AUSTRALIAN BOOK REVIEW • March 2000

The Divine Mistake by Theresa Byrnes

Reviewed by Nita Kambouris

The Divine Mistake is a vibrant, insightful, fast-paced autobiography by a talented artist, diagnosed with a fatal degenerative disease, Freidrichs Ataxia, (FA) at seventeen. Theresa Byrnes’ high-speed saga of her wild life takes us from the northern beaches where she grew up, to Morocco, South America, New York, Northern Territory Arnhem Land and the Newtown grunge scene in Sydney. Unstoppable, in the thirteen years since her diagnosis, Byrnes exhibited at over twenty solo and group art shows, raised over-$200,000 for medical research to cure FA and was Young Australian of the Year and Australian Ambassador for Young People. The DivineMistake is a powerful account of her deteriorating health and her increasing determination to live life fully. At the core of her life story is the recognition of a profound contradiction, the Divine Mistake, that tragedy can be both a destructive and creative force. Lucid, fresh and disarmiig, Byrnes shares her experiences with a rare openness and energy, defiantly transforming tragedy into love, art and insight. Crystalising her challenge to the idea that disease is imperfection, a seductive photo of Byrnes lying naked on one of her paintings adorns the cover of her book. Inside, more wonderful photos of Byrnes, her family, friends and her extraordinary paintings complete an engaging read.