Blog collated by Sharon
This is our first book choice for 2019 and the meeting was hosted by Jane.
Jane's comments :
The school's reaction to the death in the family is insightful. People generally avoid the person with the tragedy. Acknowledging someone's difficult and tragic event is not that common but it should be done. The most touching story was the child who was a schizophrenic who killed the dad.
Sally :
Really valuable from the priest and detective about how to speak to people. Just say simple things and not worry about the right things to say. Nice story of resilience.
Lee :
Leigh's voice is just how she speaks on 7:30 Report. A book I felt I could trust. The people who tell the stories are trusting Leigh to tell them truthfully. They are so brave to talk about their stories. Beautiful book.
Melissa :
Religious theme was interesting because you feel Leigh is wrestling with that herself. In the end, kindness. Moved by the surfing incident. No quota to traumas. For those who can change they actually manage to go onto a better life. Why me ? - well why not me ? The new normal as opposed to moving on or closure.
Marty :
The media is very intrusive when they approach trauma victims' families. Helps personal recovery if they get a chance to tell what really happened. It's free as opposed to talking to a therapist. There are incidents where I felt she was pushy and insensitive. Maybe that's what drove the writing of the book.
Meredith :
The appalling state of journalism. Leigh Sales' interview tactic is actually annoying. The book is quite good but it's not been an entirely honest book because she wasn't happy to reveal too much about herself. It's like a very long essay. Kind of repetitive story after story. It's highlighting the randomness of life. The book is too long.
We described the book as : a worthwhile read, unexpectedly more than interesting, thought provoking and reassuring, insightful. A couple of 9.5 ratings.
Our next book is God Help the Child by Toni Morrison and the meeting will be at Sharon's on March 7th.
