Long Yarn Short

by Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts

At just ten years old, Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts was forcibly removed – stolen – from her family, community and kinship systems. After eight years in various out-of-home care placements, Vanessa fled the system, reconnected with kin and returned to country for the very first time. Only then did she begin to heal.In this book, Vanessa embarks on an extraordinary work of truth-telling, exposing the ongoing violence visited on Black children, their families and their communities by the systems that claim to protect them. As a survivor of out-of-home care, a practising lawyer fighting for the freedom of others and now also a mother herself, she takes an unflinching look at the heartache and trauma caused by racist family policing, the shameful rates of child removals and the steady pipeline of First Nations children into the criminal justice system.Long Yarn Short is a story of struggle, grief and love, a call to action from one of the most powerful voices of her generation. As a leading expert in children and young people's rights, Vanessa invites readers to imagine solutions for a better world – a world of support and empowerment, not punishment – and demands that they listen when she says, ‘ We are still here.'

Genres: Memoir, Indigenous

256 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2025

Reviews

[Jade Scouller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learnt a lot from this book and found the author’s calls for change very compelling. It certainly reads like a yarn - feeling repetitive at times - however, the author’s personal story, conviction for abolition, and vision for a better future kept my attention throughout.

[Lia Perkins]

Vanessa has such an important story, and having heard her speak at rallies so many times I could hear her voice come through. The style of a yarn makes it very repetitive and easy to read - hopefully this allows her to reach broader audiences.

[Bruce Campbell · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.0. At the risk of being shot down in flames, I am giving this book just one star. There are two reasons for my decision. The first is straight forward. I found it hard to read because it is repetitive and meandering. I guess the word "yarn" should have alerted me to that. The second reason is that the book made me both sad and angry. I fully acknowledge that white invaders completely mishandled any attempts at assimilation of the aboriginals and caused untold misery and heartache. My heard bleeds for the people we treated so abysmally. But, in the last 50 years thousands of white people, who firmly believe that "black lives matter," have worked tirelessly to redress the mistakes of the past. There is no acknowledgement of their efforts in this book. There is no acknowledgement of the well- meaning families who have taken black children into their homes, often after they have been removed from horrific circumstances, and given them a chance at a better life. They did not just do it for financial gain. They did it because of their love for their love for their fellow humans.
I do not know the answers but there are many good people who have tried and are still trying. I love and admire black people as the original custodians of our country but this book does not give me a realistic path to follow to redress the terrible mess we have got ourselves into. I was hoping for some direction so I was disappointed.

[Ryan Ahe'ârné · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honest, raw, truth.
Ness captures the lived experience, depicting what it means to be a child, stolen at the hands of the family policing system as each page unpacks the deep wounds that Australia’s systemic injustices carve into our First Nations families and children. This book is not for the light hearted as Ness shares her vulnerability as a child and as a survivor, giving first hand insight into the corruption that is so sickly normalised within Australia’s society.
This text captures the deeply rooted trauma as a result of the impact intersectionality has on the indigenous identity and challenges you to question authority, question justice and question family policing, criminal justice and social work, revealing the corruption within institutions designed to serve.
It is a privilege to read and learn from this story, as Ness blends pre colonial storytelling, kinship and lore with the historical and political context of Australia, you’re forced as a reader to understand the layered and multifaceted racism that ravages upheaval amongst Aboriginal communities.
I implore anyone living on stolen land to read, engage and learn from this story, feel uncomfortable, question the injustice and do something!
As Ness so clearly articulates “we can create a world, a vision that allows for worthiness and love for all”, asking for the collective effort of the community, that is all communities to call to arms and abolish family policing.

Thank you my sis, I am so proud x

[Kt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Genre: Non-fiction - Indigenous Australia, memoir, social commentary

Does the blurb reflect the plot: it’s a perfect summary of the books to come

Sum it up: part memoir, part social commentary; Long Yarn Short is a book that will blow your mind. As a lawyer who works in child protection and who did so for an ATSI community legal service for nine years, I found Turball-Roberts’ story of being ripped from her family and placed in foster care all to familiar, but it was the path she then chose to take that had me up reading this engaging book into the wee hours of the morning. Not one to just talk about changing the failing child protection system, Turnball-Roberts writes in a very passionate, yet exceptionally articulate manner about the personal and professional steps she has taken and wants to take improve a broken child protection system, particularly with regards to ATSI children and their families. I regularly found myself nodding along as I was reading, but you certainly don’t have to have any knowledge of the child protection system and/or identify as a First Nations person to understand or be inspired by Long Yarn Short as Turnbull-Roberts’ well chosen words will paint an extraordinary picture in your mind as you read. A highly recommended book that will open your eyes, it’s one that I hope will open your mind too, not just from the memoir perspective, but also on the social commentary side of things.

Who should read it: a must for those with an interest in social commentary, social justice, Indigenous affairs, memoirs, child protection and non-fiction generally; I would recommend it anyone and everyone.

To play along with my book bingo and to see what else I’m reading, go to #ktbookbingo or @peggyanne_readsandruns on Instagram.

[Fran · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not a holiday read! The story of Vanessa being removed from her family and then placed in various foster homes is devasting. The over policing of First Nations people when it comes to removing children from their family and community does untold damage for the rest of their lives. Turnbull=Roberts gives illustrations of where a First Nations child may be removed, and where a white child would not, eg a First Nations child who slept on the floor with his cousins while the families were joining together for the Koori Knockout, where as a white child who slept on the floor with his/her cousins would not because that would just be holidaying together, not neglect. We really need to reexamine our out of home care system and find better ways of keeping children with families, or at least relatives.

[Stefanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vanessa's story is as powerful as it is as heart breaking. People believed that once Kevin Rudd apologised to the Stolen Generations, that things changed. Quite simply, they haven't. With the right supports, Vanessa's parents likely could've co-parented and raised their children together. Too often it's assumed that Aboriginal ways of doing things must be inferior, when they're not, they're just different. Vanessa explores this and more in her book. It is written in a conversational "yarn" style, and you feel like she's your friend explaining her experiences to you.
Another reader suggested she should've appreciated what white people have done in recent years, but why should she? We are still incarcerating and forcibly removing children from their families as the first resort, not the last. Apologising is supposed to mean the behaviour stops, not changes into another insidious form.

[Natalia Figueroa Barroso · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for all, in particular if you are a settler on these lands.

I will leave you with these important quotes below:

“Family policing system is a business and it serves as a significant investment for privatisation at the cost of First Nations’ lives.”

“Did you know that it is far more expensive to keep a child in the policing system than it is to fund the communities and families themselves?”

“Did you know that the majority of children who are removed today are places in emergency hotel rooms with only a caseworker present?”

“What if I told you that there are alarm bells ringing around child sexual abuse in statutory care?”

Now go get your copy and read!

[Ally Marov · Rating 4 out of 5]

’So, who am I? I am angry. I am hurt. I am proud. I am strong. I was stolen. I exist in multitudes but I want you to remember that I was stolen. My parents did not give consent and even when the court processes began, there was coercion of state force’.

✨4.5 stars✨
⚠️TRIGGER WARNINGS BEFORE YOU READ THIS BOOK/REVIEW: child removal, mental illness, racism, police brutality, suicide, death of parents, child abuse⚠️

This book is available on Audible through their Audible Plus catalogue.

A powerful First Nations story. Words can’t seem to describe it. Definitely a must read for all Australians! 🌻✨

[Emma Stevenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An eye-opening and important read for Australians. It's overdue and genuine to hear from a First Nation's voice in this space, though confronting to read the reality and lived experiences shared in this book. This is a challenge all non-Indigenous Australians should embrace and seek to understand. Thank you, Vanessa, for sharing your story and wealth of knowledge.

[Kim Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book reads like a yarn. At times I wished for clearer editing because the conversational tone and repetitive phrasing sometimes stood in the way of the (really important) message. But overall this is honest and raw, and essential reading for any aspiring Australian Social Worker, teacher or police officer.

[Faye Weston · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thorough and moving account of Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts, a survivor of child removal under the family policing system. At times it is repetitive as she hammers home her points but you can feel her energy and dedication to fix this mess and she has the qualifications to do it. If you can’t read this short book then try her recorded interviews and presentations.

[Michelle G · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible account of Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts' forcible removal from her loving family at the age of 10 - her survival in the out-of-home care system and subsequent reconnection with kin and country. A powerful voice in the conversation Australia urgently needs to have about the harm inflicted by racist family policing, when First Nations children are taken away from everything that keeps them strong. I read it in 24 hours, and will find my ways to enact the book's powerful calls to action.

[KhrissyS · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vanessa your story had me in tears in many parts , angry in many parts and nodding my head in agreement in many parts . Thankyou for your honesty , we all need to get behind your movement of abolition and shut down the family wreckers !!!

[Kamala Mansfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely devoured this book. Vanessa offers a powerful call to arms to abolish the family policing system in Australia and highlights the immense harms caused by the removal of First Nations children from their families. This should be obligatory reading for EVERYONE!!

[Clauds · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book broke my heart

[Meg Dunley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not an easy read. And it shouldn’t be. This is Vanessa’ story of being forcibly removed from her father’s home when she was ten. Her father was an Aboriginal man, her mother had mental health issues. Because of this she was removed from their care as their homes, they, were deemed unfit for her to grow up in.

Turnbull-Roberts is a Bundjalung Widubul-Wiabul woman with degrees in law and social work. Her book is an essential read to understand how toxic family policing is for families who need more support, not less. She is someone who not only has lived experience to talk about these issues, but she also plays a key role in her work as the Inaugural Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People.

More here https://open.substack.com/pub/megdunl...

[Adriana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential reading

[Violet Fine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crucial reading for settlers.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

At just ten years old, Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts was forcibly removed – stolen – from her family, community and kinship systems. After eight years in various out-of-home care placements, Vanessa fled the system, reconnected with kin and returned to country for the very first time. Only then did she begin to heal.In this book, Vanessa embarks on an extraordinary work of truth-telling, exposing the ongoing violence visited on Black children, their families and their communities by the systems that claim to protect them. As a survivor of out-of-home care, a practising lawyer fighting for the freedom of others and now also a mother herself, she takes an unflinching look at the heartache and trauma caused by racist family policing, the shameful rates of child removals and the steady pipeline of First Nations children into the criminal justice system.Long Yarn Short is a story of struggle, grief and love, a call to action from one of the most powerful voices of her generation. As a leading expert in children and young people's rights, Vanessa invites readers to imagine solutions for a better world – a world of support and empowerment, not punishment – and demands that they listen when she says, ‘ We are still here.'

[Tasha Stokes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This felt like sitting down with a friend, listening to their raw, unfiltered truths. Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts shares her lived experiences with such honesty and vulnerability that it’s impossible not to feel deeply connected. The book masterfully interweaves personal stories with shocking statistics and horrific accounts of how Indigenous people in Australia continue to be mistreated. I cried for Vanessa, her family, her parents, and her community. The injustices described are heartbreaking, and it’s devastating to realize that this is not history—it’s still happening today.

This is a powerful, eye-opening read that challenges you to confront the uncomfortable truths of modern Australia. Vanessa’s courage in sharing her story is inspiring, and her voice is one we all need to hear. Highly recommended for anyone ready to listen and learn.

[Karen Hollenbach · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must read for any Australian who’s wondering ‘how did we get here’ and what can be done to enable the healing. Turnbull-Robert’s offers deep insight and practical, meaningful suggestions for empowering community. She also shines a light on the fearful reality that continues to exist for pregnant and new mothers, at a time that should be filled with joy.

If you voted YES in the referendum and are now wondering what’s next, this is the person to get behind, support and tell all of your fellow readers about.

[Briar Harte · Rating 5 out of 5]

When lived experience becomes lived expertise. Vanessa has written a beautiful and compelling yarn with a clear call to action.

I unlearnt so much about the experiences of First Nation families and the systems that lets them down.

Must read.