This amusing tale is a biography, of sorts. For it is a biography not of one individual but of a portion of the generation of kids born in America in the mid-1940s. Their adventures and misadventures, missteps and mischief, and learning and yearning spring forth as they thrive in what many today consider far simpler and happier times. And, in this nostalgic look at part of America's past, the reader might discover ways to help future generations of children grow into their own sweet time and prevent perils imposed by others.
At thirty-one, Rachel Lehmann-Haupt thought she had everything: a great boyfriend, an exciting career, and the promise of marriage and children in her future. But the relationship ended and she found herself consumed by a rapidly approaching deadline: age thirty-five, the time at which most pregnancies are deemed ''high risk.'' Lehmann-Haupt traveled around the world and into the heart of America to explore the latest fertility choices available - as well as grapple with her own ambitions, anxieties, and personal values. A witty, poignant, and profoundly honest account of one woman's efforts to reconcile modern love with modern life, In Her Own Sweet Time resonates with a generation that wants it all - career, family, the perfect partner - but one that hasn't yet figured out how to fit it all together.
In March 1997, the front page headline on Sydney's Daily Telegraph read "Great White Hoax." It referred to the confession by Leon Carmen, a white male, that he'd written My Own Sweet Time, an award-winning novel hitherto believed to be the work of a part-aboriginal woman, Wanda Koolmatrie. The book had been used in the 1996 New South Wales HSC English exam, and an excerpt included in a recent anthology of high profile autobiography. My Own Sweet Time had also taken out the Dobbie Award for a first novel by a woman writer. There was embarrassment and much fury. The book was withdrawn from sale, the Dobbie prize money retrieved, and Carmen's agent John Bayley raided by the police. The outcry lasted for a week or more, the topic dominating talk-back radio and letters to the Editor. Some people supported Carmen, some didn't. There was an accusation of "cultural theft" by those who clearly hadn't read the novel. My Own Sweet Time deals in a general way with urban Australia in the sixties and early seventies, with Wanda's Aboriginality barely relevant to most of the proceedings... In brief, the narrative runs thus - Wanda's childhood has been spent with white foster parents in sleepy South Australia. At age seventeen, she heads for the city of Melbourne, where she meets Simon, a draft-dodge facilitator, who offers her a room. Wanda has already begun writing song lyrics, which she sends to a singer friend of Simon's in America... Returning to South Australia for a visit, she's soon tangling with hippiedom and rock'n'roll bands. Then to Sydney, and writing for an inner city theater group directed by an Aboriginal man, Bill Jacob... According to a (pre-revelation) review by poet Dorothy Hewett, This heartening comic odyssey cries out for a sequel. It could be the start of a new genre. Wanda Koolmatrie is now back in business.
Celebrate feelings in all their shapes and sizes in this New York Times bestselling picture book from the Growing Hearts series! Happiness, sadness, bravery, anger, shyness . . . our hearts can feel so many feelings! Some make us feel as light as a balloon, others as heavy as an elephant. In My Heart explores a full range of emotions, describing how they feel physically, inside, with language that is lyrical but also direct to empower readers to practice articulating and identifying their own emotions. With whimsical illustrations and an irresistible die-cut heart that extends through each spread, this gorgeously packaged and unique feelings book is sure to become a storytime favorite.
