'This is an important story that has long been neglected. We are familiar with stories of the stolen generation and the British child migrants, but there is a third group about whom very little has been written: their white Australian contemporaries who as a result of family breakdown, court orders or abandonment were institutionalised as children.
Kate Shayler (pseudonym) grew up a 'homes kid' in the fifties and sixties. Her memoir is more than just an account of her experience as an institutionalised white kid: it's a heartbreaking story of what happens to a child in the absence of emotional support and affection.
Far from being a litany of despair, Kate manages to weave into her journey of self-discovery a sense of community, camraderie, and humour of a childhood of sorts - a 'family' that she was forced to create for herself.
The Long Way Home: The Story of a Homes Kid will strike a chord with anyone who has ever suffered discrimination, insecurity or the pain of separation from family. It's a timely and profound reminder that every child deserves to be cherished and valued.' (Random House Books Australia)
A Tuesday Thing
Milsons Point
:
Random House
,
2004
Z1121645
2004
single work
autobiography
'In The Long Way Home, a secure and idyllic childhood is brought to an abrupt end when Kate's mother dies. Aged four, Kate is placed by her father into the Burnside Presbyterian Home for Children in Pennant Hills, Sydney, along with her two siblings. The young Kate quickly learns to live by the rules of the Home and endure loneliness, loss of self and betrayal.
A Tuesday Thing starts with a young adult Kate striving to be accepted as "normal" among her peers. Lacking the confidence, her dreams and expectations of "ever becoming a member of a real family" seem to evaporate. She starts an early childhood course at university but just as her teaching career brings her joy and new challenges, the dark secrets from her past resurface and Kate must face her demons - particularly the father who robbed her of a childhood but at the same time never stopped loving her...
But all is not doom and gloom as the story ends in triumph, leaving the reader in no doubt that Kate will use her new found strength and knowledge to make wise decisions when the really "big" questions arise.' (Random House Books Australia)
Contesting Childhood : Autobiography, Trauma, and Memory
New Brunswick
:
Rutgers University Press
,
2010
Z1836606
2010
single work
criticism
'The late 1990s and early 2000s witnessed a surge in the publication and popularity of autobiographical writings about childhood. Linking literary and cultural studies, Contesting Childhood draws on a varied selection of works from a diverse range of authors - from first-time to experienced writers. Kate Douglas explores Australian accounts of the Stolen Generation, contemporary American and British narratives of abuse, the bestselling memoirs of Andrea Ashworth, Augusten Burroughs, Robert Drewe, Mary Karr, Frank McCourt, Dave Pelzer, and Lorna Sage, among many others." "Drawing on trauma and memory studies and theories of authorship and readership, Contesting Childhood offers commentary on the triumphs, trials, and tribulations that have shaped this genre. Douglas examines the content of the narratives and the limits of their representations, as well as some of the ways in which autobiographies of youth have become politically important and influential. This study enables readers to discover how stories configure childhood within cultural memory and the public sphere.' (Publisher's blurb)
Contesting Childhood : Autobiography, Trauma, and Memory
New Brunswick
:
Rutgers University Press
,
2010
Z1836606
2010
single work
criticism
'The late 1990s and early 2000s witnessed a surge in the publication and popularity of autobiographical writings about childhood. Linking literary and cultural studies, Contesting Childhood draws on a varied selection of works from a diverse range of authors - from first-time to experienced writers. Kate Douglas explores Australian accounts of the Stolen Generation, contemporary American and British narratives of abuse, the bestselling memoirs of Andrea Ashworth, Augusten Burroughs, Robert Drewe, Mary Karr, Frank McCourt, Dave Pelzer, and Lorna Sage, among many others." "Drawing on trauma and memory studies and theories of authorship and readership, Contesting Childhood offers commentary on the triumphs, trials, and tribulations that have shaped this genre. Douglas examines the content of the narratives and the limits of their representations, as well as some of the ways in which autobiographies of youth have become politically important and influential. This study enables readers to discover how stories configure childhood within cultural memory and the public sphere.' (Publisher's blurb)
