There’s nothing better than curling up on the couch with a good book to read. I know that at least one of these books will be vying for your attention.
The Boy from Gorge River, Chris Long
The Boy from Gorge River is the third book from New Zealand’s remotest family. His Dad, Robert ‘Beansprout’ Long’s best-selling memoir A Life on Gorge River came out in 2010, and was followed in 2012 by his Mum Catherine’s A Wife on Gorge River.
Chris’s parents chose to live in Gorge River where they could be as free as possible from a capitalist society. It’s an isolated spot on the West Coast of the South Island, surrounded by deep fiords and snow-capped mountains. It’s also a two-day hike to the nearest road.
The family decided to live off the land – certainly not easy in that part of the world – and from early childhood, Chris learned to fish, forage and hunt. His toys were crafted from driftwood and jade. With a life like this, he became self-sufficient – both mentally and physically – worked hard and was self-motivated.
Over the years the family had a number of TV crews visit to make documentaries about the family. It wasn’t long before Chris felt that most of them arrived with a story already made up and would turn the real story 180° to fit their narrative.
“After these experiences as a child, I could never understand how people can believe what they see on TV and the internet as much as they do. I have always been very skeptical about any news, documentary and social media articles because I know how much a story can be distorted. It’s best to never take something at face value. Do your own research, dig deeper and perhaps you will find a story closer to the truth.”
In his final year of home-schooling, Chris wondered what life would be like in the ‘real’ world and decided to leave home and attend Aspiring College in Wanaka, which is well-regarded for its outdoor education which suited Chris well.
It was after school that Chris became a globe-trotter that has, so far, seen him visit more than 60 countries, work as a sea kayak guide in Milford Sound, a kitchen hand on an Antarctic cruise ship, a ski patroller, a field trainer at Scott Base, crewed a small yacht through the Northwest Passage, and he’s also been a husky sled driver in Norway which, incidentally, is where he spent the Covid lockdown, looking after the huskies that now had no job to do.
The values and skills that he has learned living at Gorge River have helped Chris feel there are no limitations on what he can achieve if he sets his mind to it.
“It doesn’t matter where you come from, you can achieve ANYTHING if you put your mind to it.”
Chris’s description of going to the toilet when a yacht is in heavy swells and the state of the bathroom was enough to put me off ever going on his sort of adventures. I would, however, be choosing Team Chris if ever we had to survive in the wilderness!
Chris comes through as an amazing, knowledgeable man. His story is fascinating, inspiring and uplifting. It’s an easy, entertaining read and I’m now keen to read his parents books.
The Improbable Life of Ricky Bird, Diane Connell
Ricky Bird loves making up stories for her little brother Ollie almost as much as she loves him. The imaginary worlds she creates are wild and whimsical places full of unlimited possibilities.
But her real life is another story. Her father has abandoned them and the family has had to move to a bleak new neighbourhood – an estate that is home to drug dealers, thieves and fences.
Her brother takes ill and as he needs more medical tests and hospital trips, her mother gets her boyfriend, Dan, to look after Ricky, which Ricky loathes. He insists they come to some sort of truce, or he will tell her mother that she’s been lying about things. Mum, naturally, is totally absorbed in taking care of Ollie.
The Improbable Life of Ricky Bird is a heartbreaking novel by Australian author Diane Connell and deals with many issues, including eating disorders, gender identity, mental illness and death. Lots of heavy stuff, but a novel with interesting characters.
Deadly Quiet City – Stories from Wuhan, Covid Ground Zero, Murong Xuecun
In April 2020, Murong Xuecun travelled to the locked-down city of Wuhan, the centre of China’s coronavirus outbreak, where he covertly interviewed everyday people about their experiences as the Covid catastrophe unfolded.
As cherry blossoms fell on silent streets, the city of 11 million people was cut off from the rest of the world. People were left anxious and afraid. They struggled to find information, food, treatment and medicine.
The true stories that Xuecun captures are the voices and griefs of a city in distress. An exhausted doctor in a small hospital, earning virtually no money, being forced to work whilst battling the virus himself, is one of the first people the author speaks about. Then there’s the illegal motorcycle taxi driver, ferrying people to hospitals where queues are lengthy and people invariably get turned away from.
There are food shortages, lots of red tape, cruelty, desperation and, like most dictatorships, if you say anything that the government doesn’t approve of, you get taken away. The fact that Xuecun had to leave China in order to publish the book speaks volumes about life under the Chinese Government and Communist Party, the secret police, the propaganda and the government’s grip on social media and the media in general.
I doubt we will ever learn the true source of Covid-19 but this book goes a long way to reveal the truth of what happened in Wuhan during that endless spring. The book is well-written and the author isn’t afraid to tell the truth. If, by seeing behind the scenes, your eyes are opened just that little bit more about what a communist country is like, then read it.
Future You: Be curious. Say yes to change, Frances Valintine
“The first step is to identify how you react when faced with new or uncertain situations. Do you embrace change or deflect it.”
Frances Valintine CNZM has an impressive list of achievements to her name. Founder and CEO of The Mind Lab and Tech Futures Lab, she holds a number of directorships, is a recent inductee to the New Zealand Hall of Fame for Women Entrepreneurs, and is an advisor and mentor focused on digital transformation and preparing for the road ahead.
In her book, Frances looks back on her life and gives pointers on how change can be managed and embraced. She has spent her life working out why some people don’t embrace change, even when they know their future depends on it. She reminds us that automation and artificial intelligence are here to stay and that we all should be learning new ways of processing functions and mobilising systems and embracing a tech-enabled future.
There’s no doubt that Frances’s extraordinary career shows how breaking away from expectation and routine is integral to living a full and successful life. She inspires and empowers readers to make bold self-discoveries: to take risks, step off the conveyor belt, open themselves to chance, overcome self-doubt, foster generosity, pass less judgement, think originally, and lead with possibility.
She reminds us that our brain has an incredible power to get you to where you want to be – you just need to let it know the destination and be brave enough to begin your future now.
“When people stand back and stay fixed in their thoughts, they become like a pond with no flowing water. Over time the pond stagnates… When we sit still for too long, the speed of change erodes our ability to confidently stay in the fold – and catching up becomes less and less achievable.”
Frances encourages us to surround ourselves with people who bring new perspectives and ideas to the table and to team up with others and learn together. To focus on what success looks like and believe you can do it. She advises that we need to adapt and integrate digital tools in our work lives where virtual rooms are becoming more and more the norm. And we need to commit to keeping up. The only thing stopping your progression is you.
The book is really well-written. The subject of moving more and more into tech, online and virtual stuff is a bit overwhelming for those of us who are happy with how things are but, as Frances reminds us, the changing future is inevitable and we have to adapt and learn before we get so far behind, we can’t catch up.
Breaking Good – A Journey Through Domestic Abuse, Overcoming Trauma and Learning To Love Yourself, Lisa Mead
Lying in a Christchurch hospital bed, 11-year-old Lisa Mead cheats death after her appendix bursts. A few years’ later, the Pākehā girl from Brighton Beach is living a wild life going to parties and pubs, drinking and table-top dancing. It isn’t long before she meets and falls in love with drug-dealing, two-timing Tommy.
In spite of the way he treats her and everything he puts her through, Lisa accepts Tommy’s proposal and later gives birth to their son Dakota.
Breaking Good is first-time author Lisa Mead’s raw and courageous true story of the author’s experience of domestic abuse at the hands of the man she loves. Tommy’s blood-stained punch holes along the hallway of their Hoon Hay home are only one part of the abuse that’s doled out. There is also manipulation, verbal and sexual abuse, and financial control. Lisa is also dragged out of bed to go on drug runs as Tommy spirals further and further into his drug-dependant life. Other women are paraded in front of her and Lisa knows that Tommy is sleeping around and only comes back to her when he wants to.
The story does turn around when Lisa finally decides to change her situation. In the book, she is open about how hard the decision and resultant years were but it was the fight for a better future for her son that gave her the fuel to keep on going.
Today, 11 years on, Lisa has gone from being a single mother with no tertiary education to become a qualified chartered accountant who runs her own firm. She has also started a social impact business that donates 10% of revenue generated from accounting and business advisory clients to youth charities and projects that support at-risk kids in New Zealand.
Lisa shows readers what is possible if you reframe events and put your energy into hope, positivity and a future. She admits it isn’t easy and that people often question why women stay with their abusive partners.
“When you’re in it, you can’t see out of it, and you can’t see what a day would look like living without the abuser. The love is so strong that it looks too hard and more painful to live without them.”
You also become dependent on the abuser as they control all aspects of your life and play mind-games with you so you don’t believe you can leave or would survive without them.
Breaking Good is a story of choosing change to break the cycle of domestic abuse. It’s a courageous mother’s journey to overcome trauma and how she had to learn to love herself before she could move out of the abusive cycle she was in.
Lisa hopes her story will inspire those who are in an abusive situation to never give up on life. Her journey of adversity is there to empower people, create change and inspire future generations that they can be successful, no matter what.
“It took a while for me to get past my trauma, but I got there, and continue to be a work in progress; I’m breaking good.”
I couldn’t put this book down. I would encourage you to read it and then pass it on to someone who might need it. Never forget that domestic abuse doesn’t just happen in the lower socio-economic sectors but is across all social strata.
Resources:
Although Paula Naude is no longer the CEO of Tauranga Living without Violence, you will still find this article useful and the contact details remain the same.
Are you Ok, violence helpline 0800 456 450
Women’s Refuge – 0800 733 843
Crisis Line – 0800 742 584
If there is an emergency, call 111
