A truly honest story. Well written and each of the people has a depth of humanity and so much is laid bare. I read this some time ago but Sally and her family have stayed with me to this day.

Before reading this book, I knew very little about Aborigines in Australia. I don't know that I learned a ton about the culture and history of this people, but I did learn a bit about the way some have tried to adapt or blend in to the dominant white culture. Sally's exploration of her family's story and roots was moving, at times frustrating and very poignant. As someone who is used to Hollywood endings, I really wanted a clean ending with everything clearly resolved. But like most lives, that wasn't what I got. However, it was fascinating to read. It speaks to anyone who has tried to research their family despite stubborn family elders. And it speaks to how an individual defines themselves ethnically and culturally.

It was quite the week to be reading this book Black and white were in great conflict in USA and I was reading about blackfella and whitefella in Australia. The aboriginal were called blackfella and treated like slaves. They had no rights even taking mixed children away from their aboriginal mothers as they weren't deemed fit to raise the child [often from rape of Station Owner]. It was written from the perspective of a memoir of a modern day woman artist who just realized she might have aboriginal roots and was trying to find out about them. Her mother and grandmother wouldn't help and were very much against her beginning to write this book. I good read to shake me up about the continuing consequences of colonialism and the prejudice of anyone who isn't us.

This is one of the greatest novels I have read so far. A lot of themes are tackled, primarily those of identity and tolerance, but the book reaches far more than this. An autobiography, the story recounts the author's discovery of her aboriginal origins and everything it entails. Despite the novel's light tone, the story is at times deeply moving and definitely challenges the reader to ponder upon the issues raised in the novel.

Hätte Sally Morgan all die anstrengenden und vor allem überflüssigen Seiten über ihre Schulzeit gestrichen, hätte mir das Buch viel besser gefallen. So war das erste Drittel einfach eine Qual, sodass ich schlussendlich zirka 50 Seiten davon übersprungen habe. Die Leben ihrer drei Verwandten (Urgroßonkel, Mutter und Großmutter) waren sehr aufschlussreich, was vor allem die gestohlenen Generationen angeht, aber auch hier fand ich vieles bloß mäßig interessant.
Am schlimmsten fand ich allerdings den Schreibstil, den jeder 10jährige kopieren könnte. Zwar ist das Buch auch an Jugendliche gerichtet, aber denen traue ich auch zu, dass sie hiervon unterfordert wären.
Insgesamt war es für mich zu viel Selbstdarstellung, was Sally Morgan angeht, und zu wenig Inhalt über ihre weit interessanteren Familienmitglieder.

I am so glad this book was picked for this month's book club. I knew nothing about the history of the way the Aborigines were treated in Australia. I found many comparisons to the way the Blacks and the Native Americans were treated in America. I would have preferred the book to have been separated into different books with her autobiography as one book and how she came to know of her roots and another book with her family members' biographies in another book. I am now curious to find out how the relations have changed.