A review by babsellen
My Place by Sally Morgan

5.0

I read this book twice and greatly enjoyed it both times. I read it the first time while traveling in Australia - before it made it to the States. Simply written, it is accessible to anyone from upper elementary school on up. The first half of the book is autobiographical, tracking its author as she peels the onion of her family's shrouded ethnic history. Morgan's sense of humor pervades this part. The second half follows the stories of several of her relatives who give their personal accounts of what it meant to be an Aboriginal in the early twentieth century. The parallels with the historic treatment of American Indians by whites are astounding, from the tearing apart of families and institutionalizing of half-breed children to the suffering of a disenfranchised native people that lingers today. A copy of this book will always remain on my shelf.