thuglibrarian's review
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 against another edition
3.0
A brave, beautiful and heartbreaking story of forced assimilation told through journal style writing and poetry.
jaynecm's review
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
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
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: Rape, Toxic relationship, Racism, Drug abuse, and Addiction
avadore's review against another edition
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.
featherbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Too Afraid to Cry by Ali Cobby Eckermann is a memoir from an Aboriginal woman in Australia as she battles drugs and alcohol, reunites with her own and her extended kin family after growing up with white farmers as part of the Stolen Generation of adoptees. She finds her creative side in art and writing and works in various jobs, including an art centre as she realizes her creative gifts. The blunt prose tell a captivating story in chapters alternating with verse,and highlight her deep attachment to the natural world and ancestral relationships as she learns their indigenous ways. It was completely absorbing.
dilema's review against another edition
2.0
Ugh. I really hate to be giving this a low rating. But I was really disappointed by this, honestly. The writing is completely unemotional --Ali simply tells all the events that happened in chronological order. Very rarely did she offer an opinion or some larger context. Very rarely did she mention her emotions--and with a title like that, I needed the emotions.
And, I am trying to think about this carefully because I don't want to be a white person exoticising another culture, but I really wanted to know more about the Aboriginal people. I wanted to hear about how it was to find her family and what culture she was learning from them, what was different, what made it special, etcetera. It was really disappointing that I got simply the overlying plot arc.
Aaaand This shocking piece was just glossed over.
The poetry was the strongest point.
And, I am trying to think about this carefully because I don't want to be a white person exoticising another culture, but I really wanted to know more about the Aboriginal people. I wanted to hear about how it was to find her family and what culture she was learning from them, what was different, what made it special, etcetera. It was really disappointing that I got simply the overlying plot arc.
Aaaand
Spoiler
at the end it turns out that her family hadn't put her up for adoption, which is completely glossed over. Was she angry? Did she ask questions? Did she look to find out more? Am I missing some greater context, having lived in the States for ten years?The poetry was the strongest point.
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