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tildahlia's review against another edition
4.0
Even more respect for Veronica Gorrie after reading this book. Her strength and resilience in the face of violence (colonial and interpersonal) is one thing, but the way she holds so much love for her family and community is on a whole other level. I was expecting to be drawn to her experiences of policing but found her relationship with her parents, particularly the fraught one with her mother, to be the most interesting - explored with so much sensitivity without side-stepping the truth of it all.
sopsyjo's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Domestic abuse
carlytenille's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Classism, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Car accident, Death, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Racism, Violence, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Mental illness, Drug abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Physical abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death of parent, Police brutality, and Racial slurs
ayami's review against another edition
2.0
What a missed opportunity!
Veronica Gorrie has an important and poignant story to tell – she grew up in a largely dysfunctional family and later in life she became one of the few female Aboriginal police officers in Australia. Throughout her life she dealt with a horrifying amount of trauma, later amplified by the racist treatment she experienced while working in the force.
However, Gorrie's editor has failed her. The book I've read feels largely like a first draft, not a finished product. The style of writing itself is fine, though definitely more conversational than polished. However, the structure of the book is all over the place – multiple anecdotes that are introduced have no extra bearing on the narrative. The narrator jumps back and forth in time without clearly marking this for the reader. Important storytelling arcs are dropped half-way through never to be picked up again. I could go on and on. The result is a disjointed collection of difficult-to-follow anecdotes.
A skilled editor would have been able to rearrange the order of the book – maybe make the author's time in the police force the main skeleton of the story and then introduce flashbacks to her personal experiences from her childhood as a commentary? A good editor would also help Gorrie flesh out the main themes of her story, instead of dropping it all together and mixing haphazardly.
It hurts to rate it so low, because I can absolutely see what a gem of a book it could have been with some extra work. However, in the current version, I cannot recommend it to other readers.
Veronica Gorrie has an important and poignant story to tell – she grew up in a largely dysfunctional family and later in life she became one of the few female Aboriginal police officers in Australia. Throughout her life she dealt with a horrifying amount of trauma, later amplified by the racist treatment she experienced while working in the force.
However, Gorrie's editor has failed her. The book I've read feels largely like a first draft, not a finished product. The style of writing itself is fine, though definitely more conversational than polished. However, the structure of the book is all over the place – multiple anecdotes that are introduced have no extra bearing on the narrative. The narrator jumps back and forth in time without clearly marking this for the reader. Important storytelling arcs are dropped half-way through never to be picked up again. I could go on and on. The result is a disjointed collection of difficult-to-follow anecdotes.
A skilled editor would have been able to rearrange the order of the book – maybe make the author's time in the police force the main skeleton of the story and then introduce flashbacks to her personal experiences from her childhood as a commentary? A good editor would also help Gorrie flesh out the main themes of her story, instead of dropping it all together and mixing haphazardly.
It hurts to rate it so low, because I can absolutely see what a gem of a book it could have been with some extra work. However, in the current version, I cannot recommend it to other readers.
lexl's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.0
About aboriginal culture, experiences and policing- describes just some of the awful inequalities. A really important book
gbatts's review against another edition
5.0
Putting this out into the universe: I need a Veronica Gorrie podcast in my life.
olijordan's review
emotional
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
5.0
Every Australian needs to hear this story.
lillihayes's review against another edition
5.0
I mean, if you didn’t think we should defund the police before reading this, I challenge you not to after. Whilst I wanted my review to solely read: ACAB - that wouldn’t do justice to Gorrie’s story. She is so gracious in letting us into her life, her family and the generations of horrors they’ve experienced at the hands of white people and police since invasion. I hate it when people refer to survivors of trauma as strong but Gorrie seems… really fucking strong?