Black and Blue
Gorrie, VeronicaThe day after being discharged from the Queensland police force with post-traumatic stress disorder, Veronica Gorrie sat down to write about her life. The blue of the title captures her ten years as one of the few Aboriginal police officers, while the black details her upbringing and the intergenerational trauma experienced by her family.
Eloquent, shocking, honest and brave, this important story gives voice to a survivor and lives up to its subtitle: A memoir of racism and resilience. [Larger font]
Pages
236
236
Year
2021
2021
Reviews
12-12-2024
Mixed reaction to the book content. Very graphic at times. Very traumatic life story. We admire the author for what she she has achieved in her life and winning the book awards. Quite amazing to us all. We felt the genealogy was a bit unclear and confusing. The title was very much admired.
27-11-2024
A wide ranging set of opinions on this book. It was enlightening and sad - the story of a 'dispirited' people, encumbered by alcohol and drugs as a result of being displaced.
05-08-2024
A thought-provoking read. While no-one in our group said they 'loved it' most said they couldn't put it down. Created a good discussion. We thought there were many parallels with N.Z. regarding racism past and present. When will we learn We are all human beings and deserve the same amount of respect.
25-06-2024
Not an easy topic to read about although the language was easy to understand. It is truly horrific to learn about how the Aborigines in Australia were treated by the Western colonisers, and continue to be treated today. It's almost as if they were regarded as less than human.
23-05-2024
The group admired what the main character had managed to achieve, but we found the evidence of the discrimination she faced for her race, gender and ethnicity was far greater than we would have expected in modern Australia. Our discussion had the positives of her determination, but the realisation that she, the main character, and society have further challenges ahead.
14-03-2024
Majority found the book hard to read, due to narrative style as well as content. However this prompted a really robust conversation at our meeting, including racism, colonialisation, intergenerational trauma and law and order. We felt the editorial team had used a light touch in order to allow the reader to hear the author's voice. Some felt it could have been better edited to give the reader a more cohesive experience of reading the story.
27-02-2024
Horrendous, a hard read, but most of our group were glad they had persevered and finished the book.
11-01-2024
The complicated relationships through the generations was interesting reading. A great deal of back and forth in time at times was 'confusing' reading. There is a good ABC-Australia interview with V. Gorrie.
16-11-2023
All agreed that 'Black and Blue' was not an 'easy' read, because of the 'no holds barred" descriptions of racism, violence and sexual assault. Despite this we were all pleased to have read it. There was no doubt that Veronica Gorrie is a resilient, brave, much to be admired woman and 'whistle blower'. The notes were useful and our discussion vibrant.
15-11-2023
Most members really enjoyed this book, especially the second half.
26-09-2023
Everybody agreed that Veronica Gorrie was a truly amazing and inspirational person whose background was horrendous, but she still came through everything.
25-09-2023
We talked about this book for so long, so great discussion. We all agreed that we are very lucky to live in the times and where we do and most of us have no idea. It was very confronting and real but told her way because it was her story. Felt very sorry for her that her time in the police left her so shattered and disillusioned when she only wanted to try and make change. Is it any better now We thought she was very forgiving towards her mother. Although at times it was hard to read, we were all pleased that we had done so. A lot of talk about the generation of lost children..
03-08-2023
Very confronting, not particularly well-written, but it did generate plenty of discussion.
28-07-2023
Our group enjoyed the book in spite of the confronting content and had no problem with the style of writing. We felt that Veronica Gorrie was an amazing women; intelligent, resourceful, strong but also with a lot of empathy. We had excellent discussion, with more questions than answers. Some questions did seem to imply cultural bias. A former Australian nurse in the group added further insight to discussion.
28-06-2023
A difficult read. So confronting, shocking and sad. We could see no light at the end of the tunnel for the plight of Aboriginals - racism is endemic in Australia, not helped by the terrible effect of alcohol. A powerful, ultimately tragic story.
23-06-2023
Most found the disjointed timeline distracting, but others felt it was relevant to the subject - dislocation and the disruption of poverty were an essential theme. A window into a life and a culture, impacted by a history of racism and deprivation.
19-06-2023
Most readers did not enjoy this book. Some people found it traumatic, while others found the stream of consciousness writing style difficult to cope with.
15-05-2023
This book stimulated one of the best discussions we have had this year.
19-04-2023
This was a sad story depicting a community where families were falling apart due to the colonisation of their country many years ago. It depicts how the arrival of white people to Australia has changed the aboriginal lifestyle and skills. Racism, alcohol and domination by a different culture have all resulted in a meaningless and destructive way of life for the aborigine. We thought Gorrie was brave to write this book although we wondered if, perhaps, it was really written for her family and as a catharsis for herself not for publication.
17-04-2023
Mixed reaction. All thought it was well-written - almost conversational, but also many struggled with the content. Compared to 'Once Were Warriors' by everyone.
23-03-2023
Everyone felt that she had an amazing story to tell, and that she was a courageous woman telling a story many would not want to hear. But, there were differing views on ease of reading and the writing style. Some felt it was a bit muddled and confusing, stream of consciousness or inventory-like, others really enjoyed the style and felt she had told it how it was for her. We hope she is enjoying a better part of her life now.
27-02-2023
A book about the effects of colonisation and chaos in dispossessed societies where debt and alcohol fuel a downward spiral. Empathy with institutional racism noted. Excellent read, fun in parts (few).
28-11-2022
Very deep discussion. Powerful, raw writing. Not an enjoyable book we thought, but something that needs to be read. The big question we had was "Is there discrimination within the N.Z police force".
17-11-2022
Engendered much discussion.
08-11-2022
Harrowing story told from the heart. Excellent discussion. Wide ranging views on the writing style.
01-08-2022
An enlightening read - full of emotion.
21-07-2022
Our group agreed that this memoir had little literary style or value, but felt that the content and issues raised were important and generated an interesting discussion. It was particularly noted that the notes were super informative and the content was much appreciated.
16-06-2022
Members found this a harrowing read, not helped by the repetitive, perhaps rather stilted, style of writing.
16-06-2022
An excellent read. The way it is written was fine for readers who have a history of trauma.
11-05-2022
Thoughtful insight into life of indigenous women in Australia. Addressed issue of racism both socially and institutionally. Story of strong women across generations and their commitment to improve life . Explored the astounding way they have been treated by governments and society. A hard read at time but generated much discussion on how NZ is, and how it has handled similar issues and is racism still a real issue However we did think it was a bit disjointed at times and the timelines hard to follow. Could have done with some better editing but it was clearly her voice.