Popular Oceanian Memoir Books
Find memoir books written by authors from Oceania for the next part of the Read Around The World Challenge. (24)
11.
Growing Up Queer in Australia by Benjamin Law EN
AustraliaDescription:
'No amount of YouTube videos and queer think pieces prepared me for this moment.' 'The mantle of "queer migrant" compelled me to keep going - to go further.' 'I never "came out" to my parents. I felt I owed them no explanation.' 'All I heard from the pulpit were grim hints.' 'I became acutely aware of the parts of myself that were unpalatable to queers who grew up in the city.' 'My queerness was born in a hot dry land that was never ceded.' 'Even now, I sometimes think that I don't know my own desire.' Compiled by celebrated author and journalist Benjamin Law, Growing Up Queer in Australiaasse... continue
12.
How We Love : Notes on a Life by Clementine Ford EN
Description:
Clementine Ford is a person who has loved deeply, strangely and with curiosity. She is fascinated by love and the multiple ways it makes its home in our hearts and believes that the way we continue to surrender ourselves to love is an act of great faith and bravery. This tender and lyrical memoir explores love in its many forms through Clementine's own experiences. With clear eyes and an open heart, she writes about losing her adored mother far too young, about the pain and confusion of first love - both platonic and romantic - and the joy and heartache of adult love. She writes movingly about... continue
13.
I Have Seen the Moon : Reflections on Nauru by Bron Williams EN
Description:
Mary Anne Radmacher wrote, "I am not the same having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world." Have you ever looked at the moon from a different angle? I don't mean looking at it upside down as you might have done as a child, through your legs or hanging from the monkey bars. I mean, have you ever looked at the moon and it looked upside down? I know the moon is round and that there really is no up or down side to a circle, but I'm talking about a quarter moon or a crescent moon. Have you ever seen a crescent moon where the crescent just doesn't seem to be in the right place? That's ... continue
14.
Indigenous Literatures from Micronesia by Evelyn Flores, Emelihter Kihleng EN
Country: Oceania / 
Micronesia
Micronesia
Description:
For the first time, poetry, short stories, critical and creative essays, chants, and excerpts of plays by Indigenous Micronesian authors have been brought together to form a resounding—and distinctly Micronesian—voice. With over two thousand islands spread across almost three million square miles of the Pacific Ocean, Micronesia and its peoples have too often been rendered invisible and insignificant both in and out of academia. This long-awaited anthology of contemporary indigenous literature will reshape Micronesia’s historical and literary landscape. Presenting over seventy authors and one ... continue
15.
Indigenous Literatures from Micronesia by Evelyn Flores, Emelihter Kihleng EN
KiribatiDescription:
For the first time, poetry, short stories, critical and creative essays, chants, and excerpts of plays by Indigenous Micronesian authors have been brought together to form a resounding—and distinctly Micronesian—voice. With over two thousand islands spread across almost three million square miles of the Pacific Ocean, Micronesia and its peoples have too often been rendered invisible and insignificant both in and out of academia. This long-awaited anthology of contemporary indigenous literature will reshape Micronesia’s historical and literary landscape. Presenting over seventy authors and one ... continue
16.
Kava in the Blood by Peter Thomson EN
FijiDescription:
Judges report, Montana NZ Book Awards 2000: "This is an excellent story, beautifully written and skillfully mixing the personal with the political."
17.
Life Without Limits : Inspiration for a Ridiculously Good Life by Nick Vujicic EN
Description:
ECPA BESTSELLER—Over one million copies sold! • What Would Your Life be Like if Anything Were Possible? Born without arms or legs, Nick Vujicic overcame his disabilities to live an independent, rich, fulfilling, and “ridiculously good” life while serving as a role model for anyone seeking true happiness. Now an internationally successful motivational speaker, Nick eagerly spreads his message: the most important goal is to find your life’s purpose and to never give up, despite whatever difficulties or seemingly impossible odds stand in your way. Nick tells the story of his physical disabilities... continue
18.
Miss Ulysses from Puka-Puka : The Autobiography of a South Sea Trader's Daughter by Florence Frisbie EN
Country: Oceania / 
New Zealand
New Zealand
Description:
Miss Ulysses from Puka-Puka (2nd edition) by Florence (Johnny) Frisbie is the first book written by a Polynesian woman. It tells the amazing story of a young girl growing up on a remote island in the Cook Islands group. Written when Johnny was between the ages of 12 and 14, and published in 1948 when she was 15, Johnny likens her travels through South Pacific islands to those of Ulysses in the Odyssey. Through Johnny's fresh and unspoiled eyes, we read of a Garden-of-Eden existence on a remote atoll, where the land and the sea provide all that is necessary for life. The sea brings danger as we... continue
19.
Rabbit-Proof Fence : The True Story of One of the Greatest Escapes of All Time by Doris Pilkington EN
Description:
Following an Australian government edict in 1931, black aboriginal children and children of mixed marriages were gathered up and taken to settlements to be institutionally assimilated. In Rabbit-Proof Fence, award-wining author Doris Pilkington traces the story of her mother, Molly, one of three young girls uprooted from their community in Southwestern Australia and taken to the Moore River Native Settlement. There, Molly and her relatives Gracie and Daisy were forbidden to speak their native language, forced to abandon their heritage, and taught to be culturally white. After regular stays in ... continue
20.
The Bookseller at the End of the World by Ruth Shaw EN
Country: Oceania / New Zealand
New Zealand
Description:
Ruth Shaw weaves together stories of the characters who visit her bookshops, musings about her favourite books, and bittersweet stories from her full and varied life before bookshops. She sailed through the Pacific for years, was held up by pirates, worked at Sydney's King's Cross with drug addicts and prostitutes, campaigned on numerous environmental issues, and worked the yacht Breaksea Girl as an expedition/tourist boat with her husband, Lance. But underlining all her wanderings and adventures are some very deep losses and long-held pain. Balancing that out is her beautiful love story with ... continue