Yesterday's read was The Road from Coorain, by Jill Ker Conway. I heard about it from Calandria, and her recommendation was enough to make me reserve it at the library. It's a fascinating look at growing up in the bush of Australia in the 1940s and 50s, the third child of a determined couple who chose a very harsh life style as sheep farmers. Ker Conway is thrust into the role of caretaker for her parents from a young age, and eventually found the strength to focus on her own well-being, which ultimately, I believe, saved her. She left Australia after college, and eventually became the president of Smith College in Massachusetts. I have to assume her mother died before she published this memoir, given the complexity of their relationship. Though Ker Conway came to terms with the mother-daughter ties, I don't think she would have shared such a frank and descriptive account of her mother's life while she was still able to read it. I just discovered that there is a sequel, True North, which I just reserved at the library. Coorain ends with Ker Conway getting on the plane to leave Australia. Apparently True North takes her all the way to Smith. I am looking forward to learning more about the life of this wise and determined woman.
(P.S. - I don't know why my last two pictures have been so grainy, I will try to fix that in upcoming photos!)
1 comment:
I loved it, as you know. It's a story of triumph.
Didn't know about the sequel. Thanks for the tip!
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