Things Nobody Knows But Me, Amra Pajalic
Things Nobody Knows But Me, Amra Pajalic
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Things Nobody Knows But Me

Author: Amra Pajalic

Narrator: Amra Pajalic

Unabridged: 8 hr 12 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Pishukin Press

Published: 05/03/2023


Synopsis

When she is four years old Amra Pajalić realises that her mother is different. Fatima is loving but sometimes hears strange voices that tell her to do bizarre things. She is frequently sent to hospital and Amra and her brother are passed around to family friends and foster homes, and for a time live with their grandparents in Bosnia.At sixteen Amra ends up in the school counsellor’s office for wagging school. She finally learns the name for the malady that has dogged her mother and affected her own life: bipolar disorder. Amra becomes her mother’s confidante and learns the extraordinary story of her life: when she was fifteen years old Fatima visited family friends only to find herself in an arranged marriage. At sixteen she was a migrant, a mother, and mental patient.Surprisingly funny, Things Nobody Knows But Me is a tender portrait of family and migration, beautifully told. It captures a wonderful sense of bicultural place and life as it weaves between St Albans in suburban Australia and Bosanska Gradiška in Bosnia. Ultimately it is the heartrending story of a mother and daughter bond fractured and forged by illness and experience. Fatima emerges as a remarkable but wounded woman who learns that her daughter really loves her.‘Brave, compassionate, searingly honest and funny, this is a memoir in a voice like no other. Amra Pajalić’s love letter to her mother is a book that grabs at your heart and doesn’t let go until the final page.’ ALICE PUNG..told in a distinctive voice, sharp, direct, sometimes bruising. The AustralianMelbourne's Amra Pajalic opens her heart and soul in this memoir of life with a Mum battling mental illness. Herald Sun.... there's humour and irony here, such as playful echoes of Jane Austen. The Age...gritty, poignant and at-times humorous book... Weekly TimesAmid the chaos, Pajalić remains alert to beauty and humour. The Saturday Paper

Reviews

Goodreads review by Tara

Format Read: Audiobook from NetGalley (Releases 10/5/23) Review: This was a good book for audio, the author read it and did a wonderful job. She dove into the good and hard parts of her life with a lot of emotion. Recommended For: Those who want a truthful memoir that includes mental illness of a par......more

Goodreads review by Lisa

Amra Pajalic’s memoir is a compelling read. The author recalls her (at times extraordinarily difficult) journey to adulthood in two countries (Bosnia and Australia) with breathtaking honesty. The writing is infused with warmth and humour despite the sometimes grim reality of the subject matter. I fo......more

Goodreads review by Cass

Things Nobody Knows But Me (Transit Lounge 2019) is a memoir by author Amra Pajalic about her experience of growing up between Bosnia and Australia under the care of her mother, who suffered from a mental illness, and other members of her extended family. This is a raw and vulnerable account of an a......more