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coffeeneur's review
fast-paced
4.5
Straightforward vignettes of the writer's life and struggles as an Aboriginal woman who is part of the Stolen Generation and grew up in an adopted family before reconnecting with her birth family. This is a story of horror, resilience, and ultimately hope. I like the inclusion of poetry along with prose. The combination of poetry and prose worked for me, gave me distinct perspectives of Ali Cobby Eckerman's experience. Once I started this book, I couldn't put it down. As another reviewer wrote,this book illustrates the human toll and destruction of terrible government policies.
thuglibrarian's review against another edition
2.0
Very sparse memoir of growing up as an Aboriginal girl in Australia.There was an ugly movement to remove these children from their parents..in the hopes that they would become more civilized. Each chapter ends with poetry. Perhaps it's the translation, as I didnt/couldn't viscerally connect with what truly is a horrific period of racism.
I read an advance copy and was not compensated.
I read an advance copy and was not compensated.
jolynne's review
3.0
A brave, beautiful and heartbreaking story of forced assimilation told through journal style writing and poetry.
jaynecm's review against another edition
4.0
This is a raw, haunting memoir by an Aboriginal woman who as a baby was taken from her mother as part of The Stolen Generation. It is written in a combination of poetry and prose.
It is a brave undertaking as the author exposes all her demons as she shows how she came back to her family and to country, despite all that happened to her as a child and young adult.
The poetry in particular is so raw and brutal.
"I have learnt many things from alcoholics and addicts more messed up than me. Sometimes it is amazing who you can learn from. Sometimes it is strange where you feel safe."
This is a memoir that really brings home the human cost of government policies of the time, that assumed that Aboriginal families were not suitable to raise their own children and thus forcibly removed them from their homes.
It is a brave undertaking as the author exposes all her demons as she shows how she came back to her family and to country, despite all that happened to her as a child and young adult.
The poetry in particular is so raw and brutal.
"I have learnt many things from alcoholics and addicts more messed up than me. Sometimes it is amazing who you can learn from. Sometimes it is strange where you feel safe."
This is a memoir that really brings home the human cost of government policies of the time, that assumed that Aboriginal families were not suitable to raise their own children and thus forcibly removed them from their homes.
amymorgan's review against another edition
3.0
Thank you Edelweiss for my review copy of this book.
I'm not quite sure what to think about this story. A memoir of a woman who was an Aboriginal recounts her life with both her adopted family and later in life her Aboriginal family as she is reunited with them.
The author suffered many tragedies during her childhood and as an adult. This story is about finding her way back from the dark places she often found herself in and finding new joys in life by learning from and connecting with the family she was taken from as a child.
I think that parts of this were too scattered and confusing so a lot of it did not make sense to me. And I just could not connect with the poetry at the end of most of the chapters. All in all the story had an interesting premise I think I was just expecting more background and information on the kidnapping of the Aboriginal children from reading the synopsis of the book but overall still a very interesting story.
I'm not quite sure what to think about this story. A memoir of a woman who was an Aboriginal recounts her life with both her adopted family and later in life her Aboriginal family as she is reunited with them.
The author suffered many tragedies during her childhood and as an adult. This story is about finding her way back from the dark places she often found herself in and finding new joys in life by learning from and connecting with the family she was taken from as a child.
I think that parts of this were too scattered and confusing so a lot of it did not make sense to me. And I just could not connect with the poetry at the end of most of the chapters. All in all the story had an interesting premise I think I was just expecting more background and information on the kidnapping of the Aboriginal children from reading the synopsis of the book but overall still a very interesting story.
lily_k8y's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
3.5
Read as part of a reading challenge, and no regrets picking up this one. I don’t normally enjoy memoirs or poetry, but this one was a fast paced read. There is likely much more to her story than is in this book, but it tells the snippet of life that she and many others had as part of the “stolen generation”.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Racism, Rape, and Toxic relationship
avadore's review
5.0
A fantastic and heart wrenching memoir in poetry and prose. Read to gain some perspectives on the trauma of the Stolen Generation, and how much work needs to be done to heal the fissures we've inherited and caused. Decolonisation is more than an academic word, its a process we're all accountable for on stolen land.