Emboldened: On finding the fire to keep going when all seems lost

EMBOLDENED Belinda Alexander Belinda Alexander wrote this memoir to share how she managed to recover and move on after she had ‘run away from home in terror with only her wallet, phone and latest manuscript on a usb stick.’ She was unable to go into detail about her personal experiences of trauma, because ‘of Australia’s libel laws, and the protagonists were still living.’ Overall, I did not enjoy this book as much as I had anticipated. I felt that there were times when Belinda was just ‘filling’ words with references back to previous novels she has written. The writing did not flow as smoothly as it could have done. Belinda chose to reflect on how several strong women who lived successful and fulfilling lives despite dealing with dreadful adversity and trauma. The women that she reflected upon and how they inspired Belinda were: 1. Resilience - Her grandmother, Alexandra, a White Russian who survived emotionally and physically despite having escaped war and revolution more than once. Back in the early 1950’s, a family of ‘White Russians’ moved in a few houses away from us. Their daughter, Ksenia and I became best friends, and I was made to feel most welcome in their home. Reading Belinda’s account of her grandmother’s experiences and how she coped when she had to flee Revolution and War made me realise that Ksenia’s family must have had similar experiences Her mother and grandmother were so kind, loving and welcoming to me. I had no idea of the hardship and trauma through which they had lived. 2. Purpose - Virginia Hall, an American who did not allow the loss of a leg prevent her from fulfilling a successful roll as an Allied Agent during WWII in France. 3. Passion - Carmen Amaya, who rose to become a hugely successful Flamenco dancer despite having been born into a life of abject poverty in Spain. 4. Connection - Edna Walling, who became one of Australia’s most well-known landscape designers despite having experienced the terrible loss of her own home and garden to fire. I have always loved gardening. Over the years Edna Walling’s books on garden design have inspired me, particularly when developing new gardens after moving on. I had no idea of the challenges that Edna faced in her life. I did enjoy reading about the four women, and the challenges they had dealt with. However, I could not help feeling that at times Belinda wallowed in self-pity and at other times overemphasised what a high achiever she was as an individual.