Along with Lindsay Lewis - her friend and co-author of her biography ‘The Inconvenient Child’ - Ms Killens gave library visitors an abridged version of her eventful life, starting with the cold, harsh realities of her early years in a convent orphanage and several juvenile institutions, but ending with the ultimately heart-warming story of her recent reunification with her African-American father’s family.

‘The Inconvenient Child’ was first published last August by Miracle Publishing and tells the story of Sharyn’s life to date, starting with her birth in post-war Sydney.

Sharyn’s pretty blond mother, Grace, had fallen pregnant to a visiting African-American serviceman and with society pressures weighing heavily on her, chose to place Sharyn into foster care.

She was rescued from her first foster carers before she was two, but by five her mother had again abandoned her, this time in a convent orphanage.

Sharyn’s early life got much worse however. She was reunited with her mother again, but a tumultuous home life saw her as a teenage runaway in Sydney’s notorious red-light district, Kings Cross.

Sharyn eventually ended up in girls’ homes in Parramatta and Hay where she endured years of physical and mental mistreatment.

While Ms Killens did not shy away from these bleak experiences, she also revealed how she eventually got her life back on track and ultimately became a successful singer and travelled the world as a cruise ship entertainer.

With the help of family friends she also embarked on an eight year journey to discover the identity of her African-American father.

The book talk also included a musical surprise, with Ms Killens and Ms Lewis, who met when they were both entertainers, finishing the talk with a display of their vocal talents.

The co-authors also autographed copies of their book for many of the library guests.

Ms Killens and Ms Lewis also visited Dubbo, Orange, Parkes, Cowra and Bathurst as part of their book tour.

Ms Lewis, who grew up in Bathurst, said the book had received some fantastic feedback from readers.

“The readers testimonials that we have had have been so personal and fantastic,” she said.

“The book is really striking a chord with people.”