Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Black and Blue: A Memoir of Racism and Resilience

This is a very tough book, occasionally leavened with humour. The predatory pedophilia she experiences and tells of others also suffering, is truly shocking. So is hearing about she and her siblings being on suicide watch for their alcoholic mother.

What a fractured family life! Her parents split up. She is forced to move many times. She and her siblings are split between their parents. And she is raped as a young teen.

Her family members experience alcoholism and its violent consequences. The story of her Aunty Dot’s brutal assault by her boyfriend is particularly shocking.

Stories of her sister’s repeated escapes from a violent partner are very sobering.

Then there is the kidnapping of her younger children by their father!

And she became a police officer in Queensland. She is proud to have achieved this and was a commended officer. Though she refers to frequent racist comments by her fellow officers- aimed at her specifically and “just casual” racism or aimed at others.

She primarily focuses on the challenges presented by her role - dealing with murders and suicides and mayhem from car accidents. Also the pressures of shift work. There is some sardonic humour., but repeatedly, racism - around her and at her.

The pressures of this work told on her personal relationships. “Policing fucked me up, big time,” she says late in the book as she talks of her post-retirement reflections on her ten-year career in the force.

Over all, the book is painful, brutal, and too real. This is a story of great resilience following great trauma.

A thought about resilience. It’s not necessarily a return to pre-injury full health. Nor is it a “happily ever after” sort of thing. What Gorrie’s memoir shows us is the strength she has whilst dealing with such trauma, trauma that reverberates daily.

She finally reflects at some depth about her mother’s explicit and directly targeted racism. How painful!

Yet, in the last six weeks of her mother’s life, her anger shifted and Gorrie obtains her own reconciliation with her.

As I read, I find myself thinking that I don’t know how she did it. And then, I do. “I may have had a dysfunctional life, but I was always loved and cared for by my father.”

Finally, she concludes with her thoughts on abolition of police forces, youth detention centres and prisons.

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slightfawn's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

4.5

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katiiekhaos's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

This is an incredibly important memoir for all white Australians to read and really reflect on. I am in total awe at the resilience, compassion, empathy and honesty Veronica showed through this memoir, although it may not come across as overtly emotional I can still see how she has chosen to share her heart with us while also protecting herself and others from being retraumatised. I felt like I was already fairly well educated on the issues within the Australian police, however seeing how bad it is even on the inside for First Nations people was even more disappointing and frustrating. And although Veronica talks about how it shouldn’t be on the shoulder of Aboriginal people to educate whites, this book definitely has the power to do that and for that I am so thankful for her selflessness in sharing her stories.

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demo's review

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challenging emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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stuffinmybrainhole's review

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4.0

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ell_double_u's review

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.75

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