer and author. She is the youngest of three sisters, her eldest being the award-winning poet, Dorothy Porter. Josie has appeared on many podcasts, radio programs, and on ABC TV. She is committed to social change and social justice and has become an ardent amateur naturalist and environmentalist. Josie lives in Sydney.
To find out more about Josie McSkimming, visit: https://www.gutsygirls.com.au/