AustLit

'In 1954, aged three, Rhonda Spratt was taken from her Aboriginal mother and placed on Carnarvon Native Mission in remote Western Australia. Growing up in the white world of chores and aprons, religious teachings and cruel beatings, Rhonda drew strength and healing from her mission brothers and sisters, her art, music and poetry, and her unbreakable bond with the Dreaming. In Rhonda’s own words: I lived my early years on a native mission in Western Australia – growing up without a mother’s love. I was always searching for my people’s language, dance, songs and stories. I went on to find some family, my culture, my identity and ultimately myself. In writing this book, I wanted to speak about what happened to us as a people, on a human level, through the eyes of a child (Collard-Spratt & Ferro 2017: xi).' (Introduction)