MORGAN, Sally (foreword) Various (text) Remembered by Heart Fremantle Press, 2014 172pp $17.99 pbk ISBN 9781922089779 SCIS 1659673
Imagine having to hide at a moments notice; running to a special hiding place your mum has set up with provisions in case ‘they’ have come to get you. Your heart beating in your chest, adrenaline coursing through your veins until ‘they’ have gone and your mum comes to get you. This is one of the themes running through the collection of these moving stories of loss, fear and forgiveness, which include first-hand experiences of the Stolen Generation. In heart-breaking detail they discuss the fracture of family and culture and the impact this has had not only on the stolen generation but also for subsequent generations. The collection includes writers from various Aboriginal countries and comprises stories about the impact of government policies in the 1930s and the fear of authority this created in mothers, grandmothers and children. There are some amazing writers in this collection whose words will haunt and mesmerise you. This is a highly recommended read for young adults.
reviewed by Katie Poidomani