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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'The story of an Aboriginal woman who worked as a police officer and fought for justice both within and beyond the Australian police force.
'A proud Kurnai woman, Veronica Gorrie grew up dauntless, full of cheek and a fierce sense of justice. After watching her friends and family suffer under a deeply compromised law-enforcement system, Gorrie signed up for training to become one of a rare few Aboriginal police officers in Australia. In her ten years in the force, she witnessed appalling institutional racism and sexism, and fought past those things to provide courageous and compassionate service to civilians in need, many Aboriginal themselves.
'With a great gift for storytelling and a wicked sense of humour, Gorrie frankly and movingly explores the impact of racism on her family and her life, the impact of intergenerational trauma resulting from cultural dispossession, and the inevitable difficulties of making her way as an Aboriginal woman in the white-and-male-dominated workplace of the police force.
'Black and Blue is a memoir of remarkable fortitude and resilience, told with wit, wisdom, and great heart.' (Publication summary)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Sound recording.
Works about this Work
-
More Black Than Blue : A Confession
2022
single work
review
— Appears in: Sydney Review of Books , June 2022;
— Review of Black and Blue : A Memoir of Racism and Resilience 2021 single work autobiography'I was going to start this book review with a confession. I wanted to confess to you the reader, that I had already decided that I would love this book before I had even read it. Not because Black and Blue had just taken out one of Australia’s most prestigious literary accolades, the Victorian Prize for Literature, as well as the Prize for Indigenous Writing, but because I love Ronnie and her family. I think the world of all of them and figured I would love every single word that Veronica Gorrie wrote. Add to that, I hate cops, and every other agent of the carceral state. So, it was only natural that I would relish reading what I imagined would be an exposé of Ronnie’s time in the force: exposing the levels of racism, corruption and sheer arrogance of the institution of policing. But as it turns out, this review of Veronica’s memoir won’t be starting out as a confession to you, dear reader, but rather to Ronnie, and to be honest, I’m a little nervous.' (Introduction)
-
Veronica Gorrie Takes Out Top Prize at Victorian Premier's Literary Awards with Powerful Memoir Black and Blue
2022
single work
column
— Appears in: ABC News [Online] , February 2022; -
Killing the Cop in Your Head
2021
single work
review
— Appears in: Inside Story , May 2021;
— Review of Black and Blue : A Memoir of Racism and Resilience 2021 single work autobiography'Forty ways of looking at Veronica Gorrie’s Black and Blue'
-
Truth-Telling : Veronica Gorrie’s Memoir of Family and Survival
2021
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , October no. 436 2021; (p. 26)
— Review of Black and Blue : A Memoir of Racism and Resilience 2021 single work autobiography'Aunty Ronnie is a Kurnai and Gunditjmara woman. She is also a mother of three, a grandmother of two, and one of Australia’s most underrated comedians. Black and Blue, her autobiography, is an enthralling book set primarily in three places: Bung Yarnda, Morwell (Black), and the Queensland Police Service (Blue), where Aunty Ronnie served as a member for ten years. The title is a play on the old saying ‘black and blue’, which commonly refers to someone covered in bruises.' (Introduction)
-
Books Roundup : A Room Called Earth, The Committed, Black and Blue, The Believer
2021
single work
review
— Appears in: Kill Your Darlings [Online] , April 2021;
— Review of A Room Called Earth 2020 single work novel ; Black and Blue : A Memoir of Racism and Resilience 2021 single work autobiography
-
‘I Had Not One Friend in the Job to Debrief with’ : Life as an Indigenous Police Officer
2021
single work
review
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 12 April 2021;
— Review of Black and Blue : A Memoir of Racism and Resilience 2021 single work autobiography'Veronica Gorrie joined the force to ‘break the cycle of fear’ she grew up with. By the time she left, she was carrying additional burdens.'
-
Books Roundup : A Room Called Earth, The Committed, Black and Blue, The Believer
2021
single work
review
— Appears in: Kill Your Darlings [Online] , April 2021;
— Review of A Room Called Earth 2020 single work novel ; Black and Blue : A Memoir of Racism and Resilience 2021 single work autobiography -
Truth-Telling : Veronica Gorrie’s Memoir of Family and Survival
2021
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , October no. 436 2021; (p. 26)
— Review of Black and Blue : A Memoir of Racism and Resilience 2021 single work autobiography'Aunty Ronnie is a Kurnai and Gunditjmara woman. She is also a mother of three, a grandmother of two, and one of Australia’s most underrated comedians. Black and Blue, her autobiography, is an enthralling book set primarily in three places: Bung Yarnda, Morwell (Black), and the Queensland Police Service (Blue), where Aunty Ronnie served as a member for ten years. The title is a play on the old saying ‘black and blue’, which commonly refers to someone covered in bruises.' (Introduction)
-
More Black Than Blue : A Confession
2022
single work
review
— Appears in: Sydney Review of Books , June 2022;
— Review of Black and Blue : A Memoir of Racism and Resilience 2021 single work autobiography'I was going to start this book review with a confession. I wanted to confess to you the reader, that I had already decided that I would love this book before I had even read it. Not because Black and Blue had just taken out one of Australia’s most prestigious literary accolades, the Victorian Prize for Literature, as well as the Prize for Indigenous Writing, but because I love Ronnie and her family. I think the world of all of them and figured I would love every single word that Veronica Gorrie wrote. Add to that, I hate cops, and every other agent of the carceral state. So, it was only natural that I would relish reading what I imagined would be an exposé of Ronnie’s time in the force: exposing the levels of racism, corruption and sheer arrogance of the institution of policing. But as it turns out, this review of Veronica’s memoir won’t be starting out as a confession to you, dear reader, but rather to Ronnie, and to be honest, I’m a little nervous.' (Introduction)
-
Killing the Cop in Your Head
2021
single work
review
— Appears in: Inside Story , May 2021;
— Review of Black and Blue : A Memoir of Racism and Resilience 2021 single work autobiography'Forty ways of looking at Veronica Gorrie’s Black and Blue'
-
Veronica Gorrie Takes Out Top Prize at Victorian Premier's Literary Awards with Powerful Memoir Black and Blue
2022
single work
column
— Appears in: ABC News [Online] , February 2022;
Awards
- 2022 longlisted Davitt Award — Best Debut
- 2022 longlisted Davitt Award — Best True Crime Book
- 2022 highly commended National Biography Award
- 2022 shortlisted New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards — Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction
- 2022 shortlisted Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) — Small Publishers' Adult Book of the Year