AustLit

'I am enthusiastic about telling my story all about my illness – bipolar mood swing disorder. I write with restlessness and with recklessness, sometimes with energy so strong, along with energy incredibly low. With the effect of this illness comes the need to rebuild myself and my self-esteem, and finally to come to terms with the illness itself. I get angry and so frustrated at times. I want people with mental illness to be acknowledged and treated with respect, understanding and compassion. We are strong people who deserve to be trusted. And I want for those who are not coping and who need constant reassurance throughout their illnesses to be able to feel worthy. I write this book for all bipolar sufferers and for all those who suffer anxiety and for those who are pessimistic towards every issue surrounding mental health. I now reach out as a writer, an author, a poet and as a mother and a proud grandmother of eighteen, and great-grandmother of one. This is my story, my personal experience of coping with isolation, in my state of mind; no one could or would bother to ask me how I felt.' (Publication Summary)

'When Doris Kartinyeri was a month old, her mother died. The family gathered to mourn their loss and welcome the new baby home. But Doris never arrived to live with her family - she was stolen from the hospital and placed in Colebrook Home, where she stayed for the next fourteen years.

The legacy of being a member of the Stolen Generations continued for Doris as she was placed in white homes as a virtual slave, struggled through relationships and suffered with anxiety and mental illness.

Kick the tin was a game Doris Kartinyeri played in the Colebrook Home. This is a life that has been kicked around. It is the compelling and sometimes witty memoir of a courageous journey, a journey into the soul of an individual to find meaning and substance after the loss of everything the rest of us take for granted.' Source: Publisher's blub.