The Mouth That Roared
Les Twentyman & Robert Hillman
Award-winning writer, Robert Hillman, has collaborated with one of Australia’s best-known youth outreach workers and social campaigners, to bring his story to the public in that wonderful storytelling style that Robert and Les share.
Raised in Braybrook in Melbourne’s Western suburbs, Les has devoted his life to young people doing it tough both in Melbourne’s west and more recently in western Sydney, setting up crucial programs, services and resources to assist youth at risk. His is a success story on many fronts: attracting a dedicated and passionate team who work directly with the young people to bring about individual change; and building a huge public profile to support his work. His personal contact list would be the envy of prime ministers: from politicians to prominent business people to police command to sports champions and CEOs of major sporting codes, to the governor general.
He is renowned for his knowledge and passionate advocacy for those forgotten and hidden from view who are victims of youth homelessness, drug abuse, and all the consequent problems that ensue; focusing on both the micro and macro levels of reforms as the only way to make permanent change.
He is the first stop for Victorian and national media outlets for the word on ‘how it really is’. He has featured in hundreds of TV, radio and print press interviews and has been a regular newspaper columnist and article contributor. He also features in a number of documentaries, most notably The Ohio Gun Buyback Scheme, LA Gangs, Can We Help, 20 Minutes with Twentyman and Heroin Without the Hype.
Les has consistently shone a light on emerging youth issues like gang violence, weapons carriage, cyber bullying and the growing trend of truancy in our education system. The hard-hitting DVD The Realities of Cyber Bullying and Knives Trash Lives are testament to Les’ ‘pull no punches’ approach to the damage caused to youth through peer pressure and social media. He is often called on to visit volatile regional areas of Australia in a bid to bring about harmony and cooperation where gangs and youth violence is a problem. He has also accompanied the Governor General, state government officials and prominent leaders from the private and public sectors to the ‘dark streets’ of Australia they never thought existed.
In addition to his tireless work with disadvantaged youth and media commentary, Les is a well-credentialed public speaker. His speaking engagements include schools, community groups, service clubs, corporate, Government Departments and business conferences. He has also been engaged by AFL and NRL teams to address young players on the pitfalls of ‘celebrity’. A testament to Les’s reach was being asked to introduce his Holiness, The Dalai Lama, at his Melbourne conference in June 2013.
In this memoir, Robert goes behind the public knowledge to find out what makes Les tick, where he came from, who and what made him Australia’s number one advocate for our most vulnerable young people. And what of his private life, if he has one at all? Take a journey with one of Australia’s living treasures to the ugliest side of life and to the best.
Take a look at Bill Shorten’s speech for the launch of The Mouth That Roared here
Cover 📷 Louise Chen Photography | Website
-
2017 | 9780987381361 | 256 pages | Paperback | 234 x 154 mm
-
memoir, youth outreach worker, social campaigner, advocate, living treasure
-
-
Praise for The Mouth That Roared
‘The Mouth that Roared grabs you by the collar and takes you places you wouldn’t normally willingly go and leaves you grateful for the experience. Above all, it is Les Twentyman’s old-style, no-bullshit storytelling and his distinctive voice that animates this story of his life growing up in a working class family in the western suburbs of Melbourne and his outreach work helping young addicts and strugglers to find meaning and hope. Crucial to his work is his ability to see the world through the eyes of the marginalised.’
— Fiona Capp, The Sydney Morning Herald
‘Les Twentyman is a legend, a true guardian angel in the wilds of western suburbia where so many are forgotten or maligned. Filled with his characteristic humour, wit and knack for telling a good tale, this is a book that should be read by policymakers, politicians and opinion columnists. They might learn something from the Braybrook boy who didn’t finish high school, but who truly understands the heart and humanity behind our most vulnerable and voiceless.’
— Alice Pung, author
‘Les is a front-line urban lifesaver, rescuing the drowning from their addictions. If you want to know the truth about Australia, and whats gone wrong, The Mouth that Roared is a compelling read.’
— Chris Smith, 2GB
“This is a good read for people with compassionate souls.”
— Christine Flood, Warcry
‘Les Twentyman is one of Australia’s great storytellers. This book is funny, honest and inspirational; it teaches us about character, leadership and community – the essence of Les’s life.’
— Paul Kennedy, ABC journalist
‘I learnt a lot more about the man I believe is Australia’s most famous and hardest working social worker. Les shares a lot of values that I do, we can’t ignore the youth problem that we have had for years but there are ways to go about helping these youths rather than just locking them up in the first instance. Well done Les on a great book, every Australian should purchase a copy and read this truly inspirational book if they get the chance, after all there are a lot of social workers in Australia but there is only one Les Twentyman!’
— Brad Crawford, State Manager of AirAsia
In this memoir, Robert Hillman goes behind the public knowledge to find out what makes Les tick, where he came from, who and what made him Australia's number one advocate for our most vulnerable young people. And what of his private life, if he has one at all? Take a journey with one of Australia's living treasures to the ugliest side of life and to the best.
“...by the time you finish reading this book, if you don’t respect him even more from the start to the end of it, you probably heaven’t read the book carefully. ”
Leslie Twentyman is a prominent youth outreach worker and community activist in the western suburbs of Melbourne. Raised in Braybrook, he is one of Victoria's best-known social campaigners on issues ranging from homelessness, drug abuse, prison reform and social welfare. Read more
Robert Hillman is a Melbourne-based writer of over 60 works of fiction and non-fiction. His autobiography, The Boy in the Green Suit, won the Australian National Biography Award for 2005. Read more