Audiobook Review: Outback Midwife by Beth McRae

Title: Outback Midwife
Author: Beth McRae
Genre: Memoir/Non-Fiction
Publication Date: 13th July 2015
Narrator: Caroline Lee
Time: 9hrs 2mins
Book Source: Library borrow (Borrowbox)

Synopsis: Call the Midwife meets In the Middle of Nowhere in this heartwarming memoir of an adventurous Aussie midwife's life 'catching babies'.

Outback Midwife is the story of Beth McRae's 40 years as a midwife, from her terrifying first day witnessing a birth as a naïve student nurse to her training as a midwife – the days when the words ‘birth plan' were unheard of and what women wanted was a long way from being part of any plan - to the outback.

Beth's career of catching babies takes her from the city to the bush, bonding with people from all walks of life at one of the most important moments in their lives. But there was one more frontier she was determined to conquer.

At a time when most people are thinking about slowing down, Beth decides to move to a remote Aboriginal community in Arnhem Land to embark on a whole other adventure.

My Thoughts: 

I loved Outback Midwife. As a former nurse I'm drawn to nursing and midwifery stories, and not only is Beth's memoir an entertaining read with humorous and heartbreaking anecdotes but with 40 years experience as a midwife, it's like getting the history of midwifery in Australia without the dry history lesson. 

Beth's nursing training, the slow changes to prenatal care, birth and neonatal practices over the years made me both giggle and cringe in acknowledgement. I also identified with the tragic loss of her baby daughter at 26 weeks, it echoed how little had changed when my own baby died. 

I loved reading about her time in remote aboriginal communities, especially Beth's last posting to Maningrida in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. We lived in Nhulunbuy in the Northern Territory for 5 years and briefly visited Maningrida so Beth's time there brought back memories ... 

The cultural differences, respect for ancestors and aboriginal family structures, friendships formed out of acceptance and respect. Beth was accepted by the community, included in "women's business" and learnt as much as she taught. 

Remote area nurses provide life-altering and often life-saving care in isolated and challenging conditions, their experience is invaluable but you can feel reading this that Beth feels the privilege is all hers, she is passionate, candid and humble. 

Beth completed her contract in Maningrida in June 2015, returned home to Wodonga planning to spend time with family and enjoy her grandchildren and she is now looking for her next adventure. 

Caroline Lee is a one of my favourite narrators ... brilliant in The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty and The Lake House by Kate Morton. And her narration in Outback Midwife is just as compelling. 

Thoroughly recommend this one

Connect with Beth McRae

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Review: On Rue Tatin by Susan Herrmann Loomis

Title: On Rue Tatin - Living and Cooking in a French Town
Author: Susan Herrmann Loomis
Genre: Memoir/Non-fiction
Publication Date: 30th April 2002 (1st published 2001)
Pages: 320
Book Source: own purchase

Synopsis: Susan Loomis arrived in Paris twenty years ago with little more than a student loan and the contents of a suitcase to sustain her. But what began then as an apprenticeship at La Varenne Ecole de Cuisine evolved into a lifelong immersion in French cuisine and culture, culminating in permanent residency in 1994. 

"On Rue Tatin "chronicles her journey to an ancient little street in Louviers, one of Normandy's most picturesque towns. With lyrical prose and wry candor, Loomis recalls the miraculous restoration that she and her husband performed on the dilapidated convent they chose for their new residence. As its ochre and azure floor tiles emerged, challenges outside the dwelling mounted. From squatters to a surly priest next door, along with a close-knit community wary of outsiders, Loomis tackled the social challenges head-on, through persistent dialogue-and baking. 

"On Rue Tatin "includes delicious recipes that evoke the essence of this region, such as Apple and Thyme Tart, Duck Breast with Cider, and Braised Chicken in White Wine and Mustard. Transporting readers to a world where tradition is cherished, "On Rue Tatin "provides a touching glimpse of the camaraderie, exquisite food, and simple pleasures of daily life in a truly glorious corner of Normandy.

My Thoughts:

If you're a regular on my blog you know I'm drawn to anything France & vaguely foodie related. On Rue Tatin may not be for everyone, some may even find the everyday minutia tedious but for someone dreaming of living in France it's a vicariously fascinating read. 

Seriously by the last page I was wondering who I'd have to kill bribe to make my dream a reality ;)

After doing a chef's apprenticeship in France, Susan returns to America but later moves to France with husband and son in tow to live the dream, while writing a book to celebrate French farmhouse cooking. 

Not just food related chatter, recipe testing (yes there are yummy/doable recipes included and I can't wait to try the famous Tarte Tatin) but all the details on their purchase and renovation of a dilapidated old convent in Louviers, Normandy, her son starting school, interactions with neighbours, friends and townsfolk, the cultural differences, surrounding countryside and life in general. 

Susan has written a number of cookbooks and her renovated convent home is also home to a successful cooking school. If I had a spare $3500 I'd do a 5 day class at On Rue Tatin. HA

A journal-style memoir highlighting Loomis' food passion, cooking locally and seasonally.

A book to be enjoyed with crusty bread and soft cheese *nom nom*

I'm also looking forward to reading Susan's new book In A French Kitchen, published May 2015

Connect with Susan Herrmann Loomis

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Linking up with Paulita's Dreaming of France meme over at 

An Accidental Blog

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads and open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs.

Review: From the Feet Up by Tanya Saad

Title: From the Feet Up
Author: Tanya Saad
Genre: Memoir
Publication Date: 1st April 2014
Pages: 432
Book Source: Morey Media

Synopsis: Tanya Saad’s life wasn’t perfect but it wasn’t far off. Happily occupied with a demanding job, the competitive cycling she loved and the support of her irrepressible family, she wasn’t given to introspection. Then the thunderbolt hit. At the age of 30, Tanya discovered she had tested positive for the BRCA1 gene: a gene that meant her chances of developing breast and ovarian cancer young just increased exponentially. Worse was to come when one of her beloved younger sisters tested positive, too.

A resilient personality, Tanya was used to meeting challenges. Growing up as part of a Lebanese family in a small NSW country town then coming out as a gay woman in a conservative environment meant she was used to conflict. But there were tough decisions ahead — should she have her breasts and ovaries removed before the disease took hold? Still a young woman, yet to find a partner, would she have time to have children?

Told with great verve and humour, this memoir questions what it is that makes you a woman, shows how to meet adversity with courage and grace and offers some surprising revelations along the way. As Tanya says, ‘the profound moments in your life are not about getting what you want, they are about discovering who you are.

My Thoughts:

Tanya Saad's memoir is compelling, articulate, informative and moving. With the hereditary BRCA1 gene mutation and Tanya's family history it wasn't a case of if she got ovarian and/or breast cancer but when. Preventative treatment choices are confronting and life changing on both a physical and emotional level ... bilateral mastectomy, removal of fallopian tubes and ovaries but in terms of risk management, they're also life-affirming.  

Tanya's childhood and family recollections are woven through the adult narrative; growing up in the small, country town of Taree, her Lebanese heritage, bullied in school, work in the family shoe store, the bond between herself and sisters, Paula and Vivian, their 3 month holiday to Lebanon in 1990 just months after the end of the civil war, her beautiful relationship with grandmother Teta.  

As an adult Tanya moves on from Taree, to Canberra and a successful career and competitive sporting life. Following confirmation that Tanya, along with her sister Paula, had the BRCA1 gene fault, Tanya frankly shares the emotions, statistics, screenings, surgical choices, skin/nipple sparing/reconstruction options, and her ultimate decisions. 

I love Paula and Tanya's  'mantra' adapted from the movie Cool Runnings ..

I have pride, I have power. I'm a badass mother that don't take no crap from nobody.

A read rich in culture and courage, a tribute to the ordinary - extraordinary women (and to a lesser extent men) faced with harmful BRCA gene mutations. 

Knowledge is  Power

Connect with Tanya Saad

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Purchase From the Feet Up

@Harlequin Aust

@Amazon only $3.60

Review: Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain

Title: Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly
Author: Anthony Bourdain
Genre: Memoir/Non-Fiction
Publication Date: 7th February 2001
Time: 8hrs 21mins
Narrator: Anthony Bourdain
Book Source: Own audio

Synopsis: A deliciously funny, delectably shocking banquet of wild-but-true tales of life in the culinary trade from Chef Anthony Bourdain, laying out his more than a quarter-century of drugs, sex, and haute cuisine—now with all-new, never-before-published material.

New York Chef Tony Bourdain gives away secrets of the trade in his wickedly funny, inspiring memoir/expose. Kitchen Confidential reveals what Bourdain calls "twenty-five years of sex, drugs, bad behavior and haute cuisine."

My Thoughts: 

An entertaining, often laugh-out-loud, sometimes cringe-worthy read about the overtly depraved world of chefs and cooks from master of crass, Anthony Bourdain. Not so much shocking, but ugly, irreverent, honest and ... hilarious; well I thought so ;)

It's as much about rails of coke and humping in the dry goods area, sexual misadventures, as it is about Anthony's highly contagious love of food and the day-to-day adrenaline rush of running a kitchen - from his first oyster as a child in France to executive chef at NYC's Les Halles. He's abrasive and vulgar, but his loyalty and self-deprecating humour and honesty is almost endearing. 

"We were high all the time, sneaking off to the walk-in at every opportunity to conceptualise. Hardly a decision was made without drugs; pot, Quaaludes, cocaine, LSD, Psilocybin mushrooms soaked in honey and used to sweeten tea, Seconal ..."

There were no particularly shocking "trade secrets"  ... 

don't order seafood on Mondays

stay away from "specials of the day" 

skip the mussels

if you're thinking of opening a restaurant ... don't

but the drug culture was an eye-opener. Anthony's gravelly voice is an easy listen so if you're up for a few hours of entertainment and don't mind your politically correct senses (and ears) being assaulted then you might just enjoy this wild, if slightly dated ride.  

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads and open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs.

A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierley

Genre: Memoir/Non-Fiction
Publication Date: 24th June 2013
Pages: 288
Book Source: Penguin Aust & NetGalley

Synopsis: When Saroo Brierley used Google Earth to find his long-lost home town half a world away, he made global headlines. Saroo had become lost on a train in India at the age of five. Not knowing the name of his family or where he was from, he survived for weeks on the streets of Kolkata, before being taken into an orphanage and adopted by a couple in Australia.

Despite being happy in his new family, Saroo always wondered about his origins. He spent hours staring at the map of India on his bedroom wall. When he was a young man the advent of Google Earth led him to pour over satellite images of the country for landmarks he recognised. And one day, after years of searching, he miraculously found what he was looking for.

Then he set off on a journey to find his mother.

A Long Way Home is a moving and inspirational true story of survival and triumph against incredible odds. It celebrates the importance of never letting go of what drives the human spirit – hope.

My Thoughts:

I recently watched Saroo's inspirational story on 60 Minutes and was so emotionally moved that when I saw his book on NetGalley, I knew I had to read it. 

In 1986 a 5 year old Indian boy became lost, a train ride and 1800 kilometres separating him from his family and home town. Surviving the streets of Calcutta at such a young age was nothing short of a miracle but Saroo was blessed with more than one miracle. Taken in by Mrs Sood of the Indian Society for Sponsorship and Adoption (ISSA) and adopted by the Brierley's a remarkable Australian couple from Tasmania. 

The motto of the ISSA ... is: "Somewhere a child is waiting. Somewhere a family is waiting. We at ISSA bring them together."

Encouraged by the love of his Australian family, his own belief, unwavering tenacity and Google Earth, Saroo was reunited with his dear mother and Indian family, 25 years after being separated. 

I found the television piece particularly touching, obviously time constraints limited coverage so it was interesting, although not quite as emotionally compelling to read Saroo's detailed story. A Long Way Home is a very simply written recount of Saroo's memories and amazing against-the-odds journey. What a truly joyful outcome!
  

Connect with Saroo Brierley 

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The Sunday Salon: My Love Affair with France & Bonjour 40 by Karen A. Chase

If Karen A. Chase absolutely had to turn forty, she decided she could do it gracefully in Paris… for forty days. Released after the e-book, this stunning paperback version contains over 100 photographs, plus quotes and thoughts not found in the streamlined e-book version. For readers who begged for more images, and for armchair travelers who prefer to hold Paris in their hands, comes this visually elegant photo journal and travel essay book.

What began as a blog to communicate with friends and family, became a travel journal filled with over a months’ worth of humorous and insightful glimpses into her Paris adventures, each of which could be read in about forty seconds. Journal entries are interspersed with Chase's own inspiring photography. Additional, longer stories richly fill in details allowing readers to reflect upon her experiences with food, travel, photography, Parisians, writing, and love in the City of Lights.

Happy Bastille Day 

My Thoughts:

I read the ebook version of Bonjour 40: A Paris Travel Log by Karen A Chase back in 2011 and was completely smitten (click here for review.) My one wish from this treasure of a book, (well I have more than one, the top one involving my own love affair with France and a healthy obsession with cheese, chocolate and pastries in no particular order of preference ... but I digress) was more photos and earlier this year I got my wish. 

The lovely Karen sent me the beautiful photography print edition of Bonjour 40 and with "Paris in July" what a perfect opportunity to squeal a little more about this book that had me wanting to eat my way through France and kiss in Paris. It's also the first time I've been quoted for a cover book 'blurb' ... exciting :)

Photo: Karen Chase

Cheese heaven ~ Photo: Karen Chase

Photo: Karen Chase

My sister holidayed in the UK/Paris in 2012 with a Paris to-do-list which included some of Karen's experiences from Bonjour 40. My request was she visit Dorothee's crab shack and take a photo of the much talked about Bandit. I emailed Karen asking for directions and my sister had drinks at L'Amuse Gueule and I got my photo :)

Dorothee & Bandit

I'm longing to visit and fulfill my own dreams but for now Bonjour 40 is the next best thing :)

Connect with Karen

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Purchase eBook just .99 cents @Amazon @B&N (how can you resist)

Print release @Amazon 

Co hosted by BookBath & Thyme for Tea

I'm also linking up with Paulita's Dreaming of France meme over at 

An Accidental Blog

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads and open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs.

The Puppy That Came For Christmas by Megan Rix

Title: The Puppy That Came For Christmas: How a Dog Brought One Family the Gift of Joy
Genre: Memoir/Non-Fiction
Publication Date: 25th October 2011
Pages: 240
Book Source: Own purchase

Synopsis: All Megan Rix ever wanted was a baby. Yet, month after month, Megan's dreams were dashed. Would her life ever feel complete?

Megan and her husband, Ian, found a surprising answer when they began training golden retriever pups to become service dogs for people with disabilities. But opening their homes and hearts up to Emma, and then Freddy-only to have each move on after six months-eventually took its own toll. Megan and Ian didn't know if they could continue. Then, one Christmas, little Traffy came along ... and stayed. 

My Thoughts:

I'm a sucker for dogs on covers and seriously who could resist this adorable puppy! The Puppy that Came For Christmas is a sweet, feel-good read even though the heartbreak of infertility is pivotal to Megan and Ian's story.

I'm grateful that clomid then IVF gave me two beautiful boys but I understand the anguish that infertility brings. When infertility forces Megan and Ian to consider all possibilities for having a baby they find joy being puppy parents for Helper Dogs, an organisation that trains dogs to give people with disabilities a better quality of life. 

But Helper Dog puppies move on from their puppy parents at 6 months and this sad parting becomes too much for Megan and Ian after saying goodbye to Emma, then Freddy.  The answer was their own 'forever' puppy. 

A lovely holiday read especially if you're a dog lover. This book celebrates the unconditional love and pure joy a puppy brings to a family. 

Visit Megan Rix's website to find out more.

January First by Michael Schofield

Genre: Non Fiction/Memoir
Publication Date: 7th August 2012
Pages: 288
Book Source: Crown Publishing & NetGalley

Synopsis: A brilliant and harrowingly honest memoir, January First is the extraordinary story of a father's fight to save his child from an extremely severe case of mental illness in the face of overwhelming adversity.

At six years old, Michael Schofield's daughter, January, was diagnosed with one of the most severe cases of child-onset schizophrenia that doctors had ever seen. In January's case, she is hallucinating 95 percent of the time that she is awake. Potent psychiatric drugs that would level most adults barely faze her. January, "Jani" to her family, has literally hundreds of imaginary friends. They go by names like 400-the-Cat, 100 Degrees, and 24 Hours and live on an island called "Calalini," which she describes as existing "on the border of my world and your world." Some of these friends are good, and some of them, such as 400, are very bad. They tell her to jump off buildings, attack her brother, and scream at strangers.

In the middle of these never-ending delusions, hallucinations, and paroxysms of rage are Jani's parents, who have gone to the ends of the earth to keep both of their children alive and unharmed. They live in separate one-bedroom apartments in order to keep her little brother, Bohdi, safe from his big sister--and wage a daily war against a social system that has all but completely failed them. January First is the story of the daily struggles and challenges they face as they do everything they can to help their daughter while trying to keep their family together. It is the inspiring tale of their resolute determination and faith.

My Thoughts:

This wasn't an easy read but I didn't expect it to be. There is nothing easy about mental illness. Nothing compares with watching your child suffer, no parent should have to experience that heartache, so while I thank God that this is not my experience, the very least I can do is immerse myself in the rainbow that is January First. 

Jani's father, Michael captures his 6 year old daughter's intelligence, bravery and imagination and the battle scarred journey to Jani's diagnosis with child-onset Schizophrenia. With unflagging and often cringe-worthy honesty Michael details Jani's illness, the impact on his family, his relationship with his wife Susan, the anger, frustration, helplessness, exhaustion and rock-bottom despair. The hostility and resentment that Michael felt towards his wife was particularly difficult to read because I related to it, it's ugly and traumatic and real. 

I have nothing but absolute admiration for this type of openness, through a father's words we are given an intimate look at a family doing everything in their power, against overwhelming odds, to ensure the best possible outcome for their daughter. 

Michael's candid sharing of his family's experience, the baring of his heart and soul can only be a positive for mental illness awareness, only by breaking down barriers can you hope for change. If you're coping with mental illness or grief and loss you understand the loneliness and isolation; stories like this go a little way to making you feel less alone in the struggle. 

I first thought the writing needed polish but the more I read the more I realised, the  writing is what makes Jani's story more tangible, you cannot read this and not be affected. 

January First is a testament to Jani's bravery and the love, hope, sheer determination, compromise, perseverance and strength to see our children as right and whole as they can be. 

I wish Jani and her family rainbows. Check out Michael Schofield's touching blog to see how Jani and the rest of the family are doing. Jani turns 10 this year.

Surviving Maggie by John Fingleton

Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir

Publication Date: 1st Sept 2011
Pages: 272
Book Source: HarperCollins Australia & NetGalley

Synopsis: My father was no ordinary man and his was no ordinary life …

Watching Oscar-winning actor Geoffrey Rush portray his father in the film Swimming Upstream inspired John Fingleton to uncover the story no one had told, of his father′s mysterious early life - and what made Harold the extraordinary man he became.

Nothing could have prepared him for what he discovered. Harold spent his early childhood on the streets foraging for food for himself and his sister and being beaten for his trouble by his alcoholic mother. Then, at eleven, Harold was removed to a state orphanage in Brisbane, where the treatment he and others endured haunted him forever.

From abused child to rebellious orphan, Harold Fingleton played many roles in his life - larrikin street fighter, gifted sportsman, prisoner, alcoholic, football coach to a bunch of street kids, even a murder suspect - but, most importantly, a man transformed by the love of a strong woman into a father determined his children would have the opportunities he never had.

A powerful true story of love, betrayal and redemption, Surviving Maggie will stay with you long after the last page.

Review:

How many of you remember the 2003 film Swimming Upstream starring Geoffrey Rush and Judy Davis? "Write your own book if you're not happy" challenged Tony Fingleton, author & film co- producer. This was John Fingleton's impetus for telling the untold story of his father Harold's early life, hopefully providing some counterbalance to Harold's portrayal in Swimming Upstream.

Harold Fingleton's childhood is a pitifully sad account; after years of abuse at the hands of his mother, Maggie, Harold is taken into state care at the age of ten where he endures further neglect, hunger, harsh discipline and abuse.

"Idle hands are the devil's tools" was a popular adage among the nuns.

My heart broke for Harold during his brief release from St Vincent Orphanage on Christmas Eve 1920; at 1am on Christmas morning his mother was arrested for drunkeness and foul language and sent to Boggo Road Gaol, dashing Harold's hopes of a 'family' Christmas and a new beginning. Elation quickly turned to resignation and bitterness as Harold was returned to the orphanage on Christmas day. He was released as a ward at the age of 14.

I was caught up in Surviving Maggie, not only in the emotion of Harold's dreadful childhood but being a local Brisbane-ite many of the locations and points of interest mentioned are familiar to me.

Surviving Maggie gives readers an understanding of how Harold's early life molded the man he became, you learn not only of his faults, flaws and weaknesses but of his strengths, loyalties and love. John doesn't excuse his father's behaviour but as the story moves into Harold's adult years much of the emotion seems to be lost in the somewhat stark recounting of facts and circumstances that shape the man. Despite his attempt to set the record straight on the previous one-sided depiction of Harold, John doesn't sugarcoat his father's alcoholism or the impact on his family.

Through police reports, government records, his Aunt Mollie, his mother Dora, family and friends, a son pieces together a harrowing story of the father he loved with all his heart.