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Her Father's Daughter: The Bonnie Henderson Story
Outback home of the famous Henderson women, Bullo River Station. One of these women is no longer welcome there, even thugh her heart yearns for the place. This is her story. The Bonnie Henderson Story.
- GenresNonfiction
Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 19, 2019
When I noticed this book at the library sale shelves, I thought it would be a tale of a rough and ready woman running her own station in Australia.
I was only partly right.
This is more the story of a very dysfunctional family and how Bonnie survived a life that would have sent most of us running screaming into the night.
You get an idea of the attitudes when you read the very first chapter about Bonnie's birth. She did not come into life easily, and you get the idea right away the her mother Sara resented her for all the pain she caused. Throughout the book Sara is the evil witch who favors her other daughters and ignores Bonnie as much as possible.
Combine that with a father who was what used to be called a ne'er-do-well, even though he was a 'Southern gentleman' and an ace pilot in WWII, and you can imagine the crazy, full of drama home life this woman had to deal with.
She became obsessed as a youngster with earning Daddy's approval. Anything that scared her was a challenge to be overcome no matter what. She was afraid of horses when they first moved to the station in Queensland but she learned not only how to ride but how to master them. She was afraid to fly, but because Daddy insisted (and whacked her upside the head to boot) she went ahead and learned.
I liked Bonnie even while feeling sorry for her. She was and may still be a person full of issues, thanks to her upbringing on that isolated station, but she learned to be self-reliant, learned how to work hard and do whatever needed to be done. She was the hands-on manager at the station, working alongside the men. She became a saddle maker, a stunt pilot, eventually a wife and mother. She was one tough cookie. She needed to be to survive emotionally and physically.
The book was written to counter claims by mom Sara, who was known in Australia for the books she wrote about life at Bullo River station. Books in which she painted herself to be the heroine who saved the day again and again. This family and their situation was well known in Australia at the time, and the author of this book wanted to get Bonnie's side of things out to the public.
I don't know if even a tough cookie can completely heal from the type of family dramatics Bonnie lived through. I think it was a hard way to become the person she was meant to be, and I hope she has found some peace and tranquility in her adult life.
Oh, by the way, there are 306 pages in this book.
I was only partly right.
This is more the story of a very dysfunctional family and how Bonnie survived a life that would have sent most of us running screaming into the night.
You get an idea of the attitudes when you read the very first chapter about Bonnie's birth. She did not come into life easily, and you get the idea right away the her mother Sara resented her for all the pain she caused. Throughout the book Sara is the evil witch who favors her other daughters and ignores Bonnie as much as possible.
Combine that with a father who was what used to be called a ne'er-do-well, even though he was a 'Southern gentleman' and an ace pilot in WWII, and you can imagine the crazy, full of drama home life this woman had to deal with.
She became obsessed as a youngster with earning Daddy's approval. Anything that scared her was a challenge to be overcome no matter what. She was afraid of horses when they first moved to the station in Queensland but she learned not only how to ride but how to master them. She was afraid to fly, but because Daddy insisted (and whacked her upside the head to boot) she went ahead and learned.
I liked Bonnie even while feeling sorry for her. She was and may still be a person full of issues, thanks to her upbringing on that isolated station, but she learned to be self-reliant, learned how to work hard and do whatever needed to be done. She was the hands-on manager at the station, working alongside the men. She became a saddle maker, a stunt pilot, eventually a wife and mother. She was one tough cookie. She needed to be to survive emotionally and physically.
The book was written to counter claims by mom Sara, who was known in Australia for the books she wrote about life at Bullo River station. Books in which she painted herself to be the heroine who saved the day again and again. This family and their situation was well known in Australia at the time, and the author of this book wanted to get Bonnie's side of things out to the public.
I don't know if even a tough cookie can completely heal from the type of family dramatics Bonnie lived through. I think it was a hard way to become the person she was meant to be, and I hope she has found some peace and tranquility in her adult life.
Oh, by the way, there are 306 pages in this book.
August 7, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews