Shadow Child: A Memoir of the Stolen Generation

by Rosalie Fraser

Taken from her parents, brothers and sisters and committed to the care of the Child Welfare Department, Rosalie, a two-year-old Aboriginal child, was subjected to unbelievable abuse at the hands of her foster mother. Shadow Child exposes the faceless ureaucracy that went on to tear from Rosalie her baby sister - and her identity. Escaping from the torture of her so-called home, she became a street-kid in constant trouble with the law, but with the help of others and by her own unquenchable spirit, survived to become the author of this powerful and inspiring autobiography, which, miraculously, has a happy ending.

276 pages, Paperback

First published June 9, 1999

Reviews

[Sue]

Written by an Aboriginal woman this book is the story of her life as a child forcibly removed from her parents and sent to live with a foster family. It seems to me that taking a child from their family and placing them into another does not always have good repercussions. Rosalie writes clearly and truthfully about her life, and that it is a lifelong journey to try and come to terms with what happened to her. Unfortunately she has not been able to be reunited with her father but has found her mother and siblings. Truly an awful part of Australian history that can't be hidden away.

[Carmel]

an excellent, but tough read