A First Nations Elder shares his extraordinary story of finding kindness in the midst of prejudice, and joy in living life to the full.
‘Welcome to my story. It’s a simple story of a simple person, who’s lived a long life now with some struggles along the way. I didn’t learn a lot in school, not in the classroom, anyway. But I learned a lot from life.’
As we currently have 500 copies available of the eAudiobook of this wonderful memoir for simultaneous borrowing – meaning you can borrow it instantly on BorrowBox using your Cockburn Libraries membership without any holds or waiting periods from May 1 to June 29 – I thought I would share my experience of reading this book.
I read this autobiography in 2022 when it first released and it was one of my favourite reads of the year (and I read over 100 books that year!).
Vince Copley is an Aboriginal man who was born in 1936. As such, he has lived through a pretty key period in Australian history, especially as it pertains to the treatment of our indigenous First Nations people. In this book he describes his life, from his childhood on a Mission and then in a boy’s home, and into adulthood, so much of which was dedicated to furthering the rights and social standing of his people.
Both Vince and co-author Lea McInerney describe how this book was written by way of many chats over many cups of tea. McInerney has done a wonderful job of preserving Vince’s very clear voice in the telling of his story. The simple, conversational prose truly makes you feel like you’re sitting right there, having a chat with a wonderful, humble and interesting friend.
In McInerney’s afterword is a passage that to me really encapsulated the person Vince comes across as in this book:
“Once he’d seen a few chapters, he had a sense of how it was shaping up. ‘I’m the storyteller, you’re the writer, and this is our book,’ he said to me. From early on, he wanted to include my name on the book’s cover because he saw it as work that neither of us could complete without the other. This for him was reconciliation in action – black and white working alongside each other on shared interests and projects.”
Vince truly embodies the concept of “looking for the helpers”. He lived through a time when First Nations Australians had their movements restricted by the government, who they were allowed to walk down the street with – they weren’t even classed as human citizens in the census. And yet he pours so much of his focus on the helpers. On the people of all colours who welcomed him, gave him opportunities and friendship, became family. At the end of his incredible, eventful life, in which he’d undoubtedly experienced struggle and heartache and injustice, he looked back and mostly felt blessed and loved. He has a humbling, heartfelt perspective that deserves the wider audience of this book.
By the end of reading this, I almost felt like I’d lost a friend I’d only just made. Vince left us in January 2022, aged 85, and I’m so glad he was able to get his story told before he went.
I learnt a lot of things about how First Nations people were treated in the 40s and 50s, and the ways that evolved. More importantly, I feel like I met a wonderful human being.
Highly recommend this book to literally anyone.
By the way, there is now also a newly released Younger Readers Edition of this memoir! Available to borrow as a physical book or ebook.
If you’d like to check out the eAudiobook of this memoir, be sure to take advantage of our 500 simultaneous loans availability between 1 May and 29 June! Give it a go today!
All you need to log in to BorrowBox is your Cockburn Libraries membership number and password/pin.
If you need help setting up or accessing BorrowBox on your device, feel free to get in touch with our friendly staff and they’ll be happy to help.
