Daughter of The River Country by Dianne O’Brien with Sue Williams is not an easy book to read, but it is a worthwhile book to read. It is Dianne’s memoirs of her life. She was born in country New South Wales in the 1940s in a time when racism was the norm. It is a story everyone needs to read so we can understand and learn from the past.
This story contains big topics. The Stolen Generation, adoption, abuse, single mothers, domestic violence, and addiction. In a time when there were no support agencies to help those in need.
Dianne has told her story in three parts. Lost. Searching. Found.
Dianne was raised by her caring and loving adoptive mother Val. Dianne was unaware that she was adopted, although she knew there was a secret her mother was planning to tell her. Tragically Val passed away when Dianne was 14 years old. Then, her adoptive father abandoned her.
At 15 she is raped. Pregnant and with no one to help her she is sent to Parramatta Girls Home, where her first child Debbie was born.
Dianne is desperate to keep her baby. The only way to keep Debbie is to marry the father. Not a good option, but the only option available at that time for unmarried mothers. Dianne marries and suffers domestic violence throughout this relationship. She has 5 other children through the years and unfortunately, her other partners are also abusive. Dianne is very protective and loving to her children, who she manages to keep together.
At the age of 36, Dianne discovers that her birth parents were Aboriginal. Now she is able to find her birth mother, and hear her story. Her baby, Dianne, was “stolen” at birth.
Dianne discovers she is a Yorta Yorta woman, a daughter of the River Country. She is able to learn about her family, her heritage and finds she is welcomed into a large supporting network.
Dianne shows amazing courage and resilience to overcome her many hardships. She is able to use her own life experiences to help and advise others.
Although I found her story very sad in parts, it is amazing what she has achieved through her work as a Cultural Leader in her community, working in the roles of health and welfare.
Dianne has rightfully been recognised for her wonderful achievements.
Thank you to Echo Publishing for the opportunity to read this amazing book.
A great read.
ISBN: 9781760686574
A selection of our members are reading Daughter of River Country. You can read their feedback below, or add your own review.
I love to read, any book on any topic. I now love ebooks as they are easier to store, I was running out of bookshelves! My other interests are family, gardening and our beautiful King Charles spaniel dog who is my reading companion.
Thank you Beauty and Lace for the opportunity to review ‘Daughter of the River Country’ by Dianne O’Brian.
This memoir by the author Dianne O’Brian is as harrowing as it is uplifting. Dianne’s story takes the reader through the innocence of being a child of the Stolen generation, adoption with a beloved Mother but ruthless and cruel Father, and her life of subsequent abusive and violent relationships. Dianne does not hold back on her life story, nor sugar coat her experience and it is a very thought provoking and heartbreaking read. It is so hard to read of the extreme tragedies and violence Dianne endured and it made me want to jump through the book and save her! That said, it is equally uplifting and inspirational to read of a beautiful, dedicated Mother of six and dedicated Social justice and indigenous advocate. I am in awe at all Dianne has achieved and it breaks my heart knowing what she had to endure. It is nothing short of horrendous.
I absolutely loved this book, it has given me a greater awareness of life and times in Australia ‘s dark post White Australia Policy times and the despicable racism and treatment of our Nations First People.
I am so proud of the amazing Yorta Yorta Woman Dianne is and in absolute awe.
I feel so lucky to have read this book and it will stay in my memory for a very long time, a definite favorite! I would love to meet Dianne in real life and give her a big hug as she is such an inspiration.
How hard it would have been to relive the memories and get this book out there for us all to read but in doing so has resonated with me in different ways of feeling that terrible sense of loneliness, abandonment and wanting to know your true identity. I would love to meet Dianne in real life and give her a huge hug! I could not have gone through what she endured in her life after a tragedy that left her finding out how hateful and hurtful some people really can be. Dianne had a beautiful, gentle soul and that was taken advantage of many times in her life and it was very disturbing to know it was mainly people she thought she could trust and rely on. It many me so angry that people could be so extremely cruel and uncivilized in the past and get away with it, I badly wanted to save her or tell her to not go back. Just when I thought things couldn`t have got worse for Dianne, they did. How she survived I really don`t know but she is one of the strongest women that I know of and admire greatly for how she kept going on with her life even after going down a wrong path, she carried on and rose above those dark times and made her life as best as she could with as little as she had as she had her family to live for and is here for a very good reason, to keep fighting and spread the awareness of outright injustice that was rotten to its core. I really loved the pictures in the book as we could see from the outside who people were but we could never tell from them their personality (like her dad) I`m so glad she still has pictures, especially of her mum as she sounded so sweet and caring. Her birth mum frustrated me a lot and that resonated with me as well not knowing about other family members and when you ask they make it feel like its a taboo subject so you tread on eggshells, it makes you feel even more unwanted or not good enough.
i loved her little handwritten note on the first page and got to understand this more as i read the book, she would be an Aunty Di to anyone that needed help I`m sure, even after all her suffering she didn`t let it turn her into a bitter person so instead she was the bigger, better person who is still filled with love and hope for the future.
I could not put this book down!
So many tough times for this strong and resilient lady, it was an amazing insight into the suffering that occurred during a terrible time in Australia’s history.
The author told her story well and raised many important topics. Amazing that she is still helping others also.
A great read and would recommend.
A remarkable memoir of a remarkably strong woman.
When baby Dianne is taken from her Aboriginal mother, she is adopted by a kind Irish woman. Unfortunately, when her adoptive mother dies, her adoptive father practically disowns her and she consequently suffers terribly.
Wow. This is one woman’s powerful story of the ‘Stolen Generation’ and the atrocities she suffered as a young girl. It is unbelievable to hear how Dianne was treated. Absolutely terrible. As much as I was upset reading about Dianne’s plight, I was unable to stop reading and I can’t recommend it enough. I wish to thank the author, Dianne O’Brien for bravely sharing her story. Aunty Di, you are one courageous lady.
This was a confronting read that covered details of some horrific experiences that Dianne experienced, and what is worse is that she not alone in going through much of this. The stolen generation, abusive relationships, forced adoption, sexual assault, domestic violence, social injustice and so much more – Dianne had an extremely difficult life, and for a lot of it she sadly didn’t even realise that so much was wrong. An abusive relationship is not normal or ok. Despite all she is faced with Dianne is so resilient and determined, and achieves so much more in her lifetime than most of us. Dianne helps so many people and advocates for a lot of change, yet is always surprised when she is recognised for her effort because to her she isn’t doing anything special. Dianne is an inspiration, and this story made me appreciate how difficult life was for her and many others, and made me very grateful for the ‘privileged’ life I have. It was a harrowing read but one I feel that is important to bring awareness.
Daughter of the River Country by Dianne O’Brien is the true story of her own life. It covers the Stolen Generation, family abuse, has its sad and happy moments.
I felt the book was well written, even though the topics at times were hard to deal with, it is a book worth reading.
Thanks to Beauty and Lace for the opportunity to read and review.