Lauren Roche
New Zealand writer and general practitioner
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lauren Kim Roche (born 5 November 1961[citation needed]) is a New Zealand author and general practitioner.
Lauren Kim Roche | |
|---|---|
| Born | 5 November 1961 |
| Occupations | General practitioner, writer, speaker |
| Writing career | |
| Genres | Autobiography, Non-fiction |
| Notable work | Bent Not Broken |
| Website | laurenkimroche |
Early life and education
Roche was born in Miramar, New Zealand[citation needed], a suburb of Wellington. Leaving school at aged 15, Roche did various jobs from sex work and baking to cleaning at Wellington Hospital.[1]
In 1991, she obtained her medical degree[2] from the University of Otago.[1]
Career
Roche worked as a general practitioner and in hospices across the North Island, including Napier, Palmerston North, Auckland and Whangārei.[1]
Published in 1999, her autobiography, Bent Not Broken, was number 4 spot on New Zealand's Bestseller List. Bent Not Broken is available in six countries and five languages and has been adapted into a stage play.[3] Life on the Line, a sequel to Bent Not Broken, was published in 2001.
In 2009, Bent Not Broken was released as an audiobook by Expanded Technologies Incorporated.[citation needed]
The autobiographies chronicle Roche's life experiences which include: child sex abuse, rape, travel from New Zealand to United States as a ship stowaway, 1970's music groupie, prostitution, homosexuality, depression, suicide, bankruptcy, drug abuse, alcoholism, med school, author, radio personality, medical doctor, and special needs children.[citation needed]
In the late 1990s, Dr. Roche and Sharon Raynor hosted the weekly one-hour radio talk show, Doctor, Doctor. The show fielded a wide span of questions from the listeners encompassing topics such as medical issues, sexual orientation, depression, and discrimination.[citation needed]
Roche retired from practising medicine in 2019.[2] She subsequently achieved a Diploma in Advanced Applied Writing through NorthTec, then a Masters in Creative Writing - 1st Class Hons - from Auckland University of Technology in 2021.[4]
Roche released her debut novel Mila and the Bone Man - published by Quentin Wilson Publishing - in September 2022.[citation needed]
Publications
Autobiography
- 1999. Bent Not Broken (Autobiography 1). New Zealand ISBN 1-877228-33-8
- 2001. Life on the Line (Autobiography 2). New Zealand ISBN 1-877228-40-0
- 2011. Bent Not Broken (Autobiography 3). Kindle USA ISBN 978-0-9824167-0-9
- 2022. Mila and the Bone Man (Fiction 1). New Zealand ISBN 978-0-9951438-9-0
Autobiography audio book
Articles
Novels
- 2022. Mila and the Bone Man