JUNE: Autobiography/Biography

In June we returned to one of our favourite topics, Autobiography/Biography.

SHEILA: 
Storyteller by Zoe Daniel
Zoe Daniel is the ABC’s South-East Asia correspondent, based in Bangkok with her husband and young family. She reports on nine countries across Southeast Asia filing copy and stories for TV, radio, online and social media. She was the Africa correspondent from 2005 until 2007 and spent 2009 covering the Khmer Rouge war crimes trials from Phnom Penh in Cambodia. Zoe’s frank and brave memoir, Storyteller, deals with the effects of her work (with its stresses and its constant travel) on her marriage, with the physical and psychological effects of a dangerous, confronting job, and the difficulty of slipping back into her ‘regular’ life after witnessing deeply disturbing events.
Sheila described it as very worthwhile reading as you see the background to many of the reports we see on the nightly news.

PAT: 
Ugly my Memoir by Robert Hoge
Robert was born with a massive tumor on his head, distorted facial features and twisted, useless legs. His mother didn't want him!
Pat found she couldn't read it as she didn't like the way it was written.

La Prisionierre by Malika Oufkir & Michele Fitoussi
Malika was born into a proud Berber family, the eldest daughter of the King of Morocco's closest aide. She was adopted by the king to be a companion to his little daughter, and at the royal court of Rabat, Malika grew up locked away in a golden cage, among the royal wives and concubines. But when Malika was eighteen, her father was arrested after an attempt to assassinate the king. He was  executed. Malika, her mother and her five younger brothers and sisters were seized and thrown into an isolated desert jail. For fifteen years, they had no contact with the outside world, and lived in increasingly barbaric and inhumane conditions but Malika showed incredible coping strategies.
Pat described it as an amazing story, partly because it all occurred during recent times.

BETH:
 The Map that Changed the World by Simon Winchester
A lovely book about William Smith, the first geologist to map England and Wales.

Sex, Drugs and Meditation  by Mary-Lou Stephens
Her life was in a mess and so she went on a 10 day silent meditation in Queensland. The only contact she had was 1 hour each day with her counsellor.

David Suzuki by David T Suzuki
He organises his story according to the places in the world he's had a relationship with. Beth found this a bit disjointed but did get used to it.

Dalai Lama: Man, Monk, Mystic by Mayank Chhaya
Beth thought it told more about Tibet than his life, but he is the voice of Tibet.

 How I Rescued My Brain by David Roland
This book tells you how to retrain your brain through meditation and mindfulness.

BEV:
Planet Elephant by Tammie Matson
After a gap year holiday in Zimbabwe, the author dedicates her life to solving the human-elephant conflict around the world. As well as her research she must also juggle the demands of motherhood and that of being a noted conservationist. A very worthwhile read.

CONNIE:
In the Midst of Life by Jennie Worth
The book begins with her memoirs of working in a hospice for cancer patients where the outcomes are always sad. She later gave up nursing to study music and teach piano and singing.
Just before the book was published she was diagnosed with oesophagous cancer and wrote that she had no fears, worries or regrets about what was to come.
Connie enjoyed reading the book but felt she needed some frivolity afterwards!

JO:
Helen Keller by Emma Carlson Berne
When she was only very young, Helen Keller suffered from scarlet fever which left her blind, deaf and mute. Jo described it as a beautiful story with lovely pictures.

Judy: A Dog in a Million by Damien Lewis
Judy was the mascot on a Royal Navy ship in World War 11. After many acts of bravery and kindness, she found herself in a Japanese POW camp still trying to keep up the spirits of the other prisoners. A heartwarming story.

ANNE:
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer who died at 31. But her cells—taken without her knowledge in 1951—became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, in vitro fertilization, and more. Henrietta’s cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet she remains virtually unknown, and her family can’t afford health insurance.
Her story is one of the many examples of unethical behaviour by the medical profession.

JOAN:
Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self by Claire Tomalin
Samuel Pepys was born in London in 1633 and died in 1703. During his life he was a Naval Administrator as well as a member of Parliament. But for 10 years, between 1660 and 1669 he wrote his diaries, a very detailed account of life in those times. Events that occurred during this Restoration period included the Great Fire of London and The Plague.
Joan described the book as a very interesting and thoroughly enjoyable read.

DIANN:
H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald
Helen Macdonald is an English naturalist, writer and academic and following the death of her father channelled her grief into training a falcon called Mabel. Diann found the book difficult to read, with the author's work coming through the book but not an inviting read. She described it as 'lush with words', and needing a dictionary as it read more like a nature book.

JUDY J:
The Ballad of Les Darcy by Peter FitzSimmons
Peter FitzSimmons writes mainly about Australian history, retelling stories he wishes were more widely known. Les Darcy was born in 1895 in Maitland, the 2nd eldest of 12 children, his parents being poor Irish immigrants. He is best known for his brief and stellar boxing career, but this was cut short when WW1 begun. Darcy was vilified by some for not enlisting in the war and denied a passport to go to the USA to fight for the official world title. Feeling he had no other way out, he stowed away on a ship to New York.
Like many who did go to war he also did not get the chance to reach his full potential.

KRIS:
Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
Azar Nafisi is now a US citizen but this memoir tells of her time living in Iran during the Revolution 1978-81. Every week she would meet (in secret) with 7 of her students to read and discuss banned Western classics. Through these books they shared their own stories and hopes for a different future.
Kris commented on how lucky we are to have the freedom to read and think as we like.

WENDY:
 Through the Wall: Reflections on Leadership, Love and Survival by Anna Bligh
Anna Bligh grew up in Queensland, the daughter of a single parent and rose to become premier of the state. She lived a varied life and selected amusing anecdotes to highlight this. Wendy described her as a great storyteller who writes with resilience and good humour. She didn't resort to gossip or backstabbing. It was a great book to read.

LAURA:
Bossyboots by Tina Fey
Tina Fey is a comedienne, but Laura didn't find the book funny at all. The stories she tells were not that interesting, although the author thinks they were. Maybe that's the problem.

TAM:
The Never, Um, Ending Story of Life, Countdown and Everything in Between by Molly Meldrum
Tam enjoyed reading the Molly Meldrum story and amazed at the number of famous people he seem to know. He was always late, very messy but everyone seem to love him, probably because he never took himself seriously. Although he didn't seem to have any musical talent himself, he could certainly pick it in others and was very influential in the development of the musical industry.

PRU:
Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama
This memoir first published in 1995 and recounts his life up until his enrollment in Harvard Law School.
He was born in Hawaii and had little to do with his father who soon after returned to Kenya. He later lived in Indonesia with his mother only later returning to Hawaii to continue his schooling, living with his grandmother. Through this book Obama is trying to find who he is despite of his race and because of the different cultures he has been brought up in and the people who have influenced him.
Pru described it as beautifully written, so easy to read and yet it makes you think.

JULIA:
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
Julia really enjoyed reading this part memoir and part guide book for those wanting to be a writer. It gave lots of good ideas and tips on becoming a writer with references to many of his books.
He always had been a Science Fiction fan and so he writes what he knows and loves.

NEXT MONTH: July  Family Sagas

Don't forget to join us for 'Christmas in July' lunch at the Ever Green Cafe following our Book Club discussions. All welcome!