Black and Blue: A Memoir of Racism and Resilience

Veronica Gorrie

Nov 2021 · Bolinda · Narrated by Tamala Shelton

Audiobook

6 hr 56 min

Unabridged

Eligible

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About this audiobook

The story of an Aboriginal woman who worked as a police officer and fought for justice both within and beyond the Australian Police Force. A proud Gunai/Kurnai woman, Veronica Gorrie grew up dauntless, full of cheek and a fierce sense of justice. After watching her friends and family suffer under a deeply compromised law-enforcement system, Gorrie signed up for training to become one of a rare few Aboriginal police officers in Australia. In her ten years in the force, she witnessed appalling institutional racism and sexism and fought past those things to provide courageous and compassionate service to civilians in need, many Aboriginal themselves. With a great gift for storytelling and a wicked sense of humour, Gorrie frankly and movingly explores the impact of racism on her family and her life, the impact of intergenerational trauma resulting from cultural dispossession and the inevitable difficulties of making her way in the white- and male-dominated workplace of the police force. Black and Blue is a memoir of remarkable fortitude and resilience, told with wit, wisdom and great heart.

About the author

Veronica Gorrie is a Gunai/Kurnai woman who lives and writes in Victoria. Her first book, Black and Blue, won the 2022 Victorian Premier's Prize for Literature and the 2022 Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Indigenous Writing, as well as being shortlisted for the 2022 Douglas Stewart Prize for Nonfiction and the 2022 ABIA Small Publishers’ Book of the Year. Her second book, When Cops Are Criminals, will be published in 2025.

Tamala Shelton is an Australian actress. Having made her professional debut in the ABC comedy Upper Middle Bogan, Tamala went on to play a main cast role in Nowhere Boys for ABC3. Tamala is also well known for playing the roles of Petra in the US drama series Reef Break and Alinta in the critically acclaimed series Cleverman. When not acting Tamala is an avid reader and writer.

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