Brian Butler is of Arrernte and Luritja descent, and grew up in Central Australia. For 65 years he has worked to enable Aboriginal children to thrive and to reunite families separated by Australia's historic removal policies. He was the first director of South Australia's Aboriginal Child Care Agency, and chaired the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care. He was South Australia's nominee for Senior Australian of the Year. He chaired the National Sorry Day Committee and the Stolen Generations Alliance. John Bond was the Secretary of the National Sorry Day Committee from 1998 until 2006, and was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for services to Australia through the work of the Sorry Day Committee. He is now Secretary of Initiatives of Change International, which works for healing and justice in 60 countries. He worked with Kim Beazley Sr, minister for education in the Whitlam government, to write his memoirs.

His last book was a biography of Professor Jerzy Zubrzycki, the 'father of Australian multiculturalism'.