Eight years older and wiser,she realises Jorge may well have been a conman,adding “a delicious layer of irony to this attempt at sentiment”. Editorialising on her own observations is pure Tame,a thread of wit and ironic detachment throughout the book.
After this prologue,the facts of her childhood are sketched. Tame’s parents individually were good people who did not get along,and their marriage ended when she was two years old. From this point onwards a woman whose identity Tame does not disclose,but connected with her father,psychologically abused her. With undiagnosed autism and ADHD,being shuffled from one parent’s home to the other was in itself a struggle,and “quirky” behaviour on top would be met “with a smack instead of patience”.
Both parents worked full-time and from an early age,Tame would be dropped at school as early as 7am,alone,unsupervised,sometimes in tears:“I didn’t say anything at the time,that was just the way it was.” Aged six,an older child forced her into a closet and molested her – she discovered four fellow survivors of this abuser later on. Tame says,“it’s been hard for me to form a strong sense of self” since as a child “it was trampled on”.
Yet the absence of self-pity is striking. Her loving evocation of family,friends and positive experiences of life here and abroad over the ensuing decades is vivid and uplifting. This is the account of someone who refuses to be crushed,even by the horrific abuse at the hands of a predatory high school teacher she recounts later. It is the story of a woman determined to live.
Tame is a genuine hero. The book is not framed this way,though – quite the opposite. Those fearing to read it because of the shocking experiences recounted should not hesitate. She has skilfully woven them into a wider narrative of an intelligent young woman making her way in the world,in a way we can bear to take in.
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The book’s rhythm is not one of the roiling ocean one might expect,given what we already know of her life,but rather of a wind-rippled lake,variously light and dark depending on what is being weathered. It is satisfying to give yourself over to it,to go on the journey,to take in both the light and the shade. The writing is excellent,and Tame is extraordinarily good company.
The #auspol crowd will of course parse in fine detail her comments on the prime minister whose gaslighting she so vividly exposed,and on those reporting on it. Even without that,though,this book would stand strong as the memoir of a young person,of a woman,of someone who is neurodivergent,in a world where it’s far from easy being any of those things.
ExpectThe Ninth Life of a Diamond Miner to feature prominently in the next round of book award prize lists. A significant doer has emerged in this memoir as a significant writer too.
Chris Wallace is professor at the 50/50 By 2030 Foundation,University of Canberra.
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