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4.47 AVERAGE
4.47 AVERAGE
Every Australian needs to go and pick up this book right now and if you're not Australian and want to educate yourself on Australia's history and the injustices that still take place in our country today against the original owners of this land, then read this book.
What happened in this country needs to be recognised and discussed and not swept under the rug. In 1788, British people invaded a land they already knew was inhabited and massacred thousands of people. Years later, they stole Indigenous children away from their families to assimilate them and make them 'white'. Today, statistics have shown that Indigenous Australians are subject to 'poor health, poor housing, poor education, the lowest life expectancy, highest infant mortality' and are more likely to commit suicide, etc. The list goes on. Why? We need to work together to change this and as a future teacher, I will do my very best in educating my students about what happened in our country from 60,000 years ago to now and make sure that every student has the same opportunities in my classroom.
What happened in this country needs to be recognised and discussed and not swept under the rug. In 1788, British people invaded a land they already knew was inhabited and massacred thousands of people. Years later, they stole Indigenous children away from their families to assimilate them and make them 'white'. Today, statistics have shown that Indigenous Australians are subject to 'poor health, poor housing, poor education, the lowest life expectancy, highest infant mortality' and are more likely to commit suicide, etc. The list goes on. Why? We need to work together to change this and as a future teacher, I will do my very best in educating my students about what happened in our country from 60,000 years ago to now and make sure that every student has the same opportunities in my classroom.
Reading this book felt like every time I've listened to Stan Grant talk, deeply thought, heartfelt and full of sorrow but also generosity. Always a glitter in his eye, and often I get the feeling of someone who is on the verge of tears.
This quote in the book from a WEH Stanner lecture really stuck with me:
Also this
This quote in the book from a WEH Stanner lecture really stuck with me:
What may have begun as a simple forgetting of other people's views turned under habit and over time into something of a cult of forgetfulness practised on a national scale. (p119)
Also this
...I always find myself drawn back to darkness. Sadness has always felt so much more familiar and so it is safer. We can live in its confines. We can laugh in its face. But it is preferable to happiness. Happiness feels like giving in, it feels like surrender. Happiness feels like the past is over and done and I am not yet ready for that. (p164)
It says on the front that this is a book every Australian should read, and I think I agree with that. Some of the most powerful things about this book: the way Grant explores the intersection of race & class in regional Australia, the way he weaves his family history into a wider history of colonisation, and the deftness with which he articulates the way indigenous bodies internalise racism and the way this manifests itself as mental illness. This last point was the most affecting for me.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Colonisation
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Deportation
Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Pandemic/Epidemic
This book should be read in high schools. I am going to ask my faculty to put it on the reading list. Stan Grant writes beautifully, warmly, calmly and with passion. He's never angry or pushy, he is considered, compassionate and credible.
This book is one step on the path to learning more about our country and its Indigenous people.
Stan Grant for PM.
This book is one step on the path to learning more about our country and its Indigenous people.
Stan Grant for PM.
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
The writing in this book was beautiful, and really evoked the feeling of someone sitting and telling you a story. Stan using his life and the lives of his ancestors to tell the story of indigenous Australians and the impacts of colonialism and racism was masterfully done. Absolutely loved this and will be rereading it soon.
I was really excited about reading this book, but it was such a disappointment. Maybe my expectation of his "story" and the events and people that shaped him led me to expect something other than what was presented. I kept reading, hoping that it would all come together, but no.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
I have a hard time rating books like this - gut-punching autobiographies that don't shy away from describing the tragedy and violence of racist colonial policies/governments/society and the impacts on Indigenous individuals, families, and communities. By now we should all know the history, because the Australian one is the same as that in Canada, the US, to a certain extent in New Zealand, and so many other places.
Elements that stood out to me: Grant spent about a dozen years out of Australia as a CNN reporter, and his reflections on that experience in the context of his identity as an Indigenous Australian were particularly interesting. I also liked that he included quite a bit of historical information in the book, woven together with his family's history and whakapapa. I didn't know who Grant was before I read this book, but now I am interested to know more about his current role/advocacy/profile in Australia.
Elements that stood out to me: Grant spent about a dozen years out of Australia as a CNN reporter, and his reflections on that experience in the context of his identity as an Indigenous Australian were particularly interesting. I also liked that he included quite a bit of historical information in the book, woven together with his family's history and whakapapa. I didn't know who Grant was before I read this book, but now I am interested to know more about his current role/advocacy/profile in Australia.