2022 New Resources: Biography/Memoirs

In episode 1 of the Ray Martin fronted SBS series Look me in the Eye, two South Sudanese migrants now resident in Brisbane sat across from each other and looked into each other's eyes. One of them, Ayik, was once a ten-year-old boy soldier training in the junior forces of the SPLA and like many of the young boys hating it. He regularly ran away

It's 1966, and twelve-year-old Ji-li Jiang has everything: brains, popularity, and a bright future in Communist China. Then China's leader, Mao Ze-dong, launches the Cultural Revolution--and Ji-li's world begins to fall apart. Over the next few years, people who were once her friends and neighbors turn on Ji-li and her family, forcing them to live in constant fear of arrest

People of African descent have been in Australia for at least 200 years, yet their stories are largely missing from Australian writing. Australians of the African diaspora have arrived here in many different ways- directly from the continent; via the Caribbean, the Americas and the United Kingdom; making the journey to Australia over one generation, or several. What is it like to grow up African in Australia? This anthology, compiled by award-winning author Maxine Beneba Clarke with curatorial assistance from writers Ahmed Yussuf and Magan Magan, showcases diverse voices, experiences and stories in order to answer that question. Accounts from well-known authors and high-profile cultural and sporting identities sit alongside newly discovered voices of all ages, with experiences spanning regions, cities and generations. All of the pieces call for understanding, oftentimes challenging stereotypes, always demanding respect. Growing Up African aims to defy, question or shed light on the many stereotypes that currently exist about the vibrant extended African community in Australia.

From AFL stardom to attempting to take his own life, Majak Daw's is a football story like no other. Born in Sudan, Majak Daw fled to Egypt with his family when he was only eight years old. When they were eventually able to make a new life for themselves in Melbourne's south-west, Majak for the first time found where he belonged- playing footy. Drafted as a raw prospect by North Melbourne, Majak's explosiveness and athleticism were undeniable, and when his dream of playing in the AFL came true in 2013, he became a media sensation overnight. But on top of this unprecedented scrutiny, he was expected to be a role model for migrant youth and to speak for his entire community. While from the outside Majak appeared to stand tall in the face of this pressure, as well as vicious racial vilification and crushingly bad luck with injuries, behind the scenes he was struggling. Depression, anxiety, alcohol abuse and the fear of becoming a father were tearing him apart from the inside. At his wit's end, feeling like there was nowhere else to turn, Majak made the decision to end it all by jumping off the Bolte Bridge. But his story didn't end there. Miraculously, he survived the 25-metre plunge into the icy Yarra River. Despite suffering horrific hip and pelvis injuries, Majak had been given a second chance at life, and he was determined to make the most of it. Embarking on a brutal rehabilitation program, he defied the odds and returned to play AFL footy, including a dazzling comeback game that many had thought impossible. A true trailblazer, Majak Daw's life is an inspiration to anyone who's ever struggled to belong, felt oppressed or simply dared to dream big.

This is the story of Ishmael Beah's childhood - how aged just 12, he fled from rebels attacking his village to wander a violent land, before being conscripted into the army - where he learnt that he too was capable of terrible acts. Once he emerged he decided to tell his story, a story of the loss of innocence and the power of redemption. This is the first first-hand account of how wars are now fought: by children, on drugs, with AK-47s. In more than fifty conflicts going on worldwide, there are an estimated 300,000 child soldiers.

William Cooper's passionate struggle against the dispossession of Aboriginal people and the denial of their rights, and his heroic fight for them to become citizens in their own country, has been widely commemorated. By carefully reconstructing the historical losses his people suffered and endured, William Cooper: An Aboriginal Life Story reveals how the first seventy years of Cooper's life inspired the remarkable political work he undertook in the 1930s. Focusing on Cooper's campaigns - his famous petition to King George V for an Aboriginal representative in the Australian parliament, his call for a day of mourning after 150 years of colonisation, the walk-off of the Yorta Yorta people from Cummeragunja Reserve of an Aboriginal regiment in the Second World War - this carefully researched study sheds important new light on the long struggle that Indigenous people have fought to tell the truth about Australia's black history and wo win representation in Australia's political order.

From atoms to X-rays and from the Big Bang to the Internet, brilliant breakthroughs by successful scientists have changed the world again and again. Dip inside this book to tread the stories of 100 scientists and their amazing discoveries.

Prepare to be inspired with this fantastically great new series for young readers. In this first book, read the true stories of amazing scientists and discover things that are out of this world. Women have been responsible for many of the world's most groundbreaking scientific discoveries. Kate Pankhurst, descendent of Emmeline Pankhurst, tells the stories of some incredible female scientists whose hard work and persistence changed our understanding of science, and transformed people's ideas of what women can do. As a child Mae Jemison imagined herself reaching for the stars and that's exactly what she did: she became the first African-American woman to go into space. When Elizabeth Blackwell was told women weren't allowed to be doctors, she didn't take no for an answer. Tu Youyou spent months on a remote island during the Vietnam War to try and invent a treatment for malaria - and she did it. Including comic strips, family trees, maps and more, Fantastically Great Women Scientists and Their Stories is a celebration of women who made some of the world's most important scientific breakthroughs. Women featured: Mae Jemison, Marie Curie, Elizabeth Blackwell, Janaki Ammal, Caroline Herschel, Katia Krafft, Tu Youyou and Rosalind Franklin