Borderline

by Sandie Jessamine

In 1974, fifteen-year-old Sandie escaped from the Kamballa institution, formerly known as the infamous Parramatta Girls Home. On the outside she soon discovered that police and justice are not always the same. Forty years later, during a heartbreaking family crisis, Sandie experienced a mental breakdown inside a men’s protection prison where she worked as a teacher. She felt helpless while other unknown parts of her personality took over. Finding herself unemployed, she embarked on the difficult quest to find healing by reclaiming the other selves buried deep within her. Girls who were still trapped in the horrors of her troubled childhood. As part of her recovery Sandie visited the derelict buildings that she had once been imprisoned in. Kamballa was the gateway between herself and childhood. To find the lost girls within her and bring them home, she knew had to cross that threshold and let them finally tell their stories. The voices of a troubled child, a rebel teenager, a witch, a teacher, and a wild fighter join forces in a raw, gritty and ultimately uplifting memoir that shines a light on the complexities of mental illness, the injustices and cruelty of juvenile incarceration and, above all, the determination and strength of character to overcome them both.

278 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 18, 2021

Reviews

[Chrissie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is impossible to put down. Sandie is an absolutely amazing women who has had the courage to step forward and tell her story. I had the privilege of meeting sandie at a short course and I never ever guessed that the calm, friendly, kind, creative and loving women sitting beside me had endured such hardships.

As well as it being a gut wrenching tale, Borderline is written beautifully - this is not an ordinary memoir where you feel like you’re listening to an old friend speak but rather a fully fleshed out story that captivates, softens and most of all inspires a person.

The fact that sandie is not just persevering but flourishing through life today having endured all of those injustices is mind boggling to me.

Borderline is an objectively good written book that needs to be in libraries and shops everywhere.

Sandie, if you ever read this- you should turn your novel into a movie!! It would do so well 🙂🙂🙂

[Kelly Ferrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Borderline. by Sandie Jessamine.
A intriguing book about life spent at Kamballa Girls Home at Parramatta, NSW ... which was formerly known as Parramatta Girls Home. In its early time with a new name so not many girls being there ... Sandie had spent a few years at different homes so at stages meeting people at this home was like meeting up with familiar faces. A few escapes from this institution meant spending time on the streets .. sometime maybe hours other times maybe days. Some things quite devastating on what she had to do to survive.
To come out the other side alive ... and make something of her life ...

[Anne-Marie Markham · Rating 5 out of 5]

I throughly enjoyed Sandie’s book. It is an authentic portrayal of life in a girls institution at Parramatta and of Borderline Personality Disorder and dissociation. I highly recommend this book for psychologists, psychiatrists and others in the mental health field. It’s very easy to read and Captivating.

[Elizabeth Hamlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Powerful and well-written memoir. This memoir is not like any other that I have read. It includes events that should not happen to anyone and the author's psychological state at the time. It is a book worth reading.

[Wendy Mahon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sandie's story of life at Kambala( inside the Parramatta Girls Home) highlights the brutality of the NSW juvenile justice system of the 1970's.

That Sandie survived this ordeal is a testament to her strength of character.
A must read!!!













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[Christina Maisano · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very well written and hard to read at time. I would have liked to hear more about the journey to recovery as well as the time spent in institution.

[Ray Zhou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hi, Sandie. Thank you so much for this story of survival. I admire your courage.