Goodbye Kit is the imagined autobiography of Michael Kickham (1861 – 1909), an Irish missionary who met conflict, questioned his faith and went into self-imposed exile to avoid the family shame of leaving the priesthood. He is tested in a bitter clash with his bishop who censures him for his expressed Irish nationalist views. This, together with the unsatisfactory position of Irish secular priests in a diocese run by the Marist Order, leads to his decision to leave New Zealand to join the Jesuit order in Melbourne, Australia. However he left the Jesuits after a short time and his efforts to get permission from his Bishop in New Zealand to remain in Australia sparks two years of letters filled with defiance. Eventually, with the support of the Cardinal in Sydney, he gets the required permission and spends ten years in Australia. In 1899, tormented by a crisis of faith, he returned to Ireland. Two years later he disappeared. In order to find peace he had to leave the priesthood, but couldn't impose the inevitable shame which would attach to the family of a son who left the priesthood. Several years later he was found to be in Buenos Aires, now a teacher, his priesthood but a pale memory. He died there in 1909 Richly human, deeply atmospheric, and based on extensive research, Goodbye Kit explores faith, identity, rebellion, and the cost of choosing one’s own path. A story of courage & conflict, of a man who crossed the world to find — or lose — himself.