Tell No One: The son of a priest and a nun uncovers long-buried secrets

Brendan Watkins was eight years old when his parents told him he was adopted. When he was in his late twenties, he started searching for his birth parents and eventually discovered the identity of his birth mother: he was told she was a Catholic nun. She wanted nothing to do with him. For the next thirty years Brendan had no clues as to the identity of his birth father.

In 2018, a DNA test led him to the truth: he was the son of a priest. His father had studied in a Trappist monastery in Ireland, had returned to Australia and become a celebrated outback missionary.

After decades of searching, and obstruction from the Catholic church, the whole truth had finally been revealed. Brendan Watkins’ birth parents were a Catholic priest and a nun. Tell No Onereveals the moving story of that discovery, and explores the questions, anxieties and reflections arising from his hidden past.

Format: Paperback
Pages: 368
Imprint: Allen & Unwin
Publication date: 08/08/2023