I Didn’t Do It My Way Either

About the Book

REVISED 2023 EDITION

I DIDN'T DO IT MY WAY EITHER

To understand this extraordinary coming-of-age story, the reader is taken on a surprising journey into the making of modern Chile—a country that deserves to be far better known beyond its borders. The White Selective Immigration Law of 1845 transformed the nation through successive waves of European settlers, while remarkable, eccentric and sometimes controversial men and women helped shape its identity. Against this backdrop, a curious boy with Celtic roots grows up in the bustling port city of Valparaíso, determined to uncover the truth and dispense justice—even when it means interrogating a bewildered uncle dressed as Santa Claus or punishing another for shooting his own cat with blanks.

As a largely benign society gradually darkens, his larger-than-life father leaves the Navy under bizarre circumstances to become a beloved radio personality, champion of the poor and serial dreamer. Colourful relatives, storytellers, gay friends beyond criticism, earthquakes, wrestling spectacles, impossible business ventures and repeated brushes with death fill his extraordinary childhood. Yet beneath the absurdity lies a restless search to understand people, history, God and the mystery of Infinity. Through it all, a refined Spanish grandfather quietly shapes the boy's character.

Years later, after becoming Chile's youngest published cartoonist, political turmoil shatters his dreams. Love, poverty, an unexpected pregnancy and a desperate gamble lead him, his young wife and baby to Australia under the Assisted Passage scheme.

Opening amid the turmoil of Chile's 1973 coup and ending with a dying father's extraordinary final gift, this candid, ironic and deeply human memoir spans three continents and half a century. Rich in humour, resilience, loss and unforgettable characters, it is ultimately a story about family, migration, reinvention—and about how the tides of history shape every life.

About the Author

Fernando Felgueras was born in Valparaíso, Chile, on December 24, 1947. The son of a well-known radio announcer, at age 16, he became a professional cartoonist. 

In Los Angeles, USA, he was a newscaster and reporter at KSCI TV and a TV producer and presenter on Australia’s SBS TV network and Sydney’s TVS. In the early 1980s, he set out from Sydney on a solo overland filming expedition across the USA and Central and South America. He screened some of his experiences on his SBS TV show Latin America in Vogue.

At 36, he became an independent radio producer and announcer at several stations and visited various countries on four continents. His hibernated love for writing emerged later. He has written four screenplays and produced, written, and directed the short films The Third Corpse and Fair Dinkum. He graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Sydney, majoring in English. Fernando has called Australia home since October 1969. This is his first book.