Review: The Girl Behind the Wall

Title: The Girl Behind the Wall

Author: Mandy Robotham

Publisher: 6th July 2021 by Avon Books - HarperCollins UK

Pages: 400 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: Historical Fiction | Women's Fiction  | World War II

My Rating: 5 cups

Synopsis:

A city divided.

When the Berlin Wall goes up, Karin is on the wrong side of the city. Overnight, she’s trapped under Soviet rule in unforgiving East Berlin and separated from her twin sister, Jutta.

Two sisters torn apart.

Karin and Jutta lead parallel lives for years, cut off by the Wall. But Karin finds one reason to keep going: Otto, the man who gives her hope, even amidst the brutal East German regime.

One impossible choice…

When Jutta finds a hidden way through the wall, the twins are reunited. But the Stasi have eyes everywhere, and soon Karin is faced with a terrible decision: to flee to the West and be with her sister, or sacrifice it all to follow her heart?

My Thoughts

‘The tourists come and go, they look and peer over the Wall to another land, at people who squint their eyes back at the West. They comment on the atrocity and they go away again. But still there are no bulldozers, no widespread will to tear it down. The Wall endures.’

You really cannot surpass Mandy’s books for quality WWII fiction stories. I truly loved this one for shining a light on the post Cold War situation - something I was not overly familiar with. Through cleverly telling a story from twins who perchance find themselves separated by the construction of the Berlin Wall, you get a first person account of what life must have been like to wake and find your city being split in two. This proved an emotional read exploring family and political divisions, sibling and romantic love. 

‘So the Wall is not a ‘protection barrier’, but a steely way of stitching up a heavily bleeding wound. For good.’

I grew up watching the Olympic Games with East and West German teams and was in fact in Europe around the time of the Wall coming down. Today, we would find it extraordinary to have a major city torn in two, with divides being political, social and very emotional. Two polar opposite ways of governing but a simple stone throw apart and to have loved ones separated by such a structure would be pure heartache. I think Mandy captures so much of these themes wonderfully well. 

‘Her sister, her soulmate, is barely a few kilometres away, and yet it might as well be a million miles, at the end of a rainbow.’

It was thought provoking to consider that this wall basically went up overnight, where previously, movement between the two zones had been permitted. The use of twins was a stroke of genius as it perfectly encapsulates the divide between East and West. I was there with Jutta crawling through the wall and standing beside Karen as she looked over her shoulder fearing life under Communist rule. 

‘But the world isn’t thinking straight right now, is it? As the Wall climbs higher, life as they know it comes crashing down.’

It is clear the depth of research Mandy has undertaken on all bases concerning facts surrounding not only the politics of the day but the human side of this major world event. Any book that has you racing to Google places and events has done a great job. Tying it all together with characters you come to care about and a plot that has you on the edge of your seat, is a historical fiction reader's heaven.

‘She balances the scales in her head, weighing the risk against Karin’s need and Mama’s elation. In every calculation, Jutta’s own sacrifice is outweighed by her family’s continuing loss.’

Congratulations Mandy on yet another winning book. I have read and adored all your books and cannot recommend them highly enough. For a realistic, well written tale of what life in Berlin during the years of the Wall would have been like, look no further than, ‘The Girl Behind the Wall’. 

“… until August 1961, you lived with your twin sister Karin in said residence. Until, in fact, the day when the anti-fascist protection barrier was erected.”

The Wall. If we’re being honest, call it the fucking Wall.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: Listening Still

Title: Listening Still

Author: Anne Griffin

Publisher: 27th April 2021 by Hachette Australia

Pages: 342 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: fiction, contemporary

My Rating: 4 cups

Synopsis:

From the bestselling author of When All is Said comes a delicious new novel about a young woman who can hear the dead - a talent which is both a gift and a curse.

Jeanie Masterson has a gift: she can hear the last words of the dead.

Passed down from generation to generation, this gift means she is able to make wrongs right, to give voice to unspoken love and dying regrets. She and her father have worked happily alongside each other for years, but now he's unexpectedly announced that he wants to retire early and leave the business to her and her life is called into question.

Does she really want to be married to the embalmer, or does she want to be with her childhood sweetheart, off in London? Does she want to have children, and pass this gift on to them? And does she want to be stuck in this small town, or is there more of the world she wants to see - like the South of France, where she's discovered a woman who shares her gift?

Tied to her home by this unusual talent, she begins to question: what if what she's always thought of as a gift is a curse?

My Thoughts

‘ .. the real  issue here was not who you should have loved more, or who you should have run away with, but simply who it is you are and what it is you really want to do with your life.’

Slowly, but surely, I came onboard with this book. If you give it the time, by its conclusion, you will come to appreciate how well written it is. Thoughtfully touching on a range of issues - everything from family expectations to lost opportunities. However for me, this was all about the choices we make in life and having the courage to listen to your own heart for your life purpose. 

‘I remember thinking then, why weren’t we braver, we Humans? Why hadn’t we the courage to tell it like it was when alive? Why did we let fear haunt us, silence us?’

This book neatly weaves in reflective questions on life. Lead character, Jeanie, puts her life under the microscope and reflects on possible missed opportunities and where best to proceed for her future. The whole ‘listening to the dead’, whilst interesting in its own right, is only a medium for Jeanie’s introspection in my opinion. It all comes to a head when her parents announce their imminent retirement, leaving the business to Jeanie - the burden of listening will now all fall on her shoulders. Is this role, as much as she regards its importance, what her life was meant to be about? What has she foregone because of this role? How does her family, husband and friends all fit into her landscape?

‘Perhaps if there’d been others in this business who could hear the dead too, it might have felt less hard, less burdensome, less lonely. Perhaps if it was simply a normal part of what every funeral director in Ireland offered as a service, like an optional extra for which there was a charge: ‘And would you like the “talking to your loved one” package with that?’

I truly relished taking the journey of discovery with Jeanie, who up until this point, had not truly contemplated another role in life for herself. Always doing what was expected of her, has the time now come to branch out or is she permanently tied to this ‘gift’ of hers? Is it now too late to follow what had once been her dreams? 

“… I know what the place does to you. I know you love it, but it takes its toll. Just because you love a job doesn’t mean it isn’t a burden either. You think Obama woke up every day thinking, “I’m so glad I’m president of America''.                    

Tied into this are many other sub themes such as, is telling people what they want/need to hear wrong? To what lengths should you go to spare another’s pain? How much of your life should be led for others? How can we attain purpose and meaning in what we do? When is leaving the best/only option? Don’t get me wrong, this is not a heavy book but rather one person’s journey of self discovery and I believe the author has cleverly achieved that through the various plotlines.

"I’d always wondered what it would be like to lead a completely different life. But if I finally left now to chase that dream and Dad retired, well, that would be it for the dead, no one left to hear them. I was the last one you see, the last listener of the dead, the line ended with me.”

Listening Still is sure to impact readers in different ways. However, credit to Anne Griffin for writing such a considered story about listening to and finding our unique path in life, having the courage to pursue your course, believing that you are being true to yourself in doing so. 

‘What it was that drove her, dampened her, and yes, if I’m honest, delighted her, entangled as I was in a world I both loved and feared, my heart torn between so many who needed me, as I needed them.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: Setting Boundaries

Title: Setting Boundaries

Author: Rebecca Ray

Publisher: 29th June 2021 by Pan Macmillan Australia

Pages: 352 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: Nonfiction (Adult) | Self-Help

My Rating: 4 cups

Synopsis:

Setting Boundaries is not just about saying 'no'.

It is about pursuing the things that set our soul on fire, loving deeply without losing ourselves, and better resisting the demands and expectations of others.

Dr Rebecca Ray, Australian clinical psychologist and author, shows how boundaries are the key to many of the emotional and practical difficulties we encounter in daily life.

Many of us, raised to be people-pleasers, find ourselves giving in to draining colleagues, friends, partners and relatives.

In Setting Boundaries, Dr Ray shares science-based advice and tools to help you:

- identify your boundaries and when they have been crossed

- recognise the patterns and habits that have failed to support you to feel empowered

- engage in difficult conversations from a place of strength and self-kindness

- set clear, intentional boundaries and become your most loving, fulfilled and authentic self.

Accessible, inspiring and deeply practical, Setting Boundaries ignites us to rethink our relationships, reclaim our lives and protect our mental health and wellbeing.

My Thoughts

‘My mind rarely gives me just one thought at a time. For maximum effect, it floods me with thoughts that will press my buttons. The problem is that they get in the way of the boundaries I set for myself around time for self-care. If I listened to these thoughts, they urge me to work more, rest less, and take zero time out to look after myself because, ‘I have too much to do!’ But these thoughts are old.’

Most people don’t necessarily have trouble setting up boundaries but it becomes more difficult when it comes to enforcing them for your own sanity. You know what you like, you know what’s good for you … you also know the ways your energy gets drained. This is the reason I turned to this book - to understand, to trust my instincts and listen to that inner voice that would lead me in the right direction.

‘We have evolved to listen to our minds as though they speak the whole truth all the time. But minds can be a little prone to melodrama, and occasionally create a picture of reality that’s not entirely accurate.’

It is not just about saying ‘no’ - there is so much more to it. In today’s world we are faced with so many personal and professional demands and time is precious. If you are not careful you will face exhaustion at best and become lost at worst. This book is about finding ways to reclaim your time and energy that promote your values and long term goals. 

‘Setting boundaries requires us to be vulnerable - which is uncomfortable. To draw circles of empowerment around ourselves, and to respect the circles other people draw around themselves, we need to find a way through the feely stuff, to live in the deep end of life. It’s here we get to explore life in its entirety, rather than avoiding it for the illusion of comfort in the shallow end.’

Setting Boundaries helps by providing both the theory and practice in regaining equilibrium and establishing your wellbeing as a central focus. When the everyday situations and interactions become draining, it is time to return to your valued boundaries. Identify them, know them and understand that they are key to your mental health. Learning to become more mindful rather than mindlessly partaking in something knowing that it is not for you. 

‘There’s no shortage of information about what boundaries are. But it’s more difficult to find strategies that can help you communicate and reinforce your boundaries - especially when it makes you feel anxious, guilty, frustrated that you’re not being heard, or overwhelmed by a potentially unpleasant reaction. I want you to learn how to empower yourself with boundaries, even when it feels uncomfortable, so that you can live unapologetically and authentically.’

This is a book that provides practical guidance when working with your personal boundaries and how to both promote and protect them whilst living with the demands of society. Embrace the life you want without being overwhelmed by emotions and situations that drain your energy. This life is not just about surviving but living - rewrite your script, define those boundaries, live the life you want and those that love you will both understand and support you. 

‘At the end of the day (and at the end of your days), you are answering to yourself about how you used your time, energy and love. Boundaries help to ensure that you use these personal resources in a way that is consistent with your values and who you want to be as a person, and that you are respected by others while doing so.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray

Title: Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray

Author: Anita Heiss

Publisher: 5th May 2021 by Simon & Schuster Australia

Pages: 416 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: Historical Fiction | Women's Fiction  | Cultural Australia

My Rating: 5 cups

Synopsis:

Gundagai, 1852 

The powerful Murrumbidgee River surges through town leaving death and destruction in its wake. It is a stark reminder that while the river can give life, it can just as easily take it away.

Wagadhaany is one of the lucky ones. She survives. But is her life now better than the fate she escaped? Forced to move away from her miyagan, she walks through each day with no trace of dance in her step, her broken heart forever calling her back home to Gundagai.

When she meets Wiradyuri stockman Yindyamarra, Wagadhaany’s heart slowly begins to heal. But still, she dreams of a better life, away from the degradation of being owned. She longs to set out along the river of her ancestors, in search of lost family and country. Can she find the courage to defy the White man’s law? And if she does, will it bring hope ... or heartache?

Set on timeless Wiradyuri country, where the life-giving waters of the rivers can make or break dreams, and based on devastating true events, Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray (River of Dreams) is an epic story of love, loss and belonging.

My Thoughts

‘Now let me tell you a story about your Wiradyuri miyagan, the people of Marrambidya.’

This book is profound. This book is beautiful. This is a must read. Right from the prologue when the indigenous man is trying to tell a white man not to build his house on the floodplain and he ignores the advice … well, it really sets the scene of what you know will come. I LOVE how this is a novel where tables are finally turned and it is the indigenous observing the settlers and thus shedding a whole new light on white occupation. Yet, there is so much more to this novel - commentary not only on the wrongs of the past, or racial issues but what constitutes family, what is success, what is home. As Anita herself says, My goal in writing this novel was to highlight the heroism of the Wiradyuri men who braved the dangerous floods to bring locals to safety.

‘We could teach them a lot, if they just listened,’ Yarri adds.

At surface level this is the story about a young girl,Wagadhanaay, who works for a family in their house (the original family and foundations that were discussed in the prologue!) when the devastating floods come through (as predicted!) The story then goes on to regale the life of Wagadhanaay with both her work and her miyagan (family). I love the contrast between her and Louisa, a Quaker woman, who marries into the Bradley family and insists Wagadhanaay comes with them when they relocate to Wagga Wagga … because after all, it will make her life better.

‘… though she is trying to be understanding through their grief, she resents still being spoken to as the servant, the cleaner, the cook. She hates being the Black woman who just has to do what the White people tell her. She is grateful to be alive, but she hates that being alive reminds her that she is still powerless in her own life.’

There is much to love about this book. I love that Anita used traditional language, not only in the title, but throughout the entire book. I love that it is the perfect melding of fact and fiction. I love the characters and how each has a role to play in making this story the captivating sensation that it is. I love how much I learnt about Australian indigenous people and their great affinity with this incredible land. The land! I love how vivid the locations were presented and you felt the power of the Murrumbidgee River rising or the dust lifting as they danced around the fire. 

‘His heart pains at the land being ruined by those who are new to it. They are not taking care of it, they treat it with contempt, as if it is only there for their benefit.’

This book … it will make you angry, it will make you sad but overall you will be a better person for having read it. Such a wonderful book for not only all Australians but anyone interested in Indigenous cultures and their rich yet often tragic tale. A tale that will stay with me for some time to come.

‘Their land has been stolen.’ Louisa’s stops short of yelling. She calms herself and continues. ‘It’s Wiradyuri land.’ She points out the window. ‘We don’t really own this; it is not yours, or mine. And those laws are British laws and should be illegal if they are not protecting Aboriginal people, who should be British citizens.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: Brain Reset

Title: Brain Reset

Author: David Gillespie

Publisher: 29th June 2021 by Pan Macmillan Australia

Pages: 320 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: Health, Mind & Body | Nonfiction (Adult)

My Rating: 3 cups

Synopsis:

Anxiety, depression and addiction are the scourge of modern-day living. How are they linked? How do we beat them?

According to bestselling author and researcher David Gillespie, we are more addicted than ever before, which is playing havoc with our dopamine levels. This is fuelling epidemic-like levels of depression, anxiety and stress.

Gillespie reveals a large and robust body of research that shows how addictive activities, such as screen use, sugar consumption, drinking, gambling, shopping and smoking, spike our dopamine levels. This, in turn, affects our brain's ability to regulate our mood.

The good news is that we can break the cycle to make things better. There are myriad root causes of mental illness, many of which are beyond our control; David argues that it makes sense to tackle the thing that is within our control - our see-sawing dopamine levels.

Packed with cutting-edge research and practical advice, David's latest book arms us with the tools we need to break our addictions, conquer uncertainty and reset our brains.

My Thoughts

‘We can’t completely avoid stress. There are things which we cannot control, but we will get through those things much better if our brains are not already in an impaired state. Keeping us in a place of mental fitness is about controlling as much as we can and avoiding all addiction.’

The author, David Gillespie, states from the outset that he is not a doctor but a researcher - a very thorough researcher. He wishes to present all the facts thus allowing readers to become aware of addictions, many of them hidden.

This, therefore, is a book about mental health. David spends the first half of the book analysing the problems - typical addictions and also those people might not necessarily label as addictions, such as shopping or screen time. His desire is for his readers to understand the science behind them and how to then take positive steps to overcome the addictions and the consequences of them ie. anxiety/depression which, in turn, can lead to other diseases.

‘We have created a society swimming in dopamine stimulants and we are paying the price. The good news is that a broken reward pathway is absolutely curable. All we need to do is stop taking the addictive substance or doing the addictive behaviour for long enough for our reward system to reset. The bad news is that if it was easy to stop, it wouldn’t be addictive.’

This book is very scientifically based, not focused loosely on changing attitudes alone but rather specific measurable outcomes. How does a person go about basically rewiring their brain away from a reward/punishment based mindset. David provides positive ways a person can go about reducing this addictive behaviour. 

By first exploring the relationship between addictions and the consequent diseases, David then goes on to provide practical steps on how we can in fact, reset our brains. I recommend this book for people who are looking for the next level of assistance and desire to know the science behind the problem and concrete actions to then take.

‘We can enjoy life and do things that provide us with shots of dopamine without the risk of addiction, anxiety or depression. The catch is we need to do a system reset before we get to that point. This is a book about how to do that.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.