"In this transcendent memoir, Windham-Campbell Prize-winning poet Ali Cobby Eckermann's gorgeous narrative unfolds against the verdant South Australian landscape, the pastoral setting belying the painful realities of a young girl estranged from her community. Told at first through the frank eyes of a child whose life is irretrievably changed after being forcibly taken from her family and later adopted by a German Lutheran family, 'Too afraid to cry'...

"Alex [Irving] is determined to avoid the pitfalls of the Canberra bubble. She broke her word to her community, but she's not going to be put in that position again. By running for election as an independent, she has a second chance to do it right. Alex will be econfronted by vile online trolls, threats to her family and political opponents riled by the audactiy of a Black woman using her voice. Ultimately, will Alex's determination and the tenacity...