Five autobiographies you need to read this summer
Five autobiographies you need to read this summer
30 December 2019
From Archie Roach to Tim Costello, there are plenty of Aussie faith-based memoirs out this summer. We asked Salvos from across Australia to review five of our favourites. What are you waiting for? Choose a book, kick back and be inspired! This is our Summer Reading Guide.
Tell Me Why by Archie Roach
Elder Uncle Archie Roach is an Aboriginal leader from the Stolen Generation and one Australia’s most accomplished singer-songwriters.
The story meanders through the lives of Archie, Ruby Hunter (his wife), their mob, communities and associates. We see his development as an Aboriginal activist, world traveller, survivor of being in custody, and addiction. In this, he shows us the impact that past government policies had on their lives without playing the blame game.
I would give the book an M rating due to the elements it presents such as addiction, homelessness and violence. Archie talks about his faith in God while grappling with spirituality and The Dreaming. He also mentions that he and his sisters were in The Salvation Army Girls Home in East Camberwell.
This autobiography may just be the resource that we need to connect with people with an addiction regardless of them being Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander or not.
Available online and at major bookstores.
Metanoia by Anna McGahan
Logie-nominated actress Anna McGahan is eloquently honest in this memoir. She is unfiltered as she details her life – from her life-threatening wrestle with an eating disorder as a teen, to her understanding of her body, sexuality and identity as an actress who was initially lauded for her sex appeal.
McGahan is a true artist and this shows in her writing. Each story is told with authenticity and vivid description. Through this, we see the breadcrumbs God dropped for her, and her candid descriptions of how God met her will leave you amazed.
There is candour to this memoir that is entirely unique. It details the people and events that shaped her before and after her conversion but does so with a sense of wholeness, security and stability. If you are wrestling with religious constructs, or merely want an insight into the performing arts industry, this memoir is a gold mine.
Available at Koorong.
A Lot With A Little by Tim Costello
Tim Costello’s autobiography is an immersive read that invites you on a journey of Costello’s own spiritual walk. This is something that is undoubtedly intriguing considering his vocational path as a Baptist minister and former CEO of World Vision, as well as experience as a solicitor and public speaker ... not to mention his family ties with the Australian parliament.
Costello's story is an invitation to awaken or encourage your faith as he explores how his spirituality and consciousness of social justice developed during the latter half of the last century.
After a lifetime of work living with people on the fringes of society, he brings a human face to the issues we hear about on the news and invites us to be a part of ‘kingdom come’ on a personal level, as well as socially and politically.
All in all, though, it is a book that challenges preconceptions of what Christianity should look like to those who we refer to as the ‘least of these’.
Available online and at major bookstores.
Born-again Blakfella by Jack Charles
A picture paints a thousand words, and this clearly defines the front cover of actor Jack Charles’ autobiography. In Born-again Blakfella, we are invited into the story of this Aboriginal Elder, who experienced a denigration of identity as a child, devoid of love and self-belonging due to government policy.
A member of the Stolen Generation, Uncle Jack shares how he was taken from his mother at four months of age and ‘placed’ into the City Mission Home for babies. He was then moved to a Salvation Army boys home in Box Hill until he was 14. It was here that he was introduced to Christianity, and he outlines how his faith continued to play a pivotal role in his life when is was ‘homed’ with a family while completing an apprenticeship.
Uncle Jack opens up about how his life took a series of events reconnecting him with his mother and three siblings. However, there are instances where he makes poor choices and winds up in the ‘nick’ for short intervals. This created a sense of fortitude, and we see how his personal suffering shaped his achievements as one of the country’s most notable actors.
Available online and at major bookstores.
Shame Off You by Rob Mason
Perth-based pastor Rob Mason is refreshingly open in his memoir-come-self-help book Shame Off You. Telling the story of his diagnosis with anxiety and panic attacks, he succinctly communicates the medical and theological aspects of mental illness with compassion.
Identifying shame as the cause of his struggles, he sets the book up as a guide on how each of us can overcome shame. Combining Scripture with his experiences in counselling, Mason has created one of the most relatable and well-rounded mental health memoirs in the Christian market.
This is a must-read for any Christian struggling with a sense of anxiety and creates a new benchmark for Australian masculinity that shows men can be both strong and vulnerable.
Available at Koorong.
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