By the author of the acclaimed and best-selling military memoir Two Ranks on the Road: 35 Years of Australian Special Forces Service (2024), Hail Mary, the Creek's Up: From the Banks of the Castlereagh to the SAS, is a powerful prequel memoir of resilience, mischief, and transformation set against the backdrop of rural Australia which focuses on the early years of this true Australian original.Growing up in the tiny New South Wales town of Binnaway, on the banks of the Castlereagh River, Michael John Malone was the knockabout tearaway forever in trouble. Yet beneath the scrapes and small-town adventures lay the steadying influence of five remarkable women whose love and strength shaped his character. From bush childhood freedom to the discipline of boarding school, this is the story of how a restless boy became a man of purpose.

Written in advance of Two Ranks on the Road, Hail Mary, the Creek's Up is a prelude to the well-known story of Mick Malone's long career with the Australian Special Air Service Regiment. Before he became a respected soldier and leader of men, Mick Malone was an inquisitive, active child with a knack for finding trouble. His hard-scrabble, resilient childhood was one of simplicity borne of the time and place, as a third-generation Australian of strong Irish stock. Hail Mary, the Creek's Up begins with an account of the Malones of Limerick who were forced to leave Ireland on account of "the Blight"-the Irish Potato Famine-and tried their luck in Australia growing tobacco, raising cattle, and searching for gold. Amidst all of this, the Malones maintained a sense of humour and strong loyalty to Ireland, traits carefully passed on from generation to generation. As Mick grew and learned at the knee of his idolised father, Ned-a gun shearer, war veteran, and pillar of the community-he pieced together his perspective on the world. Most important, as the family moved towns and schools, was the enveloping presence of the women in his life (especially his beloved mother, Joyce Malone), stretching back three generations, who were fundamental to Mick's security and sense of self. The book takes us away to the challenges of a far-off boarding school, St. Stanislaus' College for Boys, where Mick learned to harden himself and understand the nature of discipline: two assets that would mean his later service in the Australian Army was easier to manage. Two Ranks on the Road begins with the account of an aimless teen yearning for a place to invest his spirit: Hail Mary, the Creek's Up outlines all of the different ways that spirit was developed.