Tell Me Why for Young Adults
Archie Roach
Publication Date:
3 Mar. 2021
Format:
Paperback / softback
ISBN 9781760858865
There are many Australian stories, and mine is just one about what happened to me and other First Peoples of this country. It's important for me to tell my story -- because it's not just part of my healing but of this country's as well. We all have a story and as you read this book I would like you to think of your own story, what that means and who is also a part of your story.
In his inspirational, highly acclaimed memoir -- and including reflections from First Nations Elders and young people -- Archie Roach tells the story of his life and his music. Only two when he was forcibly removed from his family, and brought up by a series of foster parents until his early teens, Archie's world imploded when he received a letter that spoke of a life he had no memory of.
It took him almost a lifetime to find out who he really was. Tell Me Why is an unforgettable story of resilience, strength of spirit and hope.
Information
Book Type: Junior HighAge Group: 14 years +
Traffic Lights: Amber
Class Novel: Yes
Good Reads Rating: 5/5
Literary Rating: 5/5
Review
Archie Roach's memoir, now adapted for young adults, is an intensely powerful book. Throughout, the chapters begin with song lyrics from Roach's influential music career -- lyrics that clearly come from his life and experiences. At the end of the book, paperwork is included which details the information he has found on his childhood and family. With each chapter, the impact of the childhood and generational trauma experienced by Archie and the people around him becomes increasingly clear.
After a failed attempt to connect with the birth family he never knew, Archie lived on the streets, taken in by a crowd of older Aboriginal men who taught him where to sleep and how to "bite" -- ask for money on the streets -- for which he was arrested and imprisoned. The cycle of drinking, biting, and internment continued, until he by chance ran into Myrtle and his other brothers and sisters.
As Archie grew, his alcoholism worsened. He was unable to hold down a job, spent time in prison for a crime he didn't commit, and eventually moved to Adelaide where he met Ruby Hunter, the love of his life. The pair started a relationship, but both struggled with alcoholism and moved several times between Adelaide and Melbourne in an effort to outrun addiction. They had two sons and eventually Ruby left with them. Archie was devastated and went on a bender that ended in a catastrophic seizure. After that, he went to Galiamble -- a recovery centre for addicts to work towards sobriety.
Archie responded well to his time there and got back in touch with Ruby, who had gone to a women's recovery centre. Both sober, they moved back in together and started the rest of their lives. Archie continued to work at Galiamble and as a counsellor, hoping to help others the way he had been helped. His connection to Aboriginal communities has always been important to him. He could see the connection between the lifestyle he and many of the people around him led, the health conditions that took their lives too early, and the trauma they had experienced in being separated from their families and culture.
Archie had loved music since childhood, and eventually built a flourishing music career.
Roach's story is complex and deeply affecting, but it is communicated in simple, clear language and a chronological narrative structure that make it an easy read, if not a comfortable one. Scenes like his recollection of his performance after Kevin Rudd's Sorry Day speech, his performance of Took The Children Away at a protest against Australia Day, and his performance as a memorial to Ruby after her death, will stick indelibly in the memory long after reading. And though the journey of his life was hard, Archie's message is undeniably hopeful: he believes in music as an equalizer, love as a uniting force, and in humanity's capacity for good. This biography is a truly worthwhile and highly recommended read.
Themes
memoir, racism, Stolen Generations, childhood trauma, intergenerational trauma, alcoholism, homelessness, addiction, parenthood, music, activism, community, foster care, rehabilitation, cancer, strokes, illness, family, hope, resilience
Content Notes
1. Substances: Archie remembers his foster brother Noel began drinking prior to starting primary school. Smoking cigarettes (p. 35, 75, 148). Archie mentions that he is a smoker throughout and connects this to his cancer and stroke in later life. Discussion of drinking alcohol and alcoholism throughout from p. 58 -- 220. He would have been underage -- around 16 -- at the time he started drinking. 2. Archie briefly recalls kissing his girlfriend (p. 47). Archie kisses Ruby (p. 175). Sexual assault -- Archie wakes up with a man's "hands down his pants" (p. 54). 3. Language: "Bastard" -- sometimes as in "Black bastard" x 7. F*ck (p. 35, 107). Racial slurs, such as "Golliwog". Shit x 15. 4. Brief recollection of physical abuse by police officers (p. 88). Non-graphic violence -- Archie's boxing career (p. 121-126). Recollection of working at an abattoir (p. 199). Someone tells Archie a story about slitting his brother's neck during a drunken fight -- the brother survived (p. 206). Roach recalls having suicidal thoughts during a bender, then waking up in hospital (p. 208). Ruby dies -- not described (p. 315). Brief recollection of a seizure due to alcohol abuse (p. 171, 220). Ruby suffers a miscarriage off-page (p. 177). 5. Ruby thinks she sees Archie's brother Johnny in their room after his death. She takes it as him trying to warn them about the dangers of alcoholism (p. 201-202). Archie thinks he hears Ruby's voice after his death, telling him to "pull [him]self together" (p. 316).
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