![]() But that’s not the only change happening. For one thing, Kevin Rudd is saying ‘sorry’ to the Aboriginal people for their stolen generation – this means a lot to the McCardell family, since Nan is part Koorie and there are plenty of people in Laurie from tribes all over Australia who were taken and affected. We meet Fuzzy in 2008, in her last year of high school, which just so happens to be a year of big change. Because of them Fuzzy uses words like ‘bloomers’ and ‘wireless’, she listens to Nat King Cole and adheres to Nan’s strict protocol of hanging washing on the line (undies on the inside, so you don’t flash your neighbours). Fuzzy could have lived with her dad, Sonny Boy, but he travels a lot and it’s gotten to be that Fuzzy couldn’t imagine life without her Nan and Pop. Fuzzy Mac lives in Laurel Dale or ‘Laurie' as the locals call it, with her Nan and Pop.įuzzy has lived with her grandparents ever since her mother died of a drug overdose when Fuzzy was still a baby. Meet Fuzzy McCardell, otherwise affectionately known as ‘Fuzzy Mac’ – named for her mop of fuzzy hair, and because her real name, Ocean Skye, is just a little too hippy-dippy. Simple, wonderful storytelling at its finest. The writing is incredibly organic, Sue McPherson engages readers within the narrative as I felt as though I was part of the Laurel Dale community. Indigenous Australian, Māori, European and white Australia coexist within the small community that is beautifully portrayed. Pop is a descendant of the South Sea Islanders, enslaved and brought to Australia. Nan and her sisters were only young girls when they were stolen from their families. Nan is biracial Indigenous and Irish, her mother Koori and father of Irish heritage. The diversity of characters are wonderful. Nan and Pop are pillars of the small town community, caring for the downtrodden. The neighbours experiencing domestic violence, Holocaust survivors, Uncle Lefty who through loss of identity, is now on the straight and narrow. ![]() ![]() Grace Beside Me places the focus on family and the small community of Laurel Dale's societal issues. The Australian government have announced a national day of apology, a small step towards the process of healing Indigenous communities, touching on long held racism, prejudice and the Stolen Generation. Politically, the landscape of Australia is changing. Stories keep our culture strong and our faith alive. It's the listening and telling of stories that bring our people close, both young and old. Navigating adolescence as Fuzzy finds her sense of self, her ancestry and her role as an Indigenous, Irish and South Sea Islander young woman. ![]() Thirteen years of age will become a monumental year for Fuzzy as she begins to see spirits, a long held tradition of Seer passed down through the McCardell women. Since her mother passed, Fuzzy has lived with her grandparents, known to the town as Nan and Pop, her father employed in the mining industry and unable to care for his only child. If you don't see Big Timer in your history, javascript may be disabled in your browser after all.Thirteen year old Ocean Skye McCardell, affectionately known as Fuzzy Mac, lives within the small outback town of Laurel Dale.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |