In his 2022 memoir, Childhood, Dr Shannon Burns describes the considerable disruption he experienced as a small child - from going into respite care with a church group, to being in foster care with a couple who thought starving their dog was a good thing, to being in kinship care with his extended Greek Australian family, to finally staying with his father and stepmother from the age of 10.

Along the way, Shannon discovered a welcome escape through reading, and a talent with writing.