Tag Archives: non-fiction

 Book Review: Love Stories by Trent Dalton

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Let me say at the outset that I do love Trent Dalton’s books and actively seek them out. And let me confess that I originally thought this book was fiction until I sought the help of a lovely librarian who pointed it out in the non-fiction section.

Dalton sat down on a busy Brisbane Street at his folding chair and table with a sign inviting passers-by from all walks of life to tell him their love stories. Now, that’s really setting yourself up for a challenge.

This book is a collection of those tales interspersed with Dalton’s observations of people and his questioning about what love really means. It’s a sentimental journey and includes stories of his own family and his love for them.

There are various stories of love lost and love found. Some were incredibly moving and heartfelt making the reader reflect on love in a whole new way. Some stories were inspiring and those from older people where full of wisdom and learning.

I enjoyed reading the many stories and there were times when I wanted to know more. Dalton with his journalistic hat tried to probe further but some stories could never be elaborated on. People protected their privacy and sanitised their own versions and I don’t blame them. Describing love is as emotional as you can get and some stories just bring on tears whether you like it or not.

It’s a gutsy effort to put the stories into a book and Dalton does it well. There was some filler here and there which I could have done without, but overall I liked this one.

In a world where everything seems doom and gloom, it’s good to be reminded about the power of love and never taking the love of those around you for granted.

Book Review: Phosphorescence by Julia Baird

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What a wonderful book to read during the stressful time of a stage four lock-down in Melbourne? I’m sure when the author wrote this book, she had no idea that her words would resonate so well in a world which has been turned upside down and where fear of a thing unseen could change the very way we live.

The author reminds each of us to explore what is around us. I don’t mean get into the car and travel (of course we can’t do that) but to really look with our eyes and listen, to search and find awe in the very things we take for granted.

“dive into a world where clocks don’t tick and inboxes don’t ping.” Easier said than done when there are competing demands all around us. But she argues, “open yourself up to awe, to the experience of seeing something astonishing, unfathomable or greater than yourself.”

Baird talks about immersing oneself in nature and discusses the notion of forest bathing having enormous benefits for our physical and mental being. “Studies have shown that opening ourselves up to awe can make us more patient, and less irritable, more humble, more curious and creative. 

And so, I have been doing just that. Walking amongst trees in our nearby park and thinking how lucky I am, that in a city of five million people i have access to parks and open spaces nearby. Exploring my long-forgotten garden and discovering the pleasure of plants hidden in a jungle of overgrowth, and spending time on things I’d taken for granted. Baird references what  Aboriginal people have told us and known all along about their respect for country, which has been ignored. Perhaps they’ve always had the answer.

Baird also explores a number of other ideas; the place for religious belief but not necessarily organised. That silence from human activity is shrinking and worth pursuing to allow us to appreciate what is around us. Indeed, as I sit reading this book, I tune into the traffic noise, the sound of a leaf blower outside my window and become distracted by the ding of my phone, to reach for internet news to feed my ever-growing anxiety and I realise Baird makes a heap of sense. 

There’s a lot in this book and much would be helpful to readers who maybe need a break to breath, to look what’s around them, appreciate the little things and just be. Check this one out and see what awes you.

Book Review: Any Ordinary Day by Leigh Sales

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I closed the last page and had to go for a walk to clear my head and take in the colour of the day. The brilliance of blue sky contrasted with the red, yellow and green of the falling leaves helped me  contemplate what was in this book. The walk brought me into the ‘now’ of savouring my own ordinary day.

Leigh Sales explores what happens to a person when they’re blindsided by a moment they never see coming. She carefully treads through her own life as a mother, wife and award winning journalist, who you think would be resilient having had to confront other people’s tragedies on a regular basis. But journalists are only human too and she readily confesses to her own blindsided moments.

People like Walter Mikac who suffered tremendously when his wife and two young daughters were gunned down; Stuart Diver, who buried under tons of earth and rubble was unable to save his wife; Juliet Darling whose husband was brutally murdered by his son; the list goes on. Sales talks to each one about their trauma and grief and what they valued most from those around them in their road to recovery.  She talks to detectives, medical personnel, families and friends to learn from them. The discussions are honest and at times raw causing Sales to examine the role of journalists and the media and in particular her own actions in the past of pursuing a story despite the cost for the person who has suffered from a trauma.

I was very interested in the role of support and what it is that gets people through. While  Sale weaves in some scientific theory with facts and figures it’s not heavy handed. It’s matter of fact and down to earth and easy to read. At times, it’s confronting but thought provoking enough for you to learn something, if not be inspired.