Scan barcode
cathrynlucy_reads's review
5.0
This is the first book I have read in a single sitting in a very long time. It’s a totally different story to my own earthquake story - all of ours are unique - but so much of this rings true due to the honesty from Chessie and her family. It’s surreal reading a book that takes you from your own city to the city you made home for uni, and then around the world. Someone else’s life, with echoes of your own. A truly captivating book under any circumstance, but something special for those of us from Canterbury and Kaikoura too.
rebekahf's review
5.0
Amazing. This will make you smile, squirm and cry. What an incredible debut. Really interesting format.
jacki_f's review
4.0
Chessie Henry is a young New Zealand writer who has penned this account of her family. It starts off with her parents' stories and gradually encompasses the five children as well. This is not a remarkable family. No one dies, no one saves the world, no one becomes famous. However their story does wind around the recent earthquakes in Christchurch and Kaikoura and it is also about the stresses of being a rural doctor (which doesn't feel like a uniquely New Zealand issue). Moreover it is beautifully written, so you care about these people. You study the photos intently and wish you too could be part of this warm unit. This memoir won the best first book award in the NZ Ockham Book Awards and it fully deserved to do so.
korine's review
5.0
I just returned back to the US from my first visit to New Zealand, a three week tour of the South Island with a group of students. I wanted to pick up a book by a local author, and We Can Make a Life caught my eye because I enjoy memoirs and I wanted to learn more about both of the South Island's most recent devastating earthquakes. The first part of the book about the author's family and their adventures was quite interesting. Embedded in the memoir are perceptions of Down's syndrome in two different cultures in which the family lived and the sustainability of future rural healthcare with a shortage of physicians who can be afflicted with mental health issues from overworking.
But the recounting of both the 2011 Christchurch quake and the 2016 Kaikōura quake was truly riveting. I'm glad I had visited before reading the book because I recognized many of the place names, but I can see it still being accessible and interesting to those unfamiliar with the country. I witnessed ongoing construction in Christchurch's downtown even 7 years after the quake, and now I understand why the rebuild took so long. And after learning about the Kaikōura quake, I'm amazed that the road along the coast and tourist facilities are open just two years after. It's worth visiting to observe resiliency.
As I read, I continued to be surprised that this is the author's first book. Other than minor editorial mistakes that should've been caught by the editor or proofreader, the book is very well-written and engaging. Henry writes with maturity, as well as a rawness and emotional honesty, which are critical qualities given the topics in the book. She's concerned that she'll regret her "emotional, unedited writing," but that's what makes her story feel REAL. She effectively, but not excessively, uses descriptive language that places the reader right where her mind is - "It was as though the ground had been picked up at the corners and billowed out like a duvet, new folds in place where it came to rest at our feet." I'll definitely keep an eye out for her next book.
But the recounting of both the 2011 Christchurch quake and the 2016 Kaikōura quake was truly riveting. I'm glad I had visited before reading the book because I recognized many of the place names, but I can see it still being accessible and interesting to those unfamiliar with the country. I witnessed ongoing construction in Christchurch's downtown even 7 years after the quake, and now I understand why the rebuild took so long. And after learning about the Kaikōura quake, I'm amazed that the road along the coast and tourist facilities are open just two years after. It's worth visiting to observe resiliency.
As I read, I continued to be surprised that this is the author's first book. Other than minor editorial mistakes that should've been caught by the editor or proofreader, the book is very well-written and engaging. Henry writes with maturity, as well as a rawness and emotional honesty, which are critical qualities given the topics in the book. She's concerned that she'll regret her "emotional, unedited writing," but that's what makes her story feel REAL. She effectively, but not excessively, uses descriptive language that places the reader right where her mind is - "It was as though the ground had been picked up at the corners and billowed out like a duvet, new folds in place where it came to rest at our feet." I'll definitely keep an eye out for her next book.
charlottemccoll's review
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0